I'm one of those guys that get a novel idea every minute of the day. I hold a few patents as well. To me ideas are cheap, but that's probably because I find it

I'm one of those guys that get a novel idea every minute of the day. I hold a few patents as well. To me ideas are cheap, but that's probably because I find it easy to come up with them. Here's how I do it: Whenever I see something that doesn't quite work I can't help thinking about why it doesn't work better and how to resolve the problem. This includes how to shorten the lines without using extra personnel in my local supermarket, how YC news recommendation system could be made to work better, and how to do 3D displays. Anything really... The keys to getting the good ideas are: 1) have lots of them - my ideas are no better that anyone elses, I just have a lot. Statistically a good one will pop up every now and then. 2) When you encounter a problem think through all the possible ways of resolving it. Don't mind if some of them are outrageous, just be sure to discard them when you have checked that they don't work. A friend and mine and I once actually thought that according to the laws of physics a certain combination of magnets and superconductors should make a perpetual motion machine. We set up an experiment, and of course it didn't work. We tried it and discarded it, and we weren't afraid of trying something crazy. 3) Know about different disciplines, and have broad knowledge. Innovation often comes from crossbreeding different disciplines. If you put a physicist and a web designer in a room you will get more innovation than if you put two physicists in a room. Just my two cents, hope it's useful.