How do you find a great idea, whether for a novel or for a new business? Whitney Johnson, CoFounder of Rose Park, told Fast Company:
“My last great idea came when I asked "What would happen if I looked at my career through the lens I use for investing--disruptive innovation?" The answer is my Harvard Business Review article, "Disrupt Yourself." I also generate ideas by looking at popular culture with a magnifying glass, asking, for example, why do we really like reality TV? I then like to turn a lens on it's end, for example, invisibility in business we typically think is bad, but when you're trying to disrupt, invisibility, or an invisibility cloak, is exactly what we need.”
There are several methods worth considering in this short statement, for writers and others:
- Look at a project in terms of what has happened in other fields. For instance, publishers should have studied what happened in the music business when downloading began to catch on. Self-publishers could look at other fields, too—at the moment there are the equivalents of a lot of mom-and-pop hamburger places or coffee shops; what lessons might be drawn from that?
- Take a closer look at what’s happening in society. In the case of reality TV, was it the desire for authenticity that drew people in? Now that more people understand that most of these shows are scripted, at least loosely, and that talent competitions are about creating drama at least as much as they are about finding talent, will the public lose interest? What implication does this have for businesses? For instance, they’re all into using stories these days—is there a danger that going too far in manufacturing stories will turn off their customers?
- Look for the anomaly. Look at the rules that govern your field. When don’t they apply? How can you turn that exception to your advantage. For instance, while we are told that maximum publicity is the way to go, under what circumstances are people more intrigued by secrets and mysteries?
