Ideas are kind of paradoxical: they don’t cost anything (cheap as chips), but, they also have huge potential.
Ideation, idea generation, idea nurturing fuel innovation, marketing and transformation.
Here are a few proven steps for better idea flow:
- Give them away. The only reason to hoard ideas is that you think you’re going to run out. Turn the tap on. Share your process. Create and distribute.
- Back away from the device. “We don’t know where we get our ideas from. What we do know is that we do not get them from our laptops.” John Cleese. I would add that we don’t get them from our phones either. The greater this distance between you and the screen, the greater the chance of a new idea.
- Have an ideas notebook. Mine is blue, with feint grid lines (long story). Either way, have a place to record ideas and inspiration as it comes.
- Look outside your industry. If you’re in the café industry, what is happening in the sweets sector? If you own a gym, what’s happening in performing arts? Pollenating your ideation process from other industries or parts of the culture is important.
- Throw away ideas. Counter to number 4, sometimes we need to throw ideas out. Flat out reject them, even the ones you introduce to us as an audience. And then, get used to this. This teaches us that we can create more of these ideas.
- Set times and due dates. Force yourself to write today and see what happens. Surely you’ll need an idea to write about. If you schedule a social event next Saturday, you certainly will need to find a venue. Often ideation is more mechanical that we think.
- Celebrate bad ideas. Reward your staff for “bad” ideas. Challenge your colleagues to come up with crazy ideas. General idea flow will include bad ideas, and this needs to be celebrated in order to find the good ones.
- Ask questions. In conversation, advice can be helpful. But a question and a long pause can be far more powerful. Where can a question take you? Where might this thread lead? Ask and find out.
Ideas are cheap, but also powerful.
If you found ways to help nurture them, would it be worthwhile?
