Creative Thinking Techniques in Action: Forty Uses for a Brick

Creative thinking techniques. help us learn to proliferate ideas. When we learn to propagate ideas, we become better at divergent thinking – one of the most powerful tools in a problem solver’s tool belt.

When someone asks you to come up with ideas to solve a problem, how many do you usually come up with? One? Two? Five?

The following example illustrates how we can use some simple creative thinking techniques to generate tons of useful ideas.

The problem: In how many different ways can we use a brick?

Our goal is forty ideas.

Step one: empty your mind

Make a quick list of all the ways you can think of, off the top of your head, to use a brick.

1. build a wall
2. build a mailbox
3. Side-a-house
4. Use it for a desktop paperweight
5. Use it as a melee weapon (hit someone on the head)
6. Use it as a projectile weapon (throw it at someone)
7. Use it to pave a sidewalk or patio
8. build a deck

Eight, total. Not many.

Step Two: Group Elements into Common Themes

Several of my ideas fell into the ‘building material’ category. So, focusing on that, what other things can be built with bricks?

1. Pots
2. landscaping
3. mailboxes
4. barbecues
5. smokehouses
6. latrines
7. Shelving
8. outdoor bar

Eight more right there. My cumulative total: 16.

Also, some of the ideas fell into the ‘small, hard and relatively heavy objects’ category. What other uses are there for that?

1. Door stopper
2. bug zapper
3. Ballast
4. Hold sheets of cloth, plastic, etc.

There are four more. My running total: 20

Step Three: Consider Common Attributes

What are the attributes of bricks?

• Hard
• Sustainable
• rectangular
• Rather small
• Holds heat/insulates well
• Compact
• They come in various earth colors
• Cheap

“Keeps Heat Well” inspires a new approach to ideas.

1. Oven
2. Liner for a metal grill.
3. Something to protect a vulnerable surface from a hot pot or pan
4. Mount a metal grill/smoker on a wooden deck
5. Install a hot water heater on a wood/tile/linoleum floor

Also bricks are “hard”. Do some uses require greater strength or durability?

1. Hazmat/High Explosive Storage Buildings
2. Hazardous Materials/High Explosive Handling Facilities
3. Cap for a shooting range
4. shooting position
5. Vault

Ten more there. Running total: 30. We’re three-quarters of the way to the goal, and we’ve kept things pretty basic.

The creative thinking techniques I’ve used so far are pretty linear. To come up with really new and different ideas, we need to become more abstract in our thinking.

The next tool takes us into the abstract arena. It falls under the category of “forced connections”, which determines the relationship between two things that are apparently unrelated.

Step Four: Force Connections

‘Random Words’ is a basic tool for forcing connections. I pull out a list of words at random, close my eyes, and point my finger:

• walnuts
• fart
• mass
• hospital
• trophy

How can these words help me think of more uses for a brick?

Just make a list of the things you associate with each word and “force” a connection to the bricks.

Here are the words and phrases I associate with each:

• walnuts – small, tasty, almond, pecan, squirrel, fiber, pecan, cake, cracker, peanut, sold in bags, baseball kits, sold plain or mixed
• fart – dog, cat, hamster, gerbil, snake, lizard, sold in specialty stores, cute, pet food, fish tank
• mass – catholic, church, service, eucharist, sanctuary, baptism, host, wine, pope, priest, nun, prayer, forgiveness, collect
• hospital – emergency, rooms, beds, patients, doctors, nurses, operations, X-ray, MRI, expensive, health care, ambulance, surgery, cure
• trophy – prize, engraving, given to the winner, valuable, prestige, mantle, showcase, pride

Forcing connections with words and phrases I get these ideas:

1. Pet – dog – Build a doghouse
2. Nut – squirrel – Build a squirrel/bird feeder
3. Mass – service – Build a memorial
4. Mass – service – Build an outdoor altar
5. hospital – x-ray – line of an x-ray or radiology room
6. Mass – Baptism – Build a baptismal font
7. Trophy – mantle piece – Build a fireplace
8. Trophy – showcase – Build a trophy case
9. Pet – fish tank – Build an aquarium stand or case
10. Trophy – Engraving – Create Engraved Pavers for Fundraisers

That’s ten more, bringing my total to 40. Goal accomplished!

To be honest, this was too easy. I could have continued to generate idea after idea using other creative thinking tools.

And just think about what a GROUP of thinkers would come up with: In an innovation workshop, for a group of five, you would have set the goal at 100-150 ideas.

“Forty uses for a brick” might have sounded daunting at first, depending on the ideas on top of our heads.

But, as I’ve shown, it doesn’t take a lot of thinking for ideas to proliferate, as long as you do it systematically, using proven tools and techniques.

Idea generation is the foundation of divergent thinking, which drives business creativity. Learn to spread ideas this way and you will become a better innovator.