10 Deadly BrainStorming Ruts That Kill Innovation

By John Storm, BrainStorm Network

Are you stuck in a “brainstorming” rut?

Most people think they know how to brainstorm. Yet, few realize there is more to brainstorming than the one traditional method that Alex Osborn created in the 1950’s (yes, LAST century). A multitude of new methods, tools, and techniques have been developed in recent years. Here are 10 of the most deadly brainstorming ruts that kill innovation.

1. “KIA” – It’s the military acronym for “Killed In Action”. Yet, KIA is also my term for the surest way to “kill” innovation… Know It Alls. These are the folks that act as if there’s no room to grow or learn. Arrogance in all forms (a lack of openness to new ideas, current reality, or outside input) is a “killer”. Being a lifelong learner is essential to staying innovative. Don’t get KIA by being a Know It All.

2. “Been There, Done That” - Almost everyone puts brainstorming in a “box”. They don’t realize there are over 25 different brainstorming tools and techniques. Some work better with certain groups, projects or topics. Often the best tools are the ones YOU create for your needs. S-T-R-E-T-C-H!

3. “MIA” - Most people have participated in brainstorming sessions where a TON of ideas were generated. Then, everybody got up, walked out and… NOTHING HAPPENED! This is what I call “Missing In Action”. It’s critical to quickly move to key Evaluation and Implementation techniques that capitalize on team ownership, yet assign individual action steps. Don’t forget the Action!

4. “Failure Freeze” – Much of the traditional management and educational environment is geared toward the ‘one right answer’ philosophy. People are scared to make a mistake, yet the ability to “engage” risk that includes the possibility of failure is a vital component to innovation. Failure is an essential element of success! If you want more success, increase your failure rate!

5. “Blabbermouths Rule!” - Without a trained facilitator, brainstorming sessions tend to be dominated by the loudest or most outgoing participants. Quieter team members can get run over, thus stifling some really great ideas. Due to social inhibitions, it’s usually not the best idea to let the boss facilitate. This is why new methods of brainstorming can be more effective.

6. “We Got Lost!” - A clear direction, purpose, or goal for the session is ESSENTIAL! Tangents are the norm and it takes critical pre-session planning and a skilled facilitator to guide the discussion back to the goal without squelching genuinely useful ideas. Knowing what’s a rabbit trail and when to chase it is an important skill.

7. “Rear-View Living” – Spending too much time focusing on the past in “Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda- Thinking” is dangerous. Hindsight can offer great insight into problems, failure, crisis, and disasters. Yet, “rear view living”, especially if it turns into a blame game, is unproductive. Focus on the Future!

8. “Meeting Nausea” – ‘We’re SICK of meetings’ is often the unspoken attitude… and justifiably so. A GREAT brainstorming session is totally different than a normal ‘meeting’. Make it an “experience” with amazing results by thorough preparation including: a clear purpose, strategic pre-planning, a spirit of experimentation, a ‘grace-filled’ environment, and yes, even a good bit of fun and laughter.

9. “Bad Experience” – If you’ve ever had food poisoning, you usually avoid the culprit food for quite some time. Yet, you don’t give up on food altogether! If you’ve experienced a toxic brainstorming session in the past (perhaps led by an untrained facilitator or inhibiting boss), take some mental Pepto, get over it and try a new approach.

10. “The Fear Factor” – “I’m scared… What if we can’t solve the problem? What if someone else comes up with a better idea than mine? What if someone suggests an idea that means I might have to change?” Fear is still a driving force in stifling innovation, whether it means personal or organizational growth. Acknowledge your fear and then face it with renewed confidence.

Brainstorming, in multiple forms, is one of the quickest ways to help you create an Invironment of Innovation™ in your organization. Differently Think!

© 2003 John Storm

John Storm is The Idea Expert™ whose mission is to bring Your ideas to LIFE!™ His expertise focuses on helping people discover, evaluate and implement their ideas. You can find other resources at www.brainstormnetwork.org

COURAGE FOR CREATIVITY

By Shawn Asala

Have you ever been challenged to do something creative?

A lot of times, while conversing with friends, I discovered that many people do not see themselves as creative. A while back while working in Northern Nigeria, I was sitting with friends at an open bar. We were bored and looking to have some fun just hanging out. So I came up with a kind of game where we would all take turns completing a story off the top of our heads. The game would start with someone saying “Once upon a time…”

The initial reaction round the table was, “No I don’t think I can do that, I’m not that creative”. But at the end of the day it was crazy. We had so much fun. We came up with such a mind-blowing, rib-cracking story that was out of this world.

