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The Oreo Solution to Creative Problem Solving
Written by: Don DomanArticle Overview: How often do we brainstorm, and plan, and theorize, when a simple solution will do? Also, how often do we see the simple solution, but look away because it seems too simple?
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The Oreo Solution to Creative Problem Solving
The commercial starts off with music by Tchaikovsky and three little ballerinas dressed in pink. It’s time for a break. They get out glasses and milk. They pour what milk they have into three glasses and sit down to enjoy Oreos and milk. But, oh my gosh, there’s a problem. The glasses are thin and tall and the milk is so far from the top. They can’t reach the milk, even with their tiny little fingers, to dunk their cookies. What can they do?
The solution: they pour all of the milk into one glass and take turns dunking their Oreos.
The Oreo Solution: instant gratification can stimulate simple decisions.
How often do we brainstorm, and plan, and theorize, when a simple solution will do? Also, how often do we see the simple solution, but look away because it seems too simple?
We know that we live in a complicated world, so obviously we need a complicated answer. Wrong. I like to look for the easiest answer. One nice thing about the easiest solution is that if it doesn’t work, you can move instantly to another easy answer.
I remember a problem concerning a new office building that rose high into the sky. At quitting time there was a rush to leave and the elevators seemed to take forever. People had to wait . . . and when people have to wait, they complain. A study could have been done, but no matter what, more elevators were out of the question.
The simple solution? Mirrors. Mirrors were added to the walls by the elevators. Perhaps, not as satisfying as an Oreo and milk, but they worked. People adjusted their clothing, combed their hair, and added make-up. The wait no longer seemed so long.
The solution was easy. The solution was quick. The solution made everyone happy.
Sometimes the simple solution is right before our eyes. We just need to take advantage of it, dunk our cookies, and smile into the mirror.
More than One Way to Skin a Cat: Adventures in Creative Thinking
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Thinking Differently About Problem Solving
Stuck for an idea?
Problem or Not the Problem?
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About the Author: Don Doman RSS for Don's articles - Visit Don's website  Click here to visit Don's website   What in the World Do You Do Who Comes First The Customer or the Customer Bargain Hunt Listening to the Experts The King of Queens and a Horrible Business Idea Dave Chappelle Failure Beyond Your Worst Nightmares Can Be Liberating |
Related Forum Posts
What?
- Problem fixed. Never mind!
Happy Worker as of Dec 31 2007
- Here's mine... I'm now off to make an offering to the business planning gods for their help in getting to these goals & beyond.
To the combined success of Prophets 2 Profits!
-----------------------------------------
1) Corporate
a) Retail
- Sales reps covering all major markets (1M or more)
- Retail product launch plan
- 1 more retail release (TBD)
b) The Toy Agency
- Systems for:
o Creative process
o Pricing
o Manufacturing
o Logistics
- Marketing agency strategy in place
- 1 new customer every 2nd month (5 new customers); 1 of which will be rev of >= 500K/year
c) Business
- Creative talent pool management strategy & process
- Outsourced and/or weekly bookkeeping
- Monthly budgeting & forecasting
- Better banking organization (Line of Credit, CCs, automate billing for appropriate vendors)
- Team total of 5
- Larger office
d) Web site
- Daily updates
- Start of separation of Blog/TTA/Retail
2) Personal
- Most weekends “off”!
- Entirely separate personal finances; basic personal financing plan
- Family….?
Re: What would you do if you knew you could not fail?
- I would write a screenplay, and possibly be involved in making the movie. Creative writing is something that I love to do, but it is a bit of a leap from being an unpublished to a published author. If I knew I could not fail, I would write as often as I could.
How to get financed
- We looked at doing the same thing. Problem is you own the truck out-rite, so most require a add on to your title or release of title to them for liability should you default. Contact Kevin at RV Lending, he assisted us with our stacker transporter, pretty easy to deal with and straight up with the answers before you give all you personal information.
Good luck
Getting financed for conversion on an older truck
- We looked at doing the same thing. Problem is you own the truck out-rite, so most require an add on to your title or release of title to them for liability should you default. Contact Kevin at RV Lending, he assisted us with our stacker transporter, pretty easy to deal with and straight up with the answers before you give all you personal information.
Good luck
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