Creative Thinking

Use this skill when the user asks for creative thinking (including naming it or directing use/apply/run with obvious misspellings; decisive) or wants divergent ideation—fluency, flexible perspectives, novel combinations, and elaboration, with optional light convergence. Use when they want fresh ideas, blue-sky options, reframes, or more variety before committing, including casual or messy prompts. Skip when they want a single delivered answer with no exploration, audit-only teardown with no generation asked for, or purely mechanical execution.

Defer judgment during divergence. Keep generate (Prime, Diverge, Connect) separate from Harvest (pick and plan).

How to run it with this skill: one clearly headed section per phase in this order: Prime → Diverge → Connect → Harvest. Optional Perspectives beat only when noted in Setup.

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Setup (run before starting)

In one short block:

1. Creative brief — goal, audience, constraints (time, tone, taboos)
2. Default pass — Prime → Diverge → Connect → Harvest (state this line)

If constraints are missing, ask at most 3 clarifying questions in one message, then proceed. Note any remaining gaps or working guesses in plain language (no bracket tags in Setup).

If the user is stuck on one framing, add a short Perspectives beat before Diverge: Optimist / Skeptic / Outsider — two reframes each, no cross-critique yet.

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The Phases

Prime

Warm context in 2–4 bullets: what would delight or surprise success look like? What must not be violated?

Diverge

Quantity first. Produce a substantive list of ideas (no fixed count unless the user asks for one). Tag ideas F (flexible reuse of existing), N (novel twist), or W (wild — may be impractical).

Use at least two different creative triggers drawn from: analogy (unrelated domain), constraint flip (remove/add a rule), user fantasy (absurd ideal), time shift (past/future), scale shift (micro/macro).

Connect

Combine or mash ideas: A + B → hybrid concept in several lines (aim for multiple mashups, fewer than Diverge but not a single mashup unless the brief is tiny).

Harvest

1. Top picks — 3 ideas with selection rationale tied to the brief
2. Next creative step — e.g. prototype storyboard, user interview, spike, moodboard
3. Parking lot — 2 promising ideas deferred (why deferred)

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Execution Rules

1. No harsh criticism in Prime, Diverge, or Connect; park risks for a separate pass if the user asks.
2. Do not pretend user research happened; label speculative benefits as hypothetical.
3. One response for all phases unless the user requests pacing.

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Checklist (verify before responding)

• Setup: brief + default pass (and optional Perspectives if used)
• Diverge uses two+ triggers; ideas tagged F/N/W where applicable
• Connect present with multiple mashups
• Harvest has top picks + next step + parking lot