Some ideas will be helpful; however, not all will have merit, and many are often a rehash of old ideas dressed up as new. Image: informvest.net.
Michelle Gibbings says good ideas have a habit of popping up at the most unusual times, meaning it is essential to have a mind trained to recognise and receive them.
Recently, I was listening to an interview with British author James Dover Grant, better known by his pen name, Lee Child. If you’re a fan of the Jack Reacher novels, you’ll know who I am writing about.
He started his fictional writing career after he was made redundant from his journalism job. It began with an incident involving his wife, Jane, at the local supermarket. He is tall and his height means that people often ask him to reach things from the top shelves.
When it happened on this occasion, his wife quipped: “Hey, if this writing thing doesn’t work out, you could always be a reacher in a supermarket.”
So the name Reacher was born, the protagonist in a series of bestselling novels – a great reminder that ideas can come from anywhere. You just need to be open and alert to them.
So, with 2025 well underway, it’s a good time to assess your approach. Are you alert to ideas and ready to elevate your thinking?
Whether you’re looking to enhance your personal growth, improve your professional life, or simply adopt a more innovative mindset, you can do things that will help.
Here are some ideas and approaches to get you started.
Look at trends with a curious eye: Every year, there is a predictable list of articles detailing the trends to watch, follow or be alert to. It might be trends in technology, AI and workplaces, specific functional areas, or how 2025 will unfold.
Some of the ideas will be helpful; however, not all will have merit, and many are often a rehash of old ideas dressed up as new. Additionally, a person’s experience and the lens they use to view the situation will impact their thoughts on the future.
Technology and innovation experts, authors, journalists, and economists all hold different positions when it comes to the future of work. Tech experts tend to be more optimistic about the future, whereas journalists and authors are more pessimistic, and economists are somewhere in between.
You want to stay abreast of ideas and read widely so you can sift through them and, with an open and curious mind, work out what matters and what doesn’t.
This is where your curiosity is a strength as it is a powerful driver of innovation and creativity. It encourages us to explore new ideas, ask questions, and seek new experiences.
Cultivating curiosity can start by asking questions as a habit, seeking new information, taking up a hobby, or exploring unfamiliar topics, all while staying open-minded and open to challenges, new ideas, and perspectives.
Leverage technology and innovation: These are powerful tools for change and idea generation. Staying informed about the latest technological advances makes you more ready to explore innovative solutions.
It helps to take a playful approach in this regard. For example, when using AI tools, you need to play with them to uncover which ones fit your purpose.
Different AI tools are trained differently, so their ‘’personalities’’ and tone differ.
Adopt a systems thinking approach: Be willing to think deeply and broadly. Go beyond the obvious idea and answer to consider the issue from a systemic perspective.
Systems thinking involves understanding how different parts of a system interact and influence one another. It contrasts with traditional linear thinking, which tends to analyse issues in isolation.
Systems thinking recognises that all parts of a system are interconnected. Changes in one part of the system can have ripple effects throughout the entire process.
This concept is crucial for understanding complex systems, whereby interactions between components can lead to unexpected outcomes.
By adopting a systems thinking approach, you strive to better understand the complexities of your challenges and develop more sustainable solutions. As a result, you embark on more profound and effective decision-making.
Prioritise continuous improvement: Ideas come in all shapes and sizes, which means that when you are considering how to improve something, you can reinvent, tweak around the edges, improve the process or start from scratch.
Often, when people come up with new ideas, it is because they are looking for a solution to something that annoyed them, they are curious, or they simply see a better way to do something.
For example, Velcro was invented in the 1940s by Swiss engineer George de Mestral. He saw how burrs stuck to his clothing and his dog’s fur when walking in the alps and then took that curiosity one step further.
Avoid cognitive overload: This is crucial for fostering creativity and generating good ideas.
When your brain is overwhelmed with too much information or tasks, it struggles to process and synthesise new concepts effectively.
Cognitive overload can lead to mental fatigue, reduced focus, and impaired decision-making, all of which hinder your ability to think creatively and innovatively.
Techniques such as prioritising tasks, taking regular breaks, and practising mindfulness can help you avoid cognitive overload and keep your mind sharp and receptive to new ideas.
Be emotionally present and aware: Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognise, understand, and manage one’s emotions and be aware of others’ feelings.
You are likely already well versed in its benefits for relationships, leadership, and mental health, but did you know that there is a relationship between emotional intelligence and wise reasoning?
Professor Tamera Schneider and colleagues report on studies that found effectively regulating one’s emotions is crucial for making wise decisions.
They also found that the relationship between managing one’s emotions and wise reasoning is impacted by humility (recognising the limits of one’s knowledge), empathy (feeling compassion for others) and perspective-taking (considering others’ viewpoints).
These findings suggest that managing emotions enhances wise reasoning by promoting thoughtful and prosocial consideration of diverse perspectives.
Michelle Gibbings is a Melbourne-based workplace expert, and an award-winning author. She’s on a mission to help leaders, teams and organisations create successful workplaces – where people thrive and progress is accelerated. She can be contacted at [email protected].
