imagicnative

This is mysteriously effective! To come up with fresh ideas, put yourself in the shoes of other people. Better yet, put their brains in your head. For example, you are an educator who is designing a school. You are likely to build one that looks like another good school. But if you consult with Walt Disney, J. K. Rowling, or Steven Spielberg, you might have a more spectacular campus! Even the method of teaching might be different. This technique of "imagining how others would do it" was taught by Roger Von Oech in his book A Whack on the Side of the Head. Back in the advertising community, my concept team partner was a guy named Mario Monteagudo. “Genius” is not even sufficient to describe him. He won an ad of year award for several years in a row. One time while working on a print ad, he told me he would approach in the styles of five advertising legends he admired. He would add another approach using his own style, of course. The result was six potentially award-winning ads...