Ideation

‘What if I'm stuck. Here. Forever?’ (Kathryn Stockett)

What to do if we feel stuck, trapped, out of options or can’t see a way forward? Here’s a random sample of ideation techniques, often used in coaching and innovation:

*Opposite day: ‘What could I do if I wanted to make this situation a lot worse?’ ‘What would the complete opposite of that be?’

*Borrowed brain: ‘What would X person do?’ (Insert various names for X, e.g. Elon Musk, my CEO, a 5-year-old child).

*Magic wand: ‘If there were no limits (time, money, fear or consequences), what would I try?’ ‘What parts of that could I actually do now?’

*Future me: Imagine it’s one year from now and I’ve successfully overcome the challenge. ‘Looking back, what did I do that made the biggest difference?’

*Constraint twist: Instead of removing limits, add a new one: e.g. ‘What if I had to solve this with only £50? or ‘What if I could only use digital tools?’

*Thought-stopping: Distract myself from over-thinking by focusing my attention on something else. Take note of what intuitive ideas rise to the surface.

*Option explosion: For 3 minutes (use a timer), generate as many options as possible. No censoring, no evaluation. After 3 minutes, review and refine.
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*What else? Write down the first idea that comes to mind, without over-thinking. ‘What else could I do?’ and keep asking ‘What else?’ at least 7 times.

*Random spark: Pick a random word, object or image (e.g. bicycle, pencil, mirror). ‘How is this like my situation?’ or ‘What could this teach me about the challenge I’m facing?’

*Option flip: If stuck between two options (A or B): ‘What’s option C – the one I haven’t thought of yet?’ ‘What if I did both?’ or ‘What if I did neither of these?’

*Tiny steps: Instead of committing to a full decision, ‘What’s one small experiment I could try to test an idea safely?’

Do you feel stuck? Curious to discover how I can help? Get in touch!