Divergent & Convergent Strategies For Breakthrough Business Thinking

What is Divergent and Convergent Thinking?

Divergent thinking involves generating multiple, unique ideas or solutions to a problem in a free-flowing, spontaneous manner.

It encourages you to be creative innovative and explore without restrictions many possible options and solutions.

Convergent thinking, on the other hand, is a focused, analytical process aimed at narrowing down ideas to arrive at the single best solution.

It emphasizes speed, accuracy, logic and decision-making to select the optimal answer from a set of alternatives.

These two approaches work together – use divergent thinking to expand the range of ideas, and convergent thinking to narrow them down, in sequence.

When you alternate between the two modes, you can optimize both creativity and efficiency in problem-solving. Come, give it a shot.

Some Business Contexts for Using Divergent and Convergent Thinking

Given below are some use cases for divergent and convergent thinking to vet you appetite and trigger ideas for its use.

1. New product development – generate innovative ideas, then refine and select the best
2. Strategic planning – explore growth opportunities, then analyze and choose a direction
3. Marketing campaigns – brainstorm creative concepts, then develop an actionable plan
4. Process improvement – identify many ways to streamline, then implement top solutions
5. Problem-solving – generate potential solutions, then evaluate to pick the optimal one
6. Team collaboration – elicit diverse viewpoints, then build consensus on path forward
7. Innovation – push boundaries with original ideas, then determine feasibility to execute
8. Decision-making – consider issue from all angles, then zero in on the best choice
9. Negotiations – devise many proposals and fallbacks, then narrow to strongest position
10. Continuous improvement – constantly expand on improvement ideas, then prioritize top ones to implement

Steps to Implement Divergent Thinking

Clearly define the problem, challenge or goal to be addressed.

[Structure for Divergent Thinking]

1. Divergent thinking phase: Encourage free-flowing ideation without judgment. Techniques:
   • Brainstorm
   • Brainwrite using the Nominal Group Technique (individuals silently write ideas)
   • Consider the opposite
   • Challenge assumptions
   • Combine different concepts
2. Capture all ideas visually on whiteboard, sticky notes or a virtual tool.

Prompts for Divergent Thinking

Set 1

Marketing Manager Prompt: Imagine you’re a weather wizard tasked with creating the world’s wackiest snowstorm to promote our brand. Brainstorm as many wild and wonderful types of “snow” as possible – the crazier, the better! Will your flakes be made of cotton candy with our logo? Maybe they’re tiny, singing snowmen advertising our latest product? Or perhaps they’re holographic disco balls that create a dance party wherever they land? Let your ideas swirl like a blizzard, and don’t let the cold logic of reality freeze your creativity!

Let’s see the result of this prompt in ChatGPT.

You get the drift.

Business Leader Prompt: Picture yourself as a weather wizard conjuring the most bizarre snowstorm to boost company morale. Brainstorm as many types of “snow” as possible – the more outlandish, the better! Could the flakes be motivational quotes that melt into inspiration? Maybe they’re miniature business books that land on desks? Or perhaps they’re holographic disco balls that turn meetings into spontaneous dance parties? Let your ideas snowball, and don’t let practicality put a chill on your creativity!

Creative Professional Prompt: Imagine you’re a weather wizard tasked with creating the world’s wackiest snowstorm for an art installation. Brainstorm as many wild and wonderful types of “snow” as possible – the crazier, the better! Will your flakes be made of glowing neon paint? Maybe they’re tiny, singing sculptures? Or perhaps they’re holographic disco balls that create a light show wherever they land? Let your ideas swirl like a blizzard, and don’t let conventional thinking freeze your creativity!

Content Creator Prompt: Imagine you’re a weather wizard tasked with creating the world’s wackiest snowstorm for a viral video. Brainstorm as many wild and wonderful types of “snow” as possible – the crazier, the better! Will your flakes be made of confetti that spells out trending hashtags? Maybe they’re tiny, singing characters from your content? Or perhaps they’re holographic disco balls that create a dance party wherever they land? Let your ideas swirl like a blizzard, and don’t let the cold logic of reality freeze your creativity!

