12 ways to get
breakthrough idea
(fantasize define the
right challenge)
5. Fantasize
In 1989, Gary Kasparov, the Soviet Union Grand Chess Master,
played a two game match against “Deep Blue,” the reigning supercomputer of the
time.
Kasparov won easily.
When asked by the media what his competitive advantage was, he
cited two things: intuition and the ability to fantasize.
(And this from a master strategic thinker!) Few of us are ever
encouraged to fantasize—a behaviour most commonly associated with children or
perverts. And yet, fantasizing is exactly how many breakthrough ideas get
their start—by some maverick, flake, or dreamer entertaining the seemingly
impossible.
I find it curious that business leaders want their employees to
come up with fantastic ideas
or solutions, but they don’t want their employees to fantasize. And yet, the words “fantastic” and
“fantasy” come from the same linguistic root, meaning to “use the imagination.”
Doh!
Think of a current
challenge of yours. What would a fantasy solution to this challenge look like?
What clues does
this fantasy solution give you?
6. Define the Right Challenge
“It’s not that they can’t find the solution,” said G.K.
Chesterton, the renowned American philosopher and writer, “they can’t find the
problem!”
Translation?
Most people, in their rush to figure things out, rarely spend
enough time framing their challenge in a meaningful way. If
they owned a GPS, they’d fail to take the time to program in their destination
because they were so much into the hustle of getting out of town.
Coming up with the right question is at least half of getting the right answer. If you want a breakthrough idea,
begin by coming up with a breakthrough question—one that communicates the
essence of what you’re trying to create.
State your most
inspired challenge or opportunity as a question beginning with words “How can
I?”
Then write it five
different ways. Which is the real question?
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