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i^\
a Soft-Systems
^ide to:
creativity,
problem^solvin^
the process of
reaching goals
byDonKoberg7tj2^ JimBagnall |
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The goal of Tm mnms^ TWWELER is to translate what began as a simple

^g^izatioml realiMtion and^grw
assisted mathejiatical to become
and statistical a highly
discipline specialized,
for solving ccsnputer
canplex world
proble^,
tMt back mto
all Prob^, an easy-to-leam
no mtter language
what size they for can
my be, everyday use.
benefit Wethe
frcm believe
same
iogical^d
ot or^ly
our tune. Theprocess new remain
principles employed to solveIt many
constant. is onlyofthe
themethods
canplex problems
which
Change, and then, often in appearance alone.
Since "^sterns" is the name which has been assigned to Cybernetics and the
v^i^s numerical
sunilarly techniques
called our for modeling
more conversational problembysituations,
approach the namewe have
Soft-Systems.
We hope the language of the Soft-Systems we have developed and translated
with iftheevery reader^
situations whichdea^.
define more logically
the context anddaily
of their systematically
life...or in
the least to be able to deal with then in a more creative way.
the anatomy
of the
niversal
Traveler
HOW THE UNIVERSAL TRAVELER
CAN HELP YOU ^

I n t r o d u c t i o n t o C R E AT I V I T Y 8
Keys to C R E AT I V I T Y 10
Blocks to C R E AT I V I T Y 14
THE DESIGN PROCESS-" -16
A Word about METHODS 22
GENERAL T R AV E L TIPS 23
GENERAL LANGUAGE GUIDE •- — •26
GENERAL T R AV E L GUIDE 27

Why a Travel Agency--30

Checklists 31
To u r i s t Traps 31
The Birth
IntiKiduQtion
of a Problem — 34
A C C E P TA N C E 35
b. Language Guide
o . Methods
A N A LY S I S 46
Ti t l e
DEFINmON 59
I D E AT I O N 66 < Explanation
IDEA-SELECTING 74 Example
• Tr a v e l G u i d e
I M P L E M E N TAT I O N 80
E VA L U AT I O N 94 Travel Tips

Creativity Games 104

GUIDE TO MEASURABLE OBJECTIVES - --108
L e s s o n s f r a n P r o b l e m - S o l v i n g 11 0
SYNECTICS - - 11 4
SELF-HYPNCrriSM 11 6
Painless Criticisrri 11 8
C c fi m i n i c a t i o n s Checklist 11 8
WIRING DIAGRAMS 121
seven inajor phases .or ENERGY STATES so that
the traveler might take a sanple problem
rhroi igh the process in an efficient manner.

Additional TRAVEL TIPS, LANGUAGE GUIDES and

GUIDEBOOKS are provided within each of these
seven sections.

The final part of THE UNIVERSAL TRAVELER is

called SIDE TRIPS. It contains sane infomation
which can enhance or enrich each journey and
nake it more neaningful. SIDE TRIPS are like
bonuses for extra effort in problem-solving.

All travel guides are forever in need of

updating, so THE UNIVERSAL TRAVELER has been
printed with a wide rtargin on each page to
provide plenty of room for your notes. As you
discover methods of your own and adapt them to
better meet your personal needs, it would be
helpful to you to write them down on these pages.
Then, you won't have to rediscover them every
time you embark on a new journey. As for other
things the value of books derives frcm the benefit
they provide to you. When you fill-in the margins
and borders you will also be personalizing this
copy and thereby deriving a greater value for
your participation.

BON VOYAGE
(The Language Guide says this means Good Voyage
or Good Journey)
as ''creative solutions'. Creative problem-
solutions are those which lead, which inspire,
whidi provoke; those which help us to imagine
more advanced problems or whicdi provide us
with the models for solving other, similar
problems and which generally turn others on to
their correctness, obviousness or to their
simplicity. Designers (creative problem-solvers)
there-fore, being persons who intend to go
beyond mere'function and stability, have occu-
paticnal needs for developing certain behav
i o r a l a t t r i b u t e s f o r c r e a t i v i t y.

It is sijiple enou^ to list those "a-ttributes

of creativi"ty" which are needed by the designer
and to point out 'the reasons for their inclu
sion. But actual development and refine
ment of such behavioral characteristics is
difficult since society makes it a relentless
battle, an often thankless and rarely posi
tively reinforced chore to maintain such
" b e h a v i o r.

The same society which readily accepts the

creative 'product' will chastise or deny the
creative 'activity' required for such prcduc-
tion because of its non-typical nature.

The typically "ataormal" behavior of the

creative person my be described by normal
society as boorish, prideless, mal^justed,
careless, even unpatriotic and a menace to
"Che 'institutions' which 'average man' builds
to pe^tuate his 'average' or 'normal'
b e h a v i o r. S c h o o l s , o p e r a t e d b y t h e p e r
petuation of "average" and attoinistra-tion-
oriented persons, pimish all hints of 'whole
ness' behavior. And although we say that we
expect our schools to engender creativity,
we usually also allow a continuation of the
discipline-over-development approach to
discouraging creative growth in our young.
When the human product emerges as a non-
creative, average sanple, we do not oonplain;
instead we alter the neaning of creativi-ty
to describe other human abnorml^ activities
such as condoning high productivity as a
creative act. So, in a very special sense,
the creative person is abnorml: different
from the others and therefore subject to
their disapproval and discouragement.

