BY TOM MCCARTHY

Did you know that developing your ability to think creatively is simply utilizing the priceless gifts you've been given: a fertile mind, a colorful imagination, and an endless array of newspapers and magazines!

Creative thinkers tinker with ideas from publications. They can easily turn a bookstore, library, or waiting room in a doctor's office into a think tank and farm new ideas from print documents. Connecting ideas from different sources can helpyou to develop the thinking skills needed to generate creative solutions. Want to give it a try?

Scan your favorite newspaper or magazine and pick out several articles or ads that catch your eye. Now read each one and think of some way you can connect it with the problem you're currently trying to solve. Find a paragraph, sentence, or even just a word that sparks an idea. Force yourself to make some type of connection. At first, it may not make much sense, but as you start applying the concept to different problems, you'll get the hang of it and see the potential.

When Delivery Confirmation was rolled out as a new service a few years ago, I had an idea while reading the sports section of a local newspaper. I came across a photo of the winner of a local marathon as he crossed the finish line. His arms were raised high in a display of victory, and the smile on his face stretched from ear to ear, but something else caught my eye: the race number bib he wore on the front of his shirt was green bright green, Delivery Confirmation green.

That triggered an idea. In the same way that the race number bib on a runner's shirt identifies and records each contestant as they cross the finish line, the bright green Delivery Confirmation label on a parcel identifies and confirms delivery when it crosses its finish line to the customer!

I submitted a promotional idea to our district to co-sponsor a 5K fun-run-walk with an established local race promoter in Honolulu. Participants would be given a Delivery Confirmation label to affix to the front of their shirt to serve as their race numbers.

As each participant crossed the finish line, the DELCON label would be scanned and uploaded to the USPS.COM web site where participants could check their results and become familiar with our website and DELCON process.

Although it was a unique idea that showed potential, it never materialized. And that's one thing you have to accept. Some of your best ideas may not bear fruit, but the real value is in using your mind to think in creative ways and forge ahead with more new ideas.
 

Tom McCarthy is National Editor, the Postmasters Advocate, a monthly national magazine of the National League ofPostmasters, and Editor for Aloha, the state newsletter of the Hawaii LEAGUE branch.

Published by Judy Vorfeld at mailto:judyvorfeld@ossweb.com
in "Communication Expressway." http://www.ossweb.com/ezine.html