Generate Creative Ideas

Creativity Skill

Workflow

1. Ask       → "What problem/challenge?"
2. Context   → Understand current state BEFORE suggesting
3. Diagnose  → Match situation to technique(s)
4. Generate  → Walk through technique step-by-step
5. Evaluate  → Score and filter ideas
6. Develop   → Shape top ideas into actionable concepts
7. Output    → Structured ideas + next actions (Thai if user uses Thai)

Context questions (step 2):

• "What do you currently do?"
• "What have you tried?"
• "What's working? What's not?"

Anti-pattern: Jumping to solutions without understanding context = generic noise

Situation -> Technique Matrix

Technique Quick Reference

Divergent (Generate)

AI-Optimized (Generate + Diversify)

Convergent (Evaluate + Refine)

Idea Evaluation

After generating ideas, ALWAYS offer evaluation. Default to NAF Quick Score.

NAF Quick Score (Default)

Interpretation:

• Total 24-30: Strong candidate -> develop further
• Total 18-23: Promising -> refine or combine
• Total < 18: Weak -> park or discard
• Feasibility 8+: Worth trying (remaining 20% is implementation)
• High N+A but low F: Reframe feasibility barriers as new problems to solve

When to Use Which Evaluation

Rules:

1. NEVER evaluate during divergent phase -- generate first, judge later
2. Take a break between generating and evaluating (different mindset)
3. Different idea types need different criteria (incremental vs disruptive)

Details: evaluation.md

Content Creator Mode

When ideating for blog posts, videos, courses, or social media:

Step 1: Define Content Pillars (3-5 themes)

Pillar = Core theme that reflects expertise + audience needs
Example: Excel -> [Formulas, Data Viz, Automation, Tips & Tricks, Career]

Step 2: Audience-First Ideation

Step 3: Generate Ideas (use any technique from matrix)

Apply creativity techniques TO the content pillars:

• SCAMPER on existing popular content
• Reverse brainstorm: "How to make the worst tutorial?"
• Analogies: "How would Netflix teach Excel?"

Step 4: Validate Before Creating

[ ] Search demand? (keyword research)
[ ] Real audience pain point? (comments, surveys)
[ ] Can I add unique value? (gap analysis)
[ ] Fits my pillars? (strategy alignment)
[ ] Would I click this? (title/thumbnail test)
[ ] Can be repurposed? (1 piece -> 5+ formats)

Repurposing Chain

Blog post -> YouTube video -> Shorts/Reels -> Social posts -> Email -> Course module

Details: content-ideation.md

Idea Development Pipeline

Shape raw ideas into actionable concepts:

[Generate] -> [Cluster] -> [Evaluate] -> [Develop] -> [Validate] -> [Execute]

Quick Concept Card (for top ideas)

IDEA: [Name]
TAGLINE: [One compelling sentence]
PROBLEM: [What pain it solves]
SOLUTION: [How it works - 2-3 sentences]
TARGET USER: [Who benefits]
KEY INSIGHT: [The "aha" behind this]
EFFORT: [S / M / L]
BIGGEST RISK: [What could go wrong]
QUICKEST TEST: [How to validate cheaply]
NEXT STEP: [One concrete action]

Assumption Mapping (for important ideas)

1. List assumptions: "What must be true for this to work?"
2. Categorize: Desirability / Feasibility / Viability
3. Map on 2x2: Importance (high/low) x Certainty (high/low)
4. Test high-importance + low-certainty FIRST

Details: idea-pipeline.md

Output Formats

Use these when presenting ideas to the user:

Quick List (5+ ideas)

1. **[Idea Name]** -- [One-line description]
2. **[Idea Name]** -- [One-line description]
...

Scored List (after evaluation)

| # | Idea | N | A | F | Total |
|---|------|---|---|---|-------|
| 1 | ...  | 8 | 9 | 7 | 24    |

Concept Cards (top 3 ideas)

Use the Quick Concept Card format above for each top idea.

Comparison Matrix (deciding between options)

| Criteria     | Idea A | Idea B | Idea C |
|-------------|--------|--------|--------|
| Novelty     | 4/5    | 3/5    | 5/5    |
| Feasibility | 3/5    | 5/5    | 2/5    |
| Impact      | 5/5    | 3/5    | 4/5    |

AI Creativity Guidelines

Key Research Insights (2025-2026)

AI Role Rules

• Best as: Exploration partner, constraint enforcer, analogy finder, elaborator
• Avoid: Sole ideation source, final decision maker
• Timing: After initial human ideation, not before
• Override rate: Maintain 15-25% human override for optimal outcomes

Anti-Patterns

Details: methodology.md | prompt-templates.md

References

• Step-by-step guides: techniques.md
• AI methodology & research: methodology.md
• Random word bank: random-words.md
• Evaluation frameworks: evaluation.md
• Content creator ideation: content-ideation.md
• Idea development pipeline: idea-pipeline.md
• AI prompt templates: prompt-templates.md

Related Skills

• /triz — Systematic innovation methodology (complements brainstorming)
• /deep-research — Research inspiration and cross-industry solutions
• /boost-intel — Critical evaluation of generated ideas
• /design-business-model — Apply creative ideas to business models
• /problem-solving — Structure the problem before ideating