***Please follow instructions and Respond to the 2 Colleagues that I have provided. Please use Headings/Templates. Also use APA Citations and References.
Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.
Respond to two of your colleagues in one or more of the following ways:
· Compare the experiences your colleagues shared regarding divergent-thinking and convergent-thinking processes and how culture influenced them.
· Share an insight you gained from a colleague’s post and offer ways you and your colleagues can systematically apply divergent- and convergent-thinking processes to your work environment and management strategies.
· Offer an alternative viewpoint about the solution your colleague selected and provide a rationale.
· Offer an additional solution specific to each colleague’s problem that your colleague may not have thought about and explain the process you used to come up with your suggested solution.
*You are required to organize your response to your colleagues’ discussion posts using this template. These headings are mandatory! Put your thoughts under each heading. Then post. Regards.
Response to Colleagues Template
Compare the experiences your colleagues shared regarding divergent-thinking and convergent-thinking processes and how culture influenced them.
Share an insight you gained from a colleague’s post and offer ways you and your colleagues can systematically apply divergent- and convergent-thinking processes to your work environment and management strategies.
Offer an alternative viewpoint about the solution your colleague selected and provide a rationale.
Offer an additional solution specific to each colleague’s problem that your colleague may not have thought about and explain the process you used to come up with your suggested solution.
References
1st Colleague to Respond to:
A brief description of the problem along with your list of solutions, the solution you selected, and the justification for your selection.
A problem I am currently facing in my personal and professional life that I have the motivation to solve is being more balanced. I am currently operating outside of my comfort zone and original time zone. I have felt a bit overwhelmed with trying to balance starting the new year and focusing on my goals and launching my business, while being fully engaged with school and adapting to my new lifestyle changes due to my health. I have been trying to take one step at a time and keep explaining to myself that everything will work out. I am not used to feeling this way, but I know it is all about growth and transforming my character. I have set a launch date twice for my business venture this month and at first, I honestly felt some type of way that I did not execute as planned, but I had to remind myself it was completely out of my control and it is still in the works to happen. With my health, at times I become restricted as to how much I can do and when I can do it, which is definitely not what I am used to. With school and other life duties, I need to work on managing my time more effectively just in case I am put in a situation where I am physically disadvantaged but I must meet deadlines.
Solutions:
· Monitor the time I spend on certain tasks.
· Create a schedule to get things done. Make sure I set boundaries.
· In my planner, only focus on the major goals I have set for that week before moving on to something else.
· Set realistic goal deadlines. Celebrate the small wins.
· Putting my health first and learning how to work through it.
· Make sure I am getting what I need done before jumping to help others.
· Make time to revitalize in order to think clearly. (Self-care, Meditation, Exercise…)
· Create my vision board for Quarter I so I know what I want/need to focus on.
Honestly, all of these solutions will lead me to a more balanced lifestyle.
Next, describe the experience of using divergent thinking and convergent thinking. If you had not approached the problem using divergent and convergent practices in a systematic way, would you have arrived at the same solution? Explain why or why not.
At every stage of the creative thinking process, there is a chance to use divergent thinking, where you challenge yourself to identify causes of the problem, like asking yourself questions (Grivas & Puccio, 2012). According to Puccio, et al. (2012), “Convergent thinking is reflective and purposeful. It asks you to focus on the task at hand and invest the necessary thought and energy to ensure that the best alternatives are being selected and then developed” (p. 62). The experience of using divergent and convergent thinking will literally help you in any situation. It assists in the process whether you are the clarifier, developer, ideator, or implementer in an organization. Had I not experienced this exercise, I could still be trying to figure out how I can move forward. This could have led me to become overly anxious or overwhelmed, which could have trapped me in the cycle of procrastination and who knows what else. I think I would have eventually figured out what I could do, but this exercise definitely changed my mindset on how to approach things moving forward.
Finally, explain any aspects of culture that could either inhibit or support this creative process.
