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was enough to give me ideas to help the teams during discussions and to remind me of what I know. Also, when my own words failed at conveying what I meant, I could pull down a book with an example and show them.
    Firms intent on creating an air of professionalism can inadvertently constrain perception by controlling your working habits as well as your environment. In many organizations, even ones with avowed objectives of supporting innovation, being “professional” means only doing work while seated at your neatly arranged desk. Being outside the office, even if you are working hard on a project, may not be considered a legitimate use of time. Informing a supervisor or colleague that you are going to a library to look for relevant information or to a busy café so you can do your best creative thinking generates the immediate query, “OK, but when are you getting back to work?”
    Overcoming Perception Constraints
    You may or may not be able to influence the ways your organization limits your ability to gather and assimilate enough relevant data. But you can do a great deal to loosen the most binding constraints on perception, the ones that come from within. If we want to improve the quality and quantity of the input that goes into our efforts to think creatively, we need to become sensitive to the biases that are built into our perceptions and work hard to overcome them.
    Broaden Your Sources of Data
    One easy way to reduce the constraints on perception is to develop a list of the sources of data you know could apply to your problem before you actually begin gathering information. You aren’t gathering the data at this point, only noting potential sources of data. For example, a team in an arts organization seeking to increase the number of season subscribers might start with the following: current subscriber list (with addresses), government census maps of the area showing family income, data on events attended by subscribers, list of competitive organizations, list of upcoming events, historical subscriber numbers, and a few other relevant sources or types of information that the team thinks could have value. The information doesn’t even have to exist yet; it just needs to be potentially relevant to the problem at hand.
    Creating the data source list will help in several ways. First, you are less likely to overlook obvious sources of data; with a list in hand, you can go over it carefully or with others. Someone looking at it might suggest, “What about lapsed subscribers? What do you know about them?” If you missed it, then add it to the list. Another advantage is that you can come back to the list during later phases in the project. Circle back at strategic points to see if the team is overlooking some important data you already know about that would help move the project forward. For instance, while the team is trying to generate insights about how to price new subscriptions, a review of the data source list might remind them about the possibility of using census data to map where lapsed subscribers lived. Of course you won’t do that if it doesn’t make sense, but at least you raised the question and can discuss it with the team. Finally, you can use the list to serve as input to future projects. It is appalling when organizations, especially ones with scarce resources, don’t know what they know. You may spend weeks compiling a big list of addresses, only to have someone say, “Why are you doing that? Janis made a list like that six months ago.”
    Use Practiced Empathy
    Being open to fresh perceptions requires practice. Our powers of stereotyping are extremely strong, and without effort we are unlikely to overcome them. One technique that can help is what I call “practiced empathy.” The idea is to give yourself permission to open up and work at vividly imagining how people unlike you experience the world.
    A young playwright once told me how she worked