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A freshly brewed pot of creativity from the Idea Barista
The Marketing Playbook co-author, John Zagula, added an important 8th entry to my original list of seven reasons why ideas are like coffee, and I thought it worth revisiting.
8. Creativity Is Caffeinated
Ideas Give You Energy! A great idea just seems to fill you with energy and excitement. Sharing that idea with someone who “gets it” packs twice the punch. It’s like drinking a double-espresso — the extra shot gives you a bigger boost!
Here’s a few more to make an even dozen…
9. The Filtering Comes Last
When brewing your coffee, you should start with whole beans. Those beans are then roasted, ground, and (right before you’re ready to brew) put into a filter. Same goes with ideas — start with great big, raw, (whole bean) concepts. Pick ’em right off the plant without regard to the rest of the process. Don’t start the filtering process too early — you’ll miss out on some quality ideas and your finished brew will suffer.
10. You Can Get Coffee To-Go
Nothing says you have to drink coffee at your kitchen table or the corner cafe. Simply fill-up a travel mug and take it with you. It stays hot and fresh, and is at the ready whenever you require a dose of caffeinated goodness. Ideas travel well too! A ballpoint pen along with a pocket notebook, index card, or (for those high-tech souls) a PDA, all provide the perfect “to-go” mug for carrying your hot ideas with you no matter where you travel.
11. Select From Many Blends
Breakfast Blend, French Roast, Colombian, Espresso, etc. You can find a coffee for almost any taste. Sample different blends of ideas — outrageous, optimistic, futuristic, nostalgic, restrictive, unlimited, gargantuan, lilliputian, foreign, alien, domestic, imported, etc. Creative blends far outnumber coffee blends!
12. Variety Of Applications
Coffee flavoring is used in ice cream, cakes, candy, liquor, sauces — even breakfast cereal! The applications would amaze you. Try taking a single idea and applying it to a variety of formats. Apply an idea for a new toy to office supplies, medical procedures, the space program, (breakfast cereal!) and see where it leads you.
I’m really enjoying this “Idea Barista” concept and I’m having fun applying the principles of idea generation to coffee.
It’s inspired me to create a special “Idea Barista” coffee mug.
I plan to create it so I can use CafePress.com to order a single mug for myself, but I thought some of you might be interested in owning one as well.
Send me an email or post a comment via the link below, and let me know if you’re interested in getting your own Idea Barista/Creativity Is Caffeinated mug.
