At the start of an exam, a student openly wondered, "But Professor Einstein, this is the same exam question as last year!" To which the great man supposedly replied, "Correct, young man, but we need to find new answers."
When it comes to marketing, this is precisely the challenge. Managers are looking for answers to their problems that are both novel and relevant. Where do these answers come from?
According to the seminal work of psychologists Joy Paul Guildford and E. Paul Torrance in the latter half of the last century, people generally use two different approaches to problem solving: convergent thinking and divergent thinking. Convergent thinking refers to intelligence rated by IQ tests, or tests that measure rational, problem-solving abilities. Convergent thought is analytical, logical and controlled. It means one "right answer" for a given problem.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Measuring Creativity: We Have the Technology - Werner Reinartz - Harvard Business Review
