5 steps to great ideas
A little while ago, a very inspiring friend of mine was teasing me with a question. How comes that prisoners manage to escape from prisons? Well, simple – she said – because that is what they have in mind all the time. They are literally obsessed by the idea. They have the certainty that they will be to find “a way”.
Now, do you think prisoners are a more creative than average? No. The main point is that they allow themselves the freedom to be creative and think about solutions, rather than getting trapped by the problems.
There are plenty of (management) tools to be used for generating ideas or solutions, in a group or individually, and prioritizing them (some links at the bottom of this article), however the ideas generation process tends to cover common steps – whether it is about solving a business problem OR writing an article for Uptitude 😉
The good part about knowing that there is a pattern is that we can use the sequence at his own advantage to facilitate ideas to come to us!
STEP 1: Describe what you are after. “If you cannot name it, you cannot solve it.” This is the moment when to focus on what is that you are trying to address. it is the critical moment that makes the difference: believe you will succeed and you will. Make sure to formulate what you are after is the most lean and precise way. This step sets the way!
STEP 2: Gather as much knowledge as you can and internalize it. Collect as much information you can about the topic (NOTE, not the PROBLEM!) you are working on. “Breathe” the topic, talk about it with anyone to pick up different point of views and to get better insights. Get obsessed about understanding what you are talking about. Collect notions, plans, ideas, contacts. Organize them in order not to lose them.
STEP 3: Go for a walk. Have a break. Forget about the topic. This will give you the distance needed to realize the connections existing in the amount of info and data you have.
STEP 4: Let the idea gets you. Raise your hand if do believe as well that the shower is one of the best places to get ideas! I keep something to write beside my bed: I get plenty of ideas in the middle of the night or as I am just awake. Then I need to have something to note them down as soon as possible, or they are gone as quickly as they come. I get good ideas as well when I go running – focusing on the movement allows the creativity of connections to flow and produce great solutions! Just be there to embrace the ideas coming up!
Then revisit your notes, find relationships, validate the ideas.
STEP 5: Share and talk. Share your ideas ask for feed back. Do not be scared about “constructive feed back”. Be bold enough to embrace them – embracing any feed back will lead you to EXCELLENCE of EXECUTION!
So – your turn now! What helps you getting to great ideas? Share with us!
To learn more about getting great ideas:
How to get Ideas, Jack Foster, 2007 Berret-Koehler Publishers, Inc
How creative are you? Take this test
