What inspires you?

The Greeks had their Nine Muses, whom one invokes:

Calliope, muse of epic poetry, Clio, Muse of History, Erato, Muse of love, Euterpe, Muse of music, Melpomene, Muse of tragedy, Polyhymnia, Muse of sacred song, Terpsichore, Muse of dance, Thalia, Muse of comedy and Urania, Muse of astronomy.

If they fail to show up, then how does one come by ideas? Goethe kept rotten apples in a draw, while Rossini, the 'Swan of Pesaro,' drank gallons of coffee. Whatever has the desired effect, here are some alternative ways to generate ideas:

1) Go for a walk. A change of scene might be all you need. Escaping the stresses of the office often leads to great ideas.
2) Think like a child.
3) Use doodles to visualise your ideas.
4) Ask what if?
5) Turn the problem into a metaphor or an analogy
6) Use chance. Use a random word or picture as a stimulus.
7) SCAMPER. SCAMPER is a checklist that helps you to think of changes you can make to an existing product to create a new one. You can use these changes either as direct suggestions or as starting points for lateral thinking.

Developed by Bob Eberle, the changes SCAMPER stands for are:

* S - Substitute - components, materials, people
* C - Combine - mix, combine with other assemblies or services, integrate
* A - Adapt - alter, change function, use part of another element
* M - Modify - increase or reduce in scale, change shape, modifyattributes (e.g. colour)
* P - Put to another use
* E - Eliminate - remove elements, simplify, reduce to core functionality
* R - Reverse - turn inside out or upside down, also use of Reversal.

8) Edward de Bono depatterning device Po which stands for provocative operation. In essence, you make an statement outside of reason and you this as a means of moving forwards. Prefix the provocation with the term 'Po" to signal that the provocation is not a valid idea put up for judgement but a stimulus for new perception.


If, after trying the above, you still have no ideas, try invoking the muse of advertising!