In life things happen. In the process of using divergent and convergent thinking, there can be several aspects of culture that could inhibit moving forward. Some people have children and families that they are responsible for taking care of. Another thing that could inhibit this process is not following through with the identified solutions. I believe in trying to focus on one thing at a time, so just getting started with a solution is taking a step in the right direction. When that is successful, then move forward to the next. I think getting in the right mindset and being willing to make the necessary adjustments could be supportive to this thinking process.
References
Grivas, C., & Puccio, G. J. (2012). The innovative team: Unleashing creative potential for breakthrough results.
Puccio, G. J., Mance, M., Switalski, L.B., & Reali, P.D. (2012). Principles for divergent and convergent thinking: becoming a better creative thinker. In Creative Rising: Creative thinking and creative problem solving in the 21st century (pp. 51-70). Buffalo, NY: ICSC Press.
2nd Colleague to respond to:
A brief description of the problem along with your list of solutions, the solution you selected, and the justification for your selection.
One of my challenges ever since I moved to the United States is finding an effective approach to restore the dignity of the Haitian people.
Solutions:
1. Create a religious organization that will focus on providing life coaching
2. Create an educational organization that will provide financial education and business training.
3. Create a nonprofit organization that uses asset-based community development.
4. Find a credible organization that works mainly in Haiti, get a job there and work my way up.
5. Build my credibility and create an investment company meanwhile I will continue to study the county and its surroundings, finally, strategically enter the country as an investor.
I choose solution #5. I believe actions speak louder than words. I am building my credibility first by earning my MBA and gaining experience as a business leader. Secondly as an investor by creating an investment firm. The people will more likely pay closer attention to my approach due to my track record. To strategically enter the country, after building a successful investment firm, I will look for investment opportunities in Haiti and begin accumulating assets in the country. I will, therefore, have access to political decisions.
I choose solution #5 because I do not believe in the “begging bowl philosophy” that the country has been operating on for decades. But rather, I prefer to give the people work and show them how to create a business to provide for themselves and improve the quality of their lives.
Next, describe the experience of using divergent thinking and convergent thinking. If you had not approached the problem regularly using divergent and convergent practices, would you have arrived at the same solution? Explain why or why not.
Puccio et al. proposed four key principles to enhance divergent thinking: 1) defer judgment. 2) Go for quality. 3) Make connections 4) seek novelty. I have used all of them in order to select my solution, especially the make connections principle. “To make connections is ….. to draw inspiration from one thing when working on another”( Puccio et al. 2012). My inspiration comes from reading about the development of Singapore under the leadership of Lee Kwan Yew. This story helps me regain hope in the impoverished country of Haiti.
Puccio et al. further proposed that principles for convergent thinking: 1) Apply affirmative judgment.2) Keep novelty alive.3) Stay focused.4)Check my objectives. The principle that has been very helpful is to Stay Focused principle. I have used it in terms of reflective and purposeful as attributes of convergent thinking. It is a challenging principle for me to follow in this situation because the instability and poverty in Haiti have started way before my generation. When the people make one small progressive step, they simultaneously make 3 to 4 big regressive steps.
Finally, explain any aspects of culture that could either inhibit or support this creative process.
The aspects that can inhibit the creative process are to trap of being influenced by the Haitian people thinking process and the news. For instance, they complain a lot about their leaders, their government system and about each other. Moreover, the news gives a sense of being hopeless. As Puccio puts is, “the complaining and the news can cause my subconscious as flummoxed as my conscious mind”(Grivas &Puccio, 2012)
However, when I allow for incubation to give my brain a chance to rest, the inner fire reignites the thinking that the power that took Singapore from a third world to a first world is in every individual, every community and every nation.
References
Grivas, C. & Puccio, G.J ( 2012). The innovative team: Unleashing the creative potential for breakthrough results.
Puccio, G.J., Mance, M., Switalski, L.B., & Reali, P.D.(2012). Principle for divergent and convergent thinking: Become a better creative thinker. creative Rising: Creative thinking and creative problem-solving in the 21st century (pp.51 – 70). Buffalo, NY: ICSC Press.