1. Do your research
It’s important to exercise your mind. When you research other ideas
your mind is better prepared to do the thinking required to discover
fresh, innovative ideas of your own. Get started by looking at trade
magazines, scholarly journals, and influential websites. The more you
read the more valuable resources you’ll discover.
2. Question everything
But not out loud; you’re trying to become the idea person, not the
Doubting Thomas. However, you only discover new ideas when you question
old ones. Get in the habit of assessing how ideas work and then
questioning their viability. When you ask the right questions you often
come up with great new ones.
3. Collect and review ideas regularly
As you research and question, you’ll find that new ideas come to you
more often. Collect these ideas in an idea log and review them
regularly. Like Steinbeck says, when you recognize how to best manage
your ideas, you’ll find they grow and multiply. It’s important that you
write these ideas down so you don’t loose track of them.
4. Recognize how your thought process works
Only when you recognize how your thought process works are you able to
take advantage of it. Do you think best when things are quiet or do you
need background music? Do you come up with more ideas when you’re
trying to solve a particular problem or are you a free thinker that
generates ideas without focusing on a specific issue or need?
5. Be quick to recognize problems
Generally the best ideas are solutions to current problems. Is your
company experiencing a bottleneck in production? Is customer service
lacking? Would the business benefit from enhancing or increasing
services? If you’re able to recognize and pinpoint problems you can
generate ideas that respond to current needs.
6. Set idea quota
Sometimes it helps to require yourself to generate X number of ideas
per day or week. Recognize that not all of them will be stellar, but
from those numerous ideas you will probably discover a winner or two.
7. Scrutinize before sharing
Just because you have an idea doesn’t mean you should share it. Get in
the habit of scrutinizing your own ideas before going public. Jump back
to tip #2 and question every angle of your idea. If it helps, imagine
how your coworkers and supervisors might respond. When you can
recognize weaknesses you can improve on your idea or maybe even watch
it evolve into something better.
8. Learn how to best share your ideas
You don’t want to become that annoying pest who thinks they can change
the course of the company with their brilliant ideas. Delivery is key.
How can you best share your ideas so that their value is recognized and
appreciated? Play matchmaker. Which method of delivery works best for
this particular idea? Should you email your boss, take some time in
staff meeting, or gather your department together for an informal
presentation? You’ll find that you’ll learn by doing and become more
aware of what works best for you and your employer.
You
