This document provides tools and techniques for generating creative ideas in a short period of time, such as ten minutes. It uses the analogy of blackberry picking to explain the idea generation process, noting that initial ideas are easy but more exploration is needed to find hidden ideas. It then presents six specific tools: 5Ws and H, DREAMERS, Get Fired, Where in the World, Yes! And..., and Random Connection. Each tool provides a structured approach and examples of how it can be applied. The document encourages using these tools to facilitate innovative thinking within time constraints.

1. Creative Ideas in Ten Minutes
Creative
Ideas in
Ten
Minutes

2. Creative Ideas in Ten Minutes
Author John joined Visa
International in
John Brooker 1985, becoming a
S e n i o r V i c e
President in 1996.
His speciality was
service innovation
and transformation.
I n 2 0 0 1 h e
e s t a b l i s h e d Ye s !
And… to help teams
create original ideas
t h a t ge t a “ Ye s !
And…” response and
i m p l e m e n t
successfully.
Vastly experienced
as a facilitator, he
works regularly with
multi cultural
groups in Western
ohn
b out J and Eastern Europe,
A
the Middle East and
Africa.
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3. Creative Ideas in Ten Minutes
Table of Contents
A Story to Help Generate Ideas.… 4
Six Idea Generation Tools.… 7
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4. Creative Ideas in Ten Minutes
I went to pick
Chapter 1 blackberries with the
children. As we picked,
I mused on what a
A Tale of g reat analo g y
Blackberry blackberry picking is
for idea generation. You
Picking and arrive at your site and
some big juicy berries
Fruitful Idea hover there, groaning,
Generation “Eat me, eat me”(my
son politely obliges).
Three pickers ensure
rapid removal of these
“low hanging fruits.” As
you pick one you notice
it is part of a ripe
bunch and delightedly
you strip the bramble.
Yo u b o u n d a r o u n d
several brambles,
picking away. Then it
gets tougher.
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5. Creative Ideas in Ten Minutes
You gently lift prickly
leaves to discover one
nestling there. You duck
down and look up,
finding more secreted
away.
You peer over the top of
f o l i a ge a n d f i n d a
tantalising blackberry
just out of reach, so
you trample down
nearer brambles and
reach it triumphantly;
only to find a maggot
on steroids, daring you You reach it
to eat it.
Next, you circle the
triumphantly;
tangled mass of only to find a
vegetation to look from
different angles and
maggot on
spy more which have steroids, daring
a p p e a re d a s i f by you to eat it!
magic.
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6. Creative Ideas in Ten Minutes
How might
blackberry picking
be an analogy for
idea generation?
Gradually, you find the numbers of easy to
gather berries dwindling but there is always one
more you can see, so you "reeeeaaaach" for it.
You tease it off its stalk but a large bramble
snags you from behind, two snag your sleeves
and you are stuck fast; you wriggle out of your
jacket and wish you had worn leather.
So how might blackberry picking be an analogy
for idea generation?
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7. Creative Ideas in Ten Minutes
Here are a few thoughts I had whilst picking and
reflecting afterwards:
• You have to make a point of seeking ideas
• There are always obvious ideas, probably
unoriginal or evident to your competitors too.
You have to get beyond these
• More people bring a greater wealth of
knowledge, more potential ideas and more
fun, but they aren’t always essential
• Explore ideas, don’t just generate more and
more – breadth is important but depth is too
• When ideas are drying up, don’t settle for
those you have until you have tried some
techniques to generate more
• U s e t e c h n i q u e s t o a d o p t d i f f e r e n t
perspectives and to spark ideas where none
seem apparent
• Record all ideas before they slip away
• Give everyone time to think
• Know when to stop, but not too soon (it’s an
art not a science)
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8. Creative Ideas in Ten Minutes
Chapter 2
Six Quick
Tools to
Generate
Ideas
Ye s ! Get Fired
And…
5 Ws
D. R . E . A . M . E . R . S .
and H
Where
in the Random
World? Connection
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9. Creative Ideas in Ten Minutes
On a
course
recently
we had
… to develop a twenty second “pitch” to explain
our business, for use when you have a short time
to tell someone what you do.
This exercise prompted me to develop a
selection of tools that will help you create
solutions with clients and colleagues in five to
ten minutes.
On the following pages are six tools for your idea
generation toolkit.
