The Idea Factory

"Man, Erik, you are weird"

A few years ago, I was sitting at home with my wife, staring off into space.

"Hey", she asked, "where'd you go?"

I replied, "Oh, I'm just running the machine."

She gave me one of those looks I've grown used to over the years. My wife can communicate a lot in just a look. As near as I could tell, this look was saying, "Man, Erik, you are weird. Like, I knew that going into our relationship, but it seems like you just reveal deeper and deeper levels of weird as we go along. Also, I love you - even if I don't understand you."

Like I said, I'm used to getting that look. And honestly, sometimes I can't really explain my weirdness - or I guess I could, but I'm afraid people might run screaming if I really told them what I was thinking.

This time, though, I decided to open up that Pandora's box a bit and let the crazy out.

"Okay", I said, "so I have this little 'machine' I turn on sometimes. It's right over... here." I gestured to a point about a foot away from my head. "When I am trying to solve something, I'll just feed this machine all the data, tell it to solve the problem, and then just leave it alone. I was just checking in on the machine to see if it was done."

To her credit, she didn't get up and walk away. I marvel at her patience sometimes.

And in all fairness, I knew it sounded weird. Heck, I'd been doing this for years and even I thought it was pretty odd. But I didn't care - because it worked.

I can't tell you how many times over the years I'd used this funny little machine, and it had never failed to deliver. At this point, I didn't question it - I just used it without thinking.

I'd used it to solve gnarly coding problems; to figure out the "hook" on a new book or technical article I was writing; to lay out out the best way to explain some complex technology subject; to solve all sorts of problems or questions I encountered in my work as an engineer, author and career coach.

It was my own private little Idea Factory, and I'd come to realize that it was actually one of the most valuable things I possessed. Even if it made me a bit odd.

After many years coaching and teaching aspirational technology professionals, I now know that anyone can build and use their own Idea Factory. In the process, they can become a truly creative problem-solver and make massive money in their tech career.

I want that for you. So let's dig in and see how to get your Idea Factory up and running.

Full Disclosure

Before I get into the actual workings of this Idea Factory, I want to give you three specific warnings:

First: It is very simple.

So simple, in fact, that you may initially dismiss it. "That's it?", you might say when you first grasp it. "There's no way it's that simple. Does that really work?"

In modern times, we often view complexity as a demonstration of validity. As any experienced engineer can tell you, though, that the more simple a thing is, the more truth and workability it often has.

The concepts behind the Idea Factory are no different. Yes, they are simple. But they are fundamental concepts that seem to parallel how our minds work to such a degree that they are very workable.

So don't dismiss this subject because it seems "too simple."

Second warning: While the Idea Factory approach is easily described and understood, following it often involves some of the hardest mental work you can find yourself engaged in. Like any other work, though, you can get better and better with it as you work at it.

Third: It isn't for everyone.

In order to build and use your own Idea Factory to create impact in your work and your career, you'll need to have one specific quality - and in my experience, it isn't a quality that can be taught:

You must be deeply interested in the possibilities of new combinations.

It doesn't matter what is being combined. It might be technical concepts, tools or practices; it might be personnel on various teams; it might even be ingredients in cooking. If you are often fascinated or even pre-occupied with the possibilities of new combinations, the Idea Factory is for you.

In my experience most successful technology folks fall into this category - it's one of the reasons I love this industry so much, actually. I like working with people who are deeply interested - and I suspect you do, as well.

If, however, you tend to value routine; the use of established patterns without much investigation just because "that's the way it's always been done" - this likely won't work or be of value to you.

Okay, with those warnings out of the way, let's jump into how the Idea Factory works.

How the Idea Factory Works

The Idea Factory has five stages. Four of them you'll probably really like; one of them you may not. Let's just see.

The Stages of the Idea Factory

1.?Gather raw material

2.?Find (or create) relationships

3.?Set it and Forget it

4.?A Wild Idea Appears!

5.?Throw it to the Wolves

Okay, so they have (hopefully) catchy names. But what do they mean? How do they look in practice?

Again, they are very simple to use - but they must be used in order.

Stage 1: Gather Raw Material

This stage is based on a specific principle that I have found is quite true and very workable:

An idea results from a new combination of specific knowledge about the problem at hand, and general knowledge about life and events.

The first thing to do is to start gathering data. The data you want is of two types.

First: you want to investigate and write down everything you can think of or find related to the specific problem you're trying to solve.

Second: You want to investigate and write down everything you are interested in about the general area under investigation.

While that is really all there is to this stage, there are some nuances that can help you as you're doing this work:

1. It is actually really important that you write this stuff down. You'll need it for later stages.
2. For the "specific problem" work, the best advice I can give you is "Look, don't listen." Go over whatever you've been told about the problem, for sure - but look for yourself to verify data and understand the area well.
3. For the "general knowledge" work, you can consider things like

• "What kind of thing is this? Is it one of a category of things? What am I interested in about those kinds of things?"
• ?"What is the human factor here? Are there aspects of human behavior this makes me think of that are fascinating? What are they? How do they seem to work?"
• ?"Is this related to some engineering or scientific discipline? What's cool or unique about that discipline? What do I want to know about it, if I was just adding to my store of knowledge?"

Stage 2: Find (or Create) Relationships

This next stage takes place entirely inside your mind. It is best done in a quiet place.