Now I will ask you a question. Do you think you are creative? Have you ever been afraid to make creative suggestions at a meeting or brainstorming session?

I discovered that one of the greatest creativity killers is fear.

Perhaps we fear we’ll fail to create something effective. Or maybe we have unrealistic expectations of perfection? Fear of failure? Fear of success? Are we afraid of being judged, disliked or criticized? Laughed at?

Whatever the reasons, fear blocks creativity and conspires to keep our personal and professional lives adrift on a sea of mediocrity. Fear is an anchor that holds us down in business and family life.

A creative person accepts destiny by facing anxiety, fear and uncertainty with courage.

And believe me, a lot of the problems we face linger on only because we haven’t taken time to sit down, do some creative brain-storming and courageously apply the ideas we have been able to harness.

From my little experience, here are a number of ways to raise your level of creativity.

Ask questions. A lot of questions. Some of us do that naturally. (My siblings always make fun of me on that one. They expect it and I always deliver)

Read books, magazines, journals, and etcetera

Travel

Listen to music

Watch movies

Surround yourself with comedy and humor.

Look around you at society, find a problem that bothers you and determine to be a solution.

Just decide you are creative. Believe it, accept it, be it.

Well, I will sign out here. Feel free to share your thoughts on this.

THE BIG SECRET - Finding the Underlying Principle

by Mitchell Ditkoff

Sometimes the best part of a poem is the silence it evokes. Sometimes the best part of school is lunch. And sometimes the best part of a brainstorming session is the stuff we ignore – the seemingly trivial, laughable or absurd. Sad to say, many aspiring problem solvers – obsessed with the bottom line – miss out on tons of potential solutions because they're unwilling to explore what they think is "beside the point.” Too bad. Because the "point,” for many people, is simply the spot they’ve created that marks the end of their search.
Indeed, breakthrough ideas are frequently beside the point – or at least preceded by what appears to be a distraction from the work at hand.

Spontaneous laughter, for example – whether "appropriate" or "inappropriate" – is often a clue that a friendly AHA! is lurking nearby. Exaggeration, too, can herald a quantum leap in the making – not to mention kidding around, wisecracks, sidetalk and a healthy dose of the surreal. Each has a role to play in the creative process. Each can serve as a valuable clue to re-focus your ideation efforts. That is, if you know what to do with them.

If you really want to be a breakthrough thinker, you must be willing to invite these moments of seeming distraction – not just for comic relief, but for building a bridge to deeper levels of intuitive knowing – the realm where your subconscious mind already has the answers. At this stage of the game your challenge is not to invent, but to translate. Why? Because your subconscious mind has a language of its own, often using humor, illogic and the surreal to get your attention. Like an undercover agent, it speaks in code. Your mission is to decipher its code and use it as a catalyst to make sense out of the seeming unknown. HOW? By searching for the UNDERLYING PRINCIPLE hidden within ideas that don’t seem to make much sense at first blush. The concept. The gist. The essence.

For example, if you say the only way to get closer to your customers is to "marry them,” you may be on to something. The literal idea sounds silly, but the underlying principle implies a direction worth exploring – that is, spending more time with your customers ...or getting closer to them in various ways.

If one of your co-workers suggests that "becoming the CEO" is the only way "things are going to change around here,” don't just blow them off. Dig deeper. Find out what the underlying principle is of this seemingly far-fetched idea. Maybe it's as simple as your co-worker making the effort to become more empowered. Maybe it's a "role exchange day.” Or maybe it’s coming up with a new way of gaining access to the movers and shakers inside your organization.

In either case, the initial idea – however off-the-wall it sounded when first pitched – has hidden within it the power to trigger an entirely new line of thinking – one that may just be the key to your company's future success.
What oddball idea, recently shared with you by a friend or co-worker, may have – hidden within it – an underlying principle worth considering?

This article is excerpted from BANKING ON INNOVATION, a 172-page workbook that
accompanies Idea Champions’ 2-day creative thinking training.
Log onto www.ideachampions.com/banking_on_innovation.shtml for more info.
Copyright 2006 Idea Champions, Inc.
800-755-IDEA, www.ideachampions.com

Rule The World With Your Ideas

By Adedayo Olanrewaju Benson

"Lack of money is not as bad as lack of ideas"

Before creation, this whole world and the people in it were just an impression in God's mind. Everything was sleeping quietly in an idea.

