Why read this? : We look at different questions you can ask to improve your idea generation process. Learn how asking why, what, who, where and when helps you come up with better ideas. Read this to learn the 5Ws of idea generation.
We all like the idea of idea generation, right?
Why? Because we like ideas. Good ideas are joyful. They give us a clear sense of purpose.
We need them.
But, actually doing idea generation, well, maybe not so much. That means putting in some work. And doing workshops. Urgh.
We don’t like the idea of those so much, do we?
But without the work, there’s no ideas. So this week we look at how to make the ideas process easier, by applying the 5Ws model to idea generation. We’ll chunk the process into why, what, who, where and when you come up with ideas to make it easier to plan. (see our design psychology article for more on chunking).
Idea Generation - Why?
Let’s start with why. And in this case, it’s pretty simple. You need idea generation because your business needs ideas to grow.
Ideas fuel your business. Without them, your business doesn’t move forward. Idea generation is like the petrol station where you fuel your business’s engine.
Fully fuelled, your business has energy and momentum. Ideas move you towards your goals. They drive your business forward.
But not every business journey follows the same route. You can use something like the Ansoff matrix (often used in marketing innovation) to map out different directions for growth.
There’s 4 main growth directions you can go in based on existing or new products and markets. Market penetration, market development, product development and diversification.
Ideas for existing products or markets focus on improvements. Ideas for new products or markets focus on innovation.
Improvement ideas
Improvement ideas come from customer experience gaps, or weaknesses with existing products or markets. These ideas close gaps. They turn weaknesses into strengths.
As per our creativity in business article, improvements are an adaptive approach to innovation. You adapt what you already have to make it better. Small but regular upgrades.
It’s an evolutionary approach. It’s based on efficiency via certainty, predictability and routine. (see our marketing evolution article for more on this).
These types of ideas are common in big brand marketing plans. These review the 4Ps marketing mix, and show how to improve product, price, place and promotion.
Raise the product quality. A more attractive price point. Better distribution. Sharper comms. All adaptive improvements to grow your existing business.
Innovation ideas
For new products and markets, you need more innovative ideas. You do something different to grow your business.
You use the marketing innovation process to plan out these new directions and stay on track.
It starts with idea generation. This stage creates many small and rough ideas. You then refine these ideas though the process until only the best remain.
These are the ideas you launch.
You solve new problems for existing customers (product development). You find new markets for your product (market development). And sometimes, you jump into completely new product – market areas (diversification). These can come out of market research, or even just what’s trending on Google.
All these options are fuelled by idea generation.
You need a process to inspire ideas
If ideas are fuel for your business, then your team is the engine which uses them to drive the business forward. You grow your business when your team’s engine is well fuelled with ideas.
As we’ve said, everyone likes ideas. We need them.
Idea generation inspires people to come up with ideas. It motivates them to think creatively. To commit to action. People thrive on ideas. And thriving people makes your business thrive.
Ed Catmull’s book Creativity, Inc. about Pixar talks about how ideas and creativity drive their people and culture. Inspired idea-driven teams are at the heart of their success.
Inspired teams can transform a mediocre idea. But if a great idea hits a mediocre uninspired team, that idea’s going nowhere.
So 3 clear reasons we need idea generation. To improve. To innovate. And to inspire. Now, let’s move on to what an idea actually is.
Idea Generation - What?
Ideas exist as intangible thoughts in our heads. But they have to be expressed in some sort of tangible form, so we can share and spread them.
This tangible form of an idea is usually a statement, design or plan :-
Idea statement
A statement is the easiest way to express an idea.
A few written or spoken words or sentences which bring the idea to life.
For example :-
- This car does 50 more miles to the gallon than its nearest competitor.
- The only mobile phone with a 64 megapixel camera.
- For pregnant women, a membership program that gives access to their own personal health coach.
It takes strong writing skills to craft idea statements. They need to be simple enough to understand and remember, but also interesting and original enough to inspire people.
Not easy to do well.
In an idea statement, as Strunk and White might put it, you must omit unnecessary words with eagerness and relish. (see our 5 writing habits article for more on this).
Examples of where you use idea statements include :-
- Brand identity creation – to refine brand assets like your essence, values and personality.
- New product research – to describe an innovation feature or benefit when testing it with customers.
