random-word

Random Word Technique

**Origin**: Edward de Bono's lateral thinking toolkit. Forces connections between unrelated concepts.

**Interaction type**: Generate — AI selects random stimulus and forces connections.

How It Works

1. **Select a random concept** from an unrelated domain (not a literal random word — pick a vivid, concrete thing) 2. **List its attributes** — what makes it interesting, how it works, what it's known for 3. **Force connections** — map each attribute to the ideation topic 4. **Develop the strongest connections** into full ideas

Examples of Forcing Connections

**Topic**: Improving employee onboarding **Random concept**: Coral reef

| Coral Reef Attribute | Forced Connection | |---------------------|-------------------| | Self-organizing ecosystem | Onboarding that self-organizes based on new hire's role and interests | | Symbiotic relationships | Pair each new hire with a "symbiont" — someone from a different team | | Builds slowly, lasts centuries | First-week foundations that compound over the entire tenure | | Bleaches under stress | Early warning system when onboarding overwhelms | | Attracts diverse species | Make onboarding a magnet event that existing employees want to attend |

AI Application Notes

When using random-word internally:

1. Pick concepts from **distant domains** — nature, games, history, architecture, music 2. The more unrelated the concept, the more novel the connections 3. Generate at least 5 attribute-connections, then pick the 2-3 most surprising 4. Present only the resulting ideas — never mention "random word" or the stimulus process 5. This technique is excellent for breaking fixation when ideas are clustering