Innovative Thinking About Two Weeks Ago, There

¶ … Innovative Thinking

About two weeks ago, there came a time when a friend, Emmanuel, asked for help to answer some interview questions which they had been requested to answer. The first question was on the reason why they had chosen a career in customer development as opposed to other business functions. The second question was on what their contribution would be to the company and the last question asked them to give a recommendation to the company based on their interaction with the company. In order to answer these questions, it was common knowledge that we needed to be creative in answering the questions in order to set them apart from the rest of the candidates undertaking the same interview. It therefore required a broad mindset in order to think outside the box so as to captivate the interviewers and show that Emmanuel was a better candidate for the position. The first was to research widely about the function of customer development and what it meant in the context of the organization. The next was to list Emmanuel's competencies against the competencies that were required by the organization. The last step involved issues in the customer development function of the organization in order to give relevant recommendations that were immediately applicable to the organization.

The answer to the first question was that customer development meant creating a balance between the needs of the business and the consumers. This was an innovative answer because it encompassed the whole idea of customer development in the context of the organization. The second answer was that Emmanuel would be contributing a passion to win in a competitive market and an enthusiasm for new challenges every day. This answer was innovative because it showed Emmanuel was willing to take anything that came head on. The answer to the last question involved a product which was discontinued. The recommendation was for the product to be reconsidered for the market. This answer was also creative because it showed Emmanuel was focused on the consumers and how the organization would improve the lives of the consumers.

Situational approach

No situation is ever the same as the other, thus every situation needs to be treated with its own uniqueness and be given the attention that it needs on its own. In the same way, no person is exactly the same as the other and thus the most important thing is to show this uniqueness in the approach of any situation. This is taken on a daily basis. By realizing the fact that each person is an individual and that none is exactly the same as the other, a person is able to give each situation a different approach as to the one that is taken by another Sedlak, Doheny, Panthofer, & Anaya, 2003.

A good example is the approach to a situation that was taken recently. In the drama club, all members were of the opinion that all late comers should be punished by being given extra roles and extra lines to do in the play. However, an alternative opinion was that they should sit out during the day's rehearsal so that they would have to do rehearsals during their own time. This was a different approach and it was supported because it was meant to be a deterrent to the person coming late for the rehearsals. This approach was different to that of others and when it was explained, they began to see its merits and they felt it would serve as a better punishment as compared to the previously agreed upon punishment.

Thinking outside the box

In order to think outside the box, the person is required to take an unconventional approach to the normal thinking process. This is the major change that a person would do in order to think outside the box. In order to think outside the box, the person will be required to prepare for a big change Grauerholz & Sharon, 2003.

Thinking outside the box is outside of the normal thinking process thus the person needs to get prepared for this change after which they should come up with a solution. As suggested by Kihn, 1995()

, to think outside the box, the person would deviate from the normal way of thinking whereby they reason logically from the known to the unknown to a more illogical way of reasoning which finds the unknown as they come towards the known. Lung and Dominowski (1985)