The Riddle: Where Ideas Come From and How to Have Better Ones

INTRODUCTION: THE INNOVATION LAMENT

Have you ever had a problem you couldn't figure out no matter how hard you tried? Someone likely advised you, now clearly stumped," Take a break. Don't think so hard." And so you did. And then, on waking up, while in the shower, or while stuck in traffic, it happened: you had a great idea. "Aha!" you said. "I've got it! I've figured it out!" This book is about that moment: why it happens, how it happens, and what you can do to make it happen more often. Welcome to The Riddle.

The riddle I am referring to is the conundrum that is the creative process: how we go about the journey into the origins of the so-called Eureka! moment: that magical split second in which a great idea holds a surprise party for your brain. It is during this mysterious adrenalin-charged moment that problems are solved, ideas are born, and inspiration soars. This blinding glimpse of unexpected brilliance is the siren's song of artists, designers, entrepreneurs, inventors, marketers, product developers, songwriters, and all those charged with the nearly impossible task of creating novel solutions to existing problems on an ongoing basis. By isolating and understanding what leads up to this ephemeral event, you will be better equipped to generate creative ideas deliberately rather than accidentally.

Isolating the eureka moment is not easy to do for a few key reasons. First, we do not actively screen people for creativity; rather, we tend to subjectively discriminate between those ...