S.E.R - B.A.U technique is a thinking tool I have created in order to facilitate the generation of new ideas. It does that by challenging the current patterns of thoughts. It Introduces an unbalanced and out of ordinary force within the prevailing thinking habits.
S.E.R stands for: Serendipitous, Erratic and Random;
B.A.U stands for: Build, Assume, Unravel;
Premises
- The basic premise behind this technique is that we tend to be creatures of habit.
- It means that tomorrow we will tend to repeat what we have done consistently until now and come up with the same / similar kind of ideas as before;
- Newton's first law of motion states that: An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.
- Relating S.E.R - B.A.U technique with the Analogy of Newton's law "The Object" would be "Our Habitual Thinking Patterns" ;
- Everybody would be a master-chef if the only the recipe was the answer. While this might be a great recipe you must practice it to get results.
Steps - How to Use it?
Step-0:
Use Structure of a Definition, to have a working draft for your challenge or goal.
Step-1:
Insert into your thinking a Serendipitous, Erratic or Random Word, Picture, Sound, something else. By inserting I mean that you do do some scribbling on a piece of paper.
Divide a piece of paper on 3 sides. On the left we'll put Step-0, on the right side we'll put Step-1 and in the middle we 'll put the B.A.U part of this technique.
The main point to remember at this stage is that your what you insert it must be Serendipitous, Erratic or Random, arbitrary, erratic!
How to you do make sure of that? There are several ways:
- You may ask a stranger to tell you a word, a picture, etc.
- You could select one from a book/newspaper by closing your eyes and putting your finger somewhere on the page;
- You could throw the dices and the numbers could represent a page, row and column;
- other ways that ensures that your selection is Random, Serendipitous, Erratic.
In the beginning stages it would be preferably that the Insertion is a word that has a physical equivalent.
For example useful ones would be: table, plane, phone, egg, crow....
Less useful abstract words like : philosophy, communication, verbs turned intro nouns (speaking, writing), etc.
Do the wheelbarrow or Box test to distinguish between them. If you can imagine put it in a Box / Wheelbarrow then you can use it.
Step-2:
Define and Describe the S.E.R Insertion:
What is the S.E.R Insertion?
How does the S.E.R Insertion work?
What system is the S.E.R Insertion a part of?
What are its parts?
What systemic relations do you notice?
What is the S.E.R Insertion closely related to?
What are its attributes?
What does the S.E.R Insertion is used for?
Step-3:
Build a Mental Scenario, a Mental Movie if you would, where you use, exercise and stretch your imagination. The Mental Movie you construct must hold true the following:
Assumptions :
- The S.E.R Insertion from the previous step helped you to identify/create resources, ideas, paradigm shifts, systemic insights, to achieve you Goal, solve the problem you were working on, or at least,
- The S.E.R Insertion from the previous step was beneficial in identifying/creating resources, ideas, pattern updates, systemic insights, in order to make significant progress towards achieving you Goal or solving the problem you were working on;
- The S.E.R Insertion from the previous step has provided you with Ideas, Insights, New Perspectives, New Mindsets , Resources, on how to Achieve other Goals or Solve other Challenges important for your or someone you know;
- The S.E.R Insertion from the previous step has helped you to come up with some new Opportunities, Goals, Projects, Designs, Paradigms that are of equal or greater value that the ones you are currently working on;
Step-4:
Unravel, Explore and Investigate the possible ways of how you actually made that happen.
What else needed to be changed, modified, do more of , less of in frequency / quality / quantity so that at least one of the assumptions in Step 2 to be actuality.
Imagine how you are explaining to a friend / child / audience / alien, how what we held true at the previous step, is an actual reality!
Prerequisites
Structure of a Definition
Willingness to practice it;
When to Use it?
Whenever you feel that you're at point you;re coming up with same old idea, repetitive thought patters that keep you stuck.
What to Expect?
It'a powerful technique and depending on how committed you're on practicing it, you'll will make true at least one of the assumptions on Step-2.
