Idea generation
How to stay on cutting edge How to generate new ideas
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How to stay on cutting edge
What does it mean a cutting edge? Cutting edge is a term to characterize an ability or capacity superior and going beyond other and others of similar nature. It means not merely complying by traditional, conventional, and widely accepted. It means to challenge, to innovate, to question and ultimately go beyond. People possessing a cutting edge are those whose limits are blurred and never fully perceived. These people can and will go beyond. They ultimately cause change and drive change. According to Pareto principle of 10/80/10 these are people who belong to the upper 10% echelon. They are the best in each and everything they do. Big difference between normal people and cutting edge people is in their mentality, their unquenchable thirst for information, their frantic need to be aware of and understand, and their unfettered commitment to their ideals, aspirations and dreams. Cutting edge person is unafraid of taking on a challenge or defy a stereotype, not taken aback from seemingly unsurpassable wall of obstacles. To gradually become a cutting edge person, it is necessary to undertake a thorough selfeducation, self-examination and exhibit courage in whatever activities and undertakings he/she chooses to pursue or be part of. Steps including, but not limited to, getting into cutting edge mode are: Reading (especially history, politics, philosophy, fantasy, sci-fi) Reading is one of the most important paths towards achievement of a higher level of sophistication and towards becoming a cutting edge person. While reading specialized literature is necessary, it is also recommended to read as much of fictional literature – especially classics – as possible. Fiction provides an alternative life view and experience. History allows to understand better the past and the present, be it in politics of Middle East or communal mentality of Chinese society. Fantasy and science fiction works are especially favorable in fertilization and development of our creative minds. Philosophy – especially likes of Socrates, Nietzsche, and Popper – provides a heavy-set brain muscle workout. Reading not only enriches our pool of knowledge about the world , but also increases our IQ level. Writing (articles, essays) To complement reading, writing is a necessity in search of attaining a holistic handle of the language. Writing is necessary to develop our written language and be able to put on paper knowledge obtained from books. Writing is not
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only improves linguistic skills, but also enhances our creative mentality in addition to allowing us to learn expressing our thoughts in a written form. Sharing (ideas, thoughts) Sharing is an essential part of intellectual growth. Sharing ideas and thoughts helps scrutinizing, criticizing, refining and ultimately developing and enhancing ideas and thoughts. Listening (to others, to music, to the voice of the city) Listening is of one most important but rarely possessed feature of humans. Good listening reveals itself indispensable in relationships – personal and business – in exchange of ideas, information and in any possible form of human communication. Meditating or prayer (on a daily basis) Meditation or prayer purge mind and spirit of burdens, worries and doubts of daily routine and let the person reflect on matters of importance in tranquility and concentration. After continuous workout at gym, body muscles need time to recover and relax. The same is the case with mind, and meditation is the means to achieve the same result. Socializing and networking (online and offline) In personal life and business, socializing and networking are not uniquely important in sharing moments of fun, amusement and relaxation, but also reveals itself paramount in exchange of ideas, expression of thoughts, introduction to new people and new ideas, new things. Gaining new contacts, new sources of information, new challenges, new friends, new business partners – new things. These steps will assure a continuous renewal of the person and assured growth in all terms of that word.
How to generate new ideas
Idea is a combination of old elements. Capacity to bring old elements into new combinations depends largely on the ability to see relationships between those elements. Ideas can be produced in four steps: 1) Gather the raw material as much detailed as possible (specific and general information). In advertising, an idea results from a new combination of specific knowledge about products and general knowledge about life, developments and events. The process of idea generation is similar to the functioning of kaleidoscope. Small colored pieces of glass viewed through prism give different combinations. Every turn shifts these pieces into new combinations.
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2) Mentally masticating this material. The mind, too, has a second wind. Work out your mind until everything seems a jumble with no clear insights anywhere. At this point, the next step is ready for you. 3) Drop the whole subject and put the problem out of your mind (onto unconscious level). Turn to whatever that stimulates or attracts imagination, feelings, and emotions. Listen to music, watch movies, or do things unrelated to the problem. If the previous stages were well done, the idea will appear when and where least expected but sure enough. 4) Now the idea must pass through a real-world test by being worked at and developed. Criticism and public examination will reveal that ideas have selfexpanding qualities because other people might point out possibilities that you might have overlooked This sequence of steps will assure a systematic approach to generation of new ideas. In our case, we need to produce ideas related to business development. The same sequence must be applied and general information, which is recommended to obtain, will in our case encompass knowledge of regional and global scope of political, economic, technological and other developments. To be aware of where, what and when will provide the general information and context. To understand and reflect upon needs and requirements of clients/partners will complement the specific information as mentioned in the sequence above. Intertwining those two sets of data and looking for possible, though unprecedented – even better so – combinations, will provide us with new possible combinations. It will then remain up to our creativity to project and imagine the new idea in its entirety, as a combination of old elements. The creation of ideas therefore proceeds as mentioned above on a conscious or unconscious level of mind .To systematize and to fully realize the hidden potential of this technique will increase efficient and not unintended idea generation, thus yielding a vast pool of new possibilities to choose from in pursuing business development. As an example of working of this technique, let us examine one very famous example: mobile phones with cameras. Ever since its inception and mass appeal, mobile phones began to increasingly replace the usual means of fixed-line telephone. From young to businessmen to old people rely on conduct of their daily routines, their businesses, and even their private lives via mobile phone. The coming of the Internet, thus digitization of every possible hitherto unimaginable piece of technological invention, and extensive sharing of information – text, photo, video – brought forward the idea that perhaps one day taking pictures and sharing them would be as easy a task as to make a phone call. The spread of mobile phones and the great decrease in digital photography made someone think that perhaps those two – mobile phones and cameras – could be combined into one device. First mobile phones equipped with cameras were capable of taking only low-resolution photos and were somewhat bulky. In mere three-t-four years telephones look as sleek and slim and even possess a more advantages than several widespread digital cameras of Canon, Sony, and Kodak only few years ago. Today, mobile phones with high-quality cameras are a norm.
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