Page 222 - THE DO-IT-YOURSELF LOBOTOMY Open Your Mind to Greater Creative Thinking

Which Is the Idea? 213

This Rhode Island Swamp Yankee, as we call them around these
parts, gave me that patented Yankee look. All that was missing was the
corncob pipe. Then he said, “Should have sold him 100 pounds ago,
when he was $1.00 a pound veal.”
Yes, you can overwork an idea. Yes, you can often go with an ear-
lier idea. But in matters of creativity, unlike the cattle business, you
should generate many ideas. Then you can go back and find the veal.
The prime cut of veal, at that.

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Here are some tips on how to get there from here.
Distill periodically. As mentioned earlier, don’t wait until the end to
try to sort through the output of an entire brainstorming session. Being
forced to evaluate each idea a number of times, once during the round-
by-round distillation and again during the semifinal and final rounds,
helps you look at it in different lights to truly test the idea in its con-
ceptual form. Also, because the early distillation is understood not to
be binding and allows for inclusion of what may be seen as borderline
ideas early on, it keeps final, more destructive judgment at bay.
Don’t debate during the early stages of distillation. During the early
rounds you can distill simply by asking all members of the team (the
four- to six-member group, not the entire room) to nominate ideas for
that team’s shortlist. If you’re using sticky notes, this simply means
moving the sticky to the shortlist. If one person likes an idea enough to
put it in the running, then it’s in the running. By saving the oral argu-
ments for later, you’re keeping everyone in an open mind-set. Debate
causes both defenders and attackers to take a stand, one that they may
become attached to later; this almost always clouds their judgment.
Bring some criteria to the qualifying process. In addition to deferring the
intellectual discussion of why an idea is good or bad until late in the

Moth hole in your expensive jacket.
No problem; buy another.
Timeline of a great idea (continued)

Timeline of a lousy idea (continued)
You buy a used jacket with a moth
hole and hope no one notices.