Entrepreneur Prompt: Imagine you’re a weather wizard tasked with creating the world’s wackiest snowstorm to launch your startup. Brainstorm as many wild and wonderful types of “snow” as possible – the crazier, the better! Will your flakes be made of business cards that melt into contact info? Maybe they’re tiny, singing pitch decks? Or perhaps they’re holographic disco balls that create a networking event wherever they land? Let your ideas swirl like a blizzard, and don’t let the cold logic of reality freeze your creativity!

Product Manager Prompt: Imagine you’re a weather wizard tasked with creating the world’s wackiest snowstorm to showcase our product. Brainstorm as many wild and wonderful types of “snow” as possible – the crazier, the better! Will your flakes be made of user testimonials that melt into reviews? Maybe they’re tiny, singing product demos? Or perhaps they’re holographic disco balls that create a demo party wherever they land? Let your ideas swirl like a blizzard, and don’t let the cold logic of reality freeze your creativity!

Set 2

Marketing Manager Prompt: You’re part of an elite team of Idea Ninjas, and your mission is to silently infiltrate a zoo… and make it out of this world! Without uttering a word, each ninja must write down 3 ideas to transform ordinary zoo animals into extraordinary extraterrestrial creatures. Maybe elephants with anti-gravity trunks that spell out our brand? Or chameleons that can camouflage into different dimensions with our logo? Once your silent brainstorm is complete, reveal your ideas to your fellow ninjas and prepare to be amazed by your team’s cosmic creativity!

Business Leader Prompt: You’re part of an elite team of Idea Ninjas, and your mission is to silently infiltrate a zoo… and make it the most productive place on Earth! Without uttering a word, each ninja must write down 3 ideas to transform ordinary zoo animals into extraordinary productivity gurus. Maybe elephants with anti-gravity trunks that organize files? Or chameleons that can camouflage into different dimensions to hold secret meetings? Once your silent brainstorm is complete, reveal your ideas to your fellow ninjas and prepare to be amazed by your team’s cosmic creativity!

Creative Professional Prompt: You’re part of an elite team of Idea Ninjas, and your mission is to silently infiltrate a zoo… and make it an art wonderland! Without uttering a word, each ninja must write down 3 ideas to transform ordinary zoo animals into extraordinary artistic masterpieces. Maybe elephants with anti-gravity trunks that paint murals? Or chameleons that can camouflage into different dimensions of color? Once your silent brainstorm is complete, reveal your ideas to your fellow ninjas and prepare to be amazed by your team’s cosmic creativity!

Content Creator Prompt: You’re part of an elite team of Idea Ninjas, and your mission is to silently infiltrate a zoo… and make it go viral! Without uttering a word, each ninja must write down 3 ideas to transform ordinary zoo animals into extraordinary content stars. Maybe elephants with anti-gravity trunks that create viral videos? Or chameleons that can camouflage into different dimensions of trending topics? Once your silent brainstorm is complete, reveal your ideas to your fellow ninjas and prepare to be amazed by your team’s cosmic creativity!

Entrepreneur Prompt: You’re part of an elite team of Idea Ninjas, and your mission is to silently infiltrate a zoo… and make it the next big startup! Without uttering a word, each ninja must write down 3 ideas to transform ordinary zoo animals into extraordinary business ventures. Maybe elephants with anti-gravity trunks that pitch investors? Or chameleons that can camouflage into different dimensions of market trends? Once your silent brainstorm is complete, reveal your ideas to your fellow ninjas and prepare to be amazed by your team’s cosmic creativity!

Product Manager Prompt: You’re part of an elite team of Idea Ninjas, and your mission is to silently infiltrate a zoo… and make it a product showcase! Without uttering a word, each ninja must write down 3 ideas to transform ordinary zoo animals into extraordinary product demos. Maybe elephants with anti-gravity trunks that demonstrate features? Or chameleons that can camouflage into different dimensions of user interfaces? Once your silent brainstorm is complete, reveal your ideas to your fellow ninjas and prepare to be amazed by your team’s cosmic creativity!

Set 3

Marketing Manager Prompt: Welcome to the Topsy-Turvy Tech Expo, where everything works backwards! Your challenge is to consider the opposite of common marketing tools and invent something new. What if social media posts disappeared after 10 seconds? What if ads repelled customers instead of attracting them? Flip your thinking upside down and inside out to create the most brilliantly backwards marketing inventions the world has never seen!

