Brighton Summit: Working out in the Brain Gym

How can you think differently?

Blue Yurt is an organisation that creates change through training, consulting, and facilitation.

First question of the Brighton Summit session! Do you think and believe that you are creative?

Creative thinking and analytical thinking should work together.

We will be looking at;

Challenging perspectives - broaden your thinking, don't give something language too early

• Fluency
• Flexibility 
• Originality
• Elaboration

First task - what can you do with a pair of chopsticks!?

• Walrus impression
• Splints for small animal
• Put your hair up
• Play an instrument 

...to name just a few!

Challenge yourself to look at something from a different angle.

Second Task - draw 10 circles and turn them into something else - all must be different!

A very creative audience at the Brighton Summit:

• A string of pearls
• Hot air balloon
• Christmas pudding
• Pumpkin
• Musical quaver 
• Spider
• UFO
• Fish

Even when you think you have looked at every angle, you haven't!

Link and Associate - the left side of the brain is logical and the right side of the brain is creative but they continually communicate with each other.

Our brains are made up of around 100 billion neurons - building and connecting neurons.

If there is laughter something original has been said!

Get rid of self censorship - there is no right and wrong at the beginning 

Mind Map Exercise - with the central word being 'money'

Each table then had to see if their 8 word association words matched - we all think differently depending on our experiences and associations with our memories. There is no right or wrong!

We then extended our association mind map further with the next task. All these exercises help improve your connectivity and allow your brain to do what it wants to do, going with the flow and loosing yourself to have ideas without logic!

Third Task - takes 1 minute - free flowing association links help improve your thinking!!

Directed Thinking - logically stop your thinking to make it appropriate for an activity - control your thinking.

Fourth Task - 30 seconds to think of the positives from certain key words i.e. Payrise and Refugee Crisis

Emotion can take over your thinking process and produce different results.

As a business you should use the 'positive' thinking task to look at issues from a different angle.

Ideas are fine but you need to identify ideas with value.

A great set of activities and tasks from Blue Yurt that only take 30 seconds or a minute and can really direct your thinking when your face challenges and change during your working day.

Live blogging by Vicky King, Marketing Manager, Plus Accounting

If you want to contribute to the Chamber blog, contact us on hannah@brightonchamber.co.uk