Like a Kid Again

When you were a child, everything seemed possible. Getting back to that kind of thinking could be just what you need to help you innovate, says Jim Canterucci, author of Personal Brilliance: Mastering the Everyday Habits That Create a Lifetime of Success. Here are some of his thoughts on the matter.

What is the key to thinking like a child?

If you look at a child, you see the repetitive "why" questions--they're not assuming they know the answers. I think we've turned off that questioning muscle. If we can get back to thinking like a child, asking a question and looking at things [with] a sense of wonder and awe... frequently, we'll find that innovation comes.

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How do you get back to that place of forgetting what you know?

Seek out the opinions of experts without [thinking] you're supposed to have all the answers. Seek alternate solutions. Are there other opportunities from other industries? [And] seek a non-expert's opinion. Talk to your spouse about the problem--because they're not so mired in the details, perhaps they'll have a solution.

In your book, you write about "identifying what's impossible." How does this kind of exercise help entrepreneurs innovate?

[Ask yourself] what the greatest solution to this problem would be. I know it's not possible, but what would it be? That type of exploration opens up your mind. Nine out of 10 of those really are impossible, but [some] might be the seed of an idea that brings you to a true innovation within your organization.