Every day during lunchtime, I have sex. Idea sex, that is. Just like 'real' sex, idea sex is the mating of two ideas to create a fundamentally new idea that never existed before. The next generation of creative products within business, entertainment, and technology depends on this very act.
What used to be casual conversations about trivial typical lunchtime topics (weekend plans, the weather, work) have transformed into rapid-fire brainstorming sessions. PK and I have come up with some of our best work over lunch by intermingling, exchanging, building upon, and iterating our ideas together. Our personalities, interests and skill sets are unique to each other, so it's fascinating to see how the ideas we create together exceed anything I could've dreamt up alone.
Let your creative juices flow together.... (Fern Creek Train, Mt. Tam)
Groupon is an example of idea sex- it combined couponing with email marketing. The Rolling Stones was the love child of blues and rock and roll. Stan Weston knew that girls liked to play with dolls and boys liked action and guns. So he used the concept of idea sex and created GI Joe. It sold over one billion in merchandise. Hollywood pitches and Silicon Valley start-ups are all based on idea sex. What hasn't been done before? It's the intersection and convergence of two (perhaps fundamentally different) ideas where the magic happens.
“Truly groundbreaking ideas are rare, but you don’t necessarily need one to make a career out of creativity. My definition of creativity is the logical combination of two or more existing elements that result in a new concept. The best way to make a living with your imagination is to develop innovative applications, not imagine completely new concepts.”
Don't be an idea slut. Choose your partners with care. Have idea sex with those who reflect your own values, who you respect, and who you would want to birth something meaningful with into the world together. Our future depends on it. Now it's time to get busy.