Designers take note I! If your human

relations are on a smooth course, it is
probable that one of two alternatives is
in effect: either you are not being creative
or you have conditioned yourself and the
others in your environment to accept your
a b n o r n ^ b e h a v i o r.
 To s t a t e t h e ' u l t i i r ^ t e o r t r u e g o a l s
To d i s t i l l t h e o b j e c t i v e s
To d e t e r m i n e t h e e s s e n c e o r t r u t h o f
the problem
To clarify the objectives
To determine the basic question of tlie
problem
To d e t e r m i n e t h e b a s i c s t a t e m e n t o f t h e
problem
To suiiiiiBrize, conpress, padcage, for-
nulate, focus
To specify performance in general
To determine v^at the problem means to
you

Y o u r d e fi n i t i o n i s :

Yo u r c c n c e p t o r a t t i t u d e a b o u t t h e
problem
Your value statement(s) regarding
the problem situation
The truth as far as you know it at
the time

Your current understanding of the

problem
The epitome of your descriptions of
the problem

* Yo u r c l e a r e s t i n t e n t i o n ; y o u r u l t i m a t e
goal
>'« Your closest verbal analogy of the
situation

Your expectations
* Your index for decision-making; the
mold or die through which all your
decisions will pass
Your underlying or foremost meaning
of the problem
jV Your "title" for your problem

6 1
 7. We can leazn the tnjths of things by deter
mining to rather than to merely lock.
(Analysis)

8. We can relate the truths of things to one

another in the attenpt to find connections
between things. (Analogy)

9. It can be helpful to have a ranpant imagin

ation; to turn things upside down; take them
out of their context for a different look
at them.

10. The subconscious imagination can be helped

by the logic of the ccnscious mind and
vice versa.

11. Ihere are generally more ways than one to

get to a solution.

12. A ccmplete solution will be the corbination

of many diverse experiences.

13. If it doesn't work, try it again. You may

have missed sanething.

m. Be sure the problem is stated truthfully.

15. Don't rationalize the success ©f a part to

mean success of the whole.

16. Learning by doing is sijipler (but not

necessarily easier) than learning vicariously
through others.

17. One thing leads to another.

18. Unpleasant memories can get in the way of

discovering new experiences.
19. Intuition is the subconscious accumulaticn
of our past experiences.

20. All experience is permanently locked in the

br'ain. Seme of it is just "hard to get to".

by logic 1. The subconscious random sanple of thoughts

can be stunulating to a logical ordering.

2. It makes sense to set limits cn our sub

conscious mind in order to get on with the
problems (as long as the limits do not
rule out hot ideas or other instructive
subconscious input).

3. Logic alone does net insure creativity.

Creativity is the purview of the "whole"
Mnd. ^ J ^
 It must be quiet. There can be no
"conscious awakeness" trying to work
against you.
d) Go deeper and deeper into your sub-conscious
mind. Turn your body into silly putty.
Imagine that you are swaying gently back
and forth in a hammock in a quiet garden
or that you are going down an elevator
which gets you deeper into sleep with
e a c h fl o o r , e t c .
e) It all takes practice and it feels very
good. Relaxing makes you feel better
afterward. This is also known as Hatha
Yoga Relaxation.
f) Relax your mind by fixing it on one
inanimate thing like a clock ticking or
t h e h u m o f t h e a i r c o n d i t i o n e r. D o n ' t t h i n k .
Feel. LiOse the here and now. Become
mindless and senseless.
3. Plant your suggestions. (Since you can't
talk to yourself without becoming conscious
again—you will need a friend or a tape
recorder to slowly and rhythmically tell you
what you want to leam to do.)
a) Mentally describe the new desired behavior
in detail. Make the change vivid and
visual.
b) InHgine yourself going through the changed
b e h a v i o r a t l e a s t fi v e t i m e s i n s u c c e s s i o n .
c) Step outside of yourself and watch yourself
doing it one more time.
d) Suggest some positive, rewarding experience
a s a b e n e fi t f r c m t h e n e w b e h a v i o r .
4 . Wa k e y o u r s e l f w i t h c o n fi d e n c e .
a) Tell yourself that as you awake and get
up, you will feel better, have greater
confidence in your new behavior and that
in general you are on a positive trip.
5. Play your tape each night or each morning
for six days and you will pnobably have
self-hypnotized yourself into doing something
you have always wanted to do.

Self-hypnosis is useful for learning, loving,

remembering, accepting and reprogramming to "forget"
bad experiences by changing them to good memories.
Auto-suggestions only have a life-span of about
36 hours so until you truly learn to change your
behavior, you will need to reinforce yourself by
listening to your tape for at least six days.
If you normally listen to yourself, your own
voice on a tape will be sufficientj if you need
to be told by someone else before you will
listen, get a strong friend to record your
suggested messages.

11 7