Creativity Information

Innovation Through Concept-Combination


There are many creative problem solving techniques used by inventors to come up with new solutions to old problems. For sheer innovation, though, it's hard to beat the technique of concept-combination. Just start combining ideas and things, and voila, you're having fun - and maybe creating something new.

Innovation or Inovation?

Combining the concept of search engine misspellings with article writing gave me "inovation." What good is that? Well, now that I've used the misspelled word twice, the thousand people every month that type "inovation" into search engines can find this article.

"Search engine" combined with "people," could lead to the first search engine devoted entirely to information on individuals. "People" plus "advertising" might lead to the first large-scale paid-tatoo-placement campaign. Want a monthly stipend for having a Coke logo on your forehead?

Much of the innovation you see in the business world is nothing more than combining existing ideas. For a ton of new business ideas, just combine the concept of "home delivery" with almost anything. Parties, tax preparers, rental swimming pools? Would people pay to have these things delivered?

Using Creative Problem Solving Techniques

In the process of innovation, you need to be careful not to stifle creativity. This means allowing ideas to come without judging them at first. It also means using techniques only as tools, not as a rules. If your mind goes off on a creative tangent - let it.

Randomly combining things is a great mental exercise when you're driving or daydreaming. A boat and a bicycle becomes a waterski-bike that glides across the lake using pedal-power. Combining stock-trading and McDonalds has you imagining the selling of stocks and bonds at drive through windows.

For more specific problems, you just look for things to combine with what you already have. If your taxi business is struggling, combining "taxi" and "pets" might lead to a successful arrangement with a kennel, to pick up and deliver their client's cats and dogs. "Famous people," might give you the idea to run some sort of tour of the town, like they do in Hollywood.

For maximum creativity in your innovation, look far and wide for concepts to combine. "Meditation" and "amusement parks" seem too unrelated to yield interesting combinations, but I'll bet people at a carnival would pay to be put into a meditative trance using the latest brainwave entrainment technologies.

Steve Gillman has been studying brainpower enhancement, creative problem solving, and related topics for years. Learn more, and subscribe to his free Mind Power Course, at: http://www.IncreaseBrainPower.com/mind-power.html


MORE RESOURCES:

Experts ponder link between creativity, mood disorders
CNN - 14 hours ago
There have been more than 20 studies that suggest an increased rate of bipolar and depressive illnesses in highly creative people, says Kay Redfield Jamison ...


'Flash of Genius' lacks any flash of creativity
Telescope, CA - 5 hours ago
The cinematography lacks creativity. Kearns is played by Greg Kinnear, who is joined by Lauren Graham as his wife, Phyllis, and Dermot Mulroney as Gil ...


Pattern suggests creativity’s return in the music industry
District, GA - 2 hours ago
What’s left to creativity once the listening experience becomes passive? The answer is mixtapes. The extremely popular and recently shut-down Web site ...


Apple Butter Festival quilter stretches creativity
Hagerstown Morning Herald, MD - 1 hour ago
"It's stretching your creativity that makes it satisfying," she said. "The actual quilting is an extension of your creative image. ...


Sachar Uses Creativity in Real Estate, Independent Films
Cape May County Herald,  United States - 9 hours ago
“They are both a creative process for me.” He said after submitting a script and contracting actors, film brokers will offer a price for a film like an ...


Financial Post

Porcelain designer brings creativity to the table
Financial Post, Canada - Oct 6, 2008
Louise Bousquet is owner and operator of Montreal-based Porcelaines Bousquet (www.porcelainesbousquet.qc.ca). She creates porcelain known for its unique ...


Business Wire (press release)

Crayola Glow Station and Crayola Color Surge Win Coveted Platinum ...
Ad-Hoc-News (Pressemitteilung), Germany - 12 hours ago
?The Glow Station is light-years away from many creativity toys,' says Stephanie Oppenheim, child development expert and co-founder of the Oppenheim Toy ...
Crayola Glow Station Wins FamilyFun MagazineToy of the Year (TOY ... MarketWatch
all 18 news articles


Creativity, work continue to flow for Denny Laine
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA - 23 hours ago
But the "Sgt. Pepper" tour and some interest from some local casinos about putting on a rock 'n' roll review has spurred his creative energy, which also has ...


Kids parade lights the way, creativity highlights Nut Club event
Evansville Courier & Press, IN - 22 hours ago
By John Martin (Contact) BOB GWALTNEY / Courier & Press Elijah Christmas, 6, left, and his brother, Levi, 3, check out how their cousin, Taylor Lawson, 8, ...


The Perfect Holiday Gift -- Your Children's Own Published Books ...
MarketWatch - 14 hours ago
"We created Tikatok as a fun and safe online community for children to express their creativity and tell their own stories," said Sharon Kan, CEO of Tikatok ...

Creativity - Google News

home | site map
© 2006