Great ideas: how you can generate breakthroughs - includes creativity and problem solving exercises and a list of hardcopy, software and audio resources to stimulate creativity - Tutorial

Home Office Computing, June, 1994 by Donna M. Partow

Even so, Gelb's great ideas don't always come when sitting in his office. "Like most people, I get my ideas when I'm not trying too hard. The trick is to write them down immediately, so they're not lost," he says. To that end, Gelb stocks notebooks and microcassette recorders where his best ideas usually strike: by his bedside, in the car, and, yes, in the bathroom.

According to research conducted by Thompson, the top 10 idea-generating times are when you're:

1. sitting on the toilet,

2. showering or shaving (Note: Albert Einstein said: "Make friends with your shower. If inspired to sing, maybe the song has an idea in it for your."),

3. commuting to work,

4. falling asleep or waking up,

5. in a boring meeting,

6. reading at leisure,

7. exercising,

8. waking in the middle of the night,

9. listening to a church sermon,

10. performing manual labor.

Dr. Yoshiro NakaMats, inventor of the floppy disk and owner of 2,300 patents (more than double the number held by Thomas Edison), comes up with his best ideas while swimming. He frequents a local hotel that has a pool. "I have a special way of holding my breath and swimming underwater--that's when I come up with my best ideas. I've created a Plexiglas writing pad so that I can stay underwater and record these ideas."

NakaMats has also designed two rooms (totaling 300 square feet) in his Tokyo home, where he goes for inspiration. His static rook is a place of piece and quiet. "I only have natural things in here: a rock garden, natural running water, plants, a five-ton boulder from Kyoto," he says. "I go into the room to free-associate." His dynamic room is dark, with black-and-white-striped walls, leather furniture, and special audio and video equipment. He starts by listening to jazz and always end with Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.

Conduct Collective-Thinking Sessions In addition to Gelb's brain-nourishing home office, he also calls on a group of creative-thinking colleagues. "Most ideas come when you're alone, which is a great advantage for those of us who work at home," he says. "You can't get to that phase, however, until you've worked through the preparation and generation stages. And for those steps, a group effort often works extremely well."

Gelb's brainstorming participants include people from related fields and even several from entirely different professions. "That way, I get both a reality check from the experts and a fresh perspective from the unjaded." Such brain teams can meet in person, over the phone, or even onlin (see "Creative Resources" for a list of organizations devoted to promoting creative thinking).

Break From Tradition Even the most adept creative thinkers can succumb to the dreaded mental block. And the phrase "that's the way we've always done it" is the most prominent symptom of this type of imagination suppression. The key to unlocking new doors is to eliminate this creativity-squelching chant.

When Ed Pankau, of Houston, Texas, entered the private investigation business in 1973, his gumshoe technique was wearing thin. "There's got to be an easier way," he would mumble as he traipsed around town searching out information for clients.