Brainstorming (see also component 4.2)
The classic creative thinking tool is brainstorming. Its key concept is the enforced separation of the generation of ideas from their subsequent evaluation. It can be used by either an individual or a group, but is usually used as a group process.

A very good example is the case of the Sony Corporation, that used the Brainstorming method in order to reconsider changes for the Walkman. A lot of questions were generated: “Smaller? Condensed? Miniature? Lower? Shorter? Lighter? Omit? Streamline? Split up? Understate?" These provocative questions led to Sony’s redesign of the classic tape recorder into a smaller — but groundbreaking — new product: the miniaturized, recordless, speakerless "Walkman".


Analogical Reasoning   (see also component 4.4)
The most common creative process is analogical reasoning--the transfer of an idea from one context to a new one. Perhaps 80 percent of creative ideas are rooted in analogical reasoning, and examples abound in every field of human creativity. 

We also see analogical reasoning in the mechanical realm. The irreplaceable fastener Velcro was inspired by the obnoxious cocklebur. Gutenberg's printing press was a combination of the stamper used for minting coins and a wine press. 

Finally, virtually every architect and designer keeps stacks of books and magazines filled with ideas waiting to be adopted. 

But you need not sit back and wait for analogous connections to appear by themselves.  Analogical reasoning can be a conscious technique if you deliberately ask questions like these:

Attribute Listing (see also component 4.5)
Attribute listing is a specific idea-finding technique (one that could even be used while brainstorming). You identify the key characteristics, or attributes, of the product or process in question. Then you think up ways to change, modify, or improve each attribute (in design engineering this is called the substitution method).

Almost anyone can "disassemble" a product into its attributes and then think of modifications for most of them. For example, a can of soda has these attributes: size, shape, color, color pattern, decorative theme, material, possible uses after modification, other audiences for the product if modified. Can you invent alterations for each of these attributes? Fran Stryker supplied himself with plots for Lone Ranger radio and television episodes for a couple of decades by modifying these characteristics: characters, goals, obstacles, and outcomes.


Morphological Synthesis (http://www.cc.gatech.edu/faculty/ashwin/papers/git-cc-94-01.pdf)
Morphological synthesis is a simple elaboration of attribute listing. After completing the list of attributes, list changes in one attribute (such as “products”) along the horizontal axis, and list changes in a second attribute (such as “markets”) along the vertical axis. Idea combinations, or syntheses, will appear in the intersections, or cells, of the table. Morphological synthesis will force you to look at many surprising combinations.


Idea Checklists  (See ref: "Making hard decisions : an introduction to decision analysis", Robert T. Clemen. Belmont, Calif. : Duxbury Press , c1996. Edition 2nd ed)

Have you ever consulted a telephone directory or a supplier's catalog as a "checklist" of resources or ideas for solving problems? You may not know that checklists have been written expressly to solve problems creatively. The best known is Osborn's "73 Idea Spurring Questions." Consider how you would invent a better mousetrap as you read these examples from his idea checklist:

 

Quality circles were initially a method to improve quality, but they proved very useful also in stimulating innovation in firms. The first quality circles appeared in the 60s in Japan. 

A quality circle is a group of persons that work in the same workshop or office, that meet once or twice a week in order to examine how to improve the quality of the products they deliver, the procedures they use, the environment they work in. Basically, the success of the quality circles is based on the feeling the employees get, that they are taken into account, that their opinion counts. When implementing quality circles, it is better to start with two-three pilot circles, that will be encouraged to function for at least one year.


Suggestion boxes http://www.its.qut.edu.au/cip/qmf/section1/1_2_4/

The method implies the creation of a number of boxes where the employees deposited ideas, suggestions, and innovative ideas. In order to assure the success, a number of issues have to be considered:

• All suggestions, propositions, ideas, have to receive an answer, preferably in a face-to-face meeting. Good ideas will be encouraged, while people with bad ideas will be encouraged to continue.
• The author(s) of ideas that have been implemented has/have to be rewarded.
• The method to not produce results immediately, one has to wait a couple of months, maybe a year.

 

Workshops may be a kind of innovation engine in a company. They are important because they help prevent a firm from running out of the initial enthusiasm and voluntary activity.

Well-functioning innovation engines have the following qualities:

Good engines also allow broad enough perspectives to enter the innovation activity. Cross-functionality and/or cross-business-unit (or cross-geography) quality are critical.

 

Innovation is first and foremost a behavioral issue. Hence, innovation routines seek to emphasize the kinds of changes in behavior, attitudes and daily routines that need to be accomplished in order for innovation to become a true capability and not just a slogan. These routines involve new voices and perspectives to be included in the search for innovation. For instance, Theragenics, a medical treatment company in the U.S., involves people from the plant floor in its innovation processes. Cemex, a Mexican cement company, regularly uses all its employees and its customers for ideas. These firms understand that corporations cannot have “out-of-the-box” thinking if the same people are always involved in the discussions. New ideas and fresh thinking are necessary. Other innovation routines may include mentoring of innovators by senior management, seeking advice and resources outside established channels, celebration of successes and learning from failures.


Checks and balances
Finally, checks and balances need to be in place. This is particularly critical in innovation environments that allow people to move forward with their ideas without too much management interference early on.

Such checks and balances certainly include metrics that accelerate or eliminate ideas, experiments and ventures from the innovation pipeline. They involve techniques to assess the value of a pipeline in terms of its growth potential for the company as a whole. And they involve ways to ensure transparency — management and employees may see, at a glance, for instance, what kind of innovations are under development in the pipeline. An important issue, as well, is the manifest passion and commitment to innovations in the pipeline. Finally, innovation incentives need to be carefully balanced. Out-of-proportion individual rewards may create a cut-throat environment for competition that over time is detrimental for cultivating the team spirit necessary to drive complex innovations in alignment with business unit goals. However, potential entrepreneurs may end up leaving the company if the incentive structures don’t recognize the extra efforts and personal risks taken to drive innovation in the organization.