Crazynuts-idea

Edison’s idea quota
Understand the importance of coming up with a multitude of ideas as opposed to a handful

Background
Thomas Alva Edison was a man who realized that you had to come up with many ideas in order to have one good one. Edison was, undoubtedly, an inventive genius. He held the world record for the greatest number of inventions. He invented the gramophone and the incandescent light bulb, developed a storage battery and improved film projectors as well as founding what is today the world’s largest company, General Electric.

Edison realized, however; that good ideas do not come about by themselves, so he enforced an idea quota on himself and his employees. His own quota was this: A minor invention every ten days, and a major invention every six months.

Activity
Force yourself to come up with more ideas! When facing a problem, think of 50 different solutions. Many of ideas will not be good ones, but chances are that the first ideas will not be the best one anyway. Practice finding many solutions to many problems. Make a habit of asking yourself, “What other ways are there of solving this problem?” do not give up until you have thoughts of at least three new solutions. Remember that there are always different ways of solving a problem.