"Nothing in the world is more powerful as an idea whose time has come."—Victor Hugo
In 1889, Charles Duells, Director of the U.S. Patent Office suggested abolishing the office on the grounds that almost everything possible had already been invented. Had this suggestion been carried out, we would not have patent numbers for : television, DVD, video games, computers, digital cameras, cell phones, GPS locators or satellite radio.
The market place is rapidly changing. New products, new services, new technologies and new competitors are entering the market every day. To succeed today, organizations must be constantly searching for new and better ways to get the job done.
Innovative organizations seek to tap the unused creative potential of their employees and/or members. They create and maintain a climate where employees or members are encouraged, recognized and rewarded for developing new ideas and taking risks. These creative-orientated organizations also provide the necessary leadership to see that innovative behavior becomes usable on a daily basis.
Ideas are elusive. They appear quickly and just as quickly disappear. Ideas often emerge at the most unusual times. Running, biking, showering, shopping and reading are some of the activities condusive to unexpected ideation.
Ideas need to be captured. You need only a few things to capture and hold ideas that bubble up. A pen or pencil and a piece of paper or an index card are good for starters. If you are into computers, you need a file labeled, "Ideas and Thoughts."
Keep a pad and pen beside your bed on the nightstand so when the muse befriends you, you capture the revelations for future study and analysis. I have had more than one idea pop into my head during the night and said, "I won't forget that." But, next morning, try as I may, the idea was nowhere to be found. You must write the idea down while it is fresh in mind.
The chance of having a great idea increases when you engage in a creative program generating a lot of possiblities, many of which may not be apparent when you start. Ideas tend to spawn other ideas, and these additional ideas create new ideas. It often happens that seemingly unrelated, even outrageous ideas lead to practical, creative ones.
Often the obvious solution is not the best solution. Therefore, don't discard your first thoughts, just save them until you have exhausted your possiblities. Then, spend time sifting through the list of ideas looking for the one that offers the best potential. As you cull your ideas, keep in mind Charles F. Kettering's advice, "The typical eye sees the 10 percent bad of an idea and overlooks the 90 percent good."
Using creative thinking to solve problems helps in the search for solutions that are not always obvious. We are looking for possiblities and what is not apparent, at least on the surface.
The actions needed to be successful aren't always the obvious ones or the first solutions to pop up. Instead of wasting energy and time on rehashing the "obvious", spend time looking for the unobvious—what's not there. Often opportunties don't look like opportunites. They represent themselves as challenges or obstacles.
William H. Swanson, Chairman and CEO of Raytheon, provides good advice when he wrote, "Look for what is missing. Many know how to improve what's there; few can see what isn't there." He goes on to say, "Always think about what's missing; it's amazing what you will find."
When asked to describe the most important factors of invention, Thomas Edison said, "One must keep himself sold on the idea that the solution of his problem exists somewhere and that he will find it." Edison also said of ideas, "Your idea needs to be original only in its adaptation to the problem you are currently working on." Another great innovator, Albert Einstein, endorsed the thought that a new idea is often an adaption of an old idea when he wrote, "Creativity is simply making something new or rearranging the old in a new way.
Don't worry about how absurd or skeletal an idea may be. You can flesh it out later. Creative thinking is the first step to eliminating complacency and mediocrity.
HOG THOUGHT: The creative process is a race to success. The process starts with ideas and ends with the game plan to reach personal or organizational goals. Creative thinking can spell the difference between an organizational leader and organizational follower. Good organizations search for opportunities to be creative. Leaders find them.
HOG QUOTE: "Within the problem is the solution to the problem." —Chinese Proverb
HOG ACTION: Keep a pen and pencil handy for capturing creative ideas. Ah ha moments have wings and quickly take flight, leaving no footprints.
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