Coaching practices for Problem Solving Outside the Box

Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Problem Solving Outside the Box, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.

Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?

• I’m stuck on a problem because the way I’ve described it boxes in the solutions I can even see
• I feel like I’m staring at this from inside my own little field with no fresh ideas, but I have a nagging sense that somebody, somewhere
• My problem feels like one big tangled blob in my head
• I keep feeling like the deep shape of my problem
• I’m stuck on one specific problem and I keep circling the same three obvious options my field always reaches for

Practices that may help

1. Reframe problems using cross-domain language
   Describe your problem in a different field’s vocabulary — then use that vocabulary to search for solutions.
   The Medici Effect: Innovation at the Intersection
2. Import a frame from a different domain
   Describe your problem as if it were a challenge in an unrelated field, then steal the solutions from that field.
   Problem Reframing: Solving the Right Problem First
3. Decompose the problem into independent parameters
   Identify the key dimensions that fully describe your problem space before generating solutions.
   Morphological Analysis, Made Practical
4. Ask "what else is this like?" to find the hidden frame
   Identify the deeper structure of your problem and look for problems with the same structure in different domains.
   Combinatorial Creativity, Made Practical
5. Use forced analogy to generate unexpected solutions
   Randomly pair your problem with an unrelated domain and mine the analogy for ideas.
   Combinatorial Creativity, Made Practical
6. Transfer solutions across domains by mapping the structure of the problem
   When stuck, search for problems in other domains with the same relational structure.
   Analogical Reasoning
7. Use morphological analysis for wicked problems with many interdependencies
   The method shines on problems too complex for brainstorming to cover adequately.
   Morphological Analysis, Made Practical
8. Seek analogies from maximally distant domains
   The further the analogy’s domain from your problem, the more likely it is to break your current representation.
   Constraint Relaxation: Escaping the Walls You Built Yourself
9. Break apart perceptual chunks that may be blocking you
   If a problem object looks like one thing, try perceiving it as separate parts with separate functions.
   Constraint Relaxation: Escaping the Walls You Built Yourself
10. Random entry: force a random stimulus into the problem
    Open a dictionary to a random word, then connect it to the problem — the forced association breaks the current pattern lock.
    Lateral Thinking, Made Practical

Describe your situation in your own words to search the complete practice library.