Methods for generating new ideas! Methods for generating alternatives.

The creative process requires the constant generation of new ideas, but where to get them if you have already turned your head thinking about your plan.

Shared this with us online magazine Business In Web and suggested 10 ways to create new original ideas.

1. Brainstorm

2. Edward de Bono's Six Hats Method

During the creative process, a person takes turns putting on six hats different color. In white, he impartially checks figures and facts, in black he tries to find negative traits, in yellow - analyzes positive points, in green - generates new ideas, in red - can allow an active emotional reaction. And finally, in a blue hat - the results of the work are summed up.

3. Method "Mental maps"

Designed by Tony Buzan. In his theory, emphasis is placed on the fact that the creative process is closely related to human memory, so it is memory that needs to be developed.

He suggested writing in the center of the sheet key concept, and all the associations that need to be remembered are written on the branches coming from the main word. Ideas can also be drawn.

Creating such a "map" helps to come up with new associations, and the image of the "map" itself is much better remembered.

4. Synectics

Direct analogies are written in the first column, indirect analogies are written in the second, for example, signs of the first column. Then the goal, object and indirect analogies are compared. Example: the object is a pencil, the task is to expand the assortment. A direct analogy is a three-dimensional pencil, its negation is a flat pencil. The result is a pencil bookmark.

5. Method of focal objects

The method of Charles Whiting combines the features of different objects in one object. Example: a candle and the concept of " New Year". New Year means a holiday, sparks of sparklers, this also applies to a candle. If you grind a Bengal candle into powder and add it to wax, then a “New Year's” candle will come out with a sparkling crumb inside.

6. Morphological analysis

Proposed by Fritz Zwicky, is that the object under study is divided into components, from which the most significant characteristics are selected. Then they are changed and they try to put them together again. The result is a new object.

7. Indirect strategies

This method was invented by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt. This method requires a deck of cards with commands, such as "unleash the anger", "steal the solution", etc. The person draws the cards and follows the instructions.

8. "Bus, bed, bath"

It is based on the belief that new ideas not only lurk in the depths of our subconscious, but also burst out, you just need to release them, that is, do not interfere with their appearance. A new idea can come to mind in the most unusual place.

9. Transcription

To do this, you need to take an incomprehensible inscription in a foreign language, for example, hieroglyphs. A person who solves the inscription at this moment can have a variety of associations in his head.

10. Trap for ideas

In this method, it is necessary to record absolutely all ideas, you can write them down on a voice recorder or in a notebook. And then, if necessary, return to them.

There is a good American saying “Whoever invented gets $1, who made it gets $10, whoever sold it gets $100”

But someone also needs to generate an idea. After all, we often associate our future with success based on some new idea. We are planning new products and new services. And we want them to take root in the future.
For this to happen, the idea must be super-efficient. Because in the future everything is cheaper and better than now.
How do we usually look for new ideas? We take what we have. Either reduce costs or add features. But this is not enough. The future requires doing both at the same time.

Back in the 16th century, the outstanding English philosopher Francis Bacon complained that scientific discoveries were slow and largely accidental. He tried to find approaches and algorithms that would make it possible to turn the “creation of a new one” into a systemic, ongoing process. A lot of time has passed since then, and today society has at its disposal a lot of theories of creativity and creativity that help to look at existing problems in a non-standard way and offer non-trivial solutions.

I made a selection about methods for generating ideas a few years ago. And recently updated.
Friends and colleagues, maybe something else new and useful has appeared on the market?
Let's help each other in the breadth of horizons))

There is scientific methods generating ideas that operate with patterns, clear rules and well-functioning tools. At present, the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) can be considered the only scientific theory of idea generation. It's not for everyone, so let's leave it aside))

Let's look at methods that usually have certain rules of work that direct the work of thoughts in the right direction.

So, methods for generating new ideas.

1. Brainstorming (Alex Osborne)
A group of people actively proposes various ideas, group members try to develop them, immediately analyze them, identifying disadvantages and advantages. It has many different approaches, but the essence is the same.
The main method used by most managers and which has a lot of varieties and technologies of use. Do not list everything.

3. "Mental maps" or "Intellect maps" developed by Tony Buzan in the 70s of the last century and described in his book Think with Your Head. After that, they became a familiar tool for the work of many intellectual workers in countries Western Europe and USA. We have this method also now at the peak of popularity.
Information is remembered the better, the larger the volume of the cerebral cortex is connected to its perception.
The linear representation of information in the form of text does not fully use the capabilities of our brain, since it only involves the left hemisphere of the brain.
When working with maps, the cortex of the right hemisphere is additionally involved, which is responsible for the perception of visual and color images and creative activity. Thanks to this, the visualized information is perceived much faster and remembered longer.

Tony Buzan suggested writing the key concept in the center of the sheet, and writing all the associations that need to be remembered on the branches coming from the main word. Ideas can also be drawn. The creation of such a map helps to come up with new associations, the image of the map is much better remembered.

In Russia, one of the leading consultants on mind maps is an Sergei Bekhterev- the first certified trainer in mentality management in Russia. Author of the book Mind Management. Solving business problems with the help of mind maps.

Everyone uses mind maps differently. I saw Igor Mann have many such work cards that he uses in his work.
He has a mind map for every question, for every problem, for every idea. For example, when reading a book, he fills several cards with new information at once.

4. Synectics (William Gordon). In 1961, his book Synectics: The Development of the Creative Imagination was published. Since then, the synectics method has been actively developed and gained popularity all over the world. By the way, the clients of the Synectics Inc. organization created by Gordon are such global companies as "Zinger", "General Electrics", "IBM" and many others.
The term "synectics" means the combination in the process of finding a solution to the problem of heterogeneous, sometimes even incompatible elements. Criticism is welcomed in synectics, and various kinds of comparisons and analogies are actively used. In the process of solving the task, a group of people (synectics) takes part.

Action plan:
1. Direct analogies. They are often in various systems that solve similar problems. For example, it is believed that during his observation of how a wood borer drills a tubular channel in wood, the French engineer Brunel came to the discovery of the caisson method in the construction of underwater structures.
2. Subjective (personal) analogies. An example would be an inventor who imagines how his own body would function if he could use it to achieve a desired result. How would he feel if his hands, for example, were the wings or blades of a helicopter? Or how would his body behave if he were a crane?
3. Symbolic analogies. Comparisons, allegories, metaphors can be used here, where the properties of something one are identified with the properties of another. For example, a space of options, an acute problem, a steel solution, etc.
4. Fantastic analogies. At this stage, you need to represent things as they cannot be, by definition. For example, any moment of your life is accompanied only by music that you can choose. Or whenever you drive a car, all obstacles, etc., automatically disappear in your path.

Example: the object is a pencil, the task is to expand the assortment. A direct analogy is a three-dimensional pencil, its negation is a flat pencil. The result is a pencil bookmark.

5. Method of focal objects (Charles Whiting). Sometimes called "Random Stimulus".
The focal object method (FOM) is a method of searching for new ideas and characteristics of an object based on the addition of properties of other randomly selected objects to the original object. Hence the other name - the method of random objects.
Those. this method combines the features of different objects in one subject.

Action plan:
1. Choose a focal object - what we want to improve.
2. We select random objects (3-5 concepts, from an encyclopedia, books, necessarily nouns, of different subjects, different from the original object).
3. We write down the properties of random objects.
4. We attach the found properties to the original object.
5. We develop the received variants by means of associations.
6. We evaluate the solutions obtained in terms of efficiency, interestingness and viability.

Example: a candle and the concept of "New Year". New Year means a holiday, sparks of sparklers, this also applies to a candle. If you grind a Bengal candle into powder and add it to wax, then a “New Year's” candle will come out with a sparkling crumb inside.
After all, we remember that the world of thinking is an anti-labyrinth, where one can come from any point to any other)).

6. Morphological analysis (Fritz Zwicky).
This method of a systematic search for new ideas offers a large, serious super-task to be divided into a number of local tasks related to some individual elements. Each of the elements, in turn, has a number of solutions. Each of the options must be discussed.
The essence of the method is to build a table that lists all the constituent elements of the object of study and indicates all possible options implementation of these elements.

Action plan:
1. The problem is precisely formulated.
2. Are determined essential elements object.
3. Options for the possible execution of elements are determined.
4. Entering them into a table.
5. Evaluation of all options available in the table.
6. Choosing the best option.

The calculation is based on the fact that options that previously fell out of sight can get into the field of view. The principle of morphological analysis is easily implemented using computer tools, by constructing algorithms.

7. "Indirect Strategies" (Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt).
A method of getting out of creative dead ends with the help of pre-prepared cards.
The first edition of the cards (115 pieces) dates back to 1975, and nowadays you can find an electronic version of the "bypass strategies" on the Internet. Brian admitted that the idea was partly inspired by the Chinese way of divination according to the Book of Changes "I-Ching".
Take a deck of cards on which you first write down a set of specific commands. Now pull out the cards and follow their instructions.

8. Method "Bus, bed, bath."
A famous physicist once joked that all the great scientific discoveries were made in one of the three "B" - bus, bed, bath. (Bus, bed, bath)
It is based on the opinion that new ideas often visit us at the most unexpected moments and in the most unexpected environments or even during sleep))
Indeed, many scientists admitted that the most brilliant ideas came to them when they did not think at all about their scientific problems. This is the result of the principle of incubation.
The continuity of the process of incubation of ideas is due to the fact that our subconscious constantly processes the accumulated information. The more we are interested in finding a solution, the more likely it is that the subconscious mind will prompt us with new ideas.

Action plan:
1. Statement of the problem. State your problem. Try in in general terms to determine the areas of knowledge and the sequence of steps important for its solution - this will help awaken the creative forces of your subconscious.
2. Preparatory work. Collect all available information on the subject and prepare the necessary literature. Be actively involved in the research process - read, reflect, discuss, ask questions to specialists. Act with maximum efficiency until you feel satisfaction from the preparatory work done.
3. Setting to search. Turning to your subconscious mind, give it the installation to find a solution to the problem. Use, for example, such expressions: “So, start looking for a solution. I'll be waiting for an answer in two days!" or: “Go ahead. Let me know when the job is done."
4. Incubation. Leave your problem in the "creative incubator". Forget about her for a while. Take care of other things; the incubation process will go on without your participation.
5. Eureka! No one knows how much time will pass, five minutes or five months, but insight will definitely come!
This principle was classically demonstrated by the ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes, who discovered his law in the bathroom)).

9. Trap for ideas.
In this method, it is necessary to record absolutely all ideas, you can write them down on a voice recorder or in a notebook. And then, if necessary, return to them. simple and effective method but, unfortunately, not everyone uses it. Everyone is trying to remember, but the memory resists. But memory can be trained.

Military psychologists have accumulated vast experience in training personnel capable of quickly and reliably memorizing information. It would be foolish not to take advantage of their developments. We invite you to a meeting at the E-xecutive Discussion Club on September 17, where you can learn about the methods of special services, the effectiveness of which has been tested by time and generations of intelligence officers and counterintelligence officers. At the meeting we will talk about how to develop attention, thinking and memory. Let's try the most effective exercises which will not take more than 20 minutes a day.
Program and registration

WELCOME to everyone!

10. Delphi method (Delphi method).
The method consists in identifying the expert opinion of specialists in conditions of anonymity, followed by processing the results obtained by statistical methods.
It is known that the use of collective knowledge leads to the possibility of finding strong solutions, however, in the process of exchange of opinions between participants, the influence of the influence of the authority of colleagues can affect and it all comes down to the emergence of popular answers.
In Russia, the Delphi Method is often used as one of the tools for choosing and evaluating a solution.

11.SCAMPER (Bob Eberle).
A creativity technique that offers a list of changes that can be made in working on a particular object. The technique is to consistently answer questions about the modification of the task.

Action plan:
Substitute- Replace something, e.g. components, materials, people
Combine- Combine, for example, with other functions, devices
Adapt- Add something like new items, features
Modify- Modify, for example, change the size, shape, color or other attribute
Put- Apply for something else, in another industry
Eliminate- Remove parts, simplify to main
reverse- Swap, flip, find use in the opposite
Often this method is used in production.

Well, a purely informative video for creative managers))
In the E-xecutive Discussion Club, there were several different meetings with topics about creativity. I invite you to watch the video of the meeting.

The presentation includes an overview of the places and methods for finding new ideas, the principles of super-efficiency on the examples of Silicon Valley companies and the opportunity to find an idea for your future.

In the first part of the video - examples of Silicon Valley companies. Zarina Gafitulina- mathematician. In the recent past, he was a successful strategy consultant for Deloitte. Lives in San Jose (California, USA). Engaged in the study of companies in Silicon Valley.

The second part is a classic brainstorming session. Timur Gafitulin- psychologist, consultant and trainer on creativity and innovation.

USEFUL VIEWING!

…………………………………………..

METHODS FOR GENERATING IDEAS.

Faced with complex, open and ever-changing challenges, business leaders and owners understand that innovation is a key competitive advantage.

Well, it is known that any innovation starts with an idea. Since, in order to find at least one fruitful idea, it is usually necessary to consider many alternatives, the process of putting forward new ideas must be organized and systematized.

Even Freud and Jung actively studied the psychological capabilities of the human intellect. From their research follows the following.

A person perceives, processes and issues information at three levels - consciousness, preconsciousness and supraconsciousness (unconsciousness).

Consciousness can focus at each moment of time only on one object, preconsciousness - on several (4-10), supraconsciousness - on an infinite number. But the speed of processing information about the object, on the contrary, is very high for the consciousness and slow for the superconscious.

Each of these levels receives initial information about the object. They process this information and issue (generate) the result. The result of the work of consciousness is a certain reaction by which a person acts on an object (ie, real actions). As a result of processing, the preconscious and supraconscious generate ideas that are transmitted to consciousness to transform the idea into a reaction (implementation of the idea).

Information circulates between these levels according to the following scheme:

Fig.1. Levels of information circulation.

Consciousness perceives all the necessary information about the object, and if it cannot process it instantly or this information is not enough to create a reaction, then it transfers this information to the preconscious. The preconscious mind accumulates information about several objects (4-10), processes it, generates ideas and transfers them to consciousness for implementation. But this process takes more time than consciousness.

If the preconscious mind is not able to process the transmitted amount of information from the consciousness, then it transfers it to the superconsciousness, which can process information about an infinite number of objects. Psychologists have called the processing of an infinite amount of information supraconscious processes. The features of these processes are:

parallelism: information about a plurality of objects is simultaneously processed;

invisibility: they occur completely unnoticed by a person. Only the results of their work (ideas) are transmitted to consciousness.

Usually, the supraconscious mind generates ideas absolutely unexpectedly for a person. At such moments, a person says: “it dawned on me”, “eureka”, “the muse visited me”, etc., he feels inspired.

Many ideas can be transmitted to consciousness and it will not have time to convert them into reactions, there are many reasons for this, but the main difficulty in generating new ideas that help solve problems is moving away from the usual ways of associating information. This "logic of experience" prevents us from combining information in unusual ways. We find it difficult to see ordinary situations in a new light. Linking incomparable pieces of information may be deliberately excluded, and ideas that seem irrelevant may not "surface" from memory due to their weak connection with the situation. As a result, we fail to explore all possible ways to solve the problem.

There are many different methods that can help you generate new ideas. The emphasis is more on the quantity of ideas generated than on their quality. This provides a wealth of insights that can be applied to decisions that are subsequently evaluated.

An important element in the use of almost all of these methods is the deferral of evaluation, which means the intentional omission of any type of evaluation. Evaluating ideas inhibits the imagination and prevents the mind from making unusual and potentially useful connections. Sometimes it's easy to come up with unusual or radical ideas, like when we know we're just "playing". However, as soon as we are faced with a serious problem, we immediately exclude these ideas, consciously or unconsciously, simply because they are not usually associated with a practical solution.

And therefore, before proceeding directly to the description of the main methods of generating ideas, I would like to name a few key rules of the game.

Basic rules for generating ideas.

There are several techniques to help with this:

Challenge Assumptions: In every situation, we hold certain attitudes (attitudes, beliefs, and opinions). Challenge to these assumptions may lead to new level thinking.

For example: A company, a world leader in the production of sportswear and equipment, encountered a problem at one of its production facilities located in Southeast Asia. The enterprise recorded a surge in the theft of sneakers by employees of enterprises. All standard methods for solving the problem did not lead to the desired result. Then the company's management challenged the assumptions! Why are both right and left running shoes made in the same factory? As a result of this provocation, an idea appeared: to leave the production of the left pair of sneakers at this enterprise, and organize the production of the right pair at a neighboring production. The implementation of this idea led to a complete cessation of theft.

Change the problem: Changes in the problem statement, leads to new ideas. To do this, just look at it from different points of view.

For example: During the Second World War, the German and English fleets fought in the waters of the southern seas. As a result of tactical maneuvers, the following pattern arose: the German ship mined the water area, after which the British trawled it. When, as a result of the actions of the British, the water area was cleared of mines, the Germans again mined it. This continued until the British looked at the problem from a different angle. “And what will happen if we do not complete the task of clearing the water area?”. As a result of the idea that arose, the Germans were blown up by their own mines, being sure that the British, in turn, had already cleared everything for a long time.

Express yourself: We are all very talented and educated, but for some reason when faced with a problem, most often we use only words to solve it. How about trying something new? Clay, music, association games, drawing are just some of the ways in which a problem can be depicted. Just try to express the problem in a different way! Various ways can trigger new thinking strategies. It can give you new ideas and solutions.

Connect the unconnected:

Some great ideas can only come about by accident. Did you notice or hear something? Often this is not related to the problem situation at all, but unexpectedly becomes its solution. Newton and an apple, Archimedes and his filled bath, there are many examples of this. A random element gives a stimulus and makes our brain cells work.

Look for incentives in the most unexpected places. And then consider how you can build a connection between the stimulus and the problem being solved.

Use catalysts:

Catalysts are activities and actions that do not directly generate ideas, but contribute to them. They create a positive atmosphere. Some of them will help you discover your own creativity.

Change the environment. It can change the way you think.

Remove irritants. Keep your mental space in order, both literally and figuratively.

Humor and fun. These are special ingredients, especially in teamwork.

Now let's move on to the methods themselves and their brief description.

Idea generation methods.

A. Osborne's brainstorming method

The brainstorming method was proposed by Alex Osborne in 1941 to solve the production problems of a shipyard, where he was in charge of the rationalization department.

The main task of the "brainstorming" method is to develop as many and as diverse as possible in quality ideas that are suitable for solving the problem.

Participants must adhere to the following rules when using this information:

1. Quantity of ideas is preferable to quality.
2. Criticism of ideas at the generation stage is prohibited.
3. There should be no boss in the idea generation group.
4. No bad ideas! Any ideas are welcome.
5. Any idea must be developed, even if its relevance seems doubtful at the moment.
6. Encouragement of jokes, puns, fantastic ideas.
7. Providing support and encouragement to free meeting participants from constraint.
8. Keep your ideas short.
9. All ideas put forward are recorded and then edited.
10. When evaluating ideas, obviously erroneous and unrealistic ones are discarded.

The method includes two main steps:

• Stage of nomination (generation) of ideas
• Stage of analysis of the ideas put forward

Let's look at both stages in more detail:

Generation of ideas.

To participate in the generation stage, it is advisable to involve people who are distinguished by a high speed of mental operations, ease of adaptation in new situations, flexibility of thinking, the ability to switch attention from one aspect of activity to another, and the ease of using newly received information in decisions.

V general view The generation process consists of two important components:

Putting forward ideas showing new directions for solving a problem.

Putting forward ideas that develop existing directions.

The harmonious alternation of both components allows the generators to work efficiently. The internal content of the ongoing process can be represented as the promotion of a new idea that breaks the existing idea about the organization of the system under consideration, about limitations and opportunities; subsequent "accustoming" to this idea, accompanied by the promotion of its applications, the versatile implementation of the principle inherent in it. The facilitator plays an important role in managing this process. (It is he who, controlling what is happening at a generalized level, can and should regulate the relationship between new and developing ideas).

Ideas put forward at the generation stage are formalized in a protocol, after which they are initially deciphered. It consists in an extended description of the participants' statements, giving them the correct finished form. This completes the generation step.

Idea Analysis

Participants in the analysis phase should be intellectual, have a logical, orderly thinking, while they combine logic with tolerance for new approaches. It is important that analysts are not jealous of other people's ideas (this requirement is especially critical if the same people participate in the process of putting forward ideas and their analysis). They must have a sense of increased responsibility for their work.

The basic principles of work for an analyst are generalization and concretization. Therefore, the most important feature by which selection should be made in this group is the presence of creative abilities. In fact, the name of the stage obscures the fact that, as in the generation stage, the analysis stage is a large-scale development of new ideas. The difference lies in the fact that at the first stage generators of an intuitive plan are more acceptable, easily navigating in constantly changing schemes of activity, while at the analysis stage there is a conscious presentation of proposals that develop and concretize the existing proposals. Briefly, this process consists in generalizing the idea, identifying the generalized principle underlying it, assessing its prospects, and filling the principle with specific content.

The generalization of the idea is carried out to free it from external, distracting, sometimes emotionally vivid moments, replacing them with neutral constructions. In the process of analysts' work, the system of principles previously put forward by generators is also often supplemented.

The minimality of the logical and psychological means of the "brainstorming" method causes a significant limitation of the scope of its applicability. Firstly, this is only a form of organizing the synthesis of ideas of possible ways to solve the problem, and ideas are not the best, not the most promising, but mainly original, fresh, and unexpected. Secondly, the "brainstorming" method is applicable only to tasks of a general nature, on which non-specialists may have some idea and, accordingly, are unable to express more or less valuable ideas.

Focal object method

Any inventive problem directly or indirectly contains a mention of an existing technical prototype - an object that needs to be improved. Certain ingrained ideas are associated with this prototype. Therefore, one of the first attempts to increase the effectiveness of the trial and error method was based on the idea of ​​artificially endowing the prototype with extraneous features. In the 1920s, Berlin University professor F. Kunze proposed the "catalog method": you need to randomly open any catalog (dictionary, book, magazine), take any word and "join" with the original word (prototype name).

Practical methods for generating new ideas

Good day! My name is Mastermind and I lead the brainstorm. Today we are going to think… out of the box.
Our mission is simple. By the end of the day, we'll come up with a revolutionary new nut that our wonderful corporation will be proud of for the rest of its life.
It is up to you, its 23 managers, to come up with this innovation. I know you have doubts. However, trust me.
First, let's break the ice of mistrust. I would like each of you in turn to tell me about the most embarrassing moment that ever happened to him in the locker room. Then we are waiting for meditation, levitation and concentration on the question: "If I were a nut, where could I be in a subcompact car?"
Welcome to the middle manager's worst nightmare - the idea generation retreat.
S. RIVKIN

For training alone American companies spending $15 billion a year. And these amounts are increasing every year. A survey conducted by Bain & Company showed that 77% of the 4,000 executives surveyed admit that the management systems and procedures they acquired "from the outside" promised more than they actually could.

What makes hundreds of experienced company executives enroll their managers in packs in creative meditation courses or fly to Hawaii, where for a lot of money they will symbolically bury you in the ground, why should you immediately open a second sight?

In our “information age”, a company’s ability to generate new ideas and find innovative solutions plays a decisive role in the survival of a company. faster than competitors. Following these very ideas, strings of managers fly to the beaches of Tahiti or to the forests of Siberia, where by “full immersion” they hope to come to an insight that will make the company a market leader for 20 years ahead.

We do not set ourselves the goal of criticizing the trainings and seminars that are gaining popularity in our country, among which there are indeed very useful ones. Our task is to convey to you the main idea: in order to generate new ideas, there is no need to fly to distant lands and turn to third-party consultants - just look around carefully, listen to subordinates, motivate managers to look for extraordinary solutions and use classic search algorithms non-standard solutions.

Igor Mann gives an interesting example of motivating employees to generate new ideas. The organization in which he worked intended to publish a magazine, but there was a hitch with the name. The marketing department could not come up with anything worthwhile, then they turned to all employees with an appeal to give a name to the corporate publication. The prize - a sports bike - was placed at the checkpoint to remind them of the task every day. During the week during which the competition was held, the employees came up with more than thirty options, one of which was approved. A satisfied employee received a prize, and the company received the name of the magazine. Maybe your company should hold similar contests to find ideas from time to time?

So, let's say: your employees are sufficiently motivated, creativity is encouraged, and new ideas are still not enough.

The good news is that 90% of the solutions you are looking for already exist! Someone before you has probably already looked for them, which means that you can either go all the way to finding a solution yourself, or look for information about an existing solution. Copy other people's ideas, use them, apply them! Anything that can benefit your business is worth using. As Thomas Edison said, “If you want to come up with great ideas, know that you can borrow the best ones.” In this case, the Internet is an invaluable source of information.

Let's say your problem has no known solution. It is necessary to find a new approach, to look at the situation from an unexpected angle. How to achieve this? There are a number of methods for finding a non-standard solution. One of them is the “provocation method”.

The essence of the method is to consider the situation in the "normal mode", and then go in the opposite or opposite direction. Example: a restaurant pays for food - a restaurant does not pay for food (opposite) - a restaurant pays for the time of stay ( new idea). The challenge is to find ideas you didn't have, not validate existing ones.
Another way within the framework of the provocation method is the conscious exaggeration of one or another sign. An example is the half-kilogram hamburger at Fuddrucker's in the US.

A variation of the provocation method is distortion as a way to replace a logical sequence of actions. Criminals pay for the content of the police - how do you like this idea?

An extreme case of the method of provocations is dreams - the generation of ideas that are obviously impossible to achieve in modern conditions. It would be nice if the cost of the aircraft was close to the cost of KAMAZ - you can dream. Or you can outline specific ways to reduce costs if you are an aircraft designer.

Tatyana Nikitina

Agree, in order to form an interesting, original and useful idea, you need to work hard. Brain work is built in such a way that ideas and thoughts hover constantly in the head, prompting a person to action. There are thoughts that you don’t have to “think” much about - mostly fleeting impulses: about clothes or work, a project or a relationship in the family. If we are talking about how ideas are generated for a business or a scientific experiment, there are many methods, following which you can formulate profitable, original and useful ideas. So, how to generate ideas for business and startup, read this article.

1. Brainstorming by Alex Osborne.

The most common method known a large number people, it is even used in schools to teach creative thinking to children. This is a collective idea generation method and there are two explanations for this.

Firstly, the possibilities of thinking expand in the team, provided there are no psychological barriers.

Secondly, problems regarding the modification of ideas are solved faster if a group of people is working on them.

Execution technology. People are invited to voice their idea. Other participants develop it without the right to criticism. So, everyone in turn has the opportunity to speak out and participate in the analysis of creative ideas, improving and improving the core.

Feature of the technique- the very process of idea generation, development and subsequent criticism is divorced in time. The analysis of inferences in the process of collective discussion occurs at the end.

The second version of the method of generating ideas "Brainstorming"- brainwriting or "mute". Ideas are not voiced or discussed, but written down on a piece of paper. This sheet is passed from hand to hand, and each participant can make their own thoughts and additions to the idea.

1. Six Hats by Edward de Bono.

This method may seem simple and useless at first glance. In fact, everything is much deeper than it might seem.

Execution technique. More than 7 people are expected to attend. Everyone is invited to put on hats of different colors on their heads and complete the corresponding tasks. An important condition is to properly organize communication in the group, to exclude emotional confrontation among the participants.

Each hat comes with specific tasks. One specific idea is voiced and with the help of hats, the participants express their opinion.

How roles are distributed by color:

1. Former hat - you need to analyze facts and figures. It is based on rationalism and impartial explanation and confirmation.
2. Black hat - identifying negative properties, predicting possible failure.
3. Red hat - the need to connect emotional evaluation based on subconscious associations.
4. Yellow hat - formation positive sides ideas.
5. Green hat - the search for non-standard solutions to a problem, based on creativity and originality to identify alternatives.
6. Blue hat - summing up and summarizing everything expressed by the participants.

1. Mind Maps by Tony Buzan.

The author of the method is sure that the development of creative thinking and brain activity in general is based on memory, and it is with its development that work on generating ideas should begin.

How to build the process of memorization? Place a key concept or word on a sheet of paper in the center, enclosing it in a circle, and draw associative rows from it, writing them on the branches - creating a tree. Also, for better remembering, reinforce associations and thoughts with graphic elements. Thus line up a map of associations, which fully forms the image located in the center. Such a tree or map is better remembered and stays in memory longer.

1. Synectics by William Gordon.

To find the creative grain in this or that idea, you need to acquire patience and resort to working on analogies. This will help expand your view of the problem and consider those aspects that are hidden from view. The synectics method is one of the best practices generating ideas for startups and businesses.

Execution technique. The idea is divided into keywords or categories and analogies are selected for them, which are recorded in a table for convenience. further work. The table is divided into columns: the first is direct analogies with the subject, the second is indirect, it can be an opposite opinion or description.

For example: object and keyword: pencil. For what purpose this object is considered: to expand the range. A direct analogy to the word pencil is voluminous (its appearance), and an indirect analogy is flat (negation). The result is a pencil bookmark in a book.

1. Focal object method - by Charles Whiting.

This is a non-standard technology for generating ideas for business. On the key subject (focal), signs of other, randomly selected objects are established, and the resulting compounds are further considered.

For example, what happens if you combine a candle as a focal object and the concept of "New Year"? Associations are included: New Year is the time of sparklers. It is this sign that can be transferred to a candle. What happens: grind a Bengal candle, add it to the wax and what happens - the candle will burn and sparkle at the same time!

1. Morphological analysis - author - Fritz Zwicky.

The key object or word must be decomposed into small components (features). Of these, choose the most important ones that form this particular object, change the quality of these features and try to combine them together.

For example, the goal is to create a business card for a perfume company. The usual shape of a business card is a rectangle. Changing the rectangle to a triangle and add the smell of perfume - get new form company business card.