getFreshMinds.com | Creativity | Innovation | Ideas so fresh--they should be slapped!

Squeeze out more ideas

Years ago, when I was competing in creative problem-solving competitions, our team would spend hours learning how to come up with fresh ideas in a hurry.

This wasn't just for fun.  We were going towards a goal.

Midway through the year, our team would go to a regional competition where 1/3 of our score would come from creative thinking exercise that we had to solve on the fly.

The seven of us would walk into a nondescript room with no idea what we were going to be doing. 

The judges would read us a challenge--which could be everything from creating a non-verbal communication method, to building a weight-supporting tower, to thinking of all the unusual things we could that were green.

We'd have 2-10 minutes to think about it, and then we were on.  We had a limited time to present, and unique, creative solutions were worth more point-wise than common, everyday ones.

Less than 30 minutes later, we'd be back in the real world. 

Unsurprisingly, those 30 minutes were incredibly important.  An entire 6 months of hard work could be thrown away in a minute if someone froze up.

So we practiced and practiced and practiced again.  But that wasn't enough to take us to the next level because it's way too easy to rely on the ideas everyone thinks of when you're under time pressure.

In response, our coach came up with an "evil genius" method of teaching us to search for the best ideas.

(It was evil because we hated her for it.  It was genius because it worked.)

During practice, she'd give us a creative challenge.  We'd do it, but if our team didn't score high enough on creativity, she would make us do the whole thing all over again.

With no repeated answers.

It. Was. Awful. All our ideas were out on the table already.  And we needed more.

You know what happened? 

We would start off like we were slogging through molasses--in flippers. Nothing would come out, no matter how hard we tried to squeeze something (anything) out of our brains.

Then, as the true desperation set in, someone would just throw a completely zany idea out there because they couldn't think of anything better.   Then someone else would.

And suddenly, it was easier to think of new ideas again because we were all headed in a different direction.

Amazingly, we were always able to come up with a bunch of totally new ideas when we were repeating the challenge. 
 

However, those sessions also why I winced badly when reading Litemind's article, Tackle Any Issue With a List of 100.  Luciano Passuello, author of Litemind, advocates creating a list of 100 ideas to solve a problem in a single sitting.

It sounds like torture.  It probably is. And I didn't know if I should recommend it...   I don't want to be like the wicked, evil creativity coach who made us all want to beat out heads on the table.  I actually want people to like me!

But you know what?  I had to do it.  Because this strategy works.

Here's why:

• When you start listing ideas, you first write down everything you've already thought about.
  
  This clears out the backlog of ideas we normally keep in our heads.  Luciano projects that you'll get about 30 ideas this way.

• After we run out of available ideas, we start struggling through the muddy recesses of our brain.
  
  That's when we begin snatching at every possible connection and any pattern we can find.  This is the warm-up, and it's definitely tough: it can take as many as 40 hard-won ideas to get past this stage.

• Then, the magic starts to happen.
  
  The last 30 or so ideas are easier to come up with, and more "out there" than the middle set.  This happens because our brains have gotten rid of all the "easy" ideas, and are used to stretching further for new possibilities.
   

But just as my creative problem solving teams eventually prevailed--even when our evil coach made us do the same challenge 3 or 4 times--making a list of 100 ideas is definitely possible. 

It just takes the dedication (or fear of a coach) to keep pushing forward through the mental mud until the ideas start flowing again.

So, try it.  Read the article, sit down with a blank sheet of paper and a new pen, and start writing. You'll definitely hate me for it... but afterwards you'll be very amazed at how many ideas you can squeeze out of your brain.

And if you practice squeezing out extra ideas regularly, you'll be able to come up with better ideas when you really need them.

"Can you make me be more creative?"

Yesterday, I was talking with a couple friends when one asked two of my favorite questions.  "What happens when someone can't think of any ideas? You can't force them to be more creative, right?"

I rubbed my hands together, thrilled at the challenge that was coming.  "Actually, I can."

Eyebrow raised now, my friend asked.  "Oh really? How?"

I gave them an example:

Ok, you're trying to think of ways to improve a car.  Are you thinking about making it faster, more powerful, more luxurious, bigger, safer, or with better fuel efficiency?

