F
resh ideas can make all the difference. This holds true for solving a business challenge, leading a team, or tackling a personal problem. Yet, our best ideas often get trapped in boxes of limiting beliefs and assumptions.
Innovation requires us to think beyond the norm. What matters is knowing how to shift your thinking and move from rigid problem-solving to free-flowing creativity.
This article will introduce you to Innovate, one of the PQ Sage powers. It helps you break old mental patterns and explore new possibilities. It’s a concept from the Positive Intelligence© (PQ©) framework that I use in my Mental Fitness Coaching and Mental Fitness for Teams programme.
We’ll also delve into the Yes,… and… game, a powerful technique to keep ideas alive and foster true innovation. You can use it for brainstorming in a team or thinking through a challenge on your own. This approach helps you turn initial, incomplete ideas into breakthroughs.
PQ Sage Power – Innovate
The PQ Innovate Sage power is about creating what doesn’t yet exist. Unlike the PQ Explore Sage power, which focuses on discovering what is, Innovate is about breaking free from the constraints of assumptions, habits, and beliefs that hold us back. The guiding question for innovation is: What’s a new way of approaching this?
When is Sage Innovate power needed?
If current problem-solving methods fail, or new ideas are needed, Innovate power is crucial.
What holds us back?
We are trapped in various “boxes” – the beliefs, assumptions, and habits that shape our thinking. Many of these are imposed by our internal Saboteurs and go unnoticed or unexamined.
Without tapping into the Innovate power, our thinking is boxed in. We only reshuffle ideas instead of breaking free and thinking outside the box.
A purely rational, left-brain approach can result in solutions that are limited. Activating your PQ brain allows you to escape these limitations. Your ability to innovate expands significantly.
How to protect your Sage powers from Saboteur interference?
To unleash your innovation, you need to prevent your inner Saboteurs from interfering.
With Sage Innovate power, there is one rule: generate as many ideas as possible without evaluation.
Evaluation during innovation is the back door through which the Saboteurs enter. So, it’s critical to keep them out.
In a team setting, this is easier to illustrate.
Imagine you’re in a meeting to brainstorm new product ideas. If one team member suggests an idea and another responds, “That’s not going to work because…”. Sometimes, a disapproving raised eyebrow or silence says the same thing.
The inner Judge has slipped in. Soon, everyone becomes more cautious and hesitates to share their ideas for fear of being judged as a fool.
The result?
Innovation suffers, as the energy shifts from open creativity to self-preservation.
The same principle applies to your own internal process. If you let your inner Judge saboteur criticise your ideas or you start evaluating them too soon, you’ll shut down creativity.
The Innovate mode: Quantity over quality
In the Innovate mode, the aim is to generate a high volume of ideas in rapid fire succession.
Forget about quality at this stage; that will come later. More ideas will lead to better quality.
The process will activate the creative part of your brain. At the end, all you need is one idea that will pass the evaluation test.
At the end of the idea session, you’ll evaluate the options. Evaluation can be done using objective criteria like cost-effectiveness, impact, or feasibility.
If the options affect your values or purpose, use your Sage Navigate power for help in your decision.
Playing the “Yes, …. and…” game
A powerful tool to foster innovation is the “Yes, what I like about that idea is…. and what comes up for me….” game.
For every idea you generate, follow it by saying Yes, what I love about this idea is [share one thing that you liked about the idea], and [share what it triggered in you; it can build on what you liked about OR be something completely different].
In each idea, identify the 10% you can agree with or like, acknowledge it, and then build on it, or add something new.
This approach keeps the creative energy flowing. It appreciates and builds on each idea, rather than judging and dismissing it.
This game can be played in teams or internally.
For instance, during a team brainstorm to improve a hotel’s guest experience, someone might suggest playing soothing music in the lobby.
The next person might say, “Yes, what I like about that idea is that it relaxes the guests, and we could look into aromatherapy research to see which aromas enhance the relaxing effect.”
Another might add, “What I love about the idea is that we would be consulting scientific research, and maybe we could also look into positive psychology research to improve staff training.”
By playing the Yes,… and… game, you allow ideas to expand and grow.
It creates an environment where innovation thrives.
Reflection Exercise: Applying the “Yes…. and…” Game
You’ve explored the power of the Yes… and… approach to innovation.
Let’s reflect on how this mindset could impact your own work and problem solving.
Step 1: Reflect on missed opportunities
Recall a time when you or your team needed to innovate. During that brainstorming, you or someone else evaluated the ideas immediately. Some ideas were dismissed as impractical, foolish, or too risky.
Take a few minutes to write down:
- How did that feel?
- Did you notice how the energy in the room shifted after the first judgement was made? Or if you were brainstorming on your own internally, what happened to your creativity?
- How might things have been different if the Yes…, and… game had been used?
Step 2: Recognise the impact of judgement
Now, consider the consequences of immediately evaluating the new ideas. Did it shut down creativity? Did people hold back from sharing further ideas?
Under pressure to deliver, we often fall into this pattern of critique. But that can prevent the most innovative, game-changing ideas from emerging.
Step 3: Reimagine using “Yes… and…”
What if, in that same situation, you had used the Yes… and… game?
Imagine if ideas, once dismissed, were now embraced and explored without rush to judge them. How might that have led to a breakthrough or a creative solution?
Write down:
- How could you have responded differently using Yes… and… game?
- What possibilities could have unfolded from ideas that were initially considered “impossible”?
Step 4: Plan for the future
Now think about a current or upcoming situation in which innovation is required. Perhaps you’re facing a challenge in your business, or a project needs fresh ideas.
How can you implement the Yes… and… game in this context?
Whether in a team meeting or during your own solo brainstorming session, commit to applying this approach. Don’t evaluate ideas while generating them.
Ask yourself:
- Where can I apply the Yes… and… game in my work or personal projects?
- Who in my team or circle would benefit from this approach?
- How will I ensure that no idea is judged before we end the Yes… and… innovation game?
Step 5: Take action
Make a plan to experiment with the Yes,… and… approach the next time you need to innovate.
Share this game with your team and use it in your own creative process.
The key is to keep the flow of ideas alive long enough to see where they might lead.
An open-minded, idea-building environment nurtures creativity. It leads to true innovation.
Keep practising! It will change how you approach challenges.