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10. Creative Ideas in Ten Minutes
Tool 1
5 Ws
and H
This tool is attributed to Rudyard Kipling. He
used it as a journalist to elicit all the facts about
a situation using questions starting with Who?
What? Why? Where? When? and How?
For creative ideas, ask questions about a product
or service, e.g. “Who uses it?”; “When do they
use it?”; “Where might they use it?”
To generate ideas, compile a list of answers and
ask, “How might that be different?”
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11. Creative Ideas in Ten Minutes
Tool 2
D.R.E.A.
M.E.R.S.
You can combine 5 Ws and H with another tool;
DREAMERS: Divide; Reduce; Enlarge; Adapt (its
use and form); Mix; Exclude; Replace; Switch.
It helps to generate ideas by challenging various
aspects of a situation in a more structured way.
To use it, take a category or two, e.g. Switch,
Reduce, Enlarge. Use 5Ws and H to prompt
questions as in these examples:
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12. Creative Ideas in Ten Minutes
Ask questions in terms
of size and scale;
function and scope;
roles and
responsibilities;
sequence, flow, etc.
To SWITCH… Who might use this product other
than office workers? What materials might we
use instead of plastic? Why might people use
this elsewhere?
To REDUCE… Where might we make this for half
the cost? When might we reduce the price? How
could we do this in five minutes not thirty?
To ENLARGE… What if this were used by a
hundred times more people? How might we keep
clients engaged for three times longer?
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13. Creative Ideas in Ten Minutes
Tool 3
Get
Fired!
In small teams, generate a number of ideas for
how you might tackle your opportunity /
problem so that you would be fired or earn the
wrath of many people.
Choose a radical or fun idea and pass it to
another team to devise a practical idea that is
not a straight reversal. Have a small prize for the
best idea.
Be sure to record only the practical ideas not the radical ideas
that could be misconstrued by those not in the group.
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14. Creative Ideas in Ten Minutes
Tool
4
Where
in the
Wo r l d ?
Have people consider other situations in which
this challenge may have been faced or in which
there is a similar concept. For example, the
model for movement of parcels by couriers
stemmed from how banks move card payment
information between different banks.
When the group has identified a few comparable
situations, explore in small teams what happens
in these situations and “creatively swipe” any
useful ideas.
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15. Creative Ideas in Ten Minutes
Tool 5
Yes!
And…
Work with one or two other people to create
ideas for variants on an existing service or
product, e.g. a USB stick. Have one person come
up with an idea, e.g. “Make the case out of
robust metal.” The next person affirms this with,
“Yes! And… build idea we could make the loop on
the end a bottle opener.” “Yes! And… build idea
we could make tough USB sticks for different
trades with two tools on each!”
You might record this conversation as it can be quite quick!
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16. Creative Ideas in Ten Minutes
Tool 6
Random
Connection
Have individuals choose a random item in the
room. Have them swap their item with another
person or if it is not movable, e.g. a light fitting,
tell them what it is.
Create ideas by “force fitting” the item with your
challenge, e.g. force fit a clock with a challenge
and it can lead you to consider aspects of time.
If people generate a “bizarre” (springboard)
idea, give it to other people to devise a practical
idea from it. Give a prize for the best one.
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17. Creative Ideas in Ten Minutes
Bonu
s
Tool
Five
Ye a r
Old
Have people generate ideas from the perspective
of a five year old. For best results, have them be
a five year old, not think like a five year old. How
would they use this product / service? What
suggestions to improve it might they make?
Alternatively, have people adopt the identity of a
hero, e.g. a top sports person or film star. For
more radical ideas, use a superhero. Using other
characters moves people out of the tramline of
their thinking and can release inhibitions.
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18. Creative Ideas in Ten Minutes
Tools
become rusty
if not used.”
I trust this short eBook proves stimulating for
your next idea generation session. Take people
“blackberry picking’ with the small toolkit I have
provided and you should generate many ideas.
However, tools that are not used become rusty,
so do use them as soon as possible.
For guidance to facilitate, innovate and
transform, please visit my website following the
links on the next page and search over 160
articles and tools.
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19. Creative Ideas in Ten Minutes
“Make idea
generation part of
a structured model
for innovation.
If you want your organisation to be more
innovative you might like to make your idea
generation part of a structured model for
innovation.
Yes! And… have developed and used the Inn8
Model with a number of organisations to great
effect. It forms part of our three layered Inn8
Approach to innovation.
Please see the next page for a link to more
details.
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20. Creative Ideas in Ten Minutes
Cont
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