Inspiration beyond familiar routines
Deliberately explore unfamiliar material to broaden the inputs available for business ideas. Familiar podcasts and other comfortable routines are easy to return to, but conversations, books, events and unexpected online discoveries can introduce different perspectives. A naming project for a UK-wide insurance broker found its inspiration in a random online source encountered during a train journey.
Seeking unfamiliar material is only part of the practice. Welcome suggestions from unexpected people, and develop throwaway ideas shared in discussion rather than shutting them down. Different stimuli can combine into ideas that would not emerge from familiar inputs alone.
A 2025 analysis from Wharton's Mack Institute for Innovation Management argues that AI-assisted brainstorming can improve the apparent creativity of individual ideas while narrowing the collective range of possibilities. The practical priority is variety: seek fresh perspectives rather than repeated versions of one attractive concept.
Sources: I am challenging: James, Imagination: the missing metric in your business strategy