• Write lists until you run out of things to write. Then keep writing whatever comes to mind, even if it seems crazy or repetitive. In the third stage, you will find that sheer perseverance results in some genuinely new ideas.

• Think of someone who would be able to solve the problem you are attacking; it does not have to be someone in the same field, just someone who has the moxy to generate new ways of getting to results. Write a letter or prepare a report as if you would have to present it to that person. You will find that in order to write for that person, you need to think a little like that person - and new answers will begin to appear.

• Pick a format you would not usually use to deal with a challenge and write about it in that format. You could write a short story about a business problem or a departmental report about your toddler's temper. The key is to pick a format that gives a defined structure to what you will say. As you write, remain aware that you need to meet the requirements of the format you have picked, whether it's a post-modern play or a funding proposal.

• Dig deeper. It is the nature of language that a few words need to cover huge experiences. Keep asking yourself "what specifically do I mean there?" or "how could I make that clearer if I were talking to someone who didn't know me or this situation?" As you exert pressure on the language to make it more tangible and specific, you will find the edges of the situation you are describing. Sometimes you will dig down to a new insight, and sometimes the words that are not quite right will pull you in a useful new direction.

• Try to write the exact opposite of what you mean. This is not entirely a rational exercise (what is the opposite of orange?). You will find, however, that if you ask yourself: what is the opposite of what I want to say, you will find that you have an answer. This is a three part process: you need to think about what you want to say, figure out the opposite, and then evaluate whether you've either moved toward what you wanted to say or changed your mind about what you think.

You have a lifetime, unlimited supply of words. With those words, you can define situations, influence other people, and create possibilities that do not yet exist in real life. After all, it's easy to move mountains with your words - it's only hard when you move them with a shovel. Through words, you can create new possibilities - mechanically at first, and then with genuine energy.

You do not have to be a creative person to create new possibilities with words. You just need to be analytical enough to choose words and structures that are counter-intuitive and to notice what happens in your mind as you use them. Words might even make you believe you are a creative thinker after all.