Within a Military environment, creative problem solving is not taught or encouraged, to as great a degree as analytical problem solving. In view of this, many of the skills referred to in the set text were alien to the author. One of the skills mentioned, is however, employed in the Military environment.
Deferring Judgement, or brainstorming, is a skill that is used in the Military infrequently. It is employed as a means to exhaust all alternatives when analytical problem solving has failed to produce an optimum solution. The aspects of this skill that are most relevant to me would be; the amount of ideas that are generated in a brainstorming session allow for different definitions of the problem to be discussed and all alternatives to be explored. Whilst superficial brainstorming not only produces ideas for the problem at hand, it can also present solutions to other problems that the organisation may be facing. These ideas can be noted and re-evaluated at a later date. Care must be taken however not to become distracted from the problem at hand. As the brainstorming moves into the rigorous stage, only ideas specific to the problem being discussed are mentioned, eliminating the scope for out of topic ideas to be aired. Another aspect of this skill that bears relevance to my situation, is that many members of the Defence Force have come from different backgrounds, socially, culturally, economically and areas of previous employment. This diversity generates ideas that are as different as the members of the group, creating many possible solutions to the problem as it is viewed from many different perspectives, and frequently produces the optimum solution. The last aspect of this skill is one that I am not particularly skilled in; in fact, it is the area where I believe I suffer from a conceptual block. In the process of brainstorming, it is unacceptable to criticise another person's ideas.
