Brainstorming, creativity techniques and a new perspective

Benno van Aerssen can show you how to actively encourage new ideas and creativity in your company.

This section will provide the first overview of the various methods and tools, which are available to support your idea finding.

"In der Idee leben heißt, das Unmögliche behandeln, als wenn es möglich wäre." (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

Through the highly individual utilization of the adapted creative techniques, and by engaging in the goal-orientated Innovation coaching, the teams will be launched forward into a wave of new ideas.

In his lively and viable seminars and workshops Benno van Aerssen advocates and promotes ideas for your product, process, and social innovation.

As a coach, Benno van Aerssen understands how to strengthen the innovation capacity of your company from the inside out.

Benno van Aerssen is your lateral thinker

In generating new ideas Benno van Aerssen can be utilized with his direct lateral thinking, in addition to donating any ideas he might also have for your company, especially if you are in search of …

... a new business idea
... a new product idea
... a new advertising idea
... a new Online-Service
... a new story for your TV-format
... a concept for your e-learning project
... an idea for your e-commerce project
... the central idea for your communication strategy
... an idea for your team motivation
... ideas to strengthen customer dependability
... the idea for your next strategic alliance
... an idea for the right decision
... a new sustainable social innovation

Clueless? All ideas beyond your reach?

We all know how it feels to be stuck in this position, where you simply cannot think of a single useful concept. Help is at hand! With the following basic tips you’ll be able to raise your game and drive forward your mission to find ideas!

Provide a good knowledge base

The more information there is available to your brain, the more resources there will be available to discover your ideas and brainstorm. Therefore it makes sense to "Feed" your mind, for example through reading a lot, and this doesn't always have to be topical reading, brainwaves often also come from reading a novel or a magazine.

Tip: delve into the internet! Just enter one key word related to your problem into any search engine, and have a browse. More often than not you’ll stumble into a few decent ideas.

Switch off

Allowing yourself to become overwhelmed by a problem will not help you find a solution, in fact becoming engrossed in the issue will have the opposite effect and make things worse. The more intense pressure you put upon yourself, the less likely it is that you will come up with an answer. Hence, ensure you take a step back from the problem and gain some perspective through distance.

Distract yourself with something completely irrelevant, and simply go for a stroll. This is when you’ll find that out of nowhere, the best ideas will suddenly materialize.

The explanation for this phenomenon is clear: your brain is subconsciously continuing the search for a solution.

Don't put yourself under pressure

Stress and time pressures are real creativity killers. If you’ve got a lot going on, rushing around to different appointments, meeting multiple deadlines etc you’ll find your brain simple doesn’t have a chance to address or deal which the issues of brainstorming.

For this reason, you should regularly and purposefully plan ‘free space’. If you struggle to fit this space into your working day, then ensure that in your private life you keep one or two evenings completely appointment-free.

See to it that on these evenings you kick back and relax in your favorite armchair, play some calm music and make sure that you remain undisturbed. Close your eyes and allow your mind to wander.

Venture off the beaten track

When you repeatedly refer back to the same strategies time and time again it is almost inevitable that you won’t reach any new solutions, but will just be coming up with the same old ideas.

Bravely break free from your comfort zone and search for alternatives - even though these different approaches might seem somewhat strange to start with.

If you struggle to incorporate new alternatives then why not just attempt to break free from your rigid, caged plans? Allow yourself to consider unlikely factors. For example, do not ask yourself; “What has to happen in order for this project to be successful?” instead ask the question “What has to happen in order for the project to be a guaranteed fail?”

Take the ideas that you can think of and then use these as a rough framework, around which you can mould and fashion your own unique solutions.

Stay in the game.

The first idea isn’t necessarily always the best. Ask yourself honestly if you are really completely and entirely happy with the solution.

If you do have doubts or seconds thoughts, just continue searching. Even if you decide that you could maybe work with the idea, consider if there are perhaps still other better alternatives out there.

In almost all cases, rest assured that you can and will find other alternatives.

Believe in your own creativity

Do not stand in your own way by convincing yourself that you’re just simply not a creative person.

Think about it: Everybody has imagination, and therefore an enormous potential to conjure up some incredible ideas.

Don’t immediately criticize your ideas either; just keep in mind everything you’ve thought about. The chance to organize and sort through your ideas can be done in the second stage.

Approach others

Who knows? Maybe a friend or colleague has indeed got a brilliant idea to help tackle your problem.

And if not, they will certainly be able to point you in a direction you had perhaps overlooked, or give you a perspective that you maybe hadn’t considered.