How can analogies be used to enhance your strategic thinking?

1 What are analogies?

Analogies are comparisons that highlight the similarities or connections between two different things, such as concepts, situations, objects, or processes. For example, you can use an analogy to explain how a computer works by comparing it to a human brain, or how a virus spreads by comparing it to a wildfire. Analogies can help you simplify complex ideas, communicate effectively, and stimulate imagination.

2 Why are analogies useful for CPS?

Creative problem solving (CPS) is a process that involves identifying a problem, generating and evaluating alternative solutions, and implementing the best one. Analogies can aid in this process by helping to define the problem more clearly, generate more diverse and original solutions, evaluate the solutions more critically, and implement the solutions more effectively. For example, you can draw on similar or parallel situations to gain insight into the problem, explore different domains or contexts with similar problems or goals to come up with creative ideas, test the validity, feasibility, and desirability of the solutions against different criteria or scenarios, and find analogies to overcome obstacles, persuade stakeholders, or monitor progress.

3 How to find analogies for CPS?

Finding analogies for CPS can be challenging, as it requires a combination of creativity and logic while looking beyond the obvious. To help you find analogies for CPS, consider using a variety of sources and keywords to trigger your associative thinking. You can also use frameworks, models or tools such as metaphors, similes, stories, diagrams or matrices to structure your analogies and make them more understandable and persuasive. Books, articles, podcasts, movies, stories, experiences and observations can all provide insight into different domains or fields of knowledge. Additionally, questions such as “What is this like?”, “How does this work?”, “Who else has this problem?” or “What if this was...?” can be used to search for similarities or connections.

4 How to evaluate analogies for CPS?

When creating analogies for CPS, it is important to evaluate them carefully and critically to avoid falling into common pitfalls or biases. To do this, ask yourself questions such as: how relevant is the analogy to the problem or solution? Is it accurate in capturing the essential features or relationships? Is it novel in providing a fresh or unexpected perspective? And how persuasive is the analogy in convincing yourself or others of the value or feasibility of the problem or solution? Answering these questions will help you ensure that your analogies for CPS are useful and appropriate.

5 How to use analogies for CPS?

Using analogies for CPS is not a one-time or linear activity, but rather a dynamic and iterative one. To use analogies for CPS effectively, it should be used as a starting point, not an end point, and be open to modification or discarding as more information is learned. Additionally, analogies should be used as a complement, not a substitute, and care should be taken to not rely too heavily on them. Finally, analogies should be used as a catalyst, not a constraint, and exploring other analogies or perspectives that may challenge or enrich the problem or solution should be encouraged.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?