As you marketers know, we can be so engrossed in day-to-day roles that sometimes miss important details or overlook potential solutions to ongoing project challenges. In order to stay sharp and tackle project challenges with a renewed perspective, it’s essential to take a step back and look from new angles or through a different lens.

To help you do that, I’ve listed some exercises that can be done individually or within a team setting. These exercises can help marketing personnel see things differently and in turn, come up with better solutions to project challenges.

Exercise #1: The Alternate Perspective Exercise

Sometimes, looking at things from an alternate perspective can reveal solutions that we might have otherwise missed. This exercise requires marketing personnel to look at a project challenge from a completely different perspective. Ask yourself: How would a competitor approach this problem? How would someone completely outside of my industry solve this issue? By trying to answer these questions, you might just come up with a new, groundbreaking solution!

Exercise #2: The Cross-Functional Brainstorm

Sometimes, working with people from different departments can lead to new, exciting solutions. This exercise requires marketing personnel to bring in individuals from other departments to brainstorm a solution together. By collaborating with individuals from different departments, one can gain a fresh perspective on a problem and even identify new opportunities.

Exercise #3: The Worst Possible Scenario Exercise

This exercise requires marketing personnel to consider the worst possible scenario for their project and then imagine how they would solve it. By thinking through the worst possible outcome, one can:

• Identify current weaknesses in the project and look for ways to mitigate them.
• Plan for the worst-case scenario so that if it does happen, the marketing team will be prepared.
• Get creative with new solutions to avoid the worst-case scenario altogether.

Exercise #4: Mind Mapping

This exercise requires marketing personnel to create a mind map or visual representation of their project, problem, or idea. Creating a mind map can help identify new solutions and opportunities that weren’t apparent before. It also allows for an easier way to track progress on projects as well as brainstorm new ideas in the process.

Summary

In conclusion, taking a step back and looking at things from a new perspective is essential for marketing personnel who want to overcome ongoing project challenges. Allowing oneself to step out of the day-to-day routine and practice new exercises can bring about fresh, innovative solutions that can take a project to the next level. So, let’s get started and approach our project challenges with renewed vigor!