Seek Random Inputs

“The majority of business men are incapable of original thinking because they are unable to escape from the tyranny of reason.”
- David Ogilvy, from the classic, Confessions of an Advertising Man

One way to escape the tyranny of reason is to embrace random inputs. Random? Yes, random. But to truly break through, the key is to consider the random as if it has bearing on the problem at hand — entertaining this possibility, and even forcing it, to provoke one's thinking.

It's something Frans Johannsen calls "Intersection Hunting" in The Medici Effect. He says, "Both academic research and a great deal of anecdotal information have clearly shown the advantages of introducing randomness in our thought patterns. I call purposeful efforts to find unusual concept combinations intersection hunting and there are, paradoxically, some structured ways to go about it..."

This is, by the way, an excellent way to leverage times of disconnection, or further reason to seek them out.

At Stanford, we encourage folks to go on what we affectionately call a "Wonder Wander" when they've got a business challenge to solve. If they're wondering how to solve a problem like, "how do I get customers to try our other products?" we would encourage them to go on a walk with that problem in hand (in mind), and force connections with things they see on the walk:

- oh! a school playground! what does a kids' playground tell me about this challenge? (showcase what other "kids" (customers) are playing with ...

- oh! a BMW just passed by - how would BMW think about this? (make an "options package" they could add / customize) ...

- oh! an amazon truck - how does amazon do this? (show "other customers viewed" suggestions based on other customers' history) ...

- oh! a stop light - what could a stop light tell me? (give people a "yellow light" warning before a product runs out) ...

- oh! a nail salon - what could a nail salon tell me? (put different selections of colors by the checkout) ...

- oh! a basketball goal in a driveway - what could basketball tell me? (what if there was a "shot clock"? could there be "steals"? what about "three pointers"?)

I just did an imaginary walk in my head, but you can see how fruitful such a technique is in provoking fresh thinking. So when you're stuck on a problem, and the ideas aren't flowing, perhaps the best thing you can do is leave your space, seeking out connections in other places. And if they're random? Great! Sometimes answers are hiding where you never think to look...

Click here to subscribe to Paint & Pipette, the weekly digest of these daily posts.