Free Association Activities: “Blue Skies” 213
We Have Met the Problem
and It Is We Handout
Assume your organization wants to generate ideas to improve a wastebasket. The waste-
basket might “say” the following:
“I’m sick and tired of being emptied so often. The food and cigarette ashes smell
terrible. I also hate it when people bang me around and leave marks on my out-
side. It really irritates me when people knock me over and my insides spill out all
over the carpet. I just hate all the messes. And they’re not even my fault.
“There is one nice thing about being a wastebasket. I just love it when some
hotshot tries to impress his friends by throwing a paper wad in me from across
the room. If the paper wad hits my rim, I sometimes can jiggle a little and knock it
to the floor. This makes the hotshot look so foolish!”This diatribe might spark the following ideas for improving a wastebasket:- A built-in trash compactor
- A continuous roll of plastic lining that can be removed easily every time the
wastebasket is emptied - A built-in slot for a fragrance dispenser
- Suction cups, clamps, or Velcro®for attaching the wastebasket to the floor or a desk to
prevent accidental spills - A basketball-type net that can be raised above the rim for practicing paper wad shots
101 Activities for Teaching Creativity and Problem Solving.Copyright © 2005 by John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. Reproduced by permission of Pfeiffer, an Imprint of Wiley. http://www.pfeiffer.com07 VG 167-216 10/6/04 12:17 PM Page 213