Introduction

Creative thinking requires both imagination and logical analysis. Creativity means the mobilization of both brain hemispheres in a free-flow state of exchange.  How do you get a good idea? You get a lot of ideas and throw out the bad ones. Without organizing the free-flow, you can make silly connections, disruptive associations "way out there" partnerships or utopian but impractical links.

Organize your thinking by making a ladder that will let you switch levels of abstraction and then create innovative new links between ideas from different levels.

The above sequence shows a hierarchy where the lower idea (a bottle) is a part or a sub-set of categories organized as you climb higher up. From concrete notions on lower levels, build up into categories that are increasingly more abstract.

Climbing the hierarchy will then allow you to move freely between concrete and abstract levels to gain overviews that can be tied into the original concept.

Method

• Define the idea you are starting from (ex. Bottles) and then expand on it: Gas bottles, ink bottles, antique bottles, bottles with message in them, milk bottles, soft-drink bottles, "soda" bottles, bottles of mineral water, posh bottles, bottles that fit in the fridge; huge, medium or small bottles on super-market shelves; bottles labeled in Japanese; bottles used in school‚ etc.
• Climb up: Now make a list for bottles by laddering up to a more abstract idea - 1. What are they examples of? Recyclable-containers, drinking vessels, etc. Then ladder up again 2. Ecology, Green policies, etc., Ladder up 3. Community needs, etc., etc..
• Force-fit ideas from different levels on the ladder into potential concepts - For example: Fancy, private labeled water bottles for school funding efforts.

Ladder up into the abstract to expand out in new areas. Climb back down to focus on the more concrete aspects of those new areas. Alternate between the different levels to investigate a wider territory.

Note:

Organizing your thoughts by climbing up is typically more difficult than by climbing down. If stuck, just ask yourself: Why? or So what?‚"Why?" to go up; "So what?" to go down.