Lateral Thinking: How to Develop Innovative Ideas
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As we grow older, the work we consistently do builds “rivers of thought.” These give us a rich knowledge of a particular type of area. The problem with this, however, is that as these patterns deepen, we become stuck in them.

When this happens, it becomes a challenge to think differently – to break with the past and generate new ideas. How do we get out of this rut? One way is to bring play and game mechanics into workshops.

When we approach problem solving from a fun perspective, we lose our fear of failure, allowing us to think courageously and overcome built-in patterns.
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DAN SEEWALD

Dan Seewald is the founder and CEO of Delicate Innovation and creator of the Delicate Innovation System, which combines rigorous innovation techniques with the inspirational practices used in coaching elite athletes.

He completed his master's degree in Political Economy and Entrepreneurship from New York University and received a BS in Accounting from the College of New Jersey.
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TRANSLATION:

DAN SEEWALD: As we get older, it becomes a real advantage to have a long history and tradition, the work that you do. It builds what you might call patterns or rivers of thought. And the more experience we gain, the more education we acquire. We are building deeper and deeper rivers. And those rivers are really valuable. Those patterns are important.

But the challenge is that as these patterns deepen, we become entangled in them. And it becomes difficult to change your mind. It becomes difficult to do things differently. That's why children are absolutely amazing at their lateral thinking, or the ability to think across different domains in an instant. It's because they haven't built those patterns yet or gone deep into those rivers.

And while a river can be very valuable to you as an expert in a field of neuroscience, let's say, or very useful if you're making a product forecast or doing market research, if you need new ideas, if you're dealing with the past breaking it can be quite a challenge. Because we know what we know, and it's hard for us to deviate from those rivers or jump out of them.

But there is good news for it. We can actually practice. We can cultivate this. We can take the time to build new thinking patterns, but only if we are willing to do so and if we have the desire to do things differently. And that is a very important intrinsic factor: the motivation, the desire to get out of our normal thinking patterns.

Think about it this way for a moment. How many times have you gotten to work the exact same way, walking the same city blocks or driving the same roads? When did you say to yourself: I'm going a longer route, I'm going to try something different? Maybe I'll even cycle to work. Maybe I can skateboard, maybe I can't skateboard. But you know what I mean: doing things differently. Because when you do things differently, it actually starts to rewire our brains, and it forces us in a very deliberate way to think things we've never thought before.

And there are a lot of different lessons and little secret ingredients that I think can help people think differently. So one: the battle is usually one or lost before you ever set foot on the battlefield. I think it was George Patton who said that. And it is really true, not only in war or in sports, but also in innovation.

The reason I say that is because it excites you. It prepares you. You have already thought about this topic with premeditation. And while that may get you into a thinking pattern, it also prepares you to come in and think deeply about a subject. We often throw things at people in the moment, in the moment, and hope that they will miraculously have a great idea. It requires incubation time, a term used in neuroscience, where we let ideas percolate before we actually try to do something with them. So preparation is absolutely essential if you want to achieve great success in any type of workshop, design sprint or ideation session.

The second thing I believe in with all my heart is this idea of play. So play is not something new, but is often frowned upon in most adult working states. Now some companies have done a great job of trying to change the narrative, Google and Apple, and other companies that are a little more millennial-focused…

For the full transcript, visit https://bigthink.com/videos/how-to-innovate

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