 A great future awaits us all but I want to tell you that this future is waiting for the thoughts that God wants to transfer into our minds. Some of us have caught some ideas, some have not, but our future is sleeping quietly inside these ideas. However they are more powerful than we may understand. It may also encourage us to know that God did not finish creation, but only started it. The day an idea is introduced into your mind is the day creation begins with you. Creation begins with an idea. Everything visible today first of all existed in the form of an idea in someone's mind e.g. Cars, Microphones, Clothes, Aircrafts, and so on.

"Ideas are simply thoughts or plans or mental impression in our minds"

Every human being is potentially wealthy and prosperous. The poor people are the ones who do not have ideas because ideas are the seeds that guarantee a future harvest. The Soul does not eat physical food but handles intangible things, which are IDEAS. So the prosperity of our Souls is determined by the prosperity of ideas in our minds. (3 John 2).

I have found out that money flows in direction of ideas. Whatever stops you from getting ideas has practically stopped you from getting money. Ideas magnetize resources from the environment. Our quality of life can only be changed by the quality of ideas that flow through our mind.

Ideas are more powerful than the brain that produces them because they usually outlive those brains

IDEAS FOLLOW DECISION.

The brain has been designed to produce an idea that suits our decision. The moment you decide, the brain goes to work and supplies the ideas of how to get what you have decided to get and when to get it.

Many years ago, in a small town in United States, a doctor climbed his horse and rode to a chemist's shop. He went in through the back door (somethings that change our lives come secretly). He carried in his hand an old fashioned kettle and a wooden paddle. He brought these items to the shop clerk with a sheet of paper on which was written the formula for a drink. Both of them began to bargain and eventually the clerk gave the doctor five hundred dollars for the items that he had come to sell. What the doctor sold to the clerk was worth a fortune to the young clerk but not to the doctor who gave away the items for just five hundred dollars.

To the surprise of the clerk, the content of the kettle which has since become a household name in the world, began to pour forth gold. The content of the kettle has been heard of in more places on the earth than the gospel of our lord Jesus Christ.

Somehow, the young clerk added something to the kettle, the paddle, and the formula. That thing, I believe is an IDEA. Today, the content of that kettle is the greatest consumer of sugar in the world. It is sustaining sugar plantations, the worker and their families around the world. It is one of the world's greatest consumers of glass and has turned fortune of many men around. The name of the drink is Coca-Cola, and the name of the clerk is Asa Candler.

The same thing that doctor placed a value of five hundred dollars on has today assumed a value that is difficult to estimate. But the difference between the doctor and the clerk was just ONE idea. The doctor did not realize that all the while he was holding the kettle, the paddle and the formula, billions of dollars were potentially lying in his hands. Unfortunately he did not find the idea so he could not get the billions of dollars. But one young man caught the idea and was able to release the potential for the billion.

HOW TO GENERATE IDEAS.
You can never rise above the level of your ideas. The quality of ideas that flow through your mind determines the quality of your life. How do we get ideas? I classified the means into two- the ordinary and the extraordinary process.



A. NATURAL PROCESS

1. Identify a need. Find a need and fill it. For example, people need to wear clothes, make clothes. The problem with the average person is that our inner eyes are closed. "One man's problem is another man's opportunity"
2. Build on someone's experience /product. Simplify an existing process or product. For example, cables have being use for telephone but now we do not need cables. Someone got ideas for wireless phone systems. Sit down and think of how you can improve on the current methods and equipment employed in your field.
3. Create a need. Before, man used water to entertain visitors, but now we use soft drinks. Man is not born with innate desire for soft drinks. Its general acceptance by the populace has made it a standard requirement for entertainment. Man created the need for soft drink.
4. Exposure. Reading, traveling and asking questions help to arrange and rearrange thoughts in our mind.


B. SUPERNATURAL PROCESS.

The greatest ideas that man will ever know are the ones coming from the invisible realm. We must cultivate our minds and faculties to be able to receive from that realm. Some have called it the Sixth Sense. Some call it Intuition. In the church, we call it the Voice of the Spirit. It is the ability to receive what the five senses cannot know. How do we condition our mind to receive supernatural ideas?

1. Prayer Dr. Robert Schuller says: "sow a prayer reap an idea"

"Call to me, and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know." Jeremiah 33:3

2. Meditation in the Bible The greatest idea resource book in the whole world is the bible. It puts God's creativity on display. It demonstrates how God resolved so many seemingly impossible situations. Meditating on the word of God prepares our minds to receive inspired ideas from God.
Along with meditation in the Bible, there is the need for general meditation. Take some time out to think. Great works are product of great thoughts.

