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8 Ideas for Coming Up With New Ideas
Imitating Einstein, Churchill and Other Great Thinkers.
by Walter Burek, walterburek.com |
The one thing that matters most in any business - coming up with
new ideas. Yet so few of us are prolific at it. Oh
sure, there are the lucky ones who were born with
right-hemisphere brains and spew creativity like
sheets off a printing press. But the rest of us,
the 8 out of 10 who are left-brain dominant (fewer
than 20% of all people, throughout history, have
been right-brain dominant), don't have to be
completely without luck. We just have to learn
to mimic some of the thought patterns and
techniques of those born to be inventive thinkers.
Here's how...
- SIMPLIFY -
Boil the problem down to its bone. Toss out all
the details that aren't germane. Tseng Tsao, a 12th
century philosopher said, "The nice thing about simplicity
is its useful wisdom. It's wisdom you can get at." And
Albert Einstein who was at least as smart as any Chinese
philosopher said, "Everything should be as simple as
possible but not simpler."
- ESCHEW PERFECTION -
Winston Churchill said that "perfection is
paralysis." Looking for perfection and
executional detail while you're still looking
for an idea is like counting the chickens before
the eggs have hatched. Incidentally, Churchill
could have become the greatest of all British
copywriters. He had a portfolio full of great
lines like "I have nothing to offer but blood,
toil, tears and sweat " and "The action of
Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside
an enigma."
- STAY OUT OF JAIL. -
Edward DeBono, the Cambridge educator and
thinker, talks about the "concept prison".
That's where you get locked up when you believe
you have to do things the way they've always
been done. Try attacking the problem obliquely.
Allow yourself to color outside the lines. Try
to think more playfully, less seriously. Be more
serendipitous.
- THINK RIGHT ABOUT "THE RIGHT ANSWER. - "
No two ways about it, there's always more than
one way to solve a problem. And as DeBono will
tell you, "The purpose of thinking is not to be
right but to be effective. Being right means being right all the
time. Being effective means being right only at the end."
- FURNISH THE UPSTAIRS ROOM. -
The legendary ad man, James Webb Young, believed
that in advertising, "an idea results from a new
combination of specific knowledge about
products, and people with general knowledge
about life and events." That requires more than
reading business memos, trade journals and The
New York Times. It means doing things like
getting out to the movies and theater often.
Visiting museums. Reading books on odd subjects
just for the fun of it. Re-reading classic
novels. Listening to music, from classical to
country to hip-hop. Do all of it or as much as
you can. David Ogilvy encouraged his employees
to be "relentlessly curious" about all knowledge
that crossed their paths, so that they might
"possess a well-furnished mind."
- COLLECT WORDS. -
Words are ideas, too. The semanticist, S.I.
Hayakawa, in his Language in Thought and Action
referred to words as being symbols of ideas and,
thus, "we can collect ideas by collecting
words." James Webb Young, writing on this
subject said, "The fellow who said he tried
reading the dictionary, but couldn't get the
hang of the story, simply missed the point:
namely, that it is a collection of short
stories."
- SAY NO TO "YES, BUT..." -
Coming up with a new idea is almost always only
half the battle. Because just as sure as you are
that your idea is different and unexpected, you
can count on somebody being there to offer the
comfort and safety of "yes, but-land." Don't go
there. Resist. Build a strategy and fight. And
keep fighting. Remember the words of wise, old
Anonymous: "Every great oak was once a nut that
stood its ground."
- HAVE FUN. -
Even though, at one time or another, you have
probably blamed it for everything from your bad
habits and insomnia to your kid's need for
braces, you still have to admit that marketing
communications is the toy department of the
business world.
Enjoy.
Walter is a professional advertising copywriter
who writes, edits and publishes "Words @ Work",
a FREE bimonthly newsletter of advice and
information about writing that works. To
view his award-winning portfolio and to
subscribe visit http://www.walterburek.com.
You may also subscribe to Words@Work via
mailto:WordsAtWork@comcast.net
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business articles
Phil Robinson www.bpic.co.uk
April 2003