FOUR WAYS TO THINK MORE CREATIVELY.

• Position: Brief Article

People can teach themselves to think more creatively, according to creativity expert Michael Michalko. They can start by undoing the established thinking patterns that hold them back, he told the World Future Society, Bethesda, Md. Michalko described four steps to greater creativity:

Put your thinking into reverse. Alfred P. Sloan, CEO of General Motors, pioneered installment buying by reversing the common assumption that people had to pay for a car before they drove it.

Expand perceptions. A bookstore owner who fears the power of electronic media might redefine himself as a provider of information and entertainment--rather than as a seller of books only--and turn the problem into a new business opportunity.

Get crazy. A group of...