Publish at September 10 2025 Updated September 10 2025
MacGyver, the iconic American TV series of the 1980s, is a hero of creativity rarely mentioned in innovation textbooks. Yet he's the epitome of the inventive do-it-yourselfer who, when faced with the unexpected and with few resources, creates functional solutions in record time.
We've all met MacGyvers in our lives, and perhaps we've surprised ourselves by becoming one in an unlikely situation. Finding a last-minute accommodation solution when you've missed the last train, a way to get drinking water when you've run dry on a hike several kilometers from your first village, a replacement supplier when the one you've contracted fails you, an argument to make your point in the face of unpredictable opposition: these are all classic situations we can be confronted with, and for which the skills of creativity, resilience, self-confidence and cognitive flexibility are indispensable.
Unconventional thinking, or lateral thinking as it is often referred to in the famous nine-dot problem (connect nine dots in a square without lifting the pencil and without ever going back to the same dot), often remains an injunction or a dream, with all creativity exercises having only an illusory effect on the development of this ability in situations.
Numerous examples of the failure of linear thinking have demonstrated its limitations. In the industrial sector, for example, Safety-I, the traditional safety concept for production systems, is now being called into question. Indeed, the principles of the first model have shown their inadequacy in complex socio-technical environments (1). Traditional methods are based on a number of principles;
The Safety-II system introduces totally different principles.
"Safety methods based on Safety-II are ultimately concerned with how to ensure a successful work situation, rather than focusing on how to minimize failure situations. This requires a thorough and systematic investigation of how successful work outcomes and conditions are achieved.
On this basis, it is necessary to continuously monitor successful work situations in everyday working environments and proactively manage change (reducing performance variability) while being aware of changes, large and small, in these work situations (performance variability)." (1)
Thus, many rational decision-making methods for anticipating or resolving situations advocate the analysis of facts, the criticality of risks and the implementation of solutions to manage the unexpected as the only salvific approach to all problems.
Here's a striking example: an industrial company is facing an explosion in production accidents involving its electronic components. An analysis was launched to curb these "scraps", which were costing the company a fortune. A working group was set up, led by external consultants, to analyze the situation and propose rapid solutions.
After a series of meetings organized around a tried and tested method (8D), a deadlock was reached after a few weeks: it was shown that production accidents occurred more frequently at night and at weekends, in the absence of managers, revealing an organizational problem behind these malfunctions and, a crucial piece of information discovered at the very last meeting, the notion of preventive maintenance did not exist in this company, resulting in a total lack of anticipation in the event of breakdown.
These two highlighted causes were scrupulously hushed up in the working group's meeting reports, as they were too intrusive on the decisions to be taken. The causes selected did not include these two factors, which seemed to be responsible for the malfunctions. At no point did the chosen solutions address these issues. And as expected, nothing changed. The level of production accidents remained the same.
Beyond the search for a single cause and the hegemony of rationality, individual or collective decision-making rigidity can be an obstacle to managing the unexpected.
When an unusual event occurs, it's the often-necessary "sideways step" that enables the right reaction, and that is difficult to implement. Insidiously, however, Safety I-type thinking has developed in organizational, relational and financial environments.
Change management models have made, and continue to make, the fortunes of major consulting firms. Models for managing interpersonal relationships often provide the illusion of being able to predict and manage human relationships and reactions. Financial models have long been used to predict market trends. And the number of cases where these predictive models don't work remains high.
Modeling remains an indispensable step in understanding what is happening or what has happened. It is also a comfortable lure that gives the illusion of irrefutably predicting the future. Beyond knowledge of these models, it remains essential to know how to bypass these norms by developing specific skills.
In his book "Intuition at work" (2), Gary Klein lists a number of cases of professionals who have had to make extremely rapid decisions in the face of unexpected events, such as the fire captain who ordered all firefighters to leave the scene of a fire they were tackling, just after hearing a creaking beam that preceded the collapse of the building. This had never happened to him before. He'd never had this criterion as part of his analysis chart. And yet, it was the alarm he heard that caused everyone to evacuate.
Faced with a totally new situation, the novice won't be able to make an effective decision, barring a stroke of incredible luck. But the case of the fire captain shows his extraordinary perception in the midst of an unimaginable hubbub, and the speed with which he was able to make a decision, leaving no doubt as to his reliability.
When we find ourselves observing a "MacGuyvers" in action, just after the fascination phase, the natural tendency is to try and analyze what he has implemented to solve the problem. And the first observable ability is tolerance of ambiguity. This translates into an ability to regard new and unusual situations as exciting and interesting rather than frightening, which reduces anxiety in the face of the unknown. If you're lost in a maze of streets, finding it fun helps you to focus on finding your way out, rather than fearing you'll get lost.
