An Easy Way to Generate Great Ideas
I’ve noticed something interesting about people who seem to effortlessly generate great ideas time and time again.
It’s not that they’re more creative thinkers. They’re just better collectors.
I call it the Pinecone Principle.
Stay with me here.
Imagine I asked you to bring me a pinecone. Like, right this second.
You’d probably be a little confused at first, then you’d scan the room, check your pockets, and tell me, “Sorry friend, I don’t have a pinecone on me.”
If you really wanted to be helpful, you’d try to think of the last place you saw a pinecone, and maybe you’d point me in the right direction. But still, I’d be pinecone-less.
Now imagine a week ago I said, “Hey, I need some pinecones for my kid’s art project. If you see any this week, could you grab them for me?”
In that case, I think two things would happen immediately.
First, your brain would start noticing pinecones everywhere. On walks. By the mailbox. In shady corners of parking lots.
Second, you might even go out of your way to visit places where pinecones might be. You’d gravitate towards pinecone-rich environments. You’d use my request as an excuse to take a walk over your lunch break, or to take your kids to the park after school.
Well I think ideas work the same way.
When we ask people, “Give me your best idea right now,” we’re essentially asking them to produce a pinecone on demand. Most people freeze.
(This is why brainstorming meetings are often so painfully unproductive. You’re putting people on the spot and asking them to pull an idea from thin air).
But when you say, “Between now and our next meeting, I want you to keep your eyes peeled for ___________.”, something different happens.
People come back shocked by how many good ideas they had.
Not because they suddenly became more creative, but because their brain was given a target, and it was given the time it needed to hit that target.
Over the course of that week, people pay closer attention to their ideas. They write them down instead of throwing them out.
And they also gravitate towards environments where good ideas might be hiding.
The best part is, you get to choose the pinecone.
You could say:
- “I want you to notice moments of friction in our workflow.”
- “I want you to notice team members going above and beyond.”
- “I want you to notice opportunities for us to improve the way we serve our customers.”
Whichever target you pick, your brain starts scanning for that pattern.
The funny thing is, the pinecones were there all along.
You didn’t manifest them. You just started paying attention.
