The present economic crisis is about 30% real and arising from toxic securities (unmanageable). Then there is 50% panic and fear caused by media hype. Finally there is about 20% of ‘games playing’. That means parties who take advantage of the situation.
Better thinking is never a luxury. Better thinking is an absolute necessity in difficult times.
This better thinking includes creativity. There is a need for creativity in order to look at things in a different way and open up new perceptions. This can mean looking at problems as opportunities.
None of that is easy because we are trained to look at things in the first and obvious way - which is usually enough.
The other need for creativity is in design. We need to design the way forward. You can analyse the past, but you have to design the future.
Creative thinking is never instead of information and other forms of thinking, but in addition to these other forms. Under certain circumstances, such as difficult times, creative thinking becomes more important, since nothing else will change things.
Creative thinking works well when there is a well-defined focus. The focus can be very tight and narrow, or it can be general and broad. Any objective is really a package of values.
Creativity can then be applied to the focus itself: do we really want to achieve this? Creativity is then applied to ways of delivering the required values.
Traditionally, creative thinking has been seen as a group process. This can be used, but it does not have to be a group process. An individual can sit down with a focus and a lateral thinking tool kit and develop new ideas entirely on his or her own. These ideas can then be discussed with others with a view to improving them.
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Recession
I completely agree! The media is known of always multiplying one situation by ten and as readers we tend to panic even when the situation is not as bad as it has been reported in the media. In this time of recession, swot is the best too in approaching the circumstances surrounding you/your company
Opportunities from recession
I completely agree that media hype is making things seem worse than they are. I've just been reading on another forum that banks are authorising a greater proportion of small business loans, but there are a smaller number of applicants! Also I agree that certain businesses are taking advantage of the current conditions to downsize and make the kind of changes they couldn't normally carry out without bad press and a negative reaction from the market.
Jeremy Milligan
Director
TAK-Outsourcing Ltd
Recession
I also complely agree! RECESSION has now become Media hype and many companies are taking unnessary advantage of this.
Rohan Patange
Lead Business Development
Decos Software Private Limited
I too completely agree with
I too completely agree with you. I have seen some companies going to the extremes and utilizing this recession time to the fullest. I have heard of some companies cutting cost at the extent of few dollars. I have seen those company stocks are soaring like never before but still the company is asking its employees to not to use Home-Internet, cutting Coffee expenses...etc etc really they are making hell out of profit by this so called recession.
Viscious Cycle
The whole things leads from one to another and becomes a bit of a self fulfilling prophecy. If you say there's a recession, the media backs you up, retrenchment confirms it. The recession is obviously real, but the number of the lay-offs seems to be justified by the hype and by how many climb on board.
I know that it's sometimes necessary but it's all quite hollow.