Unleashing Wild and Wacky Ideas To Get Big Breakthrough Innovations.

While wild and wacky ideas might not be the winning ideas coming out of a Quantum Idea Generation 2.0 Creative Session you may not get those winning ideas unless they start as wild and wacky ideas.

Here is a brief review of Quantum Idea Generation 2.0 from previous blogs.

Quantum idea generation produces at least 12 times more ideas than brainstorming.
To generate these powerful results you need to use four elements – diversity, stimulus, brain type, and eliminate fear and have fun.

Today we’re going to dive deep into the topic of how to make sure there is no fear in an idea generating session and instead there is a very healthy sense of fun. You can immediately start using the help in this blog.

As you plan for an important innovation idea generating meeting, make sure you plan to eliminate fear and replace it with fun so that you can bring out the highest level of creativity from the people in your idea generating session.

This podcast covers important “must haves” in planning idea generating exercises so that you have fun, not fear in the session.

In a previous blog I mentioned Doug Hall and Eureka Ranch. When he first started, he had a very strong focus on fun while being innovative – pinball machines, pillow fights, canoeing, Nerf gun battles and on and on. It was these unexpected visuals in a business context that caught the eye of NBC’s Dateline program. His approach to fun innovation made for great film! Later in his career, Doug discovered that too much fun overwhelmed the idea generation and he needed greater balance. The pinball machines are still at Eureka Ranch.

Why eliminating fear is so important.

First, I want to define what I mean by having fear in an idea generating session. There are two major kinds of fears that can inhibit creativity. Some people fear sharing ideas that will make them look foolish or, even worse, not very smart. Other people fear sharing ideas because they might be judged, criticized, and even ridiculed by other people. Whenever any of this exists to any degree, you have a potentially serious problem.
When either of these dimensions of fear exists, you will find people sitting back and not participating. The result is a dramatic reduction in creative output from the session. As a result, I think you can see why eliminating fear is one of the four major factors in effective quantum idea generation.

How you eliminate fear from an idea generating session.

- First, you need to address it head on. When I am leading a session, I share the following story.
  - Over the years when I have seen a very big idea come out of the session, I go to the small group of people that first generated the idea. I ask them how they created the idea. The number one response I get over many years of doing this goes like this. “Well first Sue blurted out this wild and wacky idea. Then John built on the idea. Rebecca loved the build and added her own new dimension. And then Ed connected all the dots and all of a sudden we had this big, exciting idea.”
- The lesson of the story is without wild and wacky ideas we are unlikely to get the really big ideas we need. If Sue had felt any fear, she would not have blurted out the wild and wacky idea that led to the big idea.
- As a result, I encourage people to blurt out wild and wacky ideas. Because these are so important, I prohibit verbal and nonverbal judging and criticizing of ideas during the idea generating process. Typically at the end of a session we ask people to vote on their favorite ideas, which is the only time judging is allowed.
- The second thing I do to eliminate fear is to have a one-on-one chat with all of the more senior people and managers in the session. I request their help. I ask them to never judge ideas during the creative session. I underscore to them how their managerial power can either stifle creativity or be a major encouragement to creativity. In almost all cases this one-on-one request works well. Senior leaders want maximum creativity and I am showing them the way to help with this.

Now that we have eliminated fear, this is how we inject fun.

- The facilitator of an idea generating session plays a very critical role in creating fun. One of the most important ways of doing this is to be closely in touch with the small groups of people as they create ideas. As groups are generating ideas, I observe and when I see anything approaching a promising idea, I inject strong positive encouragement. When the groups then share their ideas with the total session, I am also on the lookout for every opportunity to complement and praise people for their ideas.
- In addition, I have a number of stimulus presentations intended to inspire people to reach for even bigger ideas. I often do this with some rather humorous presentations. I’m looking to generate smiles and laughs as I inspire people to reach for even bigger ideas.

From a personal perspective I think most of us have had the experience of trying to create new ideas when we are full of fear and anxiety. Ideas are few and far between in those ideas we have are not very good. On the other hand, when we have fun developing ideas and are full of hope and inspiration, we find a big ideas flow quickly and easily.

- Ongoing close.
  - What you can do today with this information – now you know how to eliminate fear and maximize fun in your session for optimal creativity.
  - If you would like to see the key written points from this podcast, you can find them in my blog – i2ge.com/blog.
  - If you would like to contact me, please email me at richard@i2ge.com. Contact me if you have questions, thoughts, or would like more help. In future podcasts I will feature people who contact me with questions or have an interest in sharing their success. I promise to get back to you no later than 48 hours after I receive your email – actually I try to reply the same day.
  - If you would like to create far more robust innovation capabilities within your business, I have a complete portfolio of training programs that we tailor to your unique needs. If you would like to learn more, go to the Innovate2Grow Experts website – i2Ge.com and click on DIY Innovation Training.
  - One of my six books is Proven Practical Innovation That Delivers Results. This very low-cost book is available at Amazon in paperback and has a Kindle book. Is truly packed with lots of practical help.
  - Here’s a quick review of podcasts to come. The next two podcast will complete the series and quantum idea generation. Following that be a series on how you can double the chances for success on a new product or service – either an existing one or a new one you invent. Please join me for the next podcast where we will dive into the fourth component of quantum idea generation – eliminate fear and have fun.
  - Thank you very much for your time and I look forward to reconnecting with you soon.

If you want help with your innovation program, we can help you achieve dramatically better innovation results in 90 days or less. Guaranteed. We help businesses of all kinds and sizes to consistently double their innovation success rate by creating innovative solutions that are dramatically better than all of their competition. We can consistently do this because Innovate2Grow Experts is the only innovation consultancy using the eight most proven innovation best practices.

At Innovate2Grow Experts we can help you in two fundamental ways. First, we can collaboratively work with you in a variety of ways on a specific innovation need. Second, if you are interested in being trained at a high level on the eight most proven innovation best practices, you can start for free.

Thank you very much for your time and I look forward to reconnecting with you soon. Have a great day.

Richard Haasnoot, Head Coach, Innovate2Grow Experts/i2ge.com

Founder and Producer, Innovation Best Practices podcast i2ge.com/podcast