Cultivating new ideas is the cure for putting forth a string of retreads. We’ve seen it in Hollywood and you’ve probably seen it in your own organizations. It’s not easy – hence the shortage of new ideas, but with a few personal changes, you can certainly come up with something new.
With the first two steps of clearing out space and feeding your brain, you can then set out coming up with your new ideas. Here are some suggestions for you to get started:
Challenge assumptions: Most of us start with a standard set of assumptions. It could be this is keeping your grounded in like solutions. Take a moment to try different ones. (Maybe my audience has already heard this topic. How could I say this differently and tie the concept to a modern problem?)
Reword the problem: Stating the problem differently often leads to different ideas. To reword the problem, look at the issue from different angles. You might come up with new ideas to solve your new problem. (What happens if we don’t solve this? vs. we just can’t seem to solve this problem)
Use a different media: We have many different ways to process information but most of us use the same ones consistently. Rather than verbalizing the issue, try drawing a picture, create a poem, or put something together using modeling clay. Sometimes these oddball processes yield different results because we’ve broken our normal pattern.
Mind Map your ideas: Put a key word or phrase in the middle of the page. Write whatever else comes in your mind on the same page. Begin a free-flowing brainstorm that will link connections to that central issue. This is my personal favorite. It NEVER fails to deliver new ideas and perspectives.
Get someone else’s perspective: Ask different people what they would do if faced with your challenge. Try to pick people who have no clue about your industry. Use a group of teenagers and tell them that all ideas are “on the table” and up for use. Try to explain your problem to someone who has no prior experience with your industry such as a senior citizen. These different perspectives plus the act of explaining your issue in new ways should help you get new ideas.
Don’t get discouraged if these methods don’t produce results. You may have to go through the first two steps and make SURE you’ve created space and fed your brain. No matter what, please don’t allow yourself to go into those old familiar grooves you’ve already gone through. The idea is to cultivate – and that takes work!