This weekend I’m hosting a group of friends here in Three Oaks.  It’s an interesting group and I’m looking forward to a lot of “new” input. I know that by Monday I’ll have a list of new books to read, new ideas to develop, and newly refreshed friendships.  This is all good!

A lot of the focus in innovation facilitation is on tools and techniques to generate new ideas.  This makes sense, after all innovation is about new things, and the tools are helpful in having you think differently. Still, one must know something in the first place. New ideas are rarely “green field”, they are usually a build on a previous idea, or a combination of old things or concepts into something new.  If you don’t know much to combine — it’s not easy to create.

We learn in many ways. Reading, observing, and — interaction with others.  My visitors this weekend will bring me six kinds of new, and I’ll be experiencing:

1. New People – new people in your life bring new information and new perspectives.

2. New Places – why do you get such great ideas when traveling? New places suggest new things.

3. New Things – window shopping and web browsing are two ways to see and experience new things, new things inspire new thoughts.

4. New Concepts – a powerful concept can change your life. Read widely and be aware of the many ways of approaching what you do, and what is around you. I find it interesting how some folks resist new social media — it’s such a great source of new everything…

5. New Food – new types of food or cuisine is a pleasant way to experience other cultures, it’s also an subtle way to start thinking differently.

6. New Behaviors – if you want to think differently, you can start by behaving differently.  Seek to change negative habits to positive ones, seek to be more open than closed, seek to imagine, seek to take action.

So, if you’re thinking is a bit stale, try something new…