As expected, they were guilty as charged.

Then, I told them I was going to give them a completely Random Word that they were going to have to connect with their goal of improving a car. 

Their word was "Washing Machine."

One of them started out hesitantly "Well, you could put a washing machine in the car."

Then the other jumped in, "Or, what about a dryer?  Wouldn't that be more useful if clothes got wet?"

"Or what about making the inside of the car able to dry itself?  That would really be a great feature if you live in a wet climate and left the window open."

Three ideas in about 10 seconds.

And the interesting thing is that each of those ideas has potential if developed further:

• A washing machine in the car itself might not be feasible, but could they be combined in some other way? What if someone was able to turn on the washing machine at home from their car so that the clothes would be ready for the dryer when they got home?

• A dryer in the car could be pretty useful.  What about those days when you're in a rush and have to run out the door before your clothes are completely dry? 
  
  Or, what if you find out that the shirt you desperately wanted to wear was full of wrinkles?  Or what if you regularly cart around a bunch of swimmers?

• And check out how the last idea turns into a very valuable concept.  Not only does the idea of an car-interior dryer sound appealing to anyone who has ever had a convertible or got snow in the car, it also brings up the thought: ways of removing water from inside the car. 
  
  As another way of doing this, what about adding a dehumidifier function to the car's air system?  It's extremely dangerous to drive when the whole front is fogged up, and sometimes just breathing can be enough to cloud up the windshield.  Wouldn't it be nice to have an easier way to get rid of that?

So, that's the result of forcing two people to think creatively for about 10 seconds.  Not bad, huh?

Imagine what would come up if a bunch of people did creativity exercises like that for a decent amount of time...

The results can be pretty impressive. 

European idea factory Brainstore can get hundreds of ideas from their program participants in a hour. 

SolutionPeople in the US was able to inspire 500 Fast Company conference participants to come up with 5,000 ideas--in 10 minutes.

All from methods that force creativity.  Sounds like something worthwhile to learn, doesn't it?

What IS innovation?

Innovation... it's a word that's flying out of the mouths of CEOs right and left, and taking the business world by storm.  Everyone's searching for the next great one, and crossing their fingers that their next project will be it.

But what exactly IS innovation?

Last week, Jon, author of the new and fun-to-read Future Visions blog held a one-line survey asking readers to chime in with their definition of innovation. 

Results are up today, and they're really interesting.

So please jump over to the Future Visions blog, take a look, and share your thoughts there.  It'd definitely worth reading!

I've already chimed in with my comment.  Hope to see you there!

I can't resist, I'm joining in the fun!

With so many people entering the Creativity Contest, I was starting to feel a little left out. 

It's a fault of mine.  When there's creative thinking going on, I can't stop my brain from joining in.

So, here goes.  My random word is "mouse".

At first, I started off thinking of the small size of a mouse.

Except I had to veto that way of thinking because the Smart cars are already so much smaller than other cars.

Secondly, my mind went to the mouseholes.

In our house, we have plenty of mice (we live in a forest), but we almost never see their holes.  The mice always tuck their holes into corners, behind folds, and in natural crevices.

That made me think of how garages are always so obvious. 

There's a huge door, and many garages face the street.  But why do we always have to KNOW that there is a garage there?  Why couldn't garages be tucked away out of sight and made less obtrusive?

And then mousetraps came up.

When I was younger, we used mousetraps to power Styrofoam cars in one of my technology classes.  It was amazing how far the cars would go when the mousetrap was released.

Why couldn't a similar spring system be used to jump-start car s into motion?  Perhaps the braking action could prime a spring, and the gas pedal could release it.

Speeding up is the most energy-intensive part of driving a car.  If a spring could transfer the energy lost while breaking into energy to propel the car into motion, a lot of energy would be saved.

Of course, I didn't forget cheese!

Mice love cheese, but there's nothing worse than cheese that has set out too long and gone rancid.  This made me think of taking food (in general) home from the grocery store.

When it's a hot day, it's very easy for temperature-sensitive foods (like ice cream) to get too warm.

So what if cars were equipped with a refrigerating trunk?  Then shoppers wouldn't have to worry about sensitive food spoiling!  Might just be as simple as adding an air-conditioning vent to the trunk.