"Ten minutes of thinking can be worth more than ten hours of misdirected efforts"

It is mental work expressed through physical work that guarantees quality results. That is Smart work and Work smart yields better returns than mere hard work. "And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening.''

3. Giving. It is clearly established in the Bible that giving provokes a flow of ideas from God. 1st Kings 3: 4 - 5

"Weak minds discuss people, Lazy minds discuss events but Great minds discuss Ideas."

Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Adedayo_Olanrewaju_Benson

Ideas Rule the World (2)

By Ola Olabimpe 

A very witty phrase, if you ask me. Going by the definition by Wikipedia: "an idea is a concept or abstraction formed and existing in the mind. Human capability to contemplate ideas is associated with the ability of reasoning, self-reflection, and the ability to acquire and apply intellect. Further, ideas give rise to actual concepts, or mind generalizations, which are the basis for any kind of knowledge whether science or philosophy."

So why do we say they rule the world?

"Everything you see and touch was once an invisible idea until someone chose to bring into being."

- Richard Bach.

Like a dream, an idea sprouts up in the mind, flies around in our brains till it is used or naturally fades out. The uniqueness and power that set apart any successful businesses or individual, starts with the kind of ideas they come up with (usually influenced by their state of mind, environ and situations).

It is not enough to have an idea, but it is a good start. To create a business, you need to come up with an idea. Then once you're in business, you need more ideas for design, engineering, capacity building, marketing, creative problem solving, customer retention, etc. Day in day out, you would need to think and generate new creative ideas to sustain the existing ideas. The accelerated pace of change and current ease of new entrants to new markets due to technological advances leaves no time to be sloppy in encouraging and nurturing ideas.

The success or failure of a business could be could depend on just one idea or the timing. Most companies are not short on new ideas, but they are short on ways to assess, prioritize, and execute those new ideas. For example, IBM existed when Dell took advantage of the internet and started online computer sales. Dell Computers had "an idea" IBM lacked and developing that single idea at that time, made Dell MONEY and a strong brand name. Ideas don't just bring you out of your shell, they possess the power to creatively stand you out.

Find great ideas? Basically, ideas are born by combining existing ideas to form an invention

(e.g. "car" and "kitchen," = "mobile restaurant,").

Firms must enthusiastically welcome new ideas and suggestions. If an idea is given proper attention, it may become the hero in town, the next great marketing campaign, or even the perfect incubator for your next innovative product or service.

There are several instances in history where great ideas were born and have made success:
Finding solutions to a need gave birth to Crayola brand crayons which started as a need for a child friendly school instrument.

To improve its business Garment Care (another laundry shop or better still a "glorified wash-man"), accepted Alder 's concept of "branding" and the success, we can tell.

The famous Mark and Spencer wanted to be different from other retail stores in UK; today, miles away the Igbo*-boy in Tejuosho* market, sells with lines like "this one is original stuff, like Mark and Spencer".

Post It Notes was created from the "failures" in a series of experiments in trying to create a heavy adhesive.

Adapting to change has helped Madonna (the world known singer and business woman) keep a firm grip on her legion of fans. Despite all the critics surrounding her career, by incorporating the latest dance ,music and trends into her own style, she has managed to retain her stage space in the entertainment industry, for decades.

I remember banking in Nigeria was also very boring before Bond Bank(then)* and GTBank* changed the game thanks to Alder consulting. The lists goes on and on.

To build a strong brand out of businesses or individuals you need to have a unique story to tell. The Einsteins, Gates, Dangotes*, Bruces*, Modelas*, had all made it because,

 Ideas Rules The World!

(*Note: this article was written from the Nigeria perspective and languages.)

