So you’re doing everything right yet your innovation output tells a different story.
You invest in innovation strategy, encourage brainstorming sessions, and even include everyone in your innovation program along with allocating budgets for R&D.
If you feel like your innovation engine is stuck in neutral, you’re not alone.
The good news is where there’s a will there’s a way. Much like finding ways to innovate in all the other aspects of your business, doing things differently with innovation management works best too.
Here are three unconventional strategies to unleash creativity and get real innovation outputs, faster than ever before.
#1 Stop Brainstorming in Groups, Start Working Alone First
Think back to your last team brainstorming session.
Firstly, when was it? Secondly, was it truly productive? Or did the loudest voices dominate, while maybe the best ones stayed put with introverts?
Traditional brainstorming is built on the not-so-perfect assumption that groups spark the best creativity.
But multiple studies report the opposite!
Individuals working alone generate more unique ideas than teams brainstorming together in a physical setting.
The reason?
Groupthink, social pressure, and cognitive fixation.
It is a common phenomenon where when someone shares an idea with their team while brainstorming, every idea that follows revolves around the same general idea.
Say if John suggests a voice-controlled coffee maker, every idea that follows would revolve around smart kitchen gadgets.
Essentially, the initial idea unconsciously boxes in everyone’s thinking.
Similarly, another culprit is the fear of judgment.
In a room full of colleagues and superiors, even the most creative and intelligent people hold back bold, unconventional ideas to avoid embarrassment.
So What to Do Instead?
Instead of gathering a group in a room and hoping for a breakthrough session or hackathon, give individuals the time and space to think first and share at their own will.
And better yet—don’t make them brainstorm alone.
Every single person now has AI as their co-pilot, you just have to know how to leverage it.
Imagine you had relentless support for your idea and possible project. What bold, audacious innovation ideas would you pursue?
That’s what AI is providing to inventors.
For example, AI brainstorming tools like InspireIP’s Inventor Assistant act as their brainstorming partner, sparking fresh ideas and refining rough concepts.
Here’s how you can revamp your innovation process:
Step 1: AI-Powered Ideation
Before involving the team, individuals can use AI-driven brainstorming tools to explore unexpected angles and solutions they might not have considered. They can even, optionally, analyze previous patents, existing technologies, and emerging trends to get inspiration grounded in reality.
Step 2: Individual Refinement
Once AI has helped generate and structure ideas, innovators can polish and refine their concepts independently. This avoids the ‘herd mentality’ that often kills original thinking.
Step 3: Smart Collaboration
Only after individuals have solidified their thoughts do they choose to bring the co-innovators or group together. By this stage, every participant has something unique and well-developed to contribute—leading to a more diverse and high-quality innovation pipeline.
By shifting from group-first to AI-assisted individual ideation, companies unlock deeper creativity, eliminate social biases, and generate truly original ideas.
The Future of Brainstorming = AI + Individual Ideation + Smarter Group Collaboration. That’s how real innovation output happens.
#2 Embrace Constraints Instead of Unlimited Resources
Are you aware of the Parkinson’s Law?
It literally states that work expands to fill the time available. Basically, if you give your team a year to develop a product, they’ll take a year, even if six months would have been enough.
When budgets are too high, companies get lost in analysis paralysis, adding unnecessary features and overcomplicating simple solutions.
This is one of the aspects of the problem with unlimited resources.
Imagine giving your team an unlimited budget, no deadlines, and total freedom to innovate.
It becomes an anti breakthrough.
In reality, too many resources lead to overcomplication, procrastination, and a lack of urgency.
With endless time and money, people often overanalyze, delay decisions, and settle for “safe” ideas rather than the unconventional ones with true potential of turning into valuable IP.
What happens is that counterintuitively, limitations and lack of abundance lead to ideas that no one has explored and developed into innovation output.
Confused?
Well, the examples of innovations that were born from restrictions are all around us.
Our much-used X, formerly Twitter, was built on the limitation of just 140 characters. It forced brevity and clarity along with an idea that no one thought of exploring. Everyone was thinking of providing every tool to the user to express themselves, while Twitter limited theirs.
And then there’s Airbnb. It was created literally because its founders couldn’t afford rent and had to monetize their spare space.
Now a staple in most households, Dyson, its first vacuum was created using cardboard prototypes because of the budget constraints. And look at how it disrupted the industry.
So What Do You Do?
#1 Simply, shrink the problem.
Go granular. Don’t just ask “How can we make a better product?” ask “How can we make a better product with half the budget?”
#2 Impose “impossible” rules.
Challenge your team with constraints like “Develop a zero-cost prototype” or “Design a feature without adding any new materials.”
#3 Use AI to optimize constraints
Even here, AI tools help teams find innovative solutions within strict patentable boundaries, ensuring breakthroughs without excess resources.
#4 Time Limits
Shorter deadlines force rapid experimentation and cut unnecessary complexity.
#5 Budget Caps
Limited funds force teams to focus on what truly matters instead of bloated, unnecessary features.
#6 Rule-Based Challenges
Ask your team: “How would you solve this problem with $0?” or “How would you design this with half the current materials?”
#7 Just Do It!
Lastly, what Nike says, “Just Do It.” You will only find what will and will not work for you if you try unconventional methods.
Start Here: Instead of asking employees for ideas with no boundaries, launch an innovation challenge within InspireIP with specific constraints.
How about “Develop a patentable idea using only existing company assets.” Constraints drive sharper, more practical solutions.
#3 Encourage Failure, But Make It Fast and Cheap
The problem is that playing it safe has always killed innovation.
When you treat failure like a disease to be avoided at every cost, the result is lack of innovation outputs.
Only tried and tested ideas get funded, and disruptive breakthroughs never see the light of day.
Why do you think Nokia ignored touchscreen innovation? It feared alienating existing customers.
Why did Blockbuster refuse to experiment with digital streaming until it was too late?
Simply put, corporate R&D teams spend years on projects that never make it to market because they’re too afraid to pivot.
This is why innovative companies fail fast, cheap, and often just because they know it’s the only way to success.
Why else would SpaceX test rocket components in rapid cycles, blowing up prototypes?
Or why Google kills over 100 projects a year?
Fast failure = faster learning = faster breakthroughs.
Your Action Steps
- Shift Your Mindset on Failure: It is not anyone’s incompetence.
- Adopt Rapid Experimentation: Test ideas, create small prototypes, conduct pilot tests, or use AI-driven simulations to validate concepts quickly.
- Set a “Kill Criteria”: Define clear benchmarks for when to pivot if an idea isn’t gaining traction within your set timeframe. Move on without hesitation.
To begin, pick one project or idea you want to work on and test a small-scale version of it within a week.
Set strict time and budget constraints, measure results, and iterate quickly for your desired innovation output.
Key Takeaways
If your innovation output feels stuck, it’s not because of a lack of ideas, it’s because traditional methods are killing creativity.
You can get on a call with InspireIP to review your current innovation gaps in real time and find out the best possible ways to innovate better and faster.
