The Idea Agent

The Handbook on Creative Processes

Jonas Michanek, Andréas Breiler

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781135928322
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Entrepreneurship
• Index: Business

The Idea Agent is a practical idea management handbook, aimed at people who want to take an active role in creative processes across all areas. It combines the creatively wild with the rationally structured techniques for innovation to provide readers with a varied toolbox of proven idea management methodology. From discussing how to identify a problem or opportunity, to describing techniques for idea creation, it offers a step-by-step guide to building creative concepts for the marketplace. With built-in exercises and applications, this book is an ideal working companion for any innovator.

chapter 1
The Age of Creativity

— or what are the signs of the times?

“Ideas control the world”

James A. Garfield, served as 20th President of the US

Look at the world around you.
What do you see?
You probably see objects, shapes, materials... you may hear music,
sound or noise... or can you taste ice cream, feel the keys on your
keyboard and how nice it is to sit in your new chair?

All the objects around you that you can perceive and that have been influenced by the human race are manifestations of the smallest, but most sought after, building blocks in contemporary society – ideas. Since the dawn of time and into the new millennium, our fellow human beings have been forming mental images individually or in groups that they have then transformed into a collective reality. In only the past hundred years, our world has evolved from one in which the greater the weight and physicality of objects, the greater their value – commodities, machines, livestock and possessions. The greater, more substantial and tangible our wealth, the more privileged our status in society. From this industrial, economic world-view we are now moving towards a new paradigm in which the intellectual, unique, ingenious and creative is considered more valuable – knowledge, patents, networks and ideas. Ideas and concepts have become such a saleable commodity that there are ‘numerous’ websites for idea brokers, in other words organizations that trade in ideas.

Researchers, management gurus and political leaders have all begun advocating the ability to innovate as the social factor not only most fundamental in ensuring future growth and welfare but also most vital in creating opportunities for human development and individual self-realization.

The Japanese research institute, Nomura, asserts that our socioeconomic history can be divided into four periods – the Agricultural Age, the Industrial Age, the Information Age and the age that we are now entering, the Age of Creativity. Another proponent of this theory is the former Harvard professor and founder of The Idea Factory, John Kao, who in his book Jamming uses musical improvisation as a metaphor to explain the process of human creativity and the trends that suggest we are evolving towards such a creative age. What is actually taking place? And what are the indications that confirm this paradigm shift?

Six Trends that are Changing the Way We Work

The following six trends in the Age of Creativity, which future organizations will have to contend with and adapt to, have radically altered our approach to work:

1. Ideas are the most valuable commodity in the current marketplace

What are the cornerstones of modern Western prosperity? A great deal of blood, sweat and tears, as well as social organization of course, but at the end of the day it is human creativity that is constantly developing our environment. This has never been truer than it is today. In the current marketplace, a revolutionary idea – whether it be a scientific discovery, an advertising slogan or an IT concept – is worth just as much as endless years of production work. An idea that may have seemed simple and banal at first glance can catapult its originator to financial independence much more quickly than ever before. Ideas are now a commodity, and rights issues for ownership of intellectual capital – in the form of copyrights, patents and trademarks – are the first items on the agenda for international trade organizations. The same way you can buy stuff on eBay, you can today buy different forms of intellectual capital on independent auctions sites like www.ipauctions.com and www.freepatentauction.com.

2. The next phase of the Information Age - creative enrichment of knowledge

In the Information Age, we became experts at creating, selecting and distributing knowledge and information using a wide range of media channels. The IT revolution increased, and is still increasing, our productivity. Now that the Creative Age has arrived, it is time to take this information on board and utilize it – which innovation visionary Debra M. Amidon has labeled second-generation knowledge management. Pioneer Professor Leif Edvinsson has been a key contributor in the development of valuation models for intellectual capital, and these are increasing in significance as measuring instruments and steering mechanisms both in the corporate world and in comparing the potentialities of different nation states. In the 1990s, he began developing a system that could value intangible assets, which were often overlooked in corporate financial and annual reporting, but which were frequently the most valuable assets a company possessed – namely the people in the organization and their collective competencies in the form of knowledge, experience, ideas and so on.

3. "Outinnovate" instead of outcompete

Modern-day companies must constantly reinvent themselves to grow and survive. It’s a well-known fact that the Finnish company Nokia was a major manufacturer of rubber boots and car tires until it envisioned its future in mobile telephony. And from being the market leader in that category, Nokia now has big problems because of players coming from an industry other than telecommunications, namely the internet industry. Maybe Nokia will have to re-invent itself once again. The corporations of today are waging a perpetual war to become the biggest, the best and the smartest. And on a global level, nations are competing to attract the brightest, most innovative minds to their shores to help ensure economic growth. For example, the Danish government has established a program to transform Denmark into the world’s most creative country within the next 10 years. Sweden, for its part, was marketed internationally by former minister of trade Leif Pagrotsky, as “Cool Sweden” to attract creative people. And after the American professor Richard Florida’s ideas about the creative class as the main engine of economic growth, there is a constant beauty contest between cities and nations about who is best able to attract the creatives and the bohemians.

It is increasingly becoming a case of possessing the greatest capacity for innovation. In practice, this involves being first to launch new products on the market, ensuring a fast and flexible organization that can anticipate market trends, and developing the smartest, most original marketing measures. It is not until we develop a particularly ingenious idea that we can hit the serious jackpots. And within existing industries there is often a tough competitive climate in which factors such as price, quality and branding squeeze profit margins to such an extent that it is difficult to generate sufficient returns. The ability to innovate has become the single most important development factor and has taken competition in the marketplace to new levels.

