One of my favorite classes at Kellogg was an entrepreneurship elective entitled "Introduction of New Products and Services." The course was concerned with the process of developing new ideas into marketable offerings. "New Products" was taught by Kellogg's resident innovation expert, Andrew Razeghi, whom I found to be an engaging speaker and a great provoker of thought.
I enrolled in the course because I thought it might provide a platform to merge my creativity with a practical for generating economic gain. Ideas are great, but doing something productive with them is even better... I am an MBA, after all. After ten weeks in the course, I became aware that ideas, seemingly derived from a mystical source of inspiration, can really be manufactured from a structured process. Razeghi had exposed me to something I had prayed for when producing "Play the Game" (soon available via Netflix, by the way), a set of tools to rationalize what is usually accepted as creative, and thus inherently irrational. I left the course excited to know more, but not entirely comfortable that I grasped all the components. This was my fault. I was more focused on the final project than the underlying process. Live and learn.
In the final weeks of Razeghi's class, he offered us copies of his recently published book, "The Riddle: Where Ideas Come From and How To Have Better Ones." Two years after receiving the text, I've finally had the time to read it. I only wish I'd had it before the class. The book is a quick read - just over 200 pages - and is flush with great insights and interesting anecdotes. Razeghi's problem-focused methods (distinct from being solution-focused) have my head buzzing with ideas about how to attack "bugs" that matter to me. I won't spend time detailing the tools because I want people to read the book; suffice it to say, they are instantly applicable.
If you're interested in expanding your problem-solving skills, and especially if you don't think you're creative, read this book.
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