Lateral Thinking Workshop
The 21st century worker
Earlier theories of motivation emphasized that the typical employee had no inborn desire to work, was innately lazy and was forced to toil only to bring food on the plate. This employee had no appetite for creativity, resisted change and had no interest in meeting organizational goals (he probably was not even aware of these goals). Possibly this presumption of this employee was erroneous. Nonetheless the century passed and industries prospered and these employees survived without the creativity hunger. All that mattered was those morsels on that plate. But the 21st century employee is not the same. Today’s employees want to innovate, partake in decisions and seek higher achievement for themselves as well as the organizations they work for.
Human ability to think
Thinking is a critical and yet the most basic of all functions of the brain. Conventional thinking; well quoted as logical reasoning has its advantages as well as limitations. A tangent is usually not welcomed in a regular thought circle. However innovative or Lateral Thinking give insights into maiden unconventional means, which are capable of generating newer and unusual alternatives, some of which bring in superior outcomes from what was proposed conventionally in the very first place.
Change: The generation impact
Young employees today have started challenging tradition. Not out of arrogance, but thinking differently in order to achieve distinctive outcomes. The Baby Boomer’s transactional views are paving way for Generation X’s contemporary views. Who knows what Generation Y will bring in? Not just a multigeneration requirement; all generations are beginning to feel the need to change the conventional and seek something different. Creativity has become the need of the hour.
Out of the box
The process of solving a problem requires thinking outside the boxed frame. The pioneer of lateral thinking Dr. Edward De Bono has beautifully proposed the use of challenges, alternatives and provocations to promote initiation of alternatives. The Six Hat method enables unbundling of thinking to look at problems differently and reach solutions without criticism and argument. These solutions are better accepted today.
MINDFRAMES: Reframing thinking
The perceived truth is the universal truth for every individual but to reach a truth which is acceptable to all humanity is a challenge today. Alternative thinking can direct that innovative acceptability. Lateral thinking is being commonly used to boost employee creativity, contemporary leadership innovation and enhancement work performance in previously unconceivable ways. This interactive workshop by the organizational behavior team facilitates brainstorming exercises from participants themselves in order to awaken their own hidden potential to help them stap their actualization potential.