Where do New Ideas come from?
1. Look for a “better way”
Many organisations are stuck in their standard mode of operation. They strive to make the existing model work better and don’t spend time looking for a better model, a better way of doing things. As the management guru, Gary Hamel, puts it ‘Most companies are built for continuous improvement, rather than for discontinuous innovation. They know how to get better, but they don’t know how to get different’
2. Connect unrelated concepts to create new possibilities
Brilliant scientists think like artists. Their affinity to the arts enables them to see patterns and meaning from context and connectedness. They have a skill to perceive underlying sequences and relationships even between apparently unconnected items.
3. Understand customer needs and wants completely
Take advice from your customers – after all, they are the ones who decide whether to buy from you. Find out how their expectations are changing and what they recommend to make your business more appealing.
4. Know what competitors are doing.
Competitive analysis to see what the top players in your industry are doing is time well spent. Most companies copy some good ideas from other companies. After all, there is only so many ways to slice up a cake. The trick is to give it a different twist and a new look. Original ideas are not easy to come by.
5. Look at industries outside of your own for inspiration.
The more varied your knowledge, the more sources from which you can draw, the more connections you can make to solve problems and generate new ideas. When you copy something new in your industry you've copied an idea. When you apply an idea from another industry and adapt it to your own you create something more valuable. You create innovation.