Ideas Debunked: Fundamentals You Fail To Understand

Stop. Ideas are not born complete. Ideas are not inherently valuable. Ideas are not to be protected and kept from the world. Ideas are not always innovative. Ideas are not accidental. Pop culture has instilled the wrong understanding of ideas into people’s minds. Lightbulbs above heads cartoon style is as accurate a depiction as the one the masses have.

What Ideas Are and What Ideas Aren’t

Before we dive into the piranha waters of ideas, we need to understand what they are and what they are not. Coming from the Greek eidos, an idea is verbatim just a thought. I don’t think you grasp the simplicity yet. A mere concept, belief, plan, or intention. Not something of divine intervention. What pops up in your mind. Whenever, wherever, whatever it is. That is an idea. An object of perception based on your knowledge of the outside world.

To satisfy the nerds, ideas are “conceptualized mental constructs”. In human, this means thoughts, images, and plans in the mind. When purposeful, they are intended to solve a problem, create value, or explore a possibility. When not, they’re merely fruits of the bored brain. They stem from observation, reflection, intuition, or knowledge. Ideas are rarely fully formed and practical, and instead stand as a starting point for action or thought. Ideas are: new ways to solve common problems; novel designs for products; different approaches to business. Ideas are not: raw data or unprocessed information (ideas often come from raw data); repetitive thoughts or established facts; random distractions; pure emotions (ideas can be inspired by feelings).

Idea Myths Debunked

Mythology is fun. Why not idea mythology? The modern world sure has it’s fair share of “widely held but false beliefs”—myths—about ideas. Ideas come fully formed: no, most start as rough, incomplete thoughts, worthless without refinement. Ideas only come spontaneously: no, “aha” moments are real, but ideas can be created on purpose. Ideas should be left to the experts: no, outsiders or non-experts often provide groundbreaking insights. Ideas must be original: no, many of them build on or combine existing concepts. Ideas are instantly recognized: no, most take time and the right context to be appreciated. Ideas can’t be measured: no, criteria such as feasibility, impact, and originality can evaluate ideas. Ideas only matter if they’re big: no, incremental changes lead to significant outcomes over time. Ideas are enough: no, execution is what makes them valuable. Ideas are rare and precious: no, with the right mindset and techniques, they’re routine. Ideas sell themselves: no, even the best ones need promotion, persuasion, and buy-in.

Ideas can be baked deliberately. No gods, goddesses, or lightbulbs. A seven step process: (1) identifying the problem, (2) conducting research and collecting user insights, (3) brainstorming, (4) combining ideas, (5) evaluating ideas, (6) creating prototypes or mockups, and (7) sharing the ideas or prototypes. Rinse and repeat. Creativity is not magic. As purposeful and dry as it sounds. Great artists underwent similar processes. They wrote, sculpted, painted, composed, and played. Thousands of hours passed. Thousands of pieces later, one clicked. Creativity is not accidental. It’s a grind.

The Ideation Process: Rough Beginnings

Identifying the problem: clearly define the problem you’re trying to address, as a precise problem statement paves a path for ideation. Entertainment of an audience using dark humor? Emotionally and psychologically touching painting for abuse survivors? Saving people time in the bathroom? Automatically scheduling days for busy moms? Personalized training for those with mental illnesses and neurological handicaps? Ask, ask, ask…

Conducting research and collecting user insights: gather information about the problem, including existing solutions, market research, and user feedback. This acts as a backdrop of knowledge to spark ideas. Read, read, read… Become a half-expert in the field. Come out of that research cave with sufficient knowledge about the consumer and your potential product to scare. After all, if you’re not sure what’s out there already, what people might find useful, and what people genuinely want, how can you create anything valuable?

The Ideation Process: The Turning Point

Brainstorming: use brainstorming techniques to generate arrays of new ideas. This can be done solo or in a group. Encourage wild, incredible ideas. Defer your judgment—it can wait. Focus on quantity over quality. Write, write, write… The more the merrier. Most will be sheer twaddle, and that’s okay. The goal of brainstorming is to come up with numerous raw, incomplete, and sometimes stupid ideas. You then sift through for acceptable and good ones, look for combinations, and awesome human shit is born.

Combining ideas: search for ways to combine or adapt ideas. Sometimes blending different concepts or applying existing solutions to new contexts can lead to breakthrough innovations. Evaluating ideas: after generating ideas, trying them for combinations, and roughly sifting them through, evaluate them. Use criteria such as feasibility, originality, and potential impact. Prioritize the promising ones and place the others on a back burner or toss them. The magic happens here.

The Ideation Process: The Aftermath and Future

Creating prototypes or mockups: if the resources are available to you, create low-fidelity prototypes or mockups to see the ideas in action. Prototyping is the best way to visualize and test ideas early on. Share the ideas and/or prototypes: bring them out to the world for feedback. External perspectives reveal overlooked aspects and improve your ideas. Plus, you get to see whether this is something genuinely worth pursuing. Or, something nobody fucking wants or needs. Saves you a headache or two. Rinse and repeat the process (optional): you can use the promising ideas in another ideation bout down the line, further developing the concept.

Clear as day, ideation isn’t some divine art. Creativity wasn’t bestowed to artists by the universal cosmos. Ideas require work. Thomas Edison, the absolute idea machine, had over a thousand patents. Vincent Van Gogh finished over nine-hundred paintings. We remember a handful. Creativity is a process, not a virtuous spin of luck. Want to practice it? Here are a few suggestions.

Practice Ideation Yourself (it’s fun!)

Try a structured brainstorming session: schedule regular idea-generation meetings—or solo sessions—with clear goals. Employ tried and true techniques, like mind mapping, SCAMPER (substitute, combine, adapt, modify, put to another use, eliminate, reverse), or the six thinking hats.

When possible, diverge: use divergent thinking—deviate from the norm and what is accepted or used—and explore possibilities without constraints. Later, utilize convergent thinking to filter through the ideas and find the best ones.

Change it up: deliberately put yourself into another person’s shoes to gain perspective (i.e. the user, the buyer, the competitor, the family member, the art observer). While you’re at it, challenge your core assumptions. The way it’s always been done does not have to remain the way its done.

Limit yourself: as counterintuitive as it sounds, constraints (budget, time, materials) spark creativity rather than hinder it. They force you to think outside the box to discover a solution. Collaborate with others: people from different fields and backgrounds can offer you fruitful insights you wouldn’t have fathomed.

Idea journal: keep an ongoing log of thoughts, problems, and potential solutions. Collect ideas. Regularly review and reassess them. Get inspired: expose yourself to art, nature, and different cultures for fresh thought. Learn: something new (i.e. a language, programming) can unlock perspectives within you. Embrace your curiosity: ask why and what if more often. Satisfy the curious child inside.

Final Comments

Overall, an idea and the process of creating them is far less mystical than people tend to think. Creativity is available to everyone. It requires work. Ideas are there for you to grab. They require effort. You know the process and best practices. Only thing stopping you is you. “Creativity is essentially a lonely art. An even lonelier struggle. To some a blessing. To others a curse. It is in reality the ability to reach inside yourself and drag forth from your very soul an idea.” said Lou Dorfsman.