James Webb Young: A Technique for Producing Ideas

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James Webb Young believed that the production of ideas was as definite as the production of Fords. In 1942, he published his five-step process in the book A Technique For Producing Ideas. I’ll summarise it here for those who haven’t read it.

01 - Gather raw materials: There are 2 kinds of raw materials. Specific materials relate to the product or the target audience. General materials are not directly related at all. Gather both. There is no subject that a really good creative person cannot be interested in.

02 - Digest the material: Chew the materials over. Look at the facts from different angles. Bring them together & see how they fit. Two things will happen. First, partial ideas will come to mind. Second, you will get very tired of trying to make your puzzle fit.

03 - Turn it over to your unconscious: Make absolutely no effort of a direct nature. Drop the whole subject. Turn the problem over to your unconscious. Stimulate your creative mind. Listen to music. Read poetry. Go to the theatre. Let your mind work on the problem while you sleep.

04 - The spark of an idea: If you have done your part in the first 3 stages you will almost certainly experience the fourth. Out of nowhere the idea will appear. It will come when you least expect it. Ideas appear when you stop searching for them.

05 - Develop the idea: It requires a lot of work to make ideas work. Do not hold them too close. Take them into the world. Submit them to the criticism. Good ideas are self expanding. They stimulate others to add to them. Possibilities you will have overlooked will come to light.

Almost 80 years on and the book still stands up. My copy of the book totals just 33 pages including an introduction and prefatory note. You can read it in a lunch hour.

Highly recommended.

Get your copy here.