The creativity trainer

Photo: Isabel Imper

"Creativity at the touch of a button" is the name of Chris Brügger's workshop. And it starts off in this style right away. Each participant is handed a dowel. "What can you use this for - except to hang a picture?" asks Brügger to the group. "You have two minutes to write down ideas." While some are already starting to take notes, others still seem to be waiting for the brainwave. It's not so easy to be creative "at the push of a button". "Ideas are the basis for business success. Nevertheless, many companies leave the search for and finding of new ideas to chance," says Brügger. Luck, however, plays only a limited role in creativity, he is convinced. Neither does personal disposition. "Creativity can be learned to a large extent. It is a muscle that can be trained."

With his company Denkmotor, which Brügger founded eight years ago together with Jiri Scherer, his business partner, he gives companies and their employees the necessary creativity kick. In lectures, creativity trainings and innovation workshops, he teaches tools that help generate ideas and subsequently evaluate them. Be it ideas for new products and services, for marketing and sales. Whereas Denkmotor used to be booked for training courses, today it's mainly workshops. "Companies no longer want their employees to just learn the theory, but to see a result." For Migros, for example, a workshop generated ideas for a new milk-blend drink. Four variants of the milk-tea mixture were finally on the shelves a few months later. Denkmotor's services are primarily used by larger companies in the service and industrial sectors. In addition to many insurance companies and banks, the creativity trainers have, for example, already equipped a company for eye laser technology with the necessary tools to discover new surgical methods. Brügger draws a circle and a knife on the flipchart. "This pie is to be cut into eight pieces. But you may only cut three times with the knife." Scribbling ensues. After only a few seconds, the first ones put the pencil aside. "And?" asks Chris. A seminar attendee presents his approach. "Okay, good. Did everyone come up with this solution?" Hands go up. "And who came up with more than this one?" Now it's down to two.

If we are not prompted to look for several solutions, we normally settle for one. This "laziness of thought" is quite rational, since it saves resources. Once we have found the fastest way to the office, we always choose the same route from then on. "Creativity, however, means not always taking the same route." Brügger draws a river on the flipchart. "The big body of water flows down the wide stream. That's the routine, the habitual way of thinking. Thinking creatively means leaving the river and branching off into the side streams." To get his clients off the habitual flow of thinking, Brügger works with various creativity techniques. One of them is the stimulus word method. It goes like this: a random stimulus word is chosen that has nothing whatsoever to do with the actual topic. "Magician," "fireworks," or "razor blade," for example. Associations are formed with these terms. If the magic word is "razor blade", it could be "sharp", "silvery", "masculine" or "shaving" etc.. Based on these associations, consider the question again. "The stimulus word method is a powerful trigger for suddenly coming up with novel ideas. "

"What would be the advantage if there were only yellow cars? Write down as many points as possible in one minute. Only advantages, no disadvantages." The best way to find a good idea is to have as many ideas as possible. First, therefore, the focus must be opened wide, says Brügger. It is important to remember that no matter how absurd or unrealistic the suggestions may seem, criticism is forbidden in this first phase. "Doomsayers and skeptics who tell you why something shouldn't work are still plentiful afterwards." However, this very rule is often ignored when creativity techniques are tried out. With consequences. Without organization, the techniques are often unsuccessful. The fact that some people are at war with brainstorming, which is probably the best known, is therefore not surprising to Brügger. Brainstorming is often too unstructured. One person says something, the other criticizes: "That doesn't work anyway, we already tried that last year. "The brainstorming ends in an aimless discussion. In the end, nothing is implemented, everyone is frustrated. "Anyone can look up creativity tools for free on Google. However, that's only half the battle."

If Denkmotor conducts workshops for customers, the goals are agreed with the customer in advance and the procedure is derived from this. It is important to bring the right people and skills to the table. "Creative solutions require both expertise and creativity. Ten experts do not guarantee a brilliant idea. Neither do ten lateral thinkers reinvent the world. It's the right combination that makes it."

What factors work against creativity in a company?

CB: Steep hierarchies and long decision-making paths make it difficult to be creative. It is also not very conducive if there are never any personnel changes in a company. Every now and then, fresh blood is needed. And then there's something else: zero tolerance for mistakes is an absolute creativity killer. Mistakes should not be condemned or swept under the rug. Employees should be motivated to try something out and not just do "business as usual".