- Advertising idea research – to share an advertising idea to evaluate its impact on customers.
Idea design
Idea statements are easy to share and remember, but an idea design brings an idea to life more than words alone can.
Sketches, images and illustrations help people visualise what an idea looks like. That makes it easier for people to understand and remember.
Graphic design skills drive this visualisation. For example, using tools like Photoshop and Illustrator to create visual idea designs. Examples of where idea designs are common include :-
- Advertising development – to draw a storyboard for a TV advert or mock up a printed advert for creative approval before you make it.
- Packaging development – to research potential packaging changes in colours, typography and logos to understand their impact on customers.
- Customer experience – to sketch a website page or email layout to test with customers.
Idea Plan
Sometimes people need more detail about an idea than a statement or design covers. They want to see a detailed idea plan.
This often happens when sharing ideas inside your business. For example, with creative approvals or business cases in marketing innovation.
These need detail that goes beyond what’s in the idea statement and design (which are often part of the introduction to the idea plan).
These longer documents make sure the idea has been fully thought through. They give everyone specific clarity on how the idea works. The clarity comes from the actionable detail in the plan. You use storytelling skills to bring the idea plan to life in an engaging, compelling way.
Idea Generation - Who?
In terms of creative ideas, it’s clear that culture influences how creativity works in your business.
And it’s the people in the business who create that culture in the first place.
To encourage idea generation, you should consider “who” gets involved, and what drives their creativity.
Creativity’s not an on-off switch. You have to understand what makes different people tick. And how to use that for better idea generation.
Personality types
Our creative personality types article showed how differently people approach creativity. For example, it shared how :-
- Extrovert Feelers need to socialise and work with others. They’re full of energy and enthusiasm.
- Extrovert Thinkers like to focus on the task and making progress. They’re competitive and driven.
- Introvert Thinkers like to analyse and reflect. They’re thoughtful and measured.
You need a mix of different idea generation approaches to get the best out of each type.
For example, interactive workshops and brainstorming sessions work well for Extrovert Feelers. Their energy for new ideas grows as they work with others.
Setting clear targets and milestones works well for Extrovert Thinkers. Challenge them to hit a target number of ideas by a specific deadline. Or to generate better ideas than other people.
Play to the natural strengths of Introvert Thinkers. Ask them to focus on research, analysis and stimulus preparation. These all improve the idea generation process.
Combine these personality types, and you get a broader range of ideas. Pull in some Introvert Feelers too. They think people first. And they’re also good at bringing harmony to diverse thinking teams.
Roles and responsibilities
It’s not just who does idea generation, but also who does what.
You should assign roles and responsibilities to set expectations and improve decision-making. (see also our creative thinking ideas article).
For example, assign a single opportunity owner (rather than a committee).
This role is accountable for what happens to the ideas, and has the power to make decisions.
Next, assign a facilitator.
The facilitator is accountable for the idea generation process. They make sure the process stays on track, and the team stay focussed and motivated. They also deal with difficult people and manage group dynamics. (see our easy creative ideas article for more on this).
Everyone else involved is a subject matter expert / contributor. They bring knowledge and technical skills to help generate better ideas. Typical expert areas include :-
- Customer understanding – market researchers and customer service teams who understand customer needs, and salespeople who understand retailer needs.
- Operational capability – Operations and supply chain people who understand how products are made and delivered to customers.
- Business planning – Finance teams and business leaders who review the forecast and profit and loss.
Idea inspire people
Going back to our earlier point of ideas for inspiration, inspiration works differently for “who” is involved.
The more ideas inspire people, the more motivated they feel. They work harder and feel happier. They keep going when things get tough.
Motivation
There are 2 types of motivation – extrinsic and intrinsic.
Extrinsic motivation uses rewards and punishments to motivate people. As Dan Pink’s book Drive describes them, these are typically “if … then …” motivators. If you come up with this many ideas, then you’ll get a bonus (or won’t be fired). They’re carrots and sticks. Extrinsic motivation can work in short bursts. But it doesn’t work well for longer-term idea generation.
Intrinsic motivation factors on the other hand are self-driven. It’s where people have the ability to act with :-
- autonomy – they have control over what they do.
- mastery – they can work on getting better at something.
- purpose – they know what they do makes a difference.
