A Technique for Producing Ideas

Advertising executive James Webb Young describes a simple five-step process for producing new ideas, first presented to students in 1939. The steps are gathering raw material, working it over in the mind, letting the unconscious work, the moment of insight, and shaping the idea for practical use. Young argues that an idea is nothing more than a new combination of old elements.

Recommended by 1 person

Shane Parrish: “First presented to students in 1939, published in 1965, and now reissued for a new generation looking to jump-start their creative juices, this short guide details a five-step process for gathering information, stimulating imagination, and recombining old elements into dramatic new ideas”