The Art of Quickly Generating Ideas

AAF Akron

Bryan Huber, Chief Interactive Officer

The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working the moment you get up and does not stop until you get to the office.- Robert Frost

The 3 Forms

of Creativity

✴ Imagination✴ Problem-solving✴ Presentation

Idea Killers:• Shyness, Doubt or Fear• No or Low Expectations• Not Enough Information• Impatience• Creative on Cue

The #1 killerof ideas?

a good idea.

The Greatest Inhibitor of Idea Generation…

negativity

ideasvs.

answers

Never be satisfied with one

idea.

let’s think about it

understanding different types of thought processes

Divergent Thinking:The generation of many possibilities, even those without direct applicability to the immediate subject matter…

Convergent Thinking:The analysis of all possibilities to determine the few ideas with potential to succeed.

Lateral Thinking:Abandoning an idea entirely and beginning a completely new and different thought…as opposed to modifying an existing train of thought.

let’s do this.brain exercises

prepare yourself to think creatively:✴ research✴ understanding

use yournoodle

training your brain

I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.

-Michael Jordan

HouseholdAppliance

The rules:✴ All things are possible✴ No boundaries exist✴ No ideas are bad✴ No negative comments✴ Do not withhold ideas✴ Humor and outrageous thought

encouraged

HouseholdAppliance!

MoreTechniques

BrainShoweringRequires a high level of energy, and usually works because there is little time to violate the rules of Brainstorming.

✴ All brainstorming rules apply.✴ Spend five minutes explaining the

problem and parameters.✴ Spend five minutes on rapid-fire divergent

thinking.✴ Spend five minutes on convergent

thinking based on divergent thinking ideas

✴ Spend final five minutes deciding who will do what with which ideas

Affinity Diagrams 

Organizing ideas into common themes.

Can be used to:

✴ Draw out common themes from a large amount of information.

✴ Discover previously unseen connections between various ideas or information.

✴ Brainstorm root causes and solutions to a problem.

MindMapping

The art of tornado notes. Great by yourself or with a group.

✴ Start with a blank sheet of paper.✴ In the middle of the paper, write the

problem.✴ Encircling the problem, write down

everything that occurs to you - do not limit, edit or censor yourself.

✴ Work quickly without stopping.✴ Finish when you’ve “run dry”, usually takes

10 to 15 minutes✴ Take a break and come back later.

ChairJoustingNeed at least two people “jousting” and one person taking notes. Works well with larger groups.

✴ State the problem.✴ Take turns and be fearless.✴ Work quickly without stopping.✴ Build on ideas or use lateral thinking.✴ Use notes to conduct convergent thinking.✴ Take a break and come back later.

SCAMPER A checklist for either direct suggestions or as starting points for lateral thinking.

S: Substitute - components, materials, peopleC: Combine - mix, combine with other assemblies or services, integrateA: Adapt - alter, change function, use part of another elementM: Modify - increase or reduce in scale, change shape, modify attributes (e.g. color)P: Put to another useE: Eliminate - remove elements, simplify, reduce to core functionalityR: Reverse - turn inside out or upside down

Ask A ChildSee the world through fresh eyes.

✴ Why is the sky blue?✴ Where does wind come from?✴ How can we sell more widgets?✴ The work of Jean Piaget

The Elusive Obvious✴ Theodor Geisel

Share and Fertilize Your Ideas✴ Seeds vs. Flowers

More…Idea Generating Techniques

✴ Imitation✴ Musicians, artists, athletes do it.

✴ Inspiration✴ Go to a museum. Read magazines. Go the

movies. Put creative apps on your phone. Go to the library. Attend a play.

✴ Elimination✴ Throw out the first idea

✴ Accidental Revelation✴ Visualization✴ Repeated Examination

…Still MoreIdea Generating Techniques

✴ Google✴ FFFFound

✴ http://ffffound.com/✴ Visual Thesaurus

✴ http://www.visualthesaurus.com/✴ Wordoid

✴ http://wordoid.com/✴ Tagline Generator

✴ http://taglinegenerator.com/✴ YouTube

✴ http://youtube.com/

Regular breaks enhance problem-solving skills significantly, in part by making it easier for workers to sift through their memories in search of relevant clues.Creativity and the Mind: Discovering the Genius Within Thomas B. Ward, Ronald A. Finke, Steven M. Smith

Tools

Do, or do not.There is no try.

Go out there and have fun!

THANK YOU!

in/bryanhuber @bryanhuber

paulwerth.com or huberandco.com

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