How do you become "innovative"?

(Source: Kimball Chen)

I love this "moonshots" video by Google, but it also made me think "how can I be innovative in my everyday life, if I'm not say flying a solar power plane across the US or putting the internet on everyone's faces"

Although innovation has become a buzzword to the likes of "synergy" and "operationalize," I've found some tips from a 1940s Ad Man that I've found quite helpful.

This question of the derivation of ideas was one that was approached by an advertising man called James Webb Young in 1939.   His short book, A Technique for Producing Ideas, became the seminal book on how to get ideas, good ones, into your head.

Webb Young suggests the following five-step plan to generating great ideas

1. Gather the raw material (both about the subject & general knowledge)
2. Digest the material (trying combining raw materials in different ways)
3. Don’t think
4. Wait for the ‘Ah ha!’ moment to appear (and be ready when it does. Keep a notebook by your bed)
5. Expose your idea to the light of day and see if it stands up to the glare

Here's a good blog post on it to learn more.

In summary, innovation is basically connecting the dots in a new way