Become An Idea Barista

Twelve ways to brew fresh, hot ideas
Brewing a hot, fresh, flavorful pot of coffee is very similar to brewing hot, fresh, creative ideas. Here are twelve no-jiving java tips to give your innovation efforts a real jolt!

1. Best When Hot
While you could technically get away with drinking an iced-coffee, ideas are best acted upon while still piping hot.

2. Brewing Affects Quality
Sure, you can always go with "instant", but all serious coffee drinkers know that water temperature and brew time affects the flavor of the coffee. Same goes for ideas -- allowing concepts time to brew will result in better quality ideas.

3. Room for Cream?
Black coffee can be made more flavorful when enhanced by shots of flavored syrup, cream, or sugar -- but while any idea can be made better by adding small shots of innovation, lame ideas will still leave a bad taste in your mouth no matter how many shots of 'syrup' you add.

4. The Best Beans are Imported
There are excellent coffee beans from almost every corner of the world -- same goes for ideas. Import concepts from other industries, products, and services -- then adapt them to your specific situation.

5. Free Refills
Just like that bottomless cup of coffee – You'll never run out of ideas. There's always another concept to explore. And like drinking coffee, the second cup usually tastes better than the first.

6. Coffee is Ubiquitous
Seems no matter where you are, you're never more than a block away from a fresh cup of coffee. You've grown accustomed to seeing the familiar green and white sign of that national coffee shop chain on every corner. Every McDonald's in the world has a boiling cup of caffeinated lava ready to scorch your tongue. Expect the same with ideas -- there are creative concepts around every corner. Expect to see them, and they will become as visible to you as that Starbucks' sign!

7. Always Better When Shared with a Friend
It doesn't matter if you're sipping an espresso brewed from the finest beans in the world, or a sucking down a burnt and crusty pot of coffee from your local greasy spoon at three in the morning -- the coffee always tastes better when consumed during a conversation with friends. All the best ideas are shared the same way -- good ideas (like good coffee) are always found in good company.

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!

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. Many Blends From Which To Choose
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, domestic, imported, alien, etc. Creative blends far outnumber coffee blends!

12. Endless Variations
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.