There is a step in the development of creative ideas that you can’t really plan around. It takes as long as it takes, although you can prime yourself for success. The idea behind this step is familiar to anyone who’s had a flash of insight during that thinking but not thinking time while taking the [...]
[Continue reading…]First Impressions: For Better or For Worse
The Power of the Glance We are hard-wired to make certain judgments instantaneously, on the barest minimum of knowledge. These snap decisions based n first impressions happen because the brain pulls everything out of our subconscious and processes it faster than we can be aware of it. They can be surprising accurate or they can [...]
[Continue reading…]Innovate Through Metaphorical Connections
Borrowing an idea from from another field is not enough. To develop an innovation you need to deliberately connect your problem with the borrowed idea. I rewrote this post at least three times because it seemed such an obvious next step that I couldn’t believe it was all this section was about. Yet sometimes we [...]
[Continue reading…]Four Steps Towards an Everyday Creativity
Nurturing an attitude of personal creativity improves your ability to understand and affect systems and to develop innovative solutions. It’s not tied to the arts but is about trying to think differently than an automatic approach to the world based on what you already know. Develop an Insight Outlook On a daily basis you remind [...]
[Continue reading…]Use Existing Ideas to Construct New Ideas
Three Steps for Effective Borrowing Dave Murray says to look in each of these places: 1. The Opposite Place – It can inspire a different way of viewing your world 2. A Similar Place – This helps you to understand the current reality. A similar place can be as simple as a competitor [...]
[Continue reading…]Build a Foundation for Innovation with Problem Definitions
When you ask the wrong question the answer you get may be correct, but still not be what you need. Therefore, the first step in Dave Murray’s innovation process is to define the problem. Locate the Problem If the problem has been assigned to you, then all you need to do is explore its boundaries. [...]
[Continue reading…]