4. Design as a competitive factor

For most people, the notion of “working creatively” is synonymous with design. Nowadays, the term “design” is applied in a much broader sense than to describe the work of art directors and industrial designers, which hasn’t stopped this particular aspect of creativity from becoming increasingly fundamental. Many people are currently investing in artifacts of all kinds, but basing their investment decision on the design of the artifact and the image the design carries with it rather than the functional aspects of the artifact.

The importance of design is obvious in many areas of business. In the computer industry, Apple has managed to set standards of its own – with accompanying higher prices and profit margins – largely because of its superior product design. Neither the iPod nor the iPhone was technically superior to any other MP3 player or smart-phone. The tablet touch screen technology had been used for years before the iPad. The products were not first to market technology-wise – it is simply the design that is the crucial difference from the competitors’ products. IKEA delivers the latest trends in furniture design to the mass market. Various consulting firms – such as American firm IDEO and English What If! – show up like stars in the sky and sell design in a box. Fashion company H&M first launches “Cheap Chic” to the people, and then adds a haute couture layer with design stars like Stella McCartney, Karl Lagerfeld and Donatella Versace. And people go crazy.

5. The new generation demands creativity and self-realization

The contemporary workforce has completely different values to those of previous generations. Surveys of recent high school graduates indicate that this new generation prioritizes creative job opportunities over a high salary or job security. In The Rise of the Creative Class (2002), Richard Florida writes about the growing mass of creators striving for individual fulfillment, freedom and an entrepreneurial role. In Western societies, this new creative class will soon be larger than the traditional industrial workforce. For creators, a job is not just a means of financial support but also a means for personal development and creative challenge. And according to Florida, the Scandinavian countries and the USA are among the world’s most attractive and creative areas as regards the three Ts – talent, technology and tolerance.

Companies need to adapt to this new situation and harvest its fruits, otherwise this new, more mobile, less loyal workforce will move on to greener pastures. And when reading job ads in the daily newspapers, it becomes obvious that organizations are promoting their ability to apply and develop creative talent to attract the brightest minds.

6. Leadership has evolved from controlling to nurturing

Futurist Niklas Lindblad writes in his book, Window to the Future (2000), that “the leadership skills of the future, the innovative, will resemble those of a film director’s. The collective ability to create is the key to increasing competitive advantages. Managing knowledge and creativity is challenging.” And he is most certainly right. The leaders of the future must feel able to relinquish much of the controlling, instructive role that characterized the past, and instead allow colleagues more space, encouraging them to create new ideas and realize their own initiatives. This is partly to enhance the company’s growth potential and partly to encourage a better, more satisfied and, above all, more loyal workforce. The development manager of today has the somewhat challenging task of steering a wild tribe of creators in a common direction.

To sum up, it appears that we are entering a new epoch – the Age of Creativity. The philosopher Descartes laid the rational foundation for the Age of Enlightenment with his words: Cogito, ergo sum – I think; therefore I am. The motto for this new age empowered by creativity rather than strict logic could read: Idea habeo, ergo sum – I have an idea, therefore I am! The future lies open to anyone who can understand and exploit the power of ideas and creativity, an energy that can lead both to personal self-realization and financial wellbeing. How have you yourself been affected by the increasing impact and potential of creativity? How does your organization make use of the opportunities and issues thrown up by the forces of innovation? The choice is up to each individual and to every organization – will you harness this powerful energy and lead its development, or will you just get in line and hope for the best?… If you don’t make your choice, someone else will take over the wheel and make it for you!

chapter 2
Ideas, Creativity and Innovation

— or what are they really talking about?

“Whatever made you successful in the past, WON’T in the future.”

Lew Platt, former CEO Hewlett Packard

The world has never been so full of ideas as it is now – they are buzzing like bees in the media babble, creating such storms of stimuli that as individuals we are incapable of processing even a small number. Nor has there ever been such a hunger for ideas as there is today. This has led to a frontier mentality far removed from the days of prospectors wading knee deep in a stream panning for gold. The modern-day prospector is searching for the opportunity to sell an idea to a risk capitalist for a small fortune. This demand for ideas also means that you can open a newspaper at almost any section (job ads, financial pages or social debate) and find three words appearing time and time again — idea, creativity and innovation. Organizations are exploiting these buzzwords to the hilt, but when confronted to describe the practical initiatives that lie behind them, they are frequently caught ‘on the hop’. And for organizations that are not taking this development seriously, stagnation lies ahead. On the other hand, for those that learn to understand and apply these terms, the future is most certainly bright.

As we mentioned before, The Idea Agent is dedicated to people who would like to become full-fledged Idea Agents. But before you can take on such a role, it would be wise to reflect on these buzzwords that are appearing in more and broader contexts. We should take a moment to consider their meaning and interrelationship.

What is an Idea?

On looking up the word “idea” in a dictionary, one quickly becomes aware of how fundamental it is in our society. It has an assortment of meanings: purpose, opinion, thought, perception, concept and plan, to name but a few. The word has been central to Western thinking since the days of Plato and his expounding the perfect World of Ideas.

In the modern age, it has become something of our mental reality’s equivalent to the atom of the physical world – namely the smallest brick in a magnificent construction. At the same time, an idea is worth nothing – it’s not something you can put a price on until it’s been tested in the real world. Ideas are also the foundation of our future welfare, but impossible to value in their unrefined state and not always ...