This article is brought to you by Ola Olabimpe. A creative motivational writer for a FREE motivational self improvement ezine. She is a lover of quotes and would find lots of it in her writings.You can read and enjoy our weekly ezine on [http://www.mindjuicezine.com] Mind juice is sent via email and the site is regularly updated with absolutely free stuff and just about anything that has to do with self development! SO kick start every week with a handful of inspiration visit [http://www.mindjuicezine.com] Now! Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Ola_Olabimpe

IDEAS RULE THE WORLD

By OLU MIKE OMOASEGUN

Everything that we see in this physical world was first conceived in the formless world of thoughts and ideas. All the things we are using in the world today (clocks, cars, radios, TVs, computers, airplanes, ships, etc) are products of some people created through thoughts and ideas. Your idea is your product, and your product will produce your wealth. Moreover, your ideas that become a product remain the name that people remember you for in history.
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary defined idea as "a picture or an impression in your mind of what something or somebody is like".
An idea is creating in the mind through thoughts. Positive thoughts will result in positive ideas while negative thoughts will result in negative or bad ideas. The mind is a place where you can reason, understand, and think. What you feed your mind is what it takes; what it takes is what it produces. It accepts totally anything you feed it.
It is impossible to keep down a man or woman with a desire to use his/her ideas. No matter the opposition you face, if you have a strong desire, your idea will lift you up and make you overcome.
Your idea remains dormant until you desire to stir it up and utilize it to solve people's problems in your world. Your desire will also help you to develop the ideas within you. When you develop your idea into a product, you will begin to make extra-ordinary progress in life and you will rise to the level of top of achievers. Ideas rule the world.
Readiness to invest time, energy and resources to develop and deliver your idea will transform you, transform your world and bring you wealth.
Discover your idea today and develop it in order that it becomes a product that will be useful for you and your world as whole.
Mike Omoasegun (Pastor)
omoasegungloballinks@yahoo.com
 

OLU MIKE OMOASEGUN, a Nigerian is Assembly Pastor of CAC Hqrs Hill of Li Jos Nigeria. He is a teacher, writer, motivator. Loves reading and writing. Contact:
P. O. BOX 13523 JOS, NIGERIA
http://idealofsuccess.wordpress.com/
E-Mail:
mikoasmikoas@gmail.com
Article Source: http://articles.faithwriters.com/reprint-article-details.php?id=11021

Innovation in Nigeria?

By Shawn Asala


‘Innovation’ is a difficult term to pin down. Taken literally, it can include almost any new development.

Generally we can describe innovation as ‘the successful exploitation of ideas’. Two key words stand out in that definition: Ideas. Exploitation.

An idea is:

1. Something, such as a thought or conception, that potentially or actually exists in the mind as a product of mental activity.

2. An opinion, conviction, or principle:

 

To exploit means:

To utilize; to make available; to get the value or usefulness out of; as, to exploit a mine or agricultural lands; to exploit public opinion

 

Put all together we can say that to innovate means to successfully get the value or usefulness out of an idea. Innovating for problem solving therefore requires that we first of all generate ideas on various ways to tackle a problem, then make great endeavors to fully and efficiently exploit that idea for successful outcomes, the end point being of course to put an end to the problem.

In todays Nigeria we are surrounded by problems and challenges that call on us to exercise our creativity, innovate, explore and exploit ideas that can bring about lasting solutions and improve the quality of life of the average Nigerian.

 

I would like to state, using real estate terminology, that the greatest and the largest room you will find anywhere in Nigeria is the room for improvement! In every sphere of life in todays' society, we are operating way below our potential.

 

Take power supply for instance. Generators are supposed to be temporary innovations used as back ups in the event of sudden power failure. However in many parts of the country, generators are the stable source of power. They have become our way of life. But the real tragedy is that all ideas generated to solve this lingering and malevolent problem are not being fully or successfully exploited! Therefore we can say that there has been no innovation in the power sector in Nigeria (remember the definition of innovation we adopted at the beginning of this article?)

 

This scenario applies to so many other facets of our daily existence. Transportation, education, law and order, etctera. It is as if the creative engines of our people have knocked! Over the past few years, the only really successful innovation has been the introduction and widespread use of mobile gsm communications/data services, which in itself is not a new innovation at all. (Only delayed in Nigerias case)

 

I see a serious vacuum in our development as a nation. It is a vacuum caused by a severe lack of successful innovations. I am aware that among our people, ideas exist and abound, but these are stifled by plagues of corruption and government irresponsibility. However, the situation calls for more determination to see that great ideas overcome the current state of things and eventually rule for ultimate progress and development.

 

We could start by coming up with innovative ideas on how to tackle the corruption that holds us bound. Ideas and innovations come from research and constructive meditation. We need to study how other people have done it, meditate and come up with adapted versions and even never-before-seen ways of bringing down this giant.

 

At this point, let us take some time out to reflect on all that has been stated, and brainstorm ideas that can help to cure the cancer of corruption that rots our system.

 

That is a good place to start.