Mitch Ditkoff’s “14 Ways to get Breakthrough Ideas” isn’t a bad read, but all in all, it isn’t anything that really amazed me. It’s very similar to other writings on the steps to innovation, leadership, or what have you. Though the steps listed are all very important things, I feel like they are somewhat redundant and fairly obvious. Most of these steps are simply just signs of being dedicated though there were a few I found interesting. I guess it could just be that maybe since I’ve read so many things like this in other classes that I just understand these things and don’t really need to be reminded them. Steps one through five tackle topics like being immersed, following fascination, and fantasizing about work. Most of this can be said in one step: be dedicated. People that are truly dedicated to their work often do all of these things unintentionally because they care about their jobs so much. You often will find yourself thinking about a problem at work or talking with someone about it even if you’re not at work. Step six is about defining the right challenge. I feel that this is one of the better steps on his list. People can be rushed for whatever reason and be left without time to prepare or plan for a project, but if you don’t know what final outcome you are working towards, you’ll never reach that goal. This is true with small and large problems even when they seem obvious. Step seven is about listening to your subconscious. So in other words, it’s pretty much the same thing as step five: fantasize. This was a very vague step and truthfully didn’t impress me. Step eight is also an easily overlooked step. This step was about taking breaks when you are stumped. This couldn’t be any more true. I know that when I take another look at something with a fresh mind, I often can spot a problem much easier than before even after I had been looking for it for hours. Next is step nine which is about noticing and challenging existing patterns. This made me think a little bit and I realized that this is also the same thing as being proactive. If you’re one step ahead of the game, it’s a lot easier for you to notice these trends and have the first chance at changing or innovating things. People that understood the immense power of the internet and what vast changes it could have on society and media saw patterns relevant to things like marketing, shopping, and communicating online. The fact that they saw these things before other people allowed them to have the upper hand in having a chance to get in the door first and make crazy amounts of money off of it. I also liked step 10 which was about communicating or associating with different groups/kinds of people. I like this a lot. Different people who live different lives often produce different ideas. The convergence of these ideas is what real innovation is about. This is also why I like media classes. You have so many different types of people put together to work on projects and often end with interesting results. Step eleven is about brainstorming with other people and is pretty much an extension of step ten. Step twelve is about noticing “good accidents.” Though it’s important, this step is also very obvious. If you did something on accident and ended with a good result, obviously you would consider staying with that result rather than correcting it. I think he could have left that out of his steps. I liked step thirteen, but I would have put it differently. I think what he was really trying to say is that if you are stuck and feeling uninspired, reach for new forms of inspiration such as a book, different kinds of music, art, whatever. Either way, it’s an important step and I liked it. Step fourteen is what you might think is an obvious step, but is a rather important step. It relates to suspending logic and being creative. It’s easy to lose touch with that part of you as you grow up, but if you have the ability to be creative and not worry about the world, innovation will come with that.
Step six lists questions at the bottom as so: “State your most inspired challenge or opportunity as a question beginning with the words “How can I?” Then write it in five different ways. Which is the real question?”
How can I get a great internship for my major with a company I’d like to work with in the future?
How can I get an internship with a company that hires young audio producers?
How can I get a job with a company in the future after college?
How can I make sure I have a job that I like when I graduate?
How can I gain enough experience in college to get a job after college.
I think the real question is a combination of the above. I also think that the answer to some of these questions is another question. The real question is, for now at least, “How can I get a great internship for my major with a company I’d like work with in the future?”
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