From the Wall Street Journal, October 17, 2011:
David Kelley, founder of IDEO and d.school at Stanford, says that to "unlock creative potential," people must become "open to experimentation, more comfortable with ambiguity, and less afraid of failure."
Having a specific problem to solve is the best start. In Kelley's class, students "define the problem themselves through research and direct observation."
The next step is "ideation" or brainstorming and visualization. The third step is prototyping.
Kelley encourages many little experiments and failures along the way, leading to better and better solutions. He found that collaborating with with others who have "radically different points of view" leads to a better learning experience. As his students gain confidence, they become more innovative.
In their book The Innovator's DNA, Dyer, Gregersen, and Christensen say the key skill for generating innovative ideas is associating. Some people do this more naturally than others. But everyone can do more associating by "questioning, observing, networking, and experimenting." The more you do, the better you get, and the more confidence you have.
