Wow! That's a Great Idea! 30 Great Ideas on Innovation from the Idea Factory

Wow! That’s a great idea! We like to use this expression. These are the ideas we want to have.

You know it is a great idea. Others look at the idea and they see that it is a great idea. It may solve the problem. It may create an opportunity. It captures the essence of good design thinking. Great ideas have something that we are drawn toward. It is hard to explain what makes a great idea ‘great’. Yet this is a skill you need to be an idea factory.

You will discover something about Ed’s style of writing; it is jargon and cliché free. These articles will give you insights and ideas. His goal is to help you understand and use new concepts. He believes one reason we fail to innovate is poor communication. We use the word innovation but fail to give it any meaning.

Ed says there is one golden rule for innovation: Talking about innovation and expecting that this makes you innovative is as effective as talking about physical fitness and expecting this makes you fit. This collection gives you 30 ways to start.

Section 1: Creativity: clichés and straight talk

1. Thinking outside the box – to think outside the box means you must know how to think inside the box.

2. Finding opportunity in every cliché – is seeing the glass as half full really more positive than seeing it has half empty?

3. Making time to think – many executives say their workplace is a lousy place to think. Where do you think?

4. Reconsidering ‘risk taking’ – do innovators really see themselves as risk takers?

Section 2: Do People Think Alike?

5. Stop killing ideas of people who do not think like you!

6. Will emotional intelligence kill your innovators?

7. Harnessing different thinking styles – how could we see the differences in the way people think?

Section 3: Idea Management: sharpen your skills

8. Just say “PO”... For provocative thinking – use this Edward de Bono tool to prompt your thinking

9. Managing idea flows as if they were cash flows

10. Great idea, or just good? What’s the difference?

11. Serving customers through insight – some tips on design thinking

Section 4: Opportunity for Innovation

12. Every business needs an innovationalist

13. Light and shade

14. Creating opportunities to innovate

15. Is doing nothing an option in your business?

16. Understanding failure and success

17. Managing knowledge fostering innovation

Section 5: Leading Innovation

18. Are you a manager or a ‘damager?

19. The true bottom line

20. The courage to act

21. Where's your Plan B?

22. Flashes of blue sky

23. Corporate storytelling: not just for the boardroom

24. When to avoid “being practical"

25. Leaders as drivers of innovation

26. The risk of not trying something new

27. Allowing your stars to shine

28. Will the new year bring ideas for your business?

29. Go easy knocking Kiwi ingenuity

30. You’re better than you think