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DEVELOPING NEW BUSINESS IDEAS132

indulge in one especially of the four Ps which we met in Chapter 1:
playfulness. You must feel able to let your mind flit about. The more
you let go, the more you will boost your right-brain thinking to produce
innovative ideas. Put the left-brain analytical constraints to one side
and give yourself time to sink into a ‘deep think’.

It is important to get into the correct and relaxed state of mind-set
before starting to use these techniques. The brainstorming room at the
IBM Research Centre in Bethesda, Maryland, is said to be filled with a
collection of metal-hinged puzzles, to allow participants to play with
the puzzles before getting down to work. IDEO routinely engages in
mental warm-ups, as well as encouraging ‘content-related homework’,
to ensure the success of its brainstorming sessions.

the more you let go, the more you will boost
your right-brain thinking to produce
innovative ideas

Individuals may have particular rituals for achieving a relaxed mind-set.
Before starting to compose music, Gustav Mahler relaxed by stroking fur.
Before starting to write, Samuel Johnson surrounded himself with a
purring cat, orange peel and tea. Brahms is said to have received
inspiration from shining his shoes, while Friedrich Schiller covered his
desk with rotten apples. The rule is simple: do whatever does it for you.

brainstorming Brainstorming is a fabulously powerful technique for

using free association to create a barrage of ideas, acknowledging Linus
Paul’s dictum that ‘the best way to get a good idea is to get a lot of ideas’.
The technique can be used by individuals as well as by groups.

While Alex Osborn is widely credited with developing the concept of
brainstorming in the 1960s, leading-edge innovation companies such as
IDEO have taken the idea on and often given it their own twist.102 IDEO
has gone as far as making brainstorming a central part of its modus
operandi: ‘Brainstorming is practically a religion at IDEO, one we
practise nearly every day. Though brainstorms themselves are often
playful, brainstorming as a tool – as a skill – is taken quite seriously . . .
Brainstorming is the idea engine of IDEO’s culture.’103

The power of brainstorming can be illustrated by the story of the plate
manufacturer whose productivity was dropping because the packers