Cognitive flexibility, again easily observed in unconventional thinkers, is the "cornerstone of learning". In particular, this mental agility enables the creation of bridges between several situations or fields, in order to apply and adapt solutions used elsewhere to an unusual problem.
The biomorphism used by Gaudi for his famous Sagrada Familia in Barcelona and for many other of his buildings is an exemplary case of cognitive flexibility. The work of Jonh Nash, winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize in Economics, on game theory, originally purely mathematical, is fascinating.
"Nash equilibrium has had, and continues to have, numerous applications in economics, including the analysis of firm behavior in duopoly situations and the study of bidding mechanisms for the award of public contracts. Its applications also extend to geopolitics (a famous example is the Cuban missile crisis, where Nash equilibrium is used to study nuclear deterrence) and, more generally, to the study of strategic choices"(3).
The notion of cognitive flexibility is echoed in the work of psychologist and economist Daniel Kahneman on the two systems of thought (4): in system 1, this flexibility enables rapid, intuitive associations to be made, while the more analytical system 2 enables solutions to be found when system 1 does not.
Finally, divergent thinking, defined as the ability to generate a large number of ideas in different directions, is considered an essential component of the creative process and crucial to solving complex problems.
Used in all creative processes, the activation of this mode of thinking has the characteristic of allowing or being allowed the most far-fetched ideas before converging on concrete, applicable solutions. The Dysney creativity method modeled by Robert Dilts (5) comprises three stages, the first of which calls on the "Dreamer", the person who forbids himself nothing, who is enthusiastic, who imagines many solutions or ideas without censorship. Design Thinking or De Bono's hat method systematically begins with a divergent thinking stage.
Tolerance of ambiguity, cognitive flexibility and divergent thinking are, without a doubt, three essential steps to take towards the unconventional thinking so useful for reacting to the unexpected. The good news is that we can develop them and propose exercises to our pupils, students or adults in vocational training.
To cultivate unconventional thinking, it's crucial to create a learning environment where fear of failure is replaced by curiosity and experimentation. The first fundamental principle is tolerance of error. A culture that punishes mistakes can be at the root of a cognitive rigidity that develops from childhood onwards.
For pedagogues, this implies a change in posture, moving from the role of "information provider" to that of "learning facilitator". In these approaches, the adult accompanies rather than directs, creating situations where the child can discover, experiment and ask questions for himself.
Developing mental flexibility also involves gradual exposure to the unexpected. To accustom the brain to surprise, one strategy is to introduce changes gradually.
This process provides a pedagogy of controlled discomfort, making adaptation to the unexpected familiar and secure. This reduces fear and prepares learners to face more complex challenges with resilience and creativity. The role of the educator is to deconstruct the myth of perfectionism by celebrating exploration and process rather than perfection of outcome.
Finally, it also seems necessary for pedagogues, teachers and trainers to train their unconventional thinking.
" Teaching is not improvisation - quite the contrary! However, various research studies have shown that theatrical improvisation workshops can help train teachers to deal with the unexpected in teaching (comments, gestures, noise, questions, incidents, etc.). In addition to representing opportunities for transferring knowledge from classroom management courses, these workshops meet the trainees' need for training in managing the unpredictability that can arise in the classroom, in the school corridors or during an activity outside the school walls" (8).
Theatrical improvisation workshops represent a real asset for teachers and trainers to anticipate the unexpected in their groups of learners, such as reacting to disruptive behavior, practicing to spot signs of boredom or avoiding concentration on one activity when several are underway.
References
(1) Safety-II and Resilience Engineering in a Nutshell: An Introductory Guide to Their Concepts and Methods https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2093791120303619
(2) "Intuition at work" Gary Klein. Ed Doubleday 2002
(3) "John Nash and game theory " https://www.economie.gouv.fr/facileco/john-nash#
(4) "System 1 / System 2: The two speeds of thought " https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syst%C3%A8me_1_/_Syst%C3%A8me_2_:_Les_deux_vitesses_de_la_pens%C3%A9e
(5) "The Walt Disney Method " https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9thode_Walt_Disney
(6) "What is reverse brainstorming? " https://www.dunod.com/qu-est-ce-que-brainstorming-inverse
(7) "Random input " https://creativiteach.me/creative-thinking-strategies/random-input/
(8) "Jeux d'improvisation" Petit, M., Gélineau, A., Lacroix, R. and Lison, C. (2024). L'improvisation: une méthode pédagogique à considérer dans le cadre de la formation initiale en enseignement. In S. Hovington and J. Lépine (eds.). La pédagogie par le jeu en enseignement supérieur: un levier pour favoriser le développement du savoir-être. Université Laval. Fabrique REL https://pressbooks.etsmtl.ca/pedagogieparlejeu/chapter/8-4-jeux-dimprovisation/
Story dice - Dave Birss - https://davebirss.com/storydice/
Class Tools - Random word generator - https://classtools24.com/fr/random-word-generator/
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