CHAPTER 4
Idea Generation: The Basics
To make an informed decision, you need options. Alternatives are those options. After weighing the merits of a variety of alternatives, you will be in a better position to make the best decision for a given situation. In the absence of options, people are faced only with a yes-or-no question: Should we do this or not? That’s not much of a choice, and it rarely produces an effective decision.
What you want are alternatives that represent a range of possibilities, even if your team must actively produce them. How are ideas generated?
Consider the example of George, a marketing manager at a consumer products company. George and his team are looking for ways to increase laundry detergent sales in Latin America, ...
Get HBR Guide to Making Better Decisions now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
