Walt Disney method
Increase your creativity!
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Do you need new ideas quickly that can really convince? Try the Walt Disney method, which will save you from the lull in creativity.
New ideas are always in demand on the job. But we do not always fall in love with the acute situation a breakthrough solution. That can cause a lot of stress – and a dissatisfied boss. Fortunately, you can use the right strategies to boost your creativity. For example with the so-called Walt Disney method. This is not only interesting for die-hard Disney fans, but especially for those who often brainstorm encounter a blockage. With the Walt Disney method, you approach the generation of ideas in a very structured way, which makes the process much easier.
Walt Disney method: brainstorming in three easy steps
You can do the Walt Disney Method either alone or in a group. It was actually developed for professional projects – but you can use the method can also be used in the private sector. For example, if you want to change something in your life but do not yet know exactly how to approach the change.
The procedure is always the same: you carry out three different steps or go through three scenarios. The aim is to solve the problem to illuminate from three very different perspectives. To do this, you have to put yourself in three different roles. And that’s how you come up with ideas and see possibilities that were previously undiscovered or seemed impossible.
The three roles are:
- The dreamer: In this phase you can spin around! Every idea, no matter how crazy or unrealistic, is noted down without questioning it.
- The realist: Now the ideas are being analyzed very realistically. What needs to be done and who needs to do something to put these ideas into action? In this phase you think like a realist or a doer.
- The critic: Here you become a quality manager. The last step is to identify contradictions. What does not fit, what could be criticized?
You either go through these three phases solo or slip into them together with others three different roles. This method can be very effective, especially in young teams, as it not only generates great ideas, but also strengthens the feeling of belonging.
Walt Disney method: where does the name come from?
Even if you could guess it from the name – Walt Disney, the inventor of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Co, did not invent this method of creativity himself. But the legendary cartoon filmmaker’s way of working has the productivity coach Robert B. Dilts so inspired that he developed the Walt Disney Method. In 1994 he presented them for the first time in his book “Strategies of Genius”.
Dilts wondered how Walt Disney had come up with the many ideas he needed for his inventive stories. He saw in Disney a dreamer, a realist, but also a critic. Disney proved the dreamy streak through its seemingly limitless imagination. But he was also a realistic animator who had to deal very specifically and objectively with how he brought his ideas onto the screen. Walt Disney was also considered an absolute perfectionist who constantly questioned and criticized his work himself.
This also explains the title. Dreamer, realist, critic: The creativity technique with the famous name created by Dilts is based on exactly these three components.
Why is the Walt Disney Method so effective?
When generating ideas we often jump back and forth between the three different areas – and that creates problems. We actually want to think extremely creatively and break our own horizons (dreamers). Then, however, reason hits the brakes and we ask ourselves how our fantasies can ever be turned into reality (realist). This makes us so critical that we throw the really good and creative ideas overboard (critics). Without noticing, we block ourselves when brainstorming. And that is exactly what the Walt Disney Method can prevent.
By having the three different areas run through separately from each other, we are freer in our thinking. So we dare to pursue unusual inspirations or even consider completely absurd solutions. And during the reality check, we even notice that even quite impossible projects are not as impossible as they initially seemed.
Testing is above studying – just try the Walt Disney method and find out whether you can work well with this strategy. Do you already know the headstand method? It can also help you get more creative. Here you can also find out how a vision board can help you achieve your goals.
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Sources used: Dilts, Robert: Strategies of Genius. Meta Publications, 1994 ;. job-wizards.com; designorate.com