Phew! Glad I got that out of my system.  Now I can go back to enjoying all the other fresh submissions!

And trust me, this contest is fun.  Click right over to the Random Word Creativity Contest,  get your word, and join in!

Should you be making connections, or breaking them?

Not long after I started my Creativity Challenge, I realized something ironic. 

• One one hand...
  JibberJobber, the prize for the contest, is designed to help you strengthen connections.

• On the other hand...
  The Random Word exercise, the contest itself, requires you to destroy connections.

Whoops!

Actually, it's not as bad as it sounds.  The Random Word is actually about escaping current connections to search for new ones.

Here's why.

The more times our brains thinks of something, the easier it is to think of that same thing again.

That's why we study for tests, and why it's hard to stop thinking about a new romantic interest, and why I can still recite a children's poem I learned at the age of ten.

But it's not so great for creative thinking.

Basically, what happens is that the human brain connects a problem with a solution--and then every subsequent time those problem/solution pairs are connected, the stronger the connection gets. 

Then, when the brain is asked to solve a problem, it jumps right to its usual solution.

That's why car companies always think faster, bigger, more powerful, more expensive when they design new cars.  It's why cell phones are all moving towards becoming mini computers.  It's why I always want to make pasta when it's my turn to cook dinner.

Even though other possibilities C to G are out there, our brain automatically goes with this established A-B path.

And the Random Word technique is designed to get in there, stop the normal connection-making, and bust the possibilities wide open!

You'll know exactly what I mean when you go to my contest and get a random word.  Your mind will be happily trying to think of new ways to improve a car... when your random word will come up something crazy and completely unrelated. 

Like SHARK.

Immediately, your brain will screech to a halt, going "WHAT? What in the world do "sharks" have to do with improving a car???"

You'll think it's impossible.  You'll think I'm cruel for filling the Random Word Generator with absurd words.  You'll hate me for doing it on purpose!

But, then something will click and an idea will come up. 

• Like incorporating a cartilage-like material into cars to make them less like to break and shatter in accidents. 

• Or studying how the shark's scales move water to figure out a more efficient tread system for tires.

• Or something else that makes sense and results in a new idea.

What happens is that the Random Word doesn't allow our brains to go from A to B anymore.  In fact, it makes us start at completely-related point C.

Then, because our brains are so used to making connections, they frantically run over every aspect of Random Word until they find something that can be related to the problem at A.  Then, BAMM, a new connection is made.

The Random Word technique starts our thinking outside the "normal" connections, and then solves the problem by connecting backwards.

The process isn't as neat as going from A to B, but it does work. Just ask the 13 readers who have already successfully made connections in my contest.

Or better yet, go try it yourself!

And, maybe you'll not just win with all the new creative connections you make, you'll also win the JibberJobber subscription so you can make connections with real people too!

Your challenge... if you chose to accept it.

How many connections can you make?  How many new ideas do you have?

Last week, I was awarded a "You Get It" award by Jason Alba of JibberJobber for having so much fun writing this blog. 

This is great because Jason's letting me give away 6 months of his premium JibberJobber service to a commentator on this blog.

So, what's this prize about?

JibberJobber is a tool that you can use for your personal career management. Experts tell you to do all kinds of stuff, and it's hard to keep track of it all.

 

will help you:

• Manage and keep track of network relationships. It is your personal relationship manager for your career.
• Organize and keep tabs of target companies that you apply to, or want to apply to.
  
• Track jobs you apply to - when did you interview, did you send a thank you letter, etc.?
• Prepare for interviews. Put in elevator pitches. Put in responses to questions.
  
• Store important documents like resumes, cover letters, reference letters, etc. Track where you use these and who you send them to.

Jibberjobber is also great for keeping your job-search material organized and available anytime.

How can you win it?

Simple, all you have to do is give me one idea. I'll even tell you how to get it!

Your challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to use a Random Word to come up with "fresh ways to improve cars".

It takes only three quick steps to be entered to win...

1. Get a Random Word.

Use the generator below.  The word should be completely unrelated to cars. You have to use one of the words that comes up.

2. What is the first thing that comes to mind about that word?

Don't worry if it doesn't feel related to the problem!  That's the idea!