Business Leader Prompt: Welcome to the Topsy-Turvy Tech Expo, where everything works backwards! Your challenge is to consider the opposite of common leadership tools and invent something new. What if meetings were silent and only conducted through interpretive dance? What if performance reviews were done by the employees instead of the managers? Flip your thinking upside down and inside out to create the most brilliantly backwards leadership inventions the world has never seen!

Creative Professional Prompt: Welcome to the Topsy-Turvy Tech Expo, where everything works backwards! Your challenge is to consider the opposite of common creative tools and invent something new. What if paintbrushes erased instead of painted? What if sculptures were made of liquid instead of solid materials? Flip your thinking upside down and inside out to create the most brilliantly backwards creative inventions the world has never seen!

Content Creator Prompt: Welcome to the Topsy-Turvy Tech Expo, where everything works backwards! Your challenge is to consider the opposite of common content tools and invent something new. What if videos played in reverse? What if blog posts started with the conclusion? Flip your thinking upside down and inside out to create the most brilliantly backwards content inventions the world has never seen!

Entrepreneur Prompt: Welcome to the Topsy-Turvy Tech Expo, where everything works backwards! Your challenge is to consider the opposite of common business tools and invent something new. What if sales pitches were whispered instead of spoken? What if business plans were written in riddles? Flip your thinking upside down and inside out to create the most brilliantly backwards business inventions the world has never seen!

Product Manager Prompt: Welcome to the Topsy-Turvy Tech Expo, where everything works backwards! Your challenge is to consider the opposite of common product features and invent something new. What if user interfaces were invisible? What if notifications were silent but vibrated in Morse code? Flip your thinking upside down and inside out to create the most brilliantly backwards product inventions the world has never seen!

Steps For Convergent Thinking

1. Convergent thinking phase: Group similar ideas and establish evaluation criteria.
2. Analyze ideas against criteria, combine and improve on them.
3. Narrow down to a shortlist of top ideas
4. Discuss shortlisted ideas as a group and reach consensus on final selection(s).
5. Develop action plan to implement the chosen solution(s).

By deliberately separating and alternating between divergent and convergent thinking modes, teams can optimize both creativity and analytical rigor to reach the best outcomes. The structured process helps maximize the benefits of each cognitive approach.

Prompts for Convergent Thinking

This requires the output of divergent thinking as input.

Set 1

Marketing Manager Prompt: After your wild brainstorming session as weather wizards, it’s time to melt down those wacky snowflake ideas into a practical marketing campaign. Analyze your blizzard of brand-promoting concepts and create a structured plan for the ultimate themed marketing strategy. Consider factors like budget, target audience reach, and brand alignment. What three key features will make your campaign both magical and measurable? Develop a detailed implementation strategy, complete with a timeline and ROI projections.

Business Leader Prompt: Your leadership team has generated a treehouse city full of fantastical department ideas. Now, put on your project manager hat and evaluate these concepts through a practical lens. Create a matrix to assess each innovative department based on criteria such as operational efficiency, employee satisfaction, and business impact. Narrow down the list to the top three most viable innovations. For each selected concept, outline a concrete plan for implementation, resource allocation, and performance metrics.

Creative Professional Prompt: The interdimensional art installation brainstorm was a hit, but now it’s time to bring those surreal concepts into reality. Choose the three most promising artistic ideas and develop a strategy to adapt them for practical exhibition. For each concept, identify its core creative element and brainstorm ways to incorporate that innovation into existing art forms. Create a detailed project plan, including materials needed, production timeline, and potential technical challenges. Which artistic concept has the highest potential for critical acclaim and audience engagement, and why?

Content Creator Prompt: Your AI-powered content generator has produced a galaxy of wild ideas. Now, it’s time to bring those concepts down to Earth. Analyze your universe of content ideas and create a structured editorial calendar. Consider factors like audience relevance, platform suitability, and production feasibility. What three key themes will make your content strategy both innovative and implementable? Develop a detailed content roadmap, complete with creation timelines and engagement KPIs.

Entrepreneur Prompt: Your time-traveling food truck has collected a menu full of era-bending dishes. Now, it’s time to serve up a viable business plan. Create a matrix to evaluate each menu item based on criteria such as ingredient availability, production scalability, and market appeal. Narrow down the list to the five most promising dishes. For each selected item, outline a concrete plan for sourcing, pricing strategy, and marketing approach. Which time-traveling treat has the highest potential for profitability, and why?

