Sum of Ideas Technique

Being creative involves combining from the first look unrelated ideas and coming up with something new. In Sum of Ideas exercise, participants will have to let their minds free to wonder and create yet undiscovered ideas.

You can form pair or groups of any size.

Individually, come up with an object which name begins with the same letter as your surname. Now, combine your object with your neighbors object to create something new (it can a product or a service.)

For example. Toothpaste + Zebra = a zebra shaped toothpaste dispenser for kids that squeezes out portions (a product); custom designed and themed tools for dentists working with children (service/experience).

Think about the concept in detail – what purpose does it serve, who uses it, how does it look like, etc. Once the time is up (7 minutes aprox), share ideas between groups and discuss the outcome.

Tips and Tricks

• People can come up with the most unexpected ideas and the more varied backgrounds/ages/hobbies they have, the more fun it gets. Therefore, make sure to mix up the groups and put some time aside for presentations.
• Another way of making this exercise according to its creator, Michael Michalko, is to write down the name of the object people come up with on a sticky note and post it on their forehead. Then ask people to mingle around the room and find another object to combine with theirs.

(Reference: https://innovationlab.net/)