SkipCohenUniversity
  • Home
  • SCU Blog
  • Our Podcasts
  • About Us

the SCU Blog

Creative Problem-Solving in Photography and Business

4/29/2020

1 Comment

 
Picture
by Skip Cohen

Many years ago, I shared the "Top 10 Creative Rules of Thumb." I was wandering through cyberspace and found a site called Quoteland.  After a little mining, I uncovered the following gem from Charles "Chic" Thompson.  While he obviously added his own twist of humor to the concept, think about each of his ten points.

The pandemic has changed everything in business today, and everyone is facing similar challenges in how to get things back on track. As the political and medical world argue over how to reopen the country, you've got one significant advantage - you've got time to do things right!  

  • Start with your skillset and figure out where the holes are. Then, start filling them!
  • Look at your brand awareness in the community and figure out how to get more exposure.
  • Look at your products, and then call your lab and ask, "What's new?"
  • Do the services you currently offer match the needs of your target audience?
  • Are there other companies, including photographers, in the community you can work with? 
  • Last but not least - stop thinking you're alone or have to solve the challenges by yourself. Pull together a couple of good friends and become a sounding board for each other.

Things will get back to normal, but it'll be a new normal, and it's going to take time. Use the list below to help you think it all through and then hit the ground running!  And if you're stuck and need help, you know where to find me. 
​
Top 10 Creative Rules of Thumb

1. The best way to get great ideas is to get lots of ideas and throw the bad ones away.

 2. Create ideas that are 15 minutes ahead of their time…not light years ahead.

 3. Always look for a second right answer.

 4. If at first you don’t succeed, take a break.

 5. Write down your ideas before you forget them.

 6. If everyone says you are wrong, you’re one step ahead.
​If everyone laughs at you, you’re two steps ahead.

 7. The answer to your problem “pre-exists.” You need to ask the right question to reveal the answer.

 8. When you ask a dumb question, you get a smart answer.

 9. Never solve a problem from its original perspective.

 10. Visualize your problem as solved before solving it.
1 Comment
Marius link
4/29/2020 03:30:37 pm

Great tips. Thanks!

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Your walk is just a click away
    Picture
    Picture

      Sign Up for Our Newsletter!

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter

    Our Partners

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    "Why?"

    Check out "Why?" one of the most popular features on the SCU Blog. It's a very simple concept - one image, one artist and one short sound bite. Each artist shares what makes the image one of their most favorite. We're over 130 artists featured since the project started. Click on the link above and you can scroll through all of the episodes to date.

    Categories

    All
    Alzheimer's
    Beyond Technique
    Business
    Business Breakthroughs
    Clean Up Series
    Customer Service
    EDU10
    Excire
    F64 Lunch Bunch
    Faculty
    Fast Food Friday
    Guest Post
    Humor And Sarcasm
    Hump Day
    In The News
    Lessons Learned
    Lighting
    Luminar
    Lumix
    Marketing
    Mark's Corner
    Mind Your Own Business
    Miscellaneous
    Motivational
    One Step At A Time
    Photodex
    PhotoShelter
    PhotoTexting
    Platypod
    Podcasts
    Profoto
    Sales
    Search
    Skylum
    Social Media
    Sunday Morning Reflections
    Tamron
    Tamron Recipes
    Technique
    Throwback Thursday
    Wedding Photography
    Westcott
    Why?

Categories​

Business
Marketing
Technique
Sales
Fast Food Fridays
​

Podcasts

Tamron Recipes 
Beyond Technique
Why?
Mind Your Own Business
Pro Photographer Journey

 Partners

Tamron
Photofocus

​Lumix

Marathon Press
​Platypod
©  2019 Skip Cohen University
  • Home
  • SCU Blog
  • Our Podcasts
  • About Us