Good Ideas

Introduction 

When talking about entrepreneurship, people often pop out some words such as economy, calculation, risk, and profit. However, one of the most important elements that make entrepreneurship is a ‘Good Idea’. Good ideas, also known as inspiration generally, are the foundation of developing successful entrepreneurship in terms of strategic, planning, and market positioning (Mahrez, 2023).  

A good idea usually comes from our daily lives, either from our inner or from others’ aspects. Remember everything about entrepreneurship is about resolving problems and making values either financially or humanistic (Waltower, 2023). Therefore, a good ‘good idea’ should be able to resolve a problem and add value to people's lives. Furthermore, a good idea is not just a novelty, it is also about its validity within the targeted market. It should make people willing to pay which is the most crucial for entrepreneurship to survive.

In a nutshell, a good entrepreneurship idea can help entrepreneurs identify the market gap of a potential market and also be the firm basis of entrepreneurship.

Where does good ideas come from (in theory) 

The first solution is for people to encourage informal questioning and inquiry. Like creating a culture where individuals feel comfortable asking questions and exploring new ideas without fear of judgment and mistakes (Loeb, 2024). 

In addition, have conversations with people from different circles, as ideas often come from conversations where individuals hear the challenges and recognize new ways to solve them. An excellent historical example is Bell Laboratories, which brought together creative physicists and engineers in a hallway whose daily conversations led to developments in radio astronomy, and cosmology (Loeb, 2024). People should also tolerate young people and allow young people to participate in conversations because they have no baggage, can bring fresh perspectives, and are willing to enter unknown areas. 

Here's a word of advice for business innovators, “It is not enough to sow the seeds” (Loeb, 2024). Once a new idea is generated, it needs careful attention and development, just like a baby needs to be fed to mature. 

Where does good ideas come from (in practice) 

Good ideas, on the other hand, can emerge from external influences or social interactions rather than from within someone's head. According to researcher Kevin Dunbar in the 1990s, eureka moments rarely occur when one is alone. Instead, most ideas emerged when a lot of researchers gather to present and discuss their ideas during meetings. As a result, collaborations increase the likelihood of eureka moments, allowing more opportunity for ideas to cross-pollinate (Loper, 2020). For instance, a coffee shop is an ideal place to meet and discuss ideas. This is because collaborative spaces encourage innovation, which leads to the discovery of fresh ideas. Lastly, creating an environment that encourages cooperation and the interchange of ideas is critical for cultivating creativity and realising the potential for new discoveries.

How to generate more good ideas (Point 1)

Having a curiosity can prompt you to learn new knowledge. Curiosity can serve as a driving force for learning. When someone is knowledgeable and has a broad perspective, their thoughts and attitudes are also in an open or broad state. This will be a key factor in generating good ideas. Not only that, maintaining curiosity prompts people to often be in a state of reflection. This is conducive to better problem-solving from various perspectives. Because someone who often reflects will look at issues from different angles, coupled with the impetus of curiosity, they will inquire and listen to the opinions of those around them, and different opinions are constructive. This will better solve problems or generate many new ideas. Typically, people with curiosity are willing to step out of their comfort zone to explore knowledge blind spots other than their own profession, which can add new skills to their resume(Elizabeth Perry,2023). While enhancing self-worth, it also enriches their lives.

A good idea is the key to success. To generate a good idea, people should think about problems that exist in their daily lives and solve them well. For instance, if you are in a group work, try making a list of daily problems the group faces, and if there are already ten different problems, try to think with your members and come up with at least one to three different approaches. This will be the startup of a good idea generation (Mailchimp, n.d.). However, there will also be lack of ideas sometimes, which means that a person lacks creativity at that moment. Persistence and resilience are the essentials to turn the people back into an innovator and continually generating more good ideas. Innovators are always looking for solutions or opportunities to solve problems, rather than expecting easy success. There will be great rewards waiting for these innovators (Fischer, 2022).

Conclusion

“Everything Begins with an Idea.” This is a quote from Earl Nightingale who was dubbed the “Dean of personal Development”. In business, ideas spur creativity and innovation as they act as the catalysts for progress, change, and human development in society nowadays. Therefore, generating good ideas is one of the most important concepts in the problem-solving and innovation process. With all the statements proven in this blog previously, we have learned where the ideas came from and ways to generate more good ideas, such as collaboration is one of the efficient ways to generate good ideas as it allows more opportunities for ideas to cross-pollinate. Not only that, there are more effective techniques for generating ideas for individuals whether they are entrepreneurs or anyone who is facing any problems that need to be solved such as Mind Mapping, Group Creativity, Focus Group, Brainstorming, Synectics, and others (GeeksforGeeks, 2023).

References

Loper, C. (2020, December 8). Where do new ideas come from?. Becoming Better.    https://becomingbetter.org/where-do-new-ideas-come from/#So_Where_Do_New_Ideas_Come_From_Both 

Mahrez, R. (2023, February 24). Why is a business idea important? https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-business-idea-important-romdhani-mahrez#:~:text=A%20great%20business%20idea%20is,from%20investors%20or%20financial%20institutions.

Waltower, S. (2023, October 23). 9 ways to know if you have a great business idea. Business News Daily. https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/3969-finding-great-business-idea.html 

Techniques for generating Ideas. (2023, October 24) GeeksforGeeks. 

Refers to: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/techniques-for-generating-ideas/ 

How to Create a Good Business Idea. (n.d.). Mailchimp. https://mailchimp.com/resources/how-to-create-business-idea/

Fischer, B. (2022, April 19). How to Generate Ideas. Elmhurst University. https://www.elmhurst.edu/blog/how-to-generate-ideas/ 

Loeb, A. (2024, February 20). Where Do Ideas Come from? Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/observations/where-do-ideas-come-from/ 

Martins, J. (2024, January 20). 7 steps to Uplevel your critical thinking skills [2024]. Asana. https://asana.com/resources/critical-thinking-skills 

Perry, E. (2023, October 3). How to develop Critical Thinking Skills. BetterUp. https://www.betterup.com/blog/how-to-develop-critical-thinking-skills 

Workload

ERIN CHUNG SHING (TP070387)	Collaboration
FOO JING SZE (TP070845)	Conclusion
CHUAH XIN YI (TP070340)	Diverse Perspective
CHONG PEY SHAN (TP070414)	Introduction
GOO MAY SHYN (TP070055)	Be Creative
LEE WAN CHIEN (TP070220)	Be Curoius