small business ideas

How small is a small idea? It is possible to think of creative improvements in the fundamental process of democracy itself. It is possible to think of much needed improvements in our concepts of economics.

There are many people whose business it is to think of new products and new services. There are people who apply creative thinking to cost cutting or to quality improvement. Strategy always needs new thinking.

But what about really small ideas? When you are buttering a piece of crispbread, the bread often breaks because it is crisp and thin. So you use a second piece to support the first piece. A simple and effective idea. A very small idea.

HABIT
If people get themselves into the habit of small ideas, then they will be more willing and more able to apply their minds creatively to large ideas. If the only time you are asked to think creatively is the once a year 'creative session,' you are not likely to be very creative.

It is very rare for people to be asked specifically to be creative about something. Recently, in Melbourne, there was a specifically convened meeting to think about the future of that city. The meeting was arranged through the de Bono Institute in Melbourne. In three hours 2,800 ideas and comments were generated. Such specific meetings are rare.

Most people do not set out to think creatively unless they have to or unless they are specifically asked to do so. At a recent high tech conference in California (TED7), there was the usual determinedly 'casual' dress code. Ties were out. So I invented a way of wearing five 'ties' at once. This turned out to be a rather good idea which I shall use elsewhere. I thought creatively because there seemed to be a 'need' to do so.

Small ideas might have a direct value in themselves, but they will always have a value in building up the habit of creative thinking, so that in any situation the habitual creative thinker will be able to generate alternative approaches. Small ideas provide a sort of gymnasium for creativity. You can practise creativity almost all the time on small ideas. That is how a permanent creative attitude arises.

FOCUS
Far too many people continue to believe that the main purpose of thinking is 'problem-solving'. This can mean that something is not doing what is expected, so there is a problem that needs fixing. The term is often broadened to include tasks that need to be achieved or improvements in a desired direction.

Yet many of the best results of creativity come from thinking about things which no one has bothered to think about before. That is why, at my seminars, I always emphasise 'Area Focus'. This means simply focusing on some area - which may be very broad or very specific. The main characteristic about this type of focus is that there is no 'purpose' beyond wanting to have some ideas in that area or around that subject. You could focus on 'writing' in general. You could focus on 'pencils' in general. You could focus on the region of a pencil that is two centimetres from the writing tip. Note that in all these focuses there is no desire as there might be in purpose focuses - to make the writing more difficult to erase, say; or add value to the pencil; or find a better way of sharpening the pencil, etc.

Small ideas provide ample opportunity for seeking to apply creativity to any area. There is no risk and nothing to lose except a short amount of thinking time.

How do you carry a pen in your pocket?
How do you carry paper grocery bags?
How do you take out the garbage?
How do you use an alarm clock?
Is there a better way of cleaning cooking pans?
How could the washing-up load be reduced?
Are teaspoons necessary?
How do you end a difficult telephone call?
How can the cat look after itself when you are going away for a few days?
How do you sort out your correspondence?
Is there a use for used envelopes?

CONFIDENCE
There is a key relationship between confidence and creativity. If you have no confidence in your creativity then you do not even get started. I suspect that most people responding to my website (http://www.edwdebono.com/) have very little confidence in their ability to be creative. At the other extreme are those who are falsely confident in their ability and are too easily satisfied with a crazitivity type of idea.

It is impossible to be confident that you will turn up a great idea. But it is possible to be confident that you can operate the creative process effectively. It is also possible to be confident that you will open up some new ideas. When pursued, these new ideas may not turn out to be at all valuable: nevertheless, they are new directions.

The habit of seeking for small ideas can develop just this confidence. There is no fundamental difference in the mental processes involved in small ideas from those involved in major ideas. Therefore, as you build up confidence in your ability to direct creative effort at small ideas, so you build up the confidence needed for big ideas.

Many people believe they could never have a 'great' creative idea. So they do not try. But having a 'small' creative idea is much more within a person's ability range. So there is more reason to try.

CREATIVE EFFORT
It is possible to train creative skill. Those who have doubts or want to know how to do it should contact APTT (USA 1 800 621 3366) who handle training in my methods. It is not possible to demand creative ideas because there is always an element of chance. It is possible to demand creative effort. If the creative effort is there, then creative ideas will start to emerge.

So any way of asking for creative effort will eventually lead to creative results. Asking for small ideas is a direct way of asking for creative effort.

ACTION
We come now to perhaps the most important aspect of 'small ideas creativity', Most ideas are never put into action. This is because the idea depends on some other party for action. The idea demands investment or a change in some established procedure. The idea may need testing first. The person having the idea may have no control over the decision to use the idea or not. This can be very frustrating for creative people.

Although it is not strictly necessary, it is useful to define a small idea as one that can be acted upon by the originator of the idea. The person thinking up the idea is in a position to try out the idea and to use it. If this definition of a small idea is adhered to, then the motivation is increased. There is now nothing between the idea and its implementation. It is true that such a definition may severely restrict the nature of small ideas, but what is lost in value may be gained in motivation.

We could also add to the requirement for 'action' that it be action 'now'. The idea is capable of being tried out now. This means that the designer of the idea has full responsibility for the action stage. It is no longer a matter of having the idea and then passing it on to someone else for consideration and action.

DEFINITION OF SMALL IDEAS
Things can be described with an arrangement of words. But things can only draw and hold attention if they have an identity of their own in perception. Perception is not the same thing as description.

For that reason we should try to give some identity to the class of small ideas. We could create the new name 'sina' to stand for 'Small Idea Now Action'. Names such as this rarely catch on unless there is a great need for them - so I doubt whether this name will be much used. This is a pity because there is value in identifying the area of small usable ideas.

ENCOURAGEMENT
It is possible to encourage small ideas in an organisation by setting up competitions and small idea 'fairs'. The point is that small ideas are everyone's business. No idea can be too small. Indeed, there is almost some merit in having very small ideas that are very easy to implement.

A small idea should not just be an alternative way of arranging something or decorating something. There has to be some demonstrated value. The simpler the idea, the greater the value that is needed to give merit to the idea. Small, simple ideas with obvious merit are awarded the highest marks. Ideas which involve a technical fix do have merit, but less merit than simple ideas which do not require special technology. The challenge is always towards simplicity and effectiveness.

If the demand is sufficient, I have in mind to create a 'Small Ideas Kit'.