Still Life with Chair-Caning, by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), "painted" in May, 1912. I put painted in quotes, because this painting is only painted in part. The image of the chair caning is actually printed on a piece of oilcloth, which Picasso bought in a hardware store and glued onto the canvas, before painting over it. This painting is the first to incorporate this technique. Some regarded Picasso's technique as "cheating," because so much of the regard people had for artists at the time was based on their ability to reproduce images of reality. And here was Picasso, exploiting a manufactured image of reality, and asking for credit for his work as fine art.
Problem solvers today still suffer from this same phenomenon. Devising solutions from "scratch" without reference to previous work is more highly esteemed than is combining elements from existing solutions to create something wholly new. The resulting searches for the greater glory that is the reward for wholly new solutions are expensive and wasteful consequences of this attribute of many organizational cultures. We would do well to find ways to honor clever combining of existing work as much as we honor creating wholly new work.
The painting is in oil and oilcloth on canvas, with a rope frame. In size, it is relatively small: 10 5/8 x 13 3/4 in. (27 x 35 cm.). It is at Musee Picasso in Paris, which at this writing is closed for renovations. Photo courtesy Dr. Scott Contreras-Koterbay of East Tennessee University.
Problem solvers often begin by looking for new, innovative solutions, even though many solutions consist of innovative combinations of less-innovative pieces. But innovation can be as much or more in the way pieces are combined, rather than in the pieces themselves. Because this happens with such regularity, setting out to find solutions of this form can make problem-solvers more productive.
Many problem solutions are like found art, which is art created from objects that are not normally considered art. They might be everyday objects, like tires or chair legs. They might even be discarded or broken. By combining them in new ways, possibly with objects or materials that normally are considered art, the artist creates something that clearly is art.
Similarly, problem solutions sometimes consist of familiar elements of other solutions, possibly combined with truly new elements. Often, we come to these solutions only after failing to compose wholly new solutions. Here's a proposal: we might benefit by approaching problems from the beginning by searching for solutions that are hybrids of new and old.
Here are some suggestions for problem-solving using combinations of new and old solutions.
- Generate a catalog of old solutions
- Become a student of old solutions. Gather ideas that worked in the past to solve problems that are now solved. You can use this resource repeatedly for each new problem-solving effort. And the successful results of each new effort can become entries in this catalog.
- Maintain a didn't-work-for-this-problem list
- As you progress You can reuse past ideas
only if you know about
them. Become a student
of old solutions.toward a solution, you'll try ideas that turn out not to work. Add them to the didn't-work-for-this-problem list. Then ask, why didn't it work? If that condition is still in place, address it. Addressing that condition is a slightly different problem — one for which you (or someone else) might already have a solution. - Search for themes in the didn't-work-for-this-problem list
- As you add items to the didn't-work-for-this-problem list, search the list for themes. Sometimes, when something doesn't work, the causes of failure can be hidden in subtle ways. But when you ask what a group of failed solutions have in common, sometimes that hidden cause becomes evident. In this way, failed solutions can lead to success.
- Be zany
- Because intentional zaniness can help you relax constraints that might be keeping you from seeing a solution, search for obviously zany ideas. But not just any zany ideas. Start with an item from your catalog of old solutions, or from your didn't-work-for-this-problem lists. Then "zanify" it. Zanify it again in another way. You might be surprised at what happens.
Most important, we must learn to value the work of those who solve problems by combining cleverly into new solutions elements that others knew about but overlooked. 
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Related articles
More articles on Problem Solving and Creativity:
Obstacles to Compromise- Compromise is the art of devising an approach acceptable to all parties. A talent for compromise is
rare. What makes finding compromises so difficult?
We Are All People- When a team works to solve a problem, it is the people of that team who do the work. Remembering that
we're all people — and all different people — is an important key to success.
Assumptions and the Johari Window: II- The roots of both creative and destructive conflict can often be traced to the differing assumptions
of the parties to the conflict. Here's Part II of an essay on surfacing these differences using a tool
called the Johari window.
Clueless on the Concept- When a team member seems not to understand something basic and important, setting him or her straight
risks embarrassment and humiliation. It's even worse when the person attempting the "straightening"
is wrong, too. How can we deal with people we believe are clueless on the concept?
How to Reject Expert Opinion: I- When groups of decision makers confront complex problems, they sometimes choose not to consult experts
or to reject their advice. How do groups come to make these choices?
See also Problem Solving and Creativity and Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness for more related articles.
Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout
Coming February 1: The Big Power of Little Words- Big, fancy words, like commensurate or obfuscation, tend to be more noticed than the little everyday words, like yet or best. That might be why the little words can be so much more powerful, steering conversations where their users want them to go. Available here and by RSS on February 1.
And on February 8: Kerfuffles That Seem Like Something More- Much of what we regard as political conflict is a series of squabbles commonly called kerfuffles. They captivate us while they're underway, but after a month or two they're forgotten. Why do they happen? Why do they persist? Available here and by RSS on February 8.
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