These are better for long-term idea generation. You get better ideas if people feel they can work on their idea, improve their skills and see the impact it’ll have.
Motivation matters because it’s easy to get demotivated when your ideas get rejected or changed. But ideas will always evolve. They have to. As the team at Pixar call it, initial ideas are often “ugly babies”. You need to nurture these, not kill them off too early.
To create beautiful ideas, you need to bring together different personality types with clear roles and responsibilities who are intrinsically well motivated.
Idea Generation - Where?
As per our easy creative ideas article, location also plays a role in idea generation.
Location can trigger people to be more creative. That’s why so many creative sessions take place away from the normal work place.
In the normal work place, people are in “operations” mode. They follow routines, procedures and rules. They work with known solutions.
But you need people to switch to “creative” mode for idea generation. They need to review and reflect. To speculate, experiment and develop solutions.
A change of location helps signal this different “mode”. (see our generating creative ideas article for more on this). To improve idea generation, take people away from routine operational work into an environment which signals creativity. That environment can be anywhere. At your marketing agency offices. At a hotel or at a bar. Even in a shared online space. Wherever inspires you.
Idea Generation - When?
Our final idea generation 5W question is “when?”. When’s important, because out of 5Ws, it’s the one which compels people to action. Saying “when” commits to people to doing the work.
When helps manage people’s energy
Idea generation uses a lot of energy. You can’t do it all the time. Do it too much, or for too long, and people feel drained.
There’s a reason for that.
Ideas come from thoughts. And thoughts are small charges of electric current which flow through the axons and dendrites in our brains.
The energy for these thoughts comes from the calories we consume. And it uses a lot of energy. Our brains are 2% of our body weight, but account for up to 20% of our daily calorie consumption.
Ideas and thoughts burn up energy and calories. Why’d you think there’s always plenty of coffee and snacks in idea workshops?
So you make sure when you do idea generation is when people have the most energy for it. And you manage their energy levels during the process. You give them time to recover afterwards.
Think about how long you want people to spend on idea generation, for example. 20 minutes? An hour? All day? The longer spent coming up with ideas, the more energy it takes. So, you need to build in more breaks to let people recover.
Why, what, who and where drive when
The answers to why, what, who and where often influence when you do idea generation.
For example, if your “why” is business critical, you start sooner. “What” the idea needs to look like – statement, design or plan – influences how long it takes to produce.
When you decide who’s in the idea generation team, you work around their availability. Most people have “normal” jobs to do. You have to fit idea generation into their schedule. This takes time to set up. Most people are busy, not sitting waiting for your invite.
And finally, with external locations for idea generation, you need to book the venue. You need to match when people can make it to when it’s available.
When turns ideas into actions
Deciding when idea generation is happening, creates urgency and momentum.
It makes it real.
It moves idea generation from a thought to a commitment to act. You want action. Ideas need to drive actions.
This commitment Is the driving force which turns ideas into actions. And it’s only when ideas happen that you see them fuel growth
Conclusion - The 5 Ws of idea generation
Ideas fuel your business. Idea generation makes sure you have a steady supply of good ideas to keep your business moving.
Ask and answer the 5Ws – why, what, who, where and when – about idea generation, and you’ll have a much clearer idea about how to do it in your business.
You identify the business benefit (the “why”) and “what” format the idea needs to be in – statement, design or plan. It helps you think about “who” to involve and how to inspire them. And finally, the 5Ws helps you decide “where” and “when” idea generation happens.
Check out our creative thinking guide for more on the idea process. Or get in touch if you need help with idea generation in your business.
Photo credits
Idea Bulb Post it (adapted) : Photo by AbsolutVision on Unsplash
Petrol Station Fill-up : Photo by Brad Starkey on Unsplash
Toy Story Woody doll : Photo by Melanie THESE on Unsplash
Person writing near mug : Photo by Green Chameleon on Unsplash
Sketchpad : Photo by Charlota Blunarova on Unsplash
Marketing Strategy : Photo by Campaign Creators on Unsplash
Creativity Switch (adapted) : Photo by Isabella and Zsa Fischer on Unsplash
Shout (adapted) : Photo by Jason Rosewell on Unsplash
Bored in front of computer : Photo by Magnet.me on Unsplash
Calendar (adapted) : Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash
