2. Get in the box
3. Become a malcontent (for a good cause!)
4. Focus on how to… make it worse!
5. From ball to thread
6. Put on a hat (one of six!)
How to regularly come up with brilliant ideas?
Data analysis done, conclusions drawn, all known possibilities considered, and you still don't have an idea for a satisfactory solution?
Logical thinking is not everything – a pinch of creativity is needed in the idea generation process!
Sometimes, to come up with indonesia phone number example fresh and innovative ideas, you just need to look at the problem from a different perspective – discover 6 tools that will help you with that.
1. Free the stream of consciousness
Do you have a creative task to do right now, but your head is full of vague ideas or, even worse, it's empty? Use the stream of consciousness method and turn your creative block into a real stream of ideas!
How to use this tool? Open a blank document and start writing down everything that comes to your mind on virtual paper. And if you really can't think of anything, start by writing down the words: "nothing comes to mind", "I have no idea for...", "blank page... what am I supposed to write here"!
Develop the topic, jotting down every thought that comes to mind (including the one that it’s stupid and definitely won’t help!). Before you know it, you’ll be writing down another page with your mind (you might find it hard to stop!).
Remember: paper will accept anything. There is no need to censor yourself during writing or worry about form. The text does not have to be logical, valuable in terms of content or correct in terms of language – you will delete it after the session is over anyway.
Its sole purpose is to get your grey cells moving and get you to the point where you start thinking creatively about the task.
And sooner or later you will come across ideas you never even suspected!
2. Get in the box
Everyone talks about 'outside the box' thinking, which is supposed to encourage people to think outside the box and beyond established solutions.
But do you remember that scene from Apollo 13 where a NASA engineer throws three boxes of equipment, identical to those found on the stricken spacecraft, on a table and informs the team that in order to save the astronauts, they must solve the problem with this finite set of components?
This is an excellent example of the application of the 'thinking inside the box' method, i.e. searching for a strategy based on available resources.
You might think that the effects of thinking 'inside the box' will be less promising than solutions 'outside the box', but that's just an appearance!
Constraints can inspire the most innovative ideas that we certainly would not have come up with if we had searched for a solution using another method, and because they are known to us, they predetermine possible, although still not obvious, directions of search.
How to use the 'inside the box' method? Start by writing down on a piece of paper: the goal to achieve (e.g. changing jobs), available resources (your current skills, network of contacts and LinkedIn account, and a friend who knows the rules of linguistic correctness and could improve your CV) and limitations (e.g. poor knowledge of tool X, inability to change place of residence, lack of time for an active job search).
A person looking for an 'inside the box' solution would probably post an advert on social media about a job search in their city, along with a list of their skills, information that they would like to learn tool X and a request to their friends for a recommendation if they heard about a similar job opening. And of course they would contact the friend who could take a look at the CV!
Often the simplest solutions are the best , and ideas born from available resources are usually easier to implement than proposals, nomen omen, from outer space!
3. Become a malcontent (for a good cause!)
Do you ever turn into a whiner, trying to criticize literally every idea that comes your way? If so, congratulations – you’re using one of the most effective methods of boosting creativity!
But be careful: the method is only effective when both parties know what it's about! Otherwise, it can become a cause of negative emotions and even creative block in the team.
The malcontent technique involves deliberately criticizing ideas in such a way that a solution is free (or nearly free) of flaws. The task of one person is to find fault, while the other team members propose improvements that eliminate the indicated imperfections.
You can also use this technique in your own work, alternately turning into the Resourceful Dobromir* (*legendary character from bedtime stories for boomers) and the malcontent – the destroyer of good fun.
Remember: ultimately, your role is not to bring the team to the brink of a nervous breakdown, but to help them find the most effective solution!
It may happen that the shortcomings you have pointed out will turn out to be insignificant, and then all that remains is to be happy because the goal has been achieved!
4. Focus on how to… make it worse!