X I D E A S

BUGS

Ideas sometimes grow out of irritation. One person was bugged by his inability to remember important dates such as anniversaries, birthdays and so on. He was always a day late with presents. He made his bug into a challenge and created a product: vacuum packed canned roses to be stored and used for emergencies.

After you make your "bug list", select the challenges that you find most interesting. Remember that a worthwhile problem for one person may very well be boring to another. An accountant and a salesperson will not likely be stimulated or challenged by the same problem; indeed two people in the same discipline may not be challenged by the same problem.

Only you can identify the kind of challenges that will stimulate and drive you.

BENEFITS

It is important to give yourself a compelling personal reason for the coming up with new ideas to solve your challenges. Weigh each challenge for personal benefits before you commit yourself.  The best ideas come from those hungry for success and those who cultivate the spirit of enterprise.

Before you decide which challenge to resolve, make a list of the benefits that may be gained if you are successful in developing a creative solution. What are the direct benefits: money, pleasure, recognition,  property and so on. What are the indirect benefits: new skills, knowledge, attitudes, etc. Do the benefits outweigh the costs in terms of your time and energy? Which challenges would be the most rewarding to resolve? What problems or situations do you want to accept personal responsibility for solving?

If you feel that it’s not necessary to realize any personal benefits before you dedicate yourself to solving a challenge…just lean your head sideways and watch the sawdust pour out of your ear.

After you decide what challenges are most interesting and likely to yield solid benefits, it is important to accept the challenge. To accept a challenge means to accept responsibility for generating ideas as possible solutions to the problem. The more you accept responsibility and dedicate yourself to generating ideas, the higher your probability of reaching an innovative solution.

There are different levels of commitment to different problems. Some problems need total dedication, others may need total effort. Whenever I think of total dedication, I’m reminded of a story I once heard about a samurai who had the duty to avenge his overlord’s murderer. When he had cornered the murderer and was about to dispatch  him with his sword, the man spat in the warrior’s face. The warrior sheathed his sword and walked away.

Why? Because the spitting made him angry, and if he had killed that man in anger it would have been a personal act. He had accepted the responsibility to do another kind of act, an impersonal act of vengeance. After you decide what challenges are interesting and will yield you solid benefits, it is time to state those challenges in the most useful way possible.