In an age of nonstop innovation, companies and individuals with original ideas have a distinct advantage over those who don’t. Why? Because original ideas are at the heart of innovation, differentiation, and brand transformation. The Originality Scale is a simple way to categorize your ideas according to the knowledge and imagination that informs them.

1. STEAL THIS IDEA
BY MARTY NEUMEIER
The Originality
Scale

2. Originality comes from the exposure of factual knowledge to the animating
force of imagination. We might express it like this:
Depending on the quality of knowledge and the level of imagination applied to
it, an idea can fall into four categories, listed from the least to the most original:
1) an idea adapted from the same domain; 2) an idea adapted from a different
domain; 3) an idea that is new to its creator; 4) an idea that is new to the world.
LIQUIDAGENCY.COM | SOURCE: METASKILLS BY MARTY NEUMEIER

3. LIQUIDAGENCY.COM | SOURCE: METASKILLS BY MARTY NEUMEIER
UID AGENCY
OK I=x
IMAGINATIONKNOWLEDGE ORIGINALITY

4. If you apply a small amount of imagination to a small amount of knowledge,
you can achieve a small amount of originality by simply adapting an idea
from the domain you’re working in. For example, you might “steal” an idea
from a competitor, making just enough modifications to create a minimum
of difference. This is how most of us learn our professions. We stand on the
shoulders of more experienced practitioners.
LIQUIDAGENCY.COM | SOURCE: METASKILLS BY MARTY NEUMEIER

5. LIQUIDAGENCY.COM | SOURCE: METASKILLS BY MARTY NEUMEIER
ADAPTED
FROM
THE SAME
DOMAIN
IMAGINATION
KNOWLEDGE

6. As you gain more experience in your domain, you may be able to apply the same
amount of imagination to a broader base of knowledge. This will allow you to
bring an idea from a different domain into your own domain. An automotive
designer, for example, could bring an idea from social networking to the design
of a car. Or the CEO of an insurance company could adapt a management idea
from the pharmaceutical industry.
LIQUIDAGENCY.COM | SOURCE: METASKILLS BY MARTY NEUMEIER

7. LIQUIDAGENCY.COM | