Strange new connections to generate new ideas

Another way to generate new ideas is to make new and unexpected connections. Some of the best ideas seem to come almost by chance, when we make strange new connections.

You see or hear something unconnected with the situation you’re trying to resolve, and a lightbulb goes on in your head!

For instance, inventor George de Mestral was inspired to invent Velcro by the burdock burrs that got stuck to his dog’s fur during a countryside walk. And architect Mick Pearce developed a groundbreaking climate-control system based on the self-cooling mounds built by termites.

Try some of the following strategies for forging creative connections:

Random words. Pick a word at random from any document, then look for novel associations between that word and your problem.

For example, if you were exploring ways to reduce sick leave in your company, and your random word was “ball,” you might hit on the idea of organizing a monthly softball game, to raise morale and motivate people to stay healthy.

Images can be a great way to inspire creative thinking. Pick any image, find a connection with your problem – however tenuous – and notice any new possibilities that open up.

A picture of a giant redwood, for instance, might suggest new ways to organize the teams and “branches” within your business.

How about asking your team members to bring a small object of their choice to your next ideas meeting? You could generate new ideas by asking questions such as, “How is this object like the problem we’re trying to solve?” or “How could we use this object to meet our challenge?”

A stapler, say, might prompt you to consider whether people on your team are becoming disconnected. Maybe you could set up a new communications channel to “fasten” them back together?