Use “Wish List” to find new ideas

The subconscious is the holding place for unborn ideas; the trick is to release them. Sometimes ideas are buried in wishes; thoughts that we might normally discard as being too unrealistic for any “real” problem-solving effort. Wish List invites you to let go of the bonds of “what is” and drift into a state of “what could be,” and helps you to transform your wishes into do-able ideas. For a sense of how this exercise might work, Learn from IKEA cinema catalogue.

Note: Wish List works best with groups that are comfortable expressing fanciful concepts. If your group is too bound by logic, this exercise may be difficult. (Despite valiant efforts, I’ve had trouble using it with lawyers and engineers. Just saying.)

Proof that great ideas comes from wishes

In the 1940s, physicist and inventor Edwin Land was on vacation with his young daughter, taking photographs with a 35mm camera. His daughter posed for various shots and each time, asked to see the result. Her father explained that she would have to wait until the film was developed and prints made. Her spontaneous response was something like: “But Daddy, I wish I could see the pictures NOW!” His daughter’s wish was outrageous given the technology of the time, but she wasn’t concerned with limitations. Inspired by her, Land found the science to make her wish come true, and invented the Polaroid Land Camera. The first model was launched in 1948.

Get it now

To download the pdf, click here: Wish List Exercise.pdf

Warning: You can use Wish List casually but if you want ” breakthrough ideas,” you need to “define your challenge” FIRST or risk wandering off topic and wasting time. It’s the first step of B.I.5, Breakthrough Ideas in 5 Steps (download the B.I.5 Cheatsheet).

This is a preview of the pdf:

Please respect copyright: all material belongs to Creative Expeditions Inc. Feel free to use the exercise within your team but please secure the permission of Inge Christensen before replicating material obtained from this website for any reason!