Some time ago, I took James Webb Young’s kaleidoscope analogy for having ideas and ran with it, building a whole model for helping engineers (and other humans) understand idea generation as a structured process.
I call it the Kalideascope.
The model has three distinct stages we can follow:
- Building the Kalideascope – creating a shared space for idea generation.
- Filling the Kalideascope – gathering input patterns.
- Turning the Kalideascope – making new connections to generate patterns.
The Kalideascope can help us work at different levels:
- For individuals, it provides a structured approach to working creatively on a project.
- For teams, it creates a pathway for tapping into the group’s creative potential.
- For leaders, it offers a way to think strategically about the creative processes and habits you establish.
- For people thinking about system change, the model can help us better see the system more clearly, how ideas emerge in it and the opportunities for change within.
Over the coming weeks I’ll be sharing posts that explore how the Kalideascope works.