Brainstorming Methods

Poll

	|   |

Author:
Steve Gillman

There are many creative problem solving techniques used by inventors to come up with new solutions to old problems. For sheer innovation, though, it's hard to beat the technique of concept-combination. Just start combining ideas and things, and voila, you're having fun - and maybe creating something new.

Innovation or Inovation?

Combining the concept of search engine misspellings with article writing gave me "inovation." What good is that? Well, now that I've used the misspelled word twice, the thousand people every month that type "inovation" into search engines can find this article.

"Search engine" combined with "people," could lead to the first search engine devoted entirely to information on individuals. "People" plus "advertising" might lead to the first large-scale paid-tatoo-placement campaign. Want a monthly stipend for having a Coke logo on your forehead?

Much of the innovation you see in the business world is nothing more than combining existing ideas. For a ton of new business ideas, just combine the concept of "home delivery" with almost anything. Parties, tax preparers, rental swimming pools? Would people pay to have these things delivered?

Using Creative Problem Solving Techniques

In the process of innovation, you need to be careful not to stifle creativity. This means allowing ideas to come without judging them at first. It also means using techniques only as tools, not as a rules. If your mind goes off on a creative tangent - let it.

Randomly combining things is a great mental exercise when you're driving or daydreaming. A boat and a bicycle becomes a waterski-bike that glides across the lake using pedal-power. Combining stock-trading and McDonalds has you imagining the selling of stocks and bonds at drive through windows.

For more specific problems, you just look for things to combine with what you already have. If your taxi business is struggling, combining "taxi" and "pets" might lead to a successful arrangement with a kennel, to pick up and deliver their client's cats and dogs. "Famous people," might give you the idea to run some sort of tour of the town, like they do in Hollywood.

For maximum creativity in your innovation, look far and wide for concepts to combine. "Meditation" and "amusement parks" seem too unrelated to yield interesting combinations, but I'll bet people at a carnival would pay to be put into a meditative trance using the latest brainwave entrainment technologies.

About the Author
Steve Gillman has been studying brainpower enhancement, creative problem solving, and related topics for years. Learn more, and subscribe to his free Mind Power Course, at: http://www.IncreaseBrainPower.com/mind-power.html

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Brainpower... Top Secret Brainpower Algorithms Brainpower algorithms is my own term for the rules that we develop to help us think more efficiently. There are examples from every area of life. Salesmen more effectively sell once they are trained to smile and match the pace of the buyer's speech. Real estate investors can more easily analyze a property if they have a mental checklist that they run through. Writers think in terms of headlines that "grab" the reader by using words like "top secret." Universal Brainpower Algorithms Some of the most useful rules of life are simple questions that cut through the clutter in our minds and point to the most essential aspects of things. Consider the question "What would (insert hero here) do?" Asking this is a powerful way to quickly resolve ethical issues. A Christian facing an ethical problem, for example, can usually quickly imagine what Jesus would do. This process bypasses the rationalizing that often passes as rationality, and lets our powerful unconscious mind show us the way. Here are some other questions that can be useful. - What can I learn from this? - How can I use this to my advantage? - How can I most quickly and effectively resolve this? - What is good about this situation? - What is the key element here? - How can I look at this differently? - Do I have all the information I need to make a decision? More Specific Brainpower Techniques To develop your brainpower in specific areas, find out what successful people in those fields are thinking. For example, consciously or not, a good comedian is always looking around and asking things like, "How can I take this to the extreme?" "What is the silliest part of this situation?" "Which words in this have double meanings that I can play with?" or "What's wrong with this picture?" He may also be imagining...