Product Manager Prompt: Your shape-shifting chameleon product has morphed into a rainbow of possibilities. Now, it’s time to solidify its form for market launch. Analyze your spectrum of features and create a structured product development plan. Consider factors like user needs, technical feasibility, and competitive advantage. What three key functionalities will make your product both innovative and user-friendly? Develop a detailed product roadmap, complete with development sprints and user testing milestones.

Set 2

Marketing Manager Prompt: After your cosmic marketing campaign brainstorm, it’s time to bring those intergalactic ideas back to Earth. Evaluate your out-of-this-world strategies and create a structured plan for a realistic marketing campaign. Consider factors like budget, target audience, and brand alignment. What three key elements will make your campaign both stellar and achievable? Develop a detailed implementation strategy, complete with a timeline and resource allocation.

Business Leader Prompt: Your team has envisioned a futuristic company culture. Now, it’s time to ground those visionary ideas in reality. Create a matrix to assess each cultural innovation based on criteria such as feasibility, employee engagement, and business impact. Narrow down the list to the top three most practical initiatives. For each selected idea, outline a concrete plan for implementation, resource allocation, and performance metrics.

Creative Professional Prompt: Your artistic journey through a microscopic world has yielded some fantastical concepts. Now, it’s time to bring those ideas to life. Choose the three most promising artistic elements and develop a strategy to incorporate them into a cohesive project. For each element, identify its core creative value and brainstorm ways to integrate it seamlessly. Create a detailed project plan, including materials needed, production timeline, and potential challenges.

Content Creator Prompt: Your magical storybook content brainstorm has produced a wealth of enchanting ideas. Now, it’s time to turn those narratives into a structured content strategy. Analyze your collection of story ideas and create an editorial calendar. Consider factors like audience engagement, platform suitability, and production feasibility. What three key themes will make your content strategy both captivating and practical? Develop a detailed content roadmap, complete with creation timelines and engagement KPIs.

Entrepreneur Prompt: Your futuristic city startup brainstorm has generated a plethora of innovative ideas. Now, it’s time to build a viable business plan. Create a matrix to evaluate each startup concept based on criteria such as market potential, scalability, and resource requirements. Narrow down the list to the top three most promising ventures. For each selected idea, outline a concrete plan for development, funding strategy, and market entry.

Product Manager Prompt: Your shape-shifting gadget brainstorm has produced a range of futuristic features. Now, it’s time to solidify those ideas into a market-ready product. Analyze your spectrum of features and create a structured product development plan. Consider factors like user needs, technical feasibility, and competitive advantage. What three key functionalities will make your product both innovative and user-friendly? Develop a detailed product roadmap, complete with development sprints and user testing milestones.

Set 3

Marketing Manager Prompt: After your brainstorm on marketing a time-traveling toothbrush, it’s time to refine those wild ideas into a cohesive campaign. Evaluate your creative concepts and create a structured plan for a realistic marketing strategy. Consider factors like budget, target audience, and brand alignment. What three key elements will make your campaign both innovative and feasible? Develop a detailed implementation strategy, complete with a timeline and resource allocation.

Business Leader Prompt: Your team has brainstormed a time-traveling leadership strategy. Now, it’s time to bring those visionary ideas into the present. Create a matrix to assess each leadership innovation based on criteria such as feasibility, employee engagement, and business impact. Narrow down the list to the top three most practical initiatives. For each selected idea, outline a concrete plan for implementation, resource allocation, and performance metrics.

Creative Professional Prompt: Your artistic exploration of a kaleidoscope world has yielded some vibrant concepts. Now, it’s time to bring those ideas to life. Choose the three most promising artistic elements and develop a strategy to incorporate them into a cohesive project. For each element, identify its core creative value and brainstorm ways to integrate it seamlessly. Create a detailed project plan, including materials needed, production timeline, and potential challenges.

Content Creator Prompt: Your content brainstorm on household appliances with feelings has produced a wealth of engaging ideas. Now, it’s time to turn those narratives into a structured content strategy. Analyze your collection of story ideas and create an editorial calendar. Consider factors like audience engagement, platform suitability, and production feasibility. What three key themes will make your content strategy both captivating and practical? Develop a detailed content roadmap, complete with creation timelines and engagement KPIs.

