Concept Fans

Widening the Search for Solutions

© iStockphoto/ryasick

Dianne's boss has asked her to come up with some ideas for lowering overhead costs in her office. If she doesn't come up with big enough cuts, she may have to start laying off staff. Clearly, she doesn't want to have to do this.

Her only option is to find more ways to reduce costs, however, after brainstorming possible solutions, she hasn't had many credible ideas.

Does this situation sound familiar? We often have to solve problems that have no easy solution. This can be frustrating, especially when we're on a deadline, and when normal problem-solving approaches haven't worked.

This is where Concept Fans are useful. They help you widen your search for solutions if you have exhausted all obvious options.

... for the complete article:

Mind Tools members, click here.

Join the Mind Tools Club to finish this article AND get 1,000 more resources

Join now for just $1, first month

"When I started using Mind Tools, I was not in a supervisory position. Now I am. Along with that came a 12% increase in salary."
– Pat Degan, Houston, USA

Join the Mind Tools Club

The Mind Tools Club gives you much, much more than you get here on the basic Mind Tools site, including these 4 free workbooks.

And if you join before midnight on June 27, we'll also give you our Motivate Your Team workbook.

Find out what you get