3. How could that turn into "a way to improve a car"?

Any idea is great, especially if it's wacky.  I want fresh ideas beyond faster and more powerful.  Let your random word bring you somewhere completely different.

Just write it in the comments (with the random word that got you there) and you're done!

Now, get started!  Your Random Word is:   

   

       

(And, trust me, all the words are hard.  Just go with the first one you get.)

If you need some help starting your thinking, go to Do You Have Trouble Being Creative? for examples about using this technique.

UPDATE: The contest is all over, and the winner has been crowned.

If you'd like to see the fantastic ideas people entered in this contest, they're here:

Ways to Improve Cars - Ideas from the Random Word Contest (Part 1)

Ways to Improve Cars - Ideas from the Random Word Contest (Part 2)

Many thanks to everyone who participated!

(Random word generator comes from Paul McFedries)

Must all quality ideas be brand-spanking new?

Where do your ideas come from?  Are they out of nowhere, or have you seen them before...somewhere else?

The other day I came across an interesting post on the BQF Innovation blog about how many good ideas have been adapted from things people see in other areas.  I've been meaning to write a post expanding on it, but hadn't developed it yet.

So, it was a real pleasure yesterday to get an insightful comment from Kent Blumberg that demonstrated exactly what I wanted to write about!

In response to my recent posts challenging the idea (held by many companies) that customer service is bad, Kent writes...

This reminds me of Fujitsu's approach to help-desk operations (as reported by Jim Womack and Dan Jones in "Lean Solutions", (Free  Press, 2005).

Apparently, Fujitsu gets paid a set annual fee to run help desks, rather than getting a fee per call.  That gives them incentive to fix problems permanently, thereby reducing the number of complaints.

Very interesting.  First of all, it brings up the point that there are people who benefit from repeated calling about the same subject.

If a company uses an outside call center and pays a fee per call, that call center has no motivation to actually work to solve the company's problems.  In fact, the more times customers have to call, the more the call center makes.

But the better part is that Kent opened his mind up to how companies in other industries are dealing with the same problem.  That's actually rarer than you'd think. 

It's amazing how many experts in one field focus only on happening in that field, and miss similar developments (that could help them) in other arenas.

In fact, the US military is a prime example of this.  Until very recently, the Navy, Air Force and Army each required completely unique designs for their planes despite sharing many of the same requirements.  And the Pentagon just ordered the Army and Air Force to develop their new unmanned aerial vehicles (which were both being made by the same company) together, instead of individually.

Paul Sloane's post Adopt, Adapt, Improve shares some historical examples of innovations that have come from adaptation. 

Did you know that:

• The idea for roll-on deodorant came from the ball point pen?
• Velcro was inspired by burrs tangled in a dog's fur?
• The telephone was modeled after vibrations made by the human eardrum?

It's amazing how being open to seeing parallels in other fields can lead to new solutions for the same problems.

As Kent suggested for Sprint's case, it may be as simple as changing the focus of the problem.

Going from:
"Customer service is costing us too much--so we need to get rid of existing customers"

To:
"We have this amount of money to spend every month for customer service--what can we do to reduce call volume?"

This may not seem like a huge difference....

Except the call center now has an incentive to get problems fixed and out of their hair.  It's to their advantage to make sure each customer's issues are addressed in the first call, and that the same issues don't reoccur every month.

It's the difference between requiring customer service reps to field customer problems versus requiring them to solve customer problems.

I would be very interested to see how this idea would work out.  From what Lean Solutions reports, Fujitsu has had a lot of success in reducing call center costs and increasing customer satisfaction by focusing on fixing reoccurring problems and locating the underlying causes.

Special thanks to Kent for his comment and for tipping me off to an interesting book!

                                                            Tunnel photo from Walter.

Does thinking of customer service as a negative blind companies to new opportunities? (Part 2)

It should come as no surprise to anyone reading this blog that many large companies hate giving customer service.  To avoid talking to their customers, companies outsource, automate, and even (if they're Sprint) send break-up letters to their most challenging customers.

But is customer service the horrible beast many companies make it out to be?  Or do opportunities lurk just past its frightening exterior?

