Frequently, we are dealing with more ambiguous problems. We have to think up the right question to consider before we think through the best solution. This is the concept behind disciplined methods of improving processes and developing new products and services. If you can clearly define the most important problem for your customer, you are much more likely to come up with good ideas that will help your organization satisfy those customers.

Techniques used by great thinkers can help everyone be successful at idea generation. For example, Albert Einstein is reputed to have come up with his great ideas by using a systematic method. While walking or riding a bike, he would conduct thought experiments, wherein he would imagine a set of conditions and think them through to their logical conclusion.

As another idea source, think about the creation of Facebook as depicted in the movie “The Social Network.” Since Facebook seemed to come out of the blue, there is a temptation to say it was created via a eureka moment. However, as you watch the movie, you become aware that Facebook was an evolutionary idea, not a revolutionary one. Myspace already was out in the public as a social networking option.

Facebook evolved from combining elements of Myspace with the idea that college students want to find dating partners. So consider combining familiar ideas to create a new approach. Also remember collective knowledge exceeds personal knowledge. By setting up a good method of eliciting ideas from a group in a context where members can brainstorm, you'll generate ideas and improve them in the crucible of immediate peer review.

One example where this has worked for me is in a small group environment, where ideas are shared, discussed and prioritized by a group of subject matter experts, with the planned outcome being generation of one or more ideas to put into action.

This works best when the group shares a common objective and interest.  To avoid the “too many cooks…” problem, the group must have an arbiter, someone who decides the shape of the final idea. Our Declaration of Independence came from such a group.

Of course, it didn't hurt that Thomas Jefferson was the arbiter and major author. Finally, “we can top that” thinking is always a way to come up with ideas. This works especially well when you are dealing with segmented products to meet specific demographics.

For example, when one brand of beer puts 64 calories into a bottle, another squeezes the calorie count to 56. Is either of them better than a nice bottle of IPA? Not to me. Which gives me an idea…

Marty Traynor is vice president of voluntary benefits at Mutual of Omaha. He can be reached at [email protected].