When you understand your own particular style of creative problem solving, and the four stages of the creative process, you will be better able to work with individuals and groups. The aim of the Profile is to describe how you innovate, not to evaluate your innovation ability. Completing the Profile will result in the following:

• Learn about one's own unique style of creativity and innovation
• Provide a model for individuals and teams to use to create and complete important projects
• Increase sensitivity to individual differences in styles of creativity
• Increase emphasis and understanding of creativity and innovation as a complete process
• Organization of more effective teams for increased creativity by synergizing individual similarities and differences
• Provide groups with a method to improve the quantity and quality of interactions
• Identify training and development opportunities for individuals, teams and organizations
• Design special organizational infrastructures to encourage more creative performance

The following exercise* can help you get an idea what your approach is to problem solving. Mark each statement with a "true" or "false", then add up all "true" statements. The quadrant in which you have the most "true" statements indicates your strongest orientation.

*Please note that this exercise has been adapted from the full Basadur Profile instrument, and contains partial examples only. It is not intended to represent the complete Profile instrument.

• I like to get things started by getting involved, gathering information, questioning.
• I like imagining the possibilities and sensing all kinds of new problems and opportunities.
• I can see good and bad sides to almost any fact, idea or issue.
• I am comfortable with ambiguity.
• I'm willing to let others take care of the details.

• I tend to form quick associations, define problems and conceptualize new ideas, opportunities and benefits.
• I excel in inductive reasoning, in distilling seemingly unrelated observations into an integrated solution.
• I don't like proceeding until I have a sound understanding of the situation.
• I would prefer not to have to prioritize among good or not fully understood alternatives.
• I prefer ideas rather than moving to action.

• I do best in situations where there is a single correct answer or optimal solution to a problem.
• I can sort through large amounts of data and pinpoint "what's wrong" in a given situation.
• I am confident of my ability to make a sound evaluation and select the best solution to a problem.
• I tend to lack patience with ambiguity.
• I prefer not spending too much time thinking about other ideas and points of view, or how different problems relate to one another.

• I like becoming involved in new experiences.
• I like to try things out rather than "mentally test" them.
• I consider myself a risk-taker: I don't need to understand something completely before I act.
• I'm willing to try as many different approaches as necessary until I find one that is sufficiently acceptable to those affected by the problem.
• I tend to be enthusiastic, but can be impatient as I try to act on plans.

If most of your "true" statements are in:

• Quadrant 1: your dominant problem solving style can likely be described as "generator". This style suggests that you are interested in problem and fact finding. Your greatest strength is getting things started, using direct experience and forming ideas to solve problems.
• Quadrant 2: your dominant problem solving style can likely be described as "conceptualizer". This style suggests you are interested in problem definition and idea finding. Your greatest strength lies in thinking abstractly and putting ideas together.
• Quadrant 3: your dominant problem solving style can likely be described as "optimizer".
• Quadrant 4: your dominant problem solving style can likely be described as "implementer".

To get an accurate Profile and a more complete understanding of yourself and what the Basadur CPSP means, simply fill out the Profile Inventory online by clicking here.