Yesterday, in Does thinking of customer service as a negative blind companies to new opportunities (Part 1), I challenged the belief of companies like Sprint that customer service calls are negatives that should be avoided.

Here are a couple more "What If" questions that Sprint should be asking.

Question 3: What if Sprint benefited from customers calling the service line?

Many many companies spend a lot of money on market research, paying big bucks to find out what their customers want.  They do surveys, gather focus groups, and pay other companies to tell them what customers are saying.  It's not an easy thing for them to get quality input.

At the same time, customers calling the service lines are often faced with long, boring waits where they listen to elevator music and head the same advertisement over and over and over.

Hmmm.  Can something be done to improve both those situations?  What if customer who called the help line were invited to help the company with a little market research while they waited?

Customers could complete a survey, evaluate a radio advertisement for its effectiveness, or even share their ideas with a representative.

Although many customers would do it for free (just to avoid the horrible hold music), the company could offer incentives to increase participation.  Perhaps a 10% deduction on their next bill, or a coupon code to buy phone accessories on their website, or maybe even a shorter wait?

Market research would get access to a large number of subscribers, customers would not be so irritated at the long wait and the company would be able to write-off some customer-service expenses as a development initiative.

Question 4: What if Sprint only paid for customer service representatives when they were needed?

One major disadvantage for large companies like Sprint is the cost of running a large customer care center.  Unlike restaurants, customer care representatives cannot just be "phased out" when call volume drops.  Call center workers expect to work their full shifts.

Or could a customer care center be run more like a restuaruant? What if Sprint changed the traditional call center structure to give it more flexibility in staffing by (a) decentralizing it and (b) hiring more part time workers.

(A) VoIP technology allows people to answer phone calls where ever, whenever with the same line.  This could enable Sprint to set-up many smaller call centers around the world that would all be accessible by the same number (which might already be happening) OR it could allow call center representatives to work from home.

Which brings up (B) hiring more part-time workers.  The issue with having a large center is that workers expect to have full shifts when they come in to work.  If workers are allowed to work from home, or from smaller close-by centers, however, they might be willing to come in for shorter shifts during peak hours.

College students might be very interested in a job where they could come in for just a couple hours to make some extra money.  Another possibility is stay-at-home parents.  Airline Jet Blue currently homesources its entire reservation service to approximately 1000 housewives in Utah who work an average of 25 hours a week.

By moving to a system like that, Sprint wouldn't have to pay for a full staff of customer service agents during their slow periods, but would still be fully-staffed during their busiest times.

So, there are a couple more ideas about how Sprint could turn their customer service calls into a positive.  Sometimes, even the "worst obligations" can harbor opportunities.

But... if Sprint prefers the monster, they are perfectly welcome to continue down their deep dark path to see what waits for them at the end.

Note 1: I say Sprint because they just grabbed headlines by firing 1000 of their neediest customers... but it could be any company that hates customer service calls.

Note 2: Special thanks to Thiago and  Jean for the Godzilla photos!

Does thinking of customer service as a negative blind companies to new opportunities? (Part 1)

Customer service calls are never pleasant, but it seems that many companies hate them even more than customers do!

Not long ago, mobile phone giant Sprint made headlines when they "fired" 1000+ of their customers for "excessive complaining".  Those "demon customers" were allegedly guilty of calling Sprint's customer service line too many times per month--costing Sprint more money to staff the service lines than it was willing to pay.

What is interesting to me is that Sprint (and many, many other companies) view customer service as the bane of their existence.

To them, customer service is expensive, time consuming, and frustrating because only the unhappy people contact them.  It's something to be shuttled to the bottom of the priority list, automated as much as possible, and outsourced whenever possible.

It's not something they try to put a lot of brainpower into.

But, let's try something different by putting on our thinking caps, asking some questions and looking for opportunities in customer service.

Question 1: What if Sprint welcomed customer complaints?

Customers rarely call companies to thank the company for doing something right.  Usually, calls result from something going wrong.  (Rocket science, huh?)

Well, what if Sprint or another company combined their customer service line with their improvement squad?  Then, when customers called in with problems, those problems could be noted and fixed.  Priority could be given to the problems with the most call-ins.

