Have you considered how some of the biggest and most successful businesses were conceived?
Have you ever heard someone describe an innovative or creative idea and thought, “How did they come up with that? “
Because of the display of ingenuity, the wisdom in plain sight, or the seemingly inconceivable, there is a curiosity to discover how such ideas were conceived. We often hear phrases such as “light-bulb moment”, “eureka moment”, or “breakthrough ideas in the shower”, etcetera, etcetera.
Origin stories have been summarized so often that it is easy to think that these people stumbled into innovation. It may seem like the origin of good ideas is pure luck, something stumbled upon in the most unexpected ways. This may make you wonder if only a few people are lucky enough to experience this “divine coincidence”.
I believe there is a misconception about the source of good ideas. Eureka moments don’t come out of nowhere. Good ideas come from a culmination of activities, deliberate efforts, not by chance or accident.
So, how can you be strategically positioned to receive good ideas? How can creativity be inspired? How can an environment that nurtures good ideas and leads to unusual levels of creativity and innovation be created?
“Chance favours the connected mind”– Steven Johnson
Creativity and Innovation follow certain patterns. Let’s explore them. Some of the ideas mentioned are drawn from Steven Johnson, in his book- ‘Where do good ideas come from’. Others are thoughts from various authors on how creativity and innovation can be inspired.
- The value of illiquid networks
Good ideas spring up in networks and not in isolation. Connections facilitate ideas. An idea not shared with others might never get implemented. Share your ideas with others frequently to overcome mental blocks faster. Great ideas get refined in the midst of people. The more ideas are shared, the higher the likelihood of generating breakthrough ideas.
Studies have shown that in the molecular biology field, great discoveries were not found by looking through the microscope but in regular meetings where scientists informally held discussions. This is why ideation hubs are important. Ideas are inspired, clarity is achieved and connections are developed when people gather to exchange ideas and thoughts. Studies have shown that the most creative individuals have broad social networks and thus get new ideas from different contexts.
- Developing slow hunches
Good ideas start with small hunches rather than sudden breakthroughs. Good ideas do not come in a single moment; they are a culmination of slow hunches developed and cultivated over time. A great activity that nurtures these small hunches is reading and writing.
- Learning from Errors
In the path to groundbreaking ideas lies a history of making errors. When things don’t work as planned, instead of seeing failure, see it as a learning opportunity. Some of today’s innovations come from things that did not work as planned. Being right keeps us static; however, being wrong forces us to explore and question our assumptions. While we should minimize foreseeable errors, we should learn to embrace unexplained errors as they help us adopt new strategies, abandon old assumptions, and inch us closer to conceiving breakthrough ideas.
- Doing Exaptation
Exaptation involves using a feature originally developed for a specific function in an entirely different way or context. Repurposing things that already exist is a good way to generate creative and innovative ideas. This can be done by thinking of the other ways in which things that exist and are working well can be used. Sometimes, you don’t need a novel idea. You only have to take an existing idea or concept from another industry, sector, discipline, or even country, and adapt it to your context.
- Thinking of ways to build using platforms
Embrace existing platforms. Platforms often lead to multiple levels of innovation. For example, the number of innovations that have been built using GPS, or the number of social applications that have been built on the back of the Internet. A modern example would be thinking of ideas that can be built on Blockchain Technology or Artificial Intelligence.
- The Power of Serendipity
Serendipity refers to happy accidents, which are responsible for some breakthrough ideas. You can achieve this by undertaking various activities like daydreaming, taking walks, long showers, and carving out time to read a variety of books and papers. The idea is that these might lead to a serendipitous collision of ideas.
- Interdisciplinary connections
Innovative ideas often come from combining ideas and phenomena from different industries, disciplines, or even cultures. There are enormous benefits to engaging in cross-disciplinary learning. Learning different subject matters helps us become well-rounded in our thinking, ask better questions, and generate innovative ideas. We can practice this by simultaneously learning about concepts or ideas from different disciplines, working on multiple projects simultaneously, in what Steve Johnson calls a slow multitasking mode, so that connections can be drawn from them. This can also include engaging the power of diversity, in terms of demographics, gender, cultures, etc., in gaining a fresh perspective.
- Embrace Boredom
Boredom is a meaningful experience that propels a deeper level of thoughtfulness and creativity, so embrace it. Boredom can spark individual productivity and creativity. Sandi Mann, the author of The Upside of Downtime: Why Boredom is Good, stated that to tap into true boredom, pick an activity that requires little to no concentration, like walking a familiar route, swimming laps, or just sitting with eyes closed, allowing our minds to wander with no music or stimulation to guide it.
In this technological age overflowing with information, activities, social networks, etc, that keep us occupied, it can be quite difficult to get bored. One has to be intentional about getting into a state of boredom, a state of having a blank mind preoccupied with nothing. Have you wondered why you’re more creative in the shower? It is because you’re doing a mindless task and your mind is not actively working. Intentionally incorporate this into your weekly schedule and watch the number of ideas that pop up.
- Expand your mind through Experiences and Knowledge
Creativity needs to be fueled. This fuel can be obtained through knowledge and experience. Gain knowledge by reading and studying new things, especially outside your industry or areas of interest, and embrace opportunities to gain new experiences. Traveling, learning about foreign cultures or the arts, a new instrument, a new language, taking walks in nature, visiting the museum, etc. Step out of your usuals and embrace adventures. New experiences and knowledge expand your mind, influence your perception, make you more flexible, and enable you to conceive more possibilities.
- Question Everything. Practice Curiosity
Question the status quo. Embrace a child-like curiosity and seek to understand why things are the way they are. Question all assumptions, and you might well be on your way to revolutionizing an industry and building the next big thing. The more questions you ask, the more your imagination is stimulated.
“The patterns are simple, but followed together, they make for a whole that is wiser than the sum of its parts. Go for a walk; cultivate hunches; write everything down, but keep your folders messy; embrace serendipity; make generative mistakes; take on multiple hobbies; frequent coffeehouses and other liquid networks; follow the links; let others build on your ideas; borrow, recycle, re-invent.”