Entrepreneur Prompt: Your startup brainstorm on AI-powered household chores has generated a plethora of innovative ideas. Now, it’s time to build a viable business plan. Create a matrix to evaluate each startup concept based on criteria such as market potential, scalability, and resource requirements. Narrow down the list to the top three most promising ventures. For each selected idea, outline a concrete plan for development, funding strategy, and market entry.

Product Manager Prompt: Your brainstorm on a dream-experiencing device has produced a range of futuristic features. Now, it’s time to solidify those ideas into a market-ready product. Analyze your spectrum of features and create a structured product development plan. Consider factors like user needs, technical feasibility, and competitive advantage. What three key functionalities will make your product both innovative and user-friendly? Develop a detailed product roadmap, complete with development sprints and user testing milestones.

AI Recipe For Divergent/ Convergent Thinking

• This recipe used the RATS framework which I have conceived. It is a an elegant method to write prompts using multiple clues for defining the context and a structure for thinking/ framing problems that need to be answered by GPTs.
• Before using the prompts, please make sure that you have framed the problem clearly with constraints using the Problem Statement, or Product Brief Methods explained in Phewture.

Begin Prompt: Copy this entire prompt in your chatbot.

Complete the tasks outlined below one step at a time. After each step ask for my permission before moving on to the next step. If a step takes more than one message to complete, send “Continue” to proceed to the next message. Provide a complete detailed response without worrying about message length. Let me know when you are ready for me to provide the brief.

Step 1:

Structure a solution for using Divergent Thinking and Convergent Thinking for the task = “Ways to reduce plastic waste”.

Execute this task of 3 steps, one step at a time. After you complete one step, ask my permission before you proceed to the next step.

[Role] = [Act as a Divergent and Convergent Thinking Expert with a list of 5 key facets of such an expert]

[Avatar] = The audience for this idea are eco friends and municipal officials seeking ideas for public messaging.

[Topic] = Eco friends and municipal officials looking for ways to reduce plastic waste through public instructions and messaging for reducing plastic pollution

[Task] = Generate ideas for messaging “How to reduce plastic waste”

[Structure] = [Idea Generation]

Step 1: Generate 5 divergent ideas for addressing the problem. Think broadly and come up with unconventional, unusual suggestions.

[Structure for Divergent Thinking]

1. Divergent thinking phase: Encourage free-flowing ideation without judgment. Techniques:
   • Brainstorm
   • Brainwrite using the Nominal Group Technique (individuals silently write ideas)
   • Consider the opposite
   • Challenge assumptions
   • Combine different concepts
2. Capture all ideas on the AI tool.

Step 2: [use the answer from Step 1]
Apply convergent thinking to this [Topic]. Narrow down/ Identify 3 [topics] from Step 1 that look promising and explain the reasons for choosing these.

[Structure for Convergent Thinking]

1. Convergent thinking phase: Group similar ideas and establish evaluation criteria.
2. Analyze ideas against criteria, combine and improve on them.
3. Narrow down to a shortlist of top ideas
4. Discuss shortlisted ideas as a group and reach consensus on final selection(s).
5. Develop action plan to implement the chosen solution(s).

Step 3: Expand the 3 topics from Step 2, into specific action steps for execution.

End Prompt

AI Tools that you can use

The prompts on Phewture are AI tool agnostic.

They should work on GeminiPro, ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity. Even on free tools such as llama3 by Meta which you can install on your desktop.

• ChatGPT and Gemini Pro can read Google Files by way of attachment
• Claude can read PDFs.
• Perplexity can read text files and PDFs.

Use these capabilities to upload your prompts and get the best out of these tools.

You will have to use the following prompt, if you follow the file upload method: Please complete the tasks outlined in the attached document.

Next Steps

1. To help you find your way around Phewture, I have put together a set of AI Recipes under Wayfinding. Do go through these and you’ll navigate like a pro through this stream of consciousness. 😄
2. The Learning Methods are exercises that I’d recommend if you wish to wrap your head around the possibilities of using AI Recipes at work, or for play.
3. Don’t forget to leave your comments below and share your joy with your friends on social media. Use the share icons below this post to gain some good karma.

Wish to train your in-house team on AI techniques?

Phewture offers AI-spurred training for teams. Do check out the Training Services.