There are numerous techniques for idea creation. I believe the best thinking comes from individual exploration rather than group think. Uncluttered, uninterrupted, solitary thinking produces highly individual perspectives, a result of unique associations we generate from our own experiential paths.

Once that individual thinking is done, the collaborative process becomes doubly powerful. When a group of people has individually studied a problem, what they bring to the collective conversation is a more focused visualization of their unique solutions.

This discussion is the true form of brainstorming which brings all the ideas into contact and context. Some ideas are parallel variations. Some are in stark contrast to one another. Some intersect. These intersections of concepts, cultures and ideas open portals to incredibly innovative solutions.

This is the realm of blue ocean strategies. It is where unrelated ideas suddenly connect and create new understanding of the opportunity and of the realm of possibilities.

This is where new products give way to new product categories. New services yield to new service categories, new alliances or even new companies. Instead of incremental change, these intersections facilitate radical alternatives where new markets are born.

This is also where an organization’s threshold for change becomes brutally apparent. A culture that lacks an appetite for risk will back away quickly. But a culture that knows how to manage risk to create a future will find ways to embrace change, threaten competitors and secure its own future through real differentiation.

Innovation is not for the meek. It's for people who aren't afraid to play in traffic. And the best traffic is at the intersections of things that don't seem to have anything in common. That's what forces you to see things differently. These intersections are for leaders who know that the best way to stay ahead of the pack is to continuously seek intersecitons and alter the route. Predictability is not a strategy that survives. In American football, when your opponent can predict your next play, your path is blocked or the ball intercepted.

Evolutionary change that adjusts to meet market conditions is a strategy for pacing your organization’s demise. Revolutionary change, innovation that creates new market conditions that you can dominate, is a strategy for both creating and capitalizing on opportunity.