An ongoing theme of my blog is how we can continually think of our personal and professional lives in different, more productive ways. Techniques of creative problem solving are often useful shortcuts at helping us get unstuck. In the mid-1990s I took a creative problem solving continuing education course at Georgetown University with Win Wenger, a creativity guru and author who is also based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. I enjoyed the course, and have stayed in touch with him over the years.
His organization, Project Renaissance, is a great source for information on many creativity and thinking-related issues. There is a really handy page on his site that collects many of his problem solving and creative thinking tools. One of Win’s tools, Image Streaming, is also featured in a book I reviewed for USA TODAY in 2007, Innovate Like Edison: The Success System of America’s Greatest Inventor, by Michael J. Gelb and Sarah Miller Caldicott (Edison’s great-grandniece).  Another reason why Win is worth reading and listening to is his emphasis on teaching and learning. On these topics, have a look at his 1992 book Beyond Teaching & Learning.