Here, you will do the following - in no particular order, and again, as a mental process:

• Pick out a piece of data - specific or general, it doesn't matter.
• Look at it from whatever different viewpoints you can think of. What does it look like to a novice? To an experienced practitioner? What does it mean?
• ?Look at another piece of data in relation to that first piece of data? Are they obviously related? Is there a relationship you can work out that's not immediately clear?
• Keep asking yourself, "What does this mean?"
• Keep doing this as you go through your raw material. What you're specifically trying to do is to synthesize this information into a collection of meanings and relationships.
• ?It's often best to just "let this happen" rather than driving in hard on the literal meaning of the data you examine and the relationships you find or create. Let your mind just "peruse" the information.

It's very likely that you'll start coming up with "almost" ideas at this point - often half-formed or tenuous. Write them down right away. Don't let the fact they aren't fully defined or fleshed out keep you from documenting them - they are incredibly valuable as fodder for the next stage of the process.

So how long do you do this, you may be asking? Good - because that leads to the two key elements to making this stage succeed.

The first key: You will get tired of this process, of trying to synthesize this data, at some point. When that happens, walk away - but only for a little while. You'll get a second wind - use it to keep going.

The second key: At some point, it will all become hopeless. All the data you're working with can become a jumbled mess; you won't be finding any new ideas or relationships, and you may in fact feel like this whole thing was a frustrating waste of time.

Perfect! Awesome! You're exactly where you want to be. You can stop now.

Stage 3: Set it and Forget it

I mentioned earlier that you really might not like one of the five stages. Oddly enough, it probably isn't the end of stage 3, when you might be ready to throw in the towel.

Stage 4 is really hard for some technology people.

In this stage, you do walk away. You stop taking any direct action on the problem. You put the whole thing out of your mind as fully as you can.

For many, this is uncomfortable - as engineering-minded folks, we are almost compelled to solve problems. This part of the process can feel like giving up.

It isn't, actually. What you're doing is using your mind in an expert manner.

While you are busy with other things, a part of your mind will be hard at work on the problem chewing on it, driving towards simplicity and understanding. This will happen automatically.

At first, you may not like or trust this part of the process. Work hard at it - the payoff is tremendous.

It often helps to engage your mind in other efforts - work or otherwise - that help to keep yourself from consciously gnawing at the problem that you were, up to now, attacking quite vigorously.

Stage 4: A Wild Idea Appears!

If you've done a good job in the earlier stages of the Idea Factory, here's where the payoff comes.

Usually when you least expect it, the IDEA will appear. It may be when you're taking a shower, or out exercising, or even when you're asleep. At least once or twice a year I find myself waking up at an unholy hour and banging away at my keyboard because the idea hit so hard it woke me up.

I will say that it is very important to stop whatever you're doing when the idea arrives and write it down. I know no stronger feeling of regret, as a knowledge worker, than the regret I feel when an absolutely brilliant idea just vanishes into the ether.

As a note: many people, when they try to solve a problem or come up with an idea, mistakenly start at this stage. They think that somehow, if they just work at it hard enough or spend enough time on it, that the idea will come.

The dangerous thing about this approach is that sometimes you get lucky and it works.

When it doesn't work, though, you get frustrated and burnt out and your leaders wonder why they pay you so much :)

The process contained in the Idea Factory is reliable and repeatable. Learn process, practice it, and gain your own certainty it works as described. Then you can make your own luck.

Stage 5: Throw it to the Wolves

When you do have that "Eureka!" moment and you get that new idea, it will often seem perfect.

An idea is only as valuable is it produces the desired result. Your job now is to battle-test your new idea in the field.

You'll need to subject the idea to people who have the judgement and background to understand it, evaluate it in terms of the initial problem, and poke holes in it based on their own knowledge of the specific domain and the general subject.

In other words, throw that new idea to the wolves. You want their opinions.

If it is truly a good idea, it will stand up to the examination. In fact, very often a wonderful thing happens: thrown into the minds of others, it grows. They see things you didn't see. They find applications you hadn't considered.

Whole new possibilities can come to light as you do this - remember, the people you ask to examine your new idea are like you: bright, interested and seeking new combinations of ideas. Your hard work in the earlier stages puts them in a position where they can help transform your idea into something even better.

You'll know you're done with this stage, and the process, when you find yourself almost subconsciously transitioning into application of your idea. Again, an idea is only as valuable as it produces the desired result. When you know your idea will do that, you'll want to implement it right away.

Call To Action

There you have it: The Idea Factory. Again, it seems simple - because it is.

Now go out and use it. Find a problem you're butting heads with right now, and approach it using your own Idea Factory. Because I assure you, you do have one. Learning to use it can be an incredible tool for creating impact in your work, getting paid well and achieving your goals.

*****

This article is actually the first chapter of my next book: The Idea Factory: A Technology Professional's Guide to Creating Impact and Multiplying Income

The purpose of this new book is to help bright, ambitious technology professionals attain this state:

You are utterly confident in yourself and your ability to create massive money from your existing technology skillset, and you are doing so using multiple streams of income while setting yourself apart from all of your peers

If you enjoyed this article or found it helpful, I invite you to follow along as I write the entire book.

Join the Early Reader program here

Thank you, and I appreciate you.

- Erik Gross