By Suzanne Richardson

If you’re in business, you’re always on the lookout for breakthrough ideas. Ideas for new products… Ideas for attracting new customers… Ideas for communicating more effectively with your existing customers…

If you’re not constantly searching for new ideas - and applying them to your business - you’ll get trampled by businesses that do.

In-house brainstorming sessions are an excellent source of moneymaking ideas that will make your business soar. But don’t stop there. Michael Masterson recommends that you expand your search by keeping tabs on the actions of other businesses in your industry - and he has three guidelines to help you do it:

1. “Get out of the office and into some generalised business environment several times a year.”
2. “Seek out and question successful colleagues, competitors, and others - even if you don’t especially like them.”
3. “Be attentive to what they say. Sometimes, what seems like an innocuous comment can trigger a great idea if you listen hard - and think while you listen.”