Tag: idea generation

Posted on

How innovation can help your business thrive in this economy

CyberPhysicalSystems

A new demonstration gearing solutions factory in Fellback, Germany, will continuously interlink machines, product equipment and semi-finished products via the Internet – so that specification of a gearwheel can be altered at the last minute.

 

The interlink process will be integrated into a “thinking” production operation known as cyber-physical systems. This will contribute towards securing the future of Germany’s industrial base.

 

Another innovation of the gearing solutions factory is that it has been designed to integrate into a densely populated urban environment. Eco-relevant issues such as noise, flue gas, waste, CO2 emissions, water and effluent as well as energy consumption are minimised.

 

This modern factory may be far removed from the everyday reality of small retail, service and manufacturing businesses in South Africa. Yet local business people need to be just as innovative in their thinking to thrive in this economy, especially businesses that export.

 

Where do new ideas come from? Without people, there are no ideas. How are ideas formed? An idea results from combinations, associations, connections and recombinations people make in their brains during conscious or unconscious thinking. Continue reading “How innovation can help your business thrive in this economy”

Posted on

What tools do you have in your ideas toolbox?

Toolbox.com
Toolbox.com (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you had to flee your country in the dead of the night to make a new life elsewhere, what idea generation techniques would you want to have with you?

I suppose I’ve been thinking about that question not because I feel under threat in the country am living in but because the question sharply focuses on which idea generation tools haved worked so effectively for me and others.

What idea generation techniques have worked best for you? Continue reading “What tools do you have in your ideas toolbox?”

Posted on

One overlooked secret to generating new ideas

It’s Tuesday today – the day that’s furthest away from Monday, the day when many feel at their lowest point of energy. It’s not for nothing that even songwriters have written about Monday blues such as “I don’t like Mondays”, “Manic Monday” and “Blue Monday”.

Interesting that songs about Tuesday are more upbeat: “Ruby Tuesday”, “Groovy Tuesday” and “Hooray for Tuesday”.

Mondays can drain our energy as we try to break away from the relaxed state of the weekend and recoil ourselves for the first day of the working week. Continue reading “One overlooked secret to generating new ideas”

Posted on

Go from no ideas to plenty ideas with these simple, easy-to-use methods

Baking bread
Baking bread (Photo credit: net_efekt)

I was surprised to hear someone who should know better saying the other day that people don’t know how to come up with ideas.

How on earth can anyone say that?

Humans from a very early age come up with ideas for all sorts of things. Birthday parties, fun games and interesting combinations to eat.

In the adult world people could hardly function without new ideas. They come up with them all the time. For making tasty dinners, ways to make extra money on weekends, garden layouts and better ways to do their jobs. Continue reading “Go from no ideas to plenty ideas with these simple, easy-to-use methods”

Posted on

Sing in the shower for brilliant ideas and profit from your innovation

Español: Un hombre practicando kitesurfing en las palyas de Curanipe, Chile.
Español: Un hombre practicando kitesurfing en las palyas de Curanipe, Chile.

This African proverb is a great way to think about new ideas and innovation:

“An axe without a handle does not cut firewood.”

Combinations lead to innovation.

Connections among your experiences, feelings, emotions, deep thinking, facts and observations can spark new ideas for products, services, fresh thinking and stunning insights.

Three quick examples:

– Ballet and shoes = ballet pumps
– Surfboard and kite = kite boarding
– Internet and friends = Facebook

How do you discover these golden connections? How do you ignite these golden threads? How do you spark of these golden opportunities? Continue reading “Sing in the shower for brilliant ideas and profit from your innovation”

Posted on

A new twist on imitation

If imitation were that simple, small business owners could come up with knock-offs of other products and services and ring their cash registers.

Imitation crab
Imitation crab (Photo credit: DBduo Photography)

Imitation can be a more important source for new products and services than the original concept or innovation. In fact, researchers claim that copying ideas can be more valuable than inventing something new. Up to 98% of the value from innovation is realised by the imitators rather than the innovators. Continue reading “A new twist on imitation”

Posted on

Tales of horror from the zombie business survival guide

Source: Wikimedia commons
Source: Wikimedia commons

The other day I asked a supermarket employee the question, “Where can I get kebabs?” She didn’t say a word. She looked at me with glazed eyes without even acknowledging I was there. I repeated my question and this time she mumbled something – I didn’t recognise the language. It sounded like an ancient language from Transylvania. She walked away without a smile.

It suddenly hit me. I nearly jumped out of my skin. Shivering in my shoes, I realised who I had encountered. A zombie service staff member had infiltrated this business and was operating under the guise of a customer service representative. Continue reading “Tales of horror from the zombie business survival guide”

Posted on

Is passion waiting to find you?

Santiago de Compostella pilgrimage route
Discovering one’s passion on the Santiago de Compostella pilgrimage route of 750 km

A friend who has been trying to find his passion went over to New Zealand and Australia for six months. He travelled in a camper van with his surf board and came back to South Africa with stories: travelling along scary roads up cliffs and in dense trees to surf spots, getting electrocuted leaning against a farmer’s cattle fence and even stumbling on a nudist beach by accident.

Yet after all his amazing adventures, seeing different lifestyles and meeting new people, he hadn’t found his hoped-for passion. You see, after years working in demanding corporate jobs and high-pressure sales promotions, he has taken time to figure out what he really wants to do. Continue reading “Is passion waiting to find you?”

Posted on

How do you turn your small business into an innovation machine?

Innovation
Innovation (Photo credit: Seth1492)

A dog day care business faced stiff competition with similar businesses starting up. The owner decided to introduce new services such as caring for older, sickly pets, offering on-site vaccinations and placing webcams in the facility so owners could check their pets anytime. This innovation helped the business expand from 11 locations to 100 franchise outlets and wholly-owned shops.

The perception exists that small businesses are not as innovative as larger companies. Yet while this may be true for common village professionals like shopkeepers, real estate agents, plumbers, lawyers and doctors, many small business owners are highly innovative.

Why is innovation so important to small businesses? Continue reading “How do you turn your small business into an innovation machine?”

Posted on

Four things you absolutely must know when buying online

Who can you trust when buying products or services online?

Sorry to sound cynical but there’s a reason:

As a buyer or consumer these days even off-line you have to be ultra careful. For example, take your credit card or ATM card. You have to watch out that no one sees your three-digit number at the back of your credit card or your pin code. In the wrong hands, you can lose a lot of money. So many people get caught. Continue reading “Four things you absolutely must know when buying online”