ENJOY AND APPLY THIS EXCERPT FROM AN ISSUE OF FRESH IDEAS:
COLLECT THE ECLECTIC
When Irish rock band U2 joined forces with operatic tenor Pavarotti, they created a new sound and brought new audiences to each other’s music.
When Austrian monk George Mende combined mathematics with biology during his ongoing plant studies, he created the field of genetics.
And, according to an absurd yet wildly effective 1980’s television commercial, randomly colliding snackers discovered an opportunityto create a new treat.
Combining new ideas and experiences with what you already know generates new possibilities. But how do you find these new ideas and experiences when you need them?
You build a habit of collecting interesting objects, thoughts and experiences. Then you use this collection to consider challenges from unusual starting points, encouraging connections you wouldn’t typically make.
Putting This into Play
There are several ways to apply this strategy. Try playing with a few until you find what works for you.
Collect Eclectic Things
Set aside a container for interesting and odd things. Over time, add objects that are fun to hold, use, or think about.
When you face an interesting challenge, select a few items from this container. Use as many senses as possible as you consider each object. Work to find a connection between something about the object and your challenge.
Dennis Boyle and Rickson Sun created one of these collections (called “the tech box”) for the design teams at IDEO. IDEO’s tech box contains thousands of widgets and artifacts organized into groupings like "thermal optical technologies," and "cool mechanisms."
Proctor and Gamble’s "Swiffer Carpet Flick" benefited from IDEO’s tech box. Early prototypes of the CarpetFlick weren’t lifting smaller materials well. When a member of the design team retrieved a lint brush from the tech box, they played with attaching a strip of lint brush material to the CarpetFlick. This solved the problem so effectively that P&G justified premium pricing for this product.
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You cannot help but learn more as you take the world into your hands. Take it up reverently, for it is an old piece of clay, with millions of thumbprints on it.
-John Updike |
Collect Eclectic Experiences Once every week or so, take yourself on an hour long adventure. Visit a new place or try something new, for just an hour. Go to an unusual store, or a new neighborhood, try a new food...just find a fun, different experience. As author Mark Bryan says, “Think mystery, not mastery.” Afterwards, write down what was notable. When you need a fresh idea, return to these notes for inspiration. When cross country skier John Fabel went on a trip to New York City, seeing the Brooklyn Bridge inspired a solution to an equipment challenge: apply the suspension bridge structure to the design of back packs so the straps would stop bruising his shoulders. The result: Ecotrek. |
Collect Eclectic Ideas
Bookmark web sites that address diverse topics, visit them once a week. Note new ideas and look for ways to apply them. Here are three sites to get you started:
Or, every week or two, go to a newsstand and pick up a few magazines you’ve never read or noticed before. Read them just enough to learn something new and get a sense of what their readers care about. Look for connections to your own life. Author Daniel Pink tried this and found a way to craft his business cards in Cake Decorating, and an idea for his newsletter in Hair for You.