Every laboratory has problems, and yours is no exception. You need bold ideas to solve those nagging problems that drive you and your staff crazy. This is easier said than done. As Albert Einstein said, "Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them."1 Using brainstorming and mind mapping techniques, you can change your way of thinking and build an idea-generating culture.
Roadblocks
If you meet with your staff and ask each, "What are the top three problems in this lab?" you'll likely reach consensus. They may be personal, professional, internal, or external; leadership--yourself included--or coworkers may be problems. Daily frustrations of not enough time, space or clear communication can seem insurmountable or "just the cost of doing business," adding to a cultural inertia that can prevent you and your team from a conceptual breakthrough.
But the right idea can solve any problem. Identifying your cultural roadblocks to generating innovative ideas is a positive first step to focus energy away from negative aspects of problems to positive possibilities of solutions. Cultural obstacles along with primary "ownership" are listed in the Table, suggesting that management is only part of a cultural solution.
Table: Cultural Obstacles to Generating Innovative Ideas9
| Obstacle |
Management Owns |
Staff Owns |
| Lack of shared vision |
x |
|
| Constantly shifting priorities |
x |
|
| Short-term thinking |
x |
x |
| Internal process focus instead of external customer focus |
x |
x |
| Focus on successes of the past rather than challenges of the future |
x |
|
| Unwillingness to change without a "burning platform" |
x |
x |
| Politics |
x |
x |
| Fear that criticizing current practices in a high-risk activity |
x |
x |
| Workforce workloads |
x |
x |
| Micromanagement |
x |
|
| Absence of a user-friendly idea management process |
x |
|
| Lack of skillfull brainstorm facilitation |
x |
|
| Lack of time to develop new ideas and opportunities |
x |
|
An important cognitive obstacle to generating original, fresh ideas is "confirmation bias," our natural tendency to prefer information that supports our viewpoint and ignore anything that doesn't.2 Seeing what we want to see only reinforces the problem status quo. For example, if you interpret variation in reporting RBC morphology as a lack of training and competency assessment, you can ignore what physicians are really looking for. Instead of spending resources on training that leads to intralaboratory variation that confirms your perception, you might redesign your process altogether.
 Another, more subtle example of confirmation bias is what one information technology web site calls The Law of Problem Evolution: problems "evolve" over time and escape solutions a manager has in his or her toolbox.3 It's a good reason that a great manager with the best staff can stall over time with problems that seem intractable. And it's a reason new managers, regardless of experience, easily fix old problems; they lack a confirmation bias that ignores successful ideas.
Brainstorming
The good news is that brainstorming, a simple and brute force approach to generating ideas, can address several obstacles at once. Invented by advertising executive Alex Osborn in 1941, brainstorming is a widely used group technique that essentially views idea generation as a skill to be learned and not the purview of a few creative minds. Using only a few rules, Osborn taps into the creative genius of a group immersed in a problem.4
Here's how to brainstorm:5
1. When scheduling the meeting, include a specific description of the problem to help focus the group.
2. When inviting people to the meeting, include those with different backgrounds and areas of expertise. Avoid too many managers or senior leaders, who are often in "problem solving" mode and may intimidate participants.
3. Distribute a copy of Osborn's few rules at the start of the meeting:
- Criticism of ideas isn't allowed
- All ideas are encouraged
- The more the better! (Quantity, not quality)
- Build on each others' ideas
4. The meeting shouldn't last more than 30 or 40 minutes; schedule another session if more ideas are needed.
5. During the meeting, give people enough time and opportunity to participate. If there are more than 10 people break it up into groups of five or six each.
6. If ideas start to dry up, step in as the leader and "jump start" the process by re-reading ideas, asking participants to elaborate on ideas, or combining ideas.
Brainstorming should be a freewheeling, uninhibited exercise. Participants need to be encouraged to come up with as many ideas, including building on other ideas, as possible. Any behavior that squelches idea generation should be strongly discouraged (e.g. "That's stupid!" and other phrases). As a leader you can facilitate and mentor your team to create great ideas that lead to real solutions.
LEADERSHIP OUTLOOK ARCHIVES
Mind Mapping
If brainstorming is too chaotic for your taste or your group has more than a few visual, unstructured thinkers, a mind map might do the trick. Mind maps, invented and popularized by consultant Tony Buzan, are used to break problems into manageable chunks in a diagram format. They may be used in place of or in addition to brainstorming.
Here are the steps:6
1. Write the problem in the center of the page and draw a circle around it.
2. Draw lines out from the circle as you identify major subdivisions or subheadings of your problem topic and label the lines.
3. As you explore (or "burrow") into each subtopic, draw branches on each line and label them. Include individual facts or ideas associated with each topic.
A complete Mind Map may have lines radiating in all directions, like tree branches. Because of the complexity of the structure, it's a good idea to use the fewest, strongest words to convey meaning. Color, symbols, different fonts, and cross-linkages (lines across the map to show shortcuts between topics) can also help your group visualize and relate to the ideas.
While mind mapping can be done by hand or on a white board before a group, there are software products that employ this popular technique. It can be used to clarify a problem, generate new ideas, and even take notes.
Incubate Your Ideas
Steven Johnson, author of Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation,7 explores the idea of "the slow hunch:" breakthrough ideas don't occur in a flash but incubate in a nurturing environment that brings partial ideas together to bounce off each other.8 Like a culture plate "swabbed" with a problem, predominate ideas take time to grow in the right conditions.
As a manager, you can create mental space in your lab that encourages your team to discuss ideas without fear of criticism. It's a cheap and simple approach that works. Eventually you will generate great ideas that lead to better patient care.
Scott Warner is lab manager, Penobscot Valley Hospital, Lincoln, ME.
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