What fosters creativity?

CB: Humor is a big concern for me in this regard. A good working atmosphere is a prerequisite for creativity. It has to be possible to crack a joke at work every now and then. In addition, humor gives you easier access to creativity. Creativity and humor have the same systematic approach. In both cases, it's about leaving the usual flow of thoughts and coming up with something unpredictable, something surprising.

Humor has an important place in Brügger's life. "I love his sensitive, intellectual humor more than anything else," says a good friend. At the same time, he describes him as extremely loyal and serious. Brügger's seminars are a mix of both. Well-structured and planned, he nevertheless manages to respond to the participants and react spontaneously to situations. The necessary pinch of humor is not left out.

"Chris Brügger has retained his freshness and liveliness of appearance over many years. He always brings up unfamiliar ways of thinking in a credible way and then also has the ability to develop a solution approach from them," says Jürg Kuster, managing director of BWI Management Weiterbildung at ETH Zurich, where Brügger lectures. "Pick someone from the round and portray that person. Thirty seconds, let's go." Participants begin to draw. "Stop," the time runs out. "Are you happy with the result? ", Brügger asks. The seminar attendees seem less than happy. "Would the picture have been noticeably better if you had had more time?" Shake of the head. "Not everything gets better when you have more time," he explains. "Time frames are very important. You have to know when it makes sense to invest time and when it doesn't." Does Bruegger see himself as creative? "I think I have a flexible way of thinking and finding creative approaches to solutions. In everyday life, I don't get stressed out right away, but quickly find ways to respond to things. Creative in the sense of I am not," he says. The fact that he is sometimes met with skepticism as a "trainer" and "coach" and that he first has to prove himself is not a tragedy for Brügger. "The problem is: many coaches don't limit themselves enough. One makes project management, if the customer Shiatsu inquires, puts one however still another Massage session. There the alarm bells should ring with customers. At Denkmotor, we've clearly staked out our theme and made a good name for ourselves in this manageable pool."

Brügger has no illusions about the long-term effect of his seminars and workshops. "If the techniques learned are not applied in everyday life, the effect fizzles out relatively quickly." Ideally, therefore, a company should implement the techniques in some form or repeat workshops. The creativity trainer is convinced that there is enough potential. After all, creativity is not only in demand when it comes to inventing new products and services, but above all to improving existing ones. "The world is becoming more and more complex and complicated," says Brügger. Technical devices are constantly gaining more functions, and products and services are becoming more extensive and more confusing. But more and more is not always better. "Often, more and more means above all: more time spent, longer employee training periods, more customer inquiries... ". Simplicity is increasingly becoming a competitive advantage.

That's why Denkmotor's newest child is called "Simplicity. Currently, the creativity trainers are assisting a large corporation that wants to undergo a "simplification cure". Denkmotor equips it with the tools to find and walk the path to simplicity. Brügger: "Being complicated is pretty simple. Being simple, on the other hand, is not so easy."

Isabel Imper

In a nutshell
Chris Brügger (picture left) is a hotelier and certified quality manager. His professional career has taken him around the world as an international tour guide and consultant to hotel chains in the luxury sector. Eight years ago, he founded his own company Denkmotor with Jiri Scherer, which is dedicated to the topics of creativity, innovation and simplicity. Its client base includes companies such as Credit Suisse, Coop, Daimler, Generali, Helsana, IBM, Migros, SBB, Die Post, Axa Winterthur, Allianz, ABB and Alstom. Chris Brügger is a guest lecturer at two Swiss universities of applied sciences and a lecturer at BWI Management Weiterbildung at ETH Zurich. He is co-author of the books "Simplicity - Principles of Simplicity", "Innovation Management" and "Creativity Techniques". He is also a member of the German Speakers Association (GSA).

Resolution:

The "simple" solution:

1. First vertical cut, cut in half
2. Second vertical cut, quarter
3. Horizontal cut, eighth

Problem: not all pieces are the same (lower pieces with cake base/without icing, upper without base).

Further solution:

1.+2. see above
3. Pile the quarters on top of each other and cut vertically again.

Problem: piling on top of each other could damage the cake pieces

Further solution:

1.+2. see above
3. Arrange all quarters one after the other on a straight line and cut them in half one after the other with the knife.

Problem: None?