In these competitive and uncertain times, most of us long for that bold, fresh idea that will shake things up and drive meaningful progress. Yet great new ideas can feel harder to find than a five-leaf clover. We stare at the same problem – with the same set of eyes and the same perspective – and then wonder why our ideas fall short.

To shake things up, I love using a simple technique that I simply call The Different Lens. As the name suggests, the tactic involves generating solutions from the p...