How to Get Great Ideas

Over a coffee I was wondering, where do the greatest ideas come from? And it's not a straightforward question to answer.

Some would say necessity provokes new ideas. This is true, but I think that negates humankind's ability and want for the creation of new value.

The ability to think and generate ideas distinguishes human beings over other creatures.

We think, we have ideas, we adapt and evolve.

When you come to think of it everything we use and gain any kind of value from was once a new idea.

Ideas ignite a creative process which then turns into value through innovation.

But enlightened thinking is required to create true innovation. So where do good ideas come from? And what drives a good idea?

Scott Berkun, in his book 'the myths of innovation', says that society has glamorised innovation to the point where we no longer understand how to properly define the word. For Berkun innovation means significant change, from an established paradigm into a new one.

But if you are an innovator and you have created something new, then you are expecting people to change in order to accept and invest in your new thing, whatever this may be. And that is a challenging thing to do. We are asking people to change to meet our agenda. This takes determination, patience and highly effective communication skills.

If we have an idea that we think has potential, we will have become inspired by this new idea. We will then share this idea with people only for it to be pulled to pieces. And this is a flabbergasting experience. Those that manage to get their idea to flourish nonetheless are a rare but important breed of people. Entrepreneurs. They keep trying. They don't listen to the naysayers, cynics and they position harsh criticism as constructive feedback. They don't fall to pieces as they will always take the positive side.

The single biggest myth of innovation both Berkun, and Stephen Johnson (in his Ted Talk on ideas) agree on is the 'myth of the 'epiphany' moment'. That sudden flash of inspiration, eureka or breakthrough moment really is the stuff of Hollywood films as it makes for a jolly good yarn. It is romanticised, but it is also mostly nonsense as great ideas rarely appear out of thin air. Great ideas take sweat, toil and trouble.

Genuinely ground breaking ideas often take years to crystallise. Johnson argues that new ideas need to collide with other new ideas, and for this to occur creative tension is required, communication must ensue and connections have to be made. Ideas will need to be pulled apart in a constructive, as opposed to destructive way. Innovation will surface, just not in an easily predictable, linear or fathomable manner. The fact that many breakthroughs are results of serendipity, by a kind of happy accident, through utter mistakes and serial failure proves this point. I believe ideas are as much about dynamic energy as they are about contemplative thought.

Those 'lightbulb moment' ideas really come quickly. They are rarely original. They will not possess true value and transform. On the other hand, game changing ideas take time. And this isn't a glamorous thing to say to the reality TV generation.

Johnson talks of a phase in idea formation he calls the 'slow hunch'. This is where an inventor has a gut feeling about an idea developing due to a problem that needs solving. The idea itself will gestate over time, possibly morphing into something quite different from the original spark. A collision of thoughts and creative energy are required. And the place, environment and time are critical elements.

But this change required a kind of 'innovative environment'. This really remains even more vital today if new ideas are allowed to flourish, helping the global economy to grow by providing wealth for all.

Seventeenth century coffee houses of Europe, helped turn a continent from depressants (alcohol) into stimulants (coffee) and created a new culture and an environment conducive to sharing new and revolutionary thoughts and ideas. There were changes in social discourse which fueled the enlightenment, which led to changing societal structure fueling scientific discovery and eventually the industrial revolution.

So how does this link to industrial print? The manufacturing sector, just like every business, has to think about its culture. Not just its strategy.

As the aptly named Peter Drucker said 'culture eats strategy for breakfast.' This suggests that the defining element in any business is the culture, and I think that a mass manufacturing culture does not naturally equate to innovation. Success in traditional manufacturing is measured on command and control. Speed, quality and efficiency. Better, faster, cheaper. Add to this a stock market that applauds M&A far more than innovation and you get a culture that is risk averse and conservative as opposed to creative, dynamic and innovative.

So what? Well increasingly, the world doesn't want 'mass' produced products anymore. The world wants things that are 'made for me.' The world makes decisions later and later and will publicly share information on products they consume and they can make or break anything simply through the power of the social media crowd.

There is consumer 'push' back against cheaply produced Chinese goods from an empowered and educated consumer. We want more locally produced goods for our home that we can trust and play a part in designing. We want things that will reflect who we are, our style, our values and our personalities. Because of greater access to information, there is increasing granularity in brand supply chains. We (consumers) are able to discover information about any company's supply chains quite easily. For example, the widely known stories that abound about Foxconn, a key production company within Apples supply chain.

So when we think about where our next big idea might come from. Have a think about our culture, people, our businesses hierarchy and our thinking. How dismissive are we of new ideas that come from outside of our immediate parameters? Ideas that come from the shop floor, from accounts, from sections of the business not normally known for idea generation.

Because the companies that get their environment and culture right are the companies that win.

In our white paper 'Why is Industrial Print Booming'?, we highlight that the Industrie 4.0 Initiative champions the need for manufacturing organisations to change their structure and allow for self forming teams and a flatter structure and flexible leadership style. This will more effectively enable companies to respond and adapt to changing customer demand. It allows for innovation to ensue as it empowers teams and people to try new ideas, fail quickly and compete effectively.

This requires leadership that is not singular. It requires leadership that is not ego driven. Leadership that allows others to take some of the limelight. This is for some is not comfortable. Our society seems to applaud 'Rock Star' leaders. Again, another myth of business success. As Collins author of 'From Good to Great' has said "there is perhaps no more corrosive trend to the health of our organisations than the rise of the celebrity CEO, the rock-tar leader whose deepest ambition is first and foremost self-centric."

This kind of leadership can stifle innovation.

So have a coffee, a chat, have a think about what kind of problem your business faces, what would be a good solution? Think about how new ideas surface in your business - do you give your people permission to generate new ideas? Do you provide an environment that inspires innovative ideas?

What is your version of the coffee house? How empowered are your people?

Are you enlightened?

And remember that a simple thing like drinking coffee and talking is not wasted time...

It could well result in a great new idea.

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