What’s Your Next Big Idea?

I just hung up the Skype call with my dear client, Barb, when she said: “What are the ways Chad that you recommend to enhance our ability to create fresh content?” Here are my answers:

1. Carefully listen to what your clients and prospective clients are saying and asking you. I look at these conversations as a treasure of where to generate ideas for products, services and new published content.
2. Ask your clients and prospective clients to share with you their greatest concerns and challenges. Example: “What are the key concerns and challenges you are currently facing that you wished you could eliminate or reduce significantly?”
3. Same as above but simply ask: “What topics would you like to see me write about that would be of help to you?”
4. In each of your speaking presentations why not pause and ask the audience: “What are some of the key challenges you are facing that you would like me to talk about? The kind of challenge that you would like to see eliminated?” I then suggest you write these on the flip chart, provide your answers, and at the end of your presentation take a quick photo of that page so you may blog about it later or even use it as the new idea for your next product and service creation.
5. I believe it was BASF that said: “We did not invent it but we make it better!” Whether your clients, colleagues, partners, competitors and other innovators, see what they are creating and publishing and push your own envelop to do better and improve. And wasn’t this mindset the start of Microsoft Windows operating system or Steve Job’s key to reinvention?
6. The reason most hire a trainer to work out with them at the gym, is because they need an expert, who becomes their accountability partner, who can push them to do things they can’t do themselves and can bring them to a higher level of success. That is exactly why finding an expert who can challenge you intellectually, in order to pull out of your head the amazing content you never realized is there, is critical to create remarkable content to increase your success.

And finally, if you’d like to further get ideas on where to get fresh new ideas, check out my article I think I’ll invent something new which I wrote some time ago.

So go now and create some great and remarkable content.

© Chad Barr 2012 All rights reserved.