Page 105 - 100 Great Business Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

SUMMARY OF STEPS

\VI tic 1h or description of the object or problem in the

of a piece of paper and draw a circle around it.

2. lirdinstorm each major facet of that object or problem, placing

your thoughts on lines drawn outward from the central thought

like roads leaving a city.

3. Add branches to the lines as necessary.

4. Use additional visual techniques—for example, different colors

for major lines of thought, circles around words or thoughts that

appear more than once, connecting lines between similar

thoughts.

5. Study the mind map to see what interrelationships exist and what

solutions are suggested.

48/22. NAME POSSIBLE USES

Naming the possible uses for an item helps provide solu-
tions to a whole array of problems. The primary one, of
course, is finding new uses for a product. Baking soda, for
example, isn't just for baking. It is useable as a refrigerator
deodorizer, a cleanser, and as a teeth brightener.

How many uses can you think of for a hammer? Name them.

1. 6.

2. 7.

3. 8.

4. 9.

5. 10.

If you want to find new uses for a product, you might be
inspired by Velcro. Velcro is what you use to hold two pieces
of cloth together, right? How many other uses could you
think of for it? The chambers of the Jarvik-7 artifical heart
are held together with Velcro for easy separation in case one
side has to be replaced. Many things in the space shuttle are
held together with Velcro, including parts of the rocket. In-
terior items, including astronauts, are held down by it. Velcro
is used on blood pressure cuffs, to hold insulation in nuclear
power plants, in machine gun turrets, on shoes in place of

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