You may have heard people say that meeting these quotas can be quite tough.
One highly recommended book on idea generation is "Thinkertoys" by Michael Michalko.
Believe That You Are Creative
According to Michalko, there is only one difference between creative employees and non-creative employees:
Creative employees believe they are creative.
Non-creative employees believe they are not.
In reality, it is rare to find someone who thinks they are not creative (for example, “I have a rigid mind”) but is actually creative.
If you think you are not creative, the first step is to change your self-image. Start by believing: “I am actually a creative person.”
Set an Idea Quota
Michalko suggests that you should set a quota for generating ideas.
For example, you might decide to come up with five ideas per week. Even if the ideas seem silly or forced, the key is to meet your quota no matter what.
At first, coming up with five ideas may feel difficult. However, once you get started, ideas will begin to flow more easily.
Thomas Edison reportedly set his own quotas:
・One small invention every 10 days
・One major invention every 6 months
Question Your Assumptions
The book introduces many creative thinking techniques. Here, we will look at one of them: the “False Assumption” technique (Chapter 5).
This method follows these steps:
1. Define the problem in words
2. List all assumptions
3. Examine whether those assumptions are based on fixed thinking
4. Reverse the assumptions
5. Record alternative perspectives
6. Ask yourself how to make the paradox work
The biggest obstacle to creativity is fixed assumptions (preconceived ideas).
This technique helps break those assumptions that support the problem.
Example: The Auto Loan Innovation
Michalko introduces an example from Alfred Sloan, the famous CEO of General Motors (GM).
At that time, GM’s problem was simple: cars were not selling.
The underlying assumption was:
・Cars are expensive
・Therefore, you must buy a car outright to own one
If we reverse this assumption:
・“You can get a car without fully buying it upfront”
・“You can pay for a car while using it”
This led to the idea of auto loans (installment payments for cars).
At the time, GM was close to bankruptcy. However, this idea helped GM overtake Ford, which was the world leader back then.
Interestingly, Henry Ford opposed auto loans.
Despite this, the auto loan system eventually became standard.
Today, this idea seems obvious—simply applying loans to automobiles.
But at the time, it was a breakthrough created by questioning assumptions.
You Don’t Notice Assumptions Because They Are Assumptions
Fixed assumptions are difficult to notice.
To uncover them, you need to ask fundamental questions such as:
・“Why are we doing this?”
・“Why must it be this way?”
This requires looking at problems from a beginner’s perspective.
Patent attorneys are outsiders to their clients’ inventions (and businesses).
However, when they become too familiar with a specific technical field, they risk developing insider assumptions.
Breaking free from fixed ideas is not easy—but it is essential for generating truly valuable inventions. By questioning assumptions and consciously practicing idea-generation techniques, anyone can improve their creativity step by step.