Ask Richard: How do you train your brain to think inventively?

How do you train your brain to think inventively? What a fantastic question.

Thanks to Aden from Sydney for sharing it. Here is the question in full, as I’m sure all of us can relate to his thoughts:

“G'day Richard, thanks for this opportunity. Mate, I'm a positive, creative guy - in business and in life - but after a year of committing to a specific agenda, I find I'm stuck in a slump struggling to channel new, great, inventive ideas. My question is: how do you reignite your brain to think inventively? What techniques or strategies do you use to fire up these areas of the mind?”

I’ve had many moments like this throughout my life. Sometimes the ideas roll in thick and fast, and other times it feels like your mind is churning through concrete! I think the big issue here is the narrow agenda you’ve been focusing on. It’s difficult to be inventive when you’re looking down. It reminds me of a time when a Virgin CEO came to me with a cohesive strategy for the brand - something I’ve never been too focused on.

It was a brilliant strategy, so I told him to go for it, but I did warn him to not get too bogged down in it. It’s easy to get tunnel vision when you focus on a very specific agenda. Then it becomes difficult to spot unique opportunities that might not fit into your strategy/agenda, but do fit into the big picture. I always say that business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming. Still, it sure feels good to run and jump on the first bus. If you want to spark some creativity and make exciting decisions, zoom out from the strategy, and keep your eyes peeled on the big picture (and the big buses!)

Here are a few other things that help me stay creative and inventive:

1. Constantly ask questions and remain curious about everything. Wherever I go and whoever I’m with, I ask dozens and dozens of questions a day. I’m an innately curious person, and I’ve learnt to really harness this throughout my career. I try to observe everything I see and think deeply about the things I hear. It’s a great way to develop better products and services (because you’re more tuned in than your competitors), and it’s a wonderful way to generate ideas. No ChatGPT required!

2. Listen, deeply. I say this a lot, but it is one of the most simple yet effective ways to spark creativity and come up with new ideas. The key here is to listen deeply to everyone. It’s not about only tuning in to motivational speakers, CEOs and shareholders. It’s also listening deeply to neighbours, baristas, employees, customers, and so on. If you want to open up your eyes, you’ve got to speak to people with different perspectives. Whenever I’m on a Virgin Atlantic or Virgin Australia flight, I chat to our passengers and ask them plenty of questions. It’s a great way to hear genuine feedback and refine your product. When I was on a Virgin Voyages ship recently, I sat down at the chess table and played back-to-back games with a bunch of sailors. I’m certain I learnt more from them than they learnt from me.

3. To be inventive, don’t try too hard to be inventive. My best ideas often come when I’m on holidays, or when I’m hiking, cycling, hitting a tennis ball, reading a book, sitting around the dinner table (or dancing on it), and playing with my grandkids. You’ve got to look up and out if you want to be visionary.

4. Surround yourself with interesting people and give them the confidence to share their most abstract ideas. Then repeat steps 1 and 2.

5. Write everything down. This is another piece of advice I share often, but I can’t stress it enough. I carry a notepad with me everywhere I go, and whenever I hear or see something interesting or unusual, I write it down. When you look back through your notes, you’ll often piece together the bones of a good idea. You’ll notice patterns that spark a line of thought that would have never occurred if you hadn’t recorded all these tiny moments and pieced them together.

6. Have fun. If you’ve stopped having fun, stop what you’re doing, and figure out how you can do it in a more fun way. Just by doing this, you’re being inventive. And you can’t be creative if you’re not having fun. People don’t focus on this enough!

Aden, I really hope this helps. It’s been a good reminder for myself too.

Until next month,

Richard

CREDIT: Thanks to Ask Richard