Tina Seelig teaches students how to brainstorm for overcoming conventional ways of thinking. The keyword is "Let me build on that". Without denying the idea of someone else, but rather building on that idea, brainstorming can cause unexpected chemical reactions, and produce fresh ideas. Seelig also looks at how we can be in that mindset on an everyday basis.
In this episode Seelig trains students to reset their framework of thinking. First, you find problems close by, pick out the ones where there is room for improvement, and then consider how you can improve them. As an exercise, students have to improve "name tags". What are name tags for in the first place? Can they be made more convenient as an introduction tool? Innovative ideas start to pour out from students.
In this episode we consider what creativity is, using specific examples. The key to creativity is in challenging common sense and your own assumptions. As an exercise, the students have to think of the worst family trip. They have to improve it, and re-tailor it to make it the best family trip. The students will learn first hand that the seemingly worst and extreme ideas may include the seeds of creativity that will overturn common sense.
In this episode we learn about how to expand individual creativity into creativity within a team. Based on the theme "How can independent stores compete with big chains?" the students do exercises of the "Six Thinking Hats". This method divides people into six types of thinking each represented by a color, which are: White Hat, Facts. Red Hat, Emotions. Yellow Hat, Positive Thinking. Black Hat, Finds The Problems. Green Hat, Generates Ideas. Blue Hat, Management. The students have to switch their thinking mode wearing these different hats.
No matter how good an idea is, it will not be accepted unless you can explain it successfully. The basis of presentation is to tell a story. Using winning entries from the innovation tournament in the University, students learn about presentation skills that grab people's hearts. Another important factor is how to be creative under a deadline. In this episode, the challenge is "creating an attractive greeting card in 30 minutes". Novel ideas emerge despite limited time and resources.
The ability to create something new is required not only in the design/development stages of new products, but in all aspects of business. In this episode, using a unique playing-card game, students learn that there are chances to show creativity regardless of their role or position in any company. They also seek creative solutions in response to unpredictable changes in situations. The students experience first-hand that they need to be freed from what they think are rules to be creative.
How is creativity exerted in companies? In this episode, we invite 4 guests who are expert entrepreneurs including a young leader at Facebook and the inventor of smartphones. Using a quiz format we find out about the secrets of their creativity. How do you discover creativity in a person at a job interview? How do you organize a team to enhance creativity? Who makes the decision to execute those ideas? Through such questions students will learn approaches to create creative corporate cultures.
The Stanford Technology Ventures Program teaches techniques to produce innovative ideas by changing your thinking, based on Tina Seelig's idea that "anyone can learn creativity". In this final episode, students tackle the challenge of proposing a new way of drinking coffee. They will take on the challenge by making full use of what they learnt: brainstorming, working in a team, think of the best and worst ideas, doubting assumptions, breaking the rules, etc. What ideas will they come up with?