The Four Roles Of The Creative Process

Be an explorer
  1. Be curious and adopt an "insight outlook."
  2. Have an idea of what you're looking for.
  3. Look in outside fields, disciplines, and industries.
  4. Look for lots of ideas.
  5. Don't be afraid to be led astray because you'll find what you weren't looking for.
  6. Use obstacles to get out of ruts.
  7. Pay attention to a variety of information.
  8. Don't overlook the obvious.
  9. Be aware that big things come in small packages.
  10. Stand back and look at the Big Picture.
  11. Look for ideas in a place you've been avoiding.
  12. Trigger the ideas you already have.
  13. Write your ideas down when you find them.
Think like an artist:
  1. What different contexts can you put your concept in? What historical context? What futuristic ones? What unusual geographical or political context could you make it part of?
  2. What unusual what-if questions can you make up involving your concept? How far off can you go? How surreal?
  3. Look at your concept backwards, upside down, or even inside out.
  4. What can you combine with your concept? How does your concept fit in with the rest of your knowledge?
  5. Make a metaphor for your concept.
  6. What rules can you break? What's obsolete? What's taboo? What's no longer necessary?
  7. Make fun of your concept.
  8. What ideas are you working on that will pay you to pause for a little bit?
Here comes the judge:
  1. What is the idea trying to do?
  2. What's interesting and worth building on?
  3. What are the idea's drawbacks?
  4. What are its chances of success?
  5. If it fails, what can be salvaged?
  6. Is the timing right for the idea?
  7. How long do you have to make your decision?
  8. What assumptions are you making?
  9. Are these assumptions still valid?
  10. What assumptions are you making that you're not even aware of?
  11. Have you been successful with similiar ideas in the past? If so, could this success prevent you from seeing pitfalls in the idea?
  12. What would the fool say about the idea?
  13. What's your decision?
Act like a warrior:
  1. What qualities do you have that will enable you to implement your idea?
  2. What's your strategy to reach your objective?
  3. What motivates you to reach your goal?
  4. What are you willing to sacrifice? What are the consequences of failure?
  5. What excuses may prevent you from getting started?
  6. What are five people who can help you realize your idea?
  7. What skills can you develop to implement your idea?
  8. What is your ideal "product of the product?"
  9. What type of criticism do you expect to receive? How can you deflect it?
  10. What obstacles might get in the way? How will you get around them? 
  11. What are some needless battles you can avoid?
  12. How persistent are you?
  13. What did you accomplish? What did you learn?
Source: A Kick in the Seat of the Pants: Using Your Explorer, Artist, Judge, & Warrior to Be More Creative (1986) by Roger von Oech