Developing truly unique concepts is a struggle, which is why there are often many “copies” within an industry. Our new business ideas, products, and services often have existing products and services as a foundation, producing only incrementally different results. Getting out of the existing framework to see opportunities in a new light is the key.
What is brainstorming?
According to Wikipedia “brainstorming is a group creativity technique that was designed to generate a large number of ideas for the solution of a problem”. Business brainstorming should not be censored. No idea is silly or impossible, and each person’s contribution is equally valuable. The postman’s ideas are just as valuable as the president’s.
In order to get out of the existing commercial or industrial framework, the participants must “erase” their memories and pretend they know nothing about what is (or is not) possible. Treat every idea with the same consideration, no matter how outlandish. The task at hand when brainstorming truly unique business ideas is to associate freely, generating as many ideas as possible.
Brainstorm through the five senses
There is nothing more boring than a sterile conference room. However, this is where many new idea/business concept development sessions take place, in a room with four blank walls and no stimuli (far from the best atmosphere for generating new ideas). Brainstorming sessions need springboards to get the creativity flowing.
A technique to break and generate innovative ideas for businesses, products or services is to involve all the external senses. Try filling colorful gift bags with small items of different textures, tastes, looks, ingredients, sounds, and smells. In the brainstorming session, break into small groups of three or four people and hand out a bag to each group. Have each group sort the bag, imagining how sensory aspects could be incorporated into a new product or other new idea. After about 20 minutes of rummaging through bags, discussing, and writing down ideas, allow each group to present their ideas. You will come across many more great ideas than you can execute.
Brainstorming through trends
Another approach to generating business ideas is to study trends. Commercial and general interest publications; The Internet; and trade journals can be effective tools for generating ideas for several reasons:
– General publications contain articles on various industries, and society in general, which is good for generating new ideas that can be applied to your own industry.
– Trade publications often include a mix of short articles (good for generating ideas based on what others outside your industry are doing) and detailed reports (good for developing new product concepts based on trends).
– Internet reflects trends in real time. Social bookmarking sites and blog directories (such as del.icio.us and Technorati) track and report on the hottest topics. Wordtracker monitors online searches and reports the top 100 daily.
– By skimming through a variety of business-related articles (news articles, features, human interest, and analytical pieces), you broaden your idea base, resulting in more new product ideas.
No matter what your brainstorming techniques are, remember two rules:
1) uncensored and
2) use your senses and current trends as springboards for new ideas. Do this and your brainstorming sessions are sure to be a success.