Let me tell you something about SCAMPERing.

There’s nothing like arriving in a foreign country after 17 hours of travel, fiiiinally dragging your suitcase into your hotel room… and realising that your DIY baggage “lock” (a plastic cable tie, because you don’t trust zips or humanity) is the one thing standing between you and clean clothing.

The nearest pair of scissors is, of course, at reception. Many floors down. Behind a gaggle of needy tourists and a receptionist who wants your room number all over again.

What do you do? You chew through that bad boy like a rabid raccoon, that’s what. I’ve done it. Once in India and once in Indonesia. (My teeth are fine, but I cut my lip both times.)

You do this and you’re sorry about it. Your mouth hurts. Until, ta-da, you remember the humble nail clipper. Small. Sharp. Allowed in cabin baggage. Built for snipping. And suddenly, you feel just like Tony Stark. Only sweatier. (And significantly poorer.)

Meet the SCAMPER technique

This is creative problem-solving – and it’s what Bob Eberle’s SCAMPER technique is designed to unleash. SCAMPERing gives you seven ways to solve a problem or break creative block; namely:

• Substitute
• Combine
• Adapt
• Modify
• Put to another use
• Eliminate
• Reverse

Applying the SCAMPER technique 

Here’s how SCAMPER applies to my cable tie trauma:

• Substitute: I replaced scissors with a nail clipper. 
• Combine: I combined luggage security with oral gymnastics. (Not ideal.)
• Adapt: I realised a personal grooming tool could moonlight.
• Modify: I clipped, instead of cutting. It worked like a charm.
• Put to another use: Nail clippers = baggage access device. 
• Eliminate: I removed the need for reception-based social interaction. 
• Reverse: Instead of “tie, travel, panic,” I now pack the fix first.

SCAMPER is basically structured MacGyver-ing. 

Try SCAMPERing in the workplace

The point? Creative thinking is possible for all of us. Even when we’re tired, jet-lagged and irrationally angry at cable ties. So next time you’re trying to:

• create a new offer,
• freshen up stale content,
• fix a clunky process, or
• just open your own damn suitcase…

…use SCAMPER. It isn’t just for crisis moments involving luggage and oral injury. It’s also a killer tool for the office, especially when everything feels flat, samey or like it was designed by a committee that’s never met.

Apply each prompt to your problem. Don’t overthink. Try something unexpected. Be a little ridiculous.

Next time you’re trying to:

• Create a new offer:
  Substitute an element. Change the audience. Switch the channel. Take your best-selling service and offer it as a bite-sized teaser instead.
• Freshen up stale content:
  Eliminate the fluff. Combine two old blog posts into one killer guide. Modify the tone and say something with actual teeth.
• Fix a clunky process:
  Reverse the steps. What happens if you do the end first? Put the process to another use. Or eliminate every third step and see if anyone even notices.
• Open your own damn suitcase (or project or campaign or idea):
  Substitute panic with planning. Adapt your usual process. Reverse your normal thinking – because if “the way it’s always been done” actually worked, I wouldn’t be writing this article in the first place.

Note: You don’t need to use every SCAMPER step, every time. Pick one. Play with it. And if it leads nowhere, try another.

Creativity’s not a muse. It’s a muscle. And sometimes it’s the result of being too lazy to go back downstairs.

Liked this? Good. Now stop lurking and browse my training options. Consider booking me to speak. Or let’s chat about a consult or some killer copy. Go on now; don’t be shy.