Everytime you have an idea, you are using creativity. In business, it is important to learn how to be creatively successful. Creative success means that you are able to see the difference between a good idea and a bad idea. It also means that you are able to make a good idea the best idea possible.

When you have an idea, write it down, and use the following ten exercises to manipulate the idea to make sure that it is not only a good idea, but that it is the best idea possible. These are the techniques we use at DivaDesigns to better serve the marketing needs of our clients. Using these techniques, we achieve fabulous results for our clients.

1.  View the idea from the perspective of people who have different roles than yours, such as teachers, lawyers, doctors, homemakers, children, men, women, etc. If you don't know how they might view your idea, simply ask them. Know what others think about your idea. Listen to how they might implement it, or change it.
2. Be critical. Think about your idea, and make a list of all the problems that might arise from it, or in trying to implement the idea. Come up with as many solutions as possible to the potential problems. If possible, slightly change your idea to completely exclude the problems.
3.   Can you make your idea simpler? Try minimizing the idea. Can you make it less complicated?
4. Make your idea bigger. How can you expand on it? What can be added to it?
5. Think about other ways that you can change your idea. Can you change the title or the place that the idea would be implemented? What other things can you change about your idea?
6. How does your idea effect the lives of people? Does it fullfill their needs? How will it improve their lives? Can the idea be modified to better meet the wants and needs of the general public?
7. How can your idea be more valuable to people? Can you add components to further enrich lives or to make the product more valuable? Can you add guarnatees or free future upgrades?
8.  Have others already implemented this idea, or one similar to it? Was it successful? What made it a success? What made it fail? How can you improve on another persons similar idea?
9. Think about the field that your idea relates to. Does it fall in the category of fine arts or science? Does it relate to a specific country? What other fields or countries does your idea relate to? Can you expand on the idea with ideas from the field or country that the original idea relates to?
10.  Use your gut instinct. Do you feel comfortable with your idea? Have you done enough research to know that your idea is the best one that it can possibly be? If you do not feel sure or comfortable, keep asking questions and manipulating the idea until you are comfortable.

About the Author: Marketing Consultant, Monique Danielle helps entrepreneurs and marketing managers create effective, cohesive communication strategies.  Her company, DivaDesignWorld.com delivers brand, web and print solutions to small to medium sized businesses. You may republish this article on your website as long as it remains unaltered, and links/credits remain in place.