Although this would probably overload the company right away, in the long-term it would have significant benefits.  Customers wouldn't have those problems anymore and customer service reps wouldn't have to deal with common issues on a time-consuming individual basis.  Most importantly, by fixing the recurring problems with their service, the company would have a much stronger position in the market.

Question 2: What if Sprint used those calls as an opportunity to blow their customers away?

Imagine calling a customer service line, fully expecting be shuttled from computer voice to unhelpful agent and to have to fight for every little thing, and then hearing...

"We're so glad that you brought this to our attention.  Could you please tell me a little more about the situation so that we can fix it for you? . . . I just want you to know that we're also making a note of this issue and submitting it to our improvement office."

Wow.  Wouldn't you feel great to find out that the company cared about you and legitimately wanted to fix the problem? Wouldn't that company really stand out in your mind?

The truth is, no one wants things to go wrong, and no one enjoys calling the help line.  When most people do finally call customer service, they're expecting a runaround at best, and wouldn't be surprised if they end up with a customer service horror story.

There's a reason that so many people love Apple.  Not because their products are the best in the world, but because they work hard to make sure that every customer has a positive experience.

This is beginning to sound interesting, isn't it?  Who really sits down to think about how customer service calls could be a positive both for the company and the customers?  (Hey, stop pointing at me!)

But since most companies seem to view customer service as a bad thing, it's a ripe area for new ideas.  The key is to start asking questions.

Here are a couple more of the ones I'm thinking about:

• What if calling customer service was fun?

• What if Sprint benefited from people calling the service line?

• What if Sprint didn't have to pay for customer service reps when they didn't need them?

Continue to Part 2 for more ideas about how those "What if" statements could work.

And please share your own! What more "What If" statements can you think of?
 

Does quality or quantity matter more when thinking of creative ideas?

Is it better to come up with tons of ideas or to just focus on getting good ideas?

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you might be a little confused about what kind of thinking I advocate.

Not long ago, I grumbled about a podcaster who spoke about how many ideas it takes to come up with 1 idea that will be a commercial success.

Based on a recent study by the  Product Development and Management Association that one commercially successful idea arises for every 11 ideas, the podcaster laid out a schedule for innovators to follow.  He told listeners that coming up with 110 concepts would turn into one successful product.

Unsurprisingly, I disagreed.  That theory is completely useless because it never takes into consideration the quality of the ideas.  Someone might have a successful idea in 110 concepts, but it could also take them 10,000 concepts.  Or only 5.

There is no way to predict the quality of ideas when the only measure is quality.

At the same time, however, I've also been going to bat for the other side of the issue.

In The Easiest Way to become a Creative Thinker I stated very strongly that "the only way to be able to think of wickedly good ideas is by thinking of ideas all the time."

Then, in Why Saying No Destroys Creativity, I told thinkers that the worst thing is to say no to an idea right away when it's something different than what they're specifically looking for in that creativity session.

And if you've popped over to the fun IdeaList website after reading the post I wrote in furious response to a person who cruelly and crudely dismissed an idea with no consideration for the creator, you'll see that I think all ideas should be given a chance.

So, what gives?  Which view am I lying about?  Are all ideas good, or is it only worthwhile to focus on getting good ideas? Or am I just a spineless flip-flopper who takes whatever view is convenient to write about at the moment?

The truth is, both viewpoints are correct.  That's why creativity is such an interesting pursuit.

So, when is it important to think of many ideas?

• For people who are just beginning to become creative thinkers, the most important thing is to train their brain into idea mode.  It's best to get each and every idea, no matter how silly, out there on the table--and then to see which ones have promise later.

• For people who are trying to come up with something completely new and different.  If they only create a few new ideas, and only accept the safe ones, they will fail in their quest for a wickedly good, complete original idea.

• For people who are asked to be creative on a very irregular basis as a part of their job.  Asking an employee to come up with a bankable idea out of the blue is the best way to stop them from having any ideas at all.  Stopping the 3rd degree interrogation of their idea's value and letting all ideas in is the only way to break down their fear of rejection and encourage them to be creative.

And, when does the quality of the idea count far more than the quantity?

• When the idea is coming from a trained creative team that has been assigned the ideation task.  This is what the team does for their job, and quality is to be expected.  At the same time, the team will probably come up with tons of wacky ideas that will contribute to the final idea...the organization just won't know about all the gory details.

• When the person coming up with the idea has a lot of experience with creative thinking.  In this case, the innovator likely knows how to classify initial ideas into groups (e.g. ideas that need more thought, ideas that can be used now, ideas with concepts that should be looked at more, etc)

• When a person or company is qualifying everything as a creative ideas to brag about how innovative they are--even though none of their ideas are worth pursuing. It's true: some people and companies tell everyone that they're wildly creative--even when they're not.  When the bragging is there, I demand proof as well.

In summary, I'd have to say that it's important to have as many ideas as possible when people are new to the creative process (or don't practice it frequently). 

Quality is more important when creativity becomes a regular part of someone's job--although in those cases, an "idea" may be developed from one or many earlier concepts.

There you have it.  Quality versus quantity in creative thinking and what I really believe.

Fun for Friday: A Great Problem-Solving Moment

Apollo 13 is one of my favorite movies because it has one of the greatest creative problem solving moments I've ever seen on-screen.  Creativity sessions rarely get more intense than when NASA has to figure out how to put a square CO2 filter into a round hole using very limited resources and in very limited time.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a video of this.  I did, however, find the directions for how to adapt a CO2 filter in flight, from Jerry Woodfill, who was one of the NASA engineers working to bring Apollo 13 home.  He was one of the scientists who was there.

So, to read an account of their fantastic creative problem solving, click here to learn how to fit a square peg in a round hole!  You know... in case you're stuck thousands of miles from Earth in a badly-damaged spacecraft with a limited oxygen supply.

Never hurts to be prepared.

How to take an idea to the next level

Thinking of new ideas is really hard, and there nothing worse than putting in the time and effort to develop your idea, only to have it immediately dismissed.

Yesterday I saw an idea on IdeaList that was instantly slammed down by the first commentator.  Just two words. "...try again."

Unsurprisingly, this idea hasn't fared well after that.  People see the first negative comment and don't want to get behind a "losing idea".

The problem is, one quick gut reaction is usually the only evaluation most ideas get.  A bad first impression, and that idea is headed straight for the circular file.  "No harm, right? The idea obviously didn't have potential."

Let's take a look.   Here is the original idea:

A ice cream package in a ball form.

After eating their ice-cream, children are able to close the top of package, fasten it, and go to play soccer, handball, and etc. It’s a interactive package that encourages children to play.

(Grammar cleaned up slightly for readability.)

Whether you like this idea or not, make yourself think about what is good about it.

Here are 5 good things about it to get you started:

1. Less waste.  This is a reusable container.  Can also be used to hold snack or cereal for kids, or toys, and it's probably waterproof.
2. Kids like to play with prizes that come with their food.  They'll probably like it a lot more than adults think!
   
3. Saves space packing for the beach.  Snack, and then tons of potential as a toy.  Moving water, building with sand, and I bet it floats.
4. This could be used to entertain multiple children at the same time.  Since it's soccer-ball-sized, it must contain a lot of ice cream.
5. Kids convince their parents to buy fun-looking snacks in the grocery store.  Probably be a great seller when placed at the proper eye level!
6. (Your Idea) _________________________

Starting to see some potential now?  Let's continue by looking at a concept behind this idea:

The ice cream package is a "treat that encourages kids to be active."

Hmmm... that's interesting.  Parents will like that.  Where else can we go from there?  An idea session is not complete without using the initial concept as a jumping off point for other products.

So, here's one derivative idea that comes from reversing "eat ice cream, play with the ball."

What if the ice cream ball were to create ice cream when the kids were kicking it?  It's possible... campers used to make balls of newspaper filled with ice chips that would turn the ingredients into ice cream while they threw it around. 

This could be a modern, cleaner alternative for parents who want their kids to exercise, or want to have a fun game when they have kids over, or don't want their kids to think that ice cream is easily available.

It just needs two layers (one for the ice and one for the ice cream).  Plus, there's a lot of potential to sell prepackaged (e.g. just add milk) ice cream flavors.

See how an idea can go from a "...try again" to a concept that deserves a closer look?

Can anyone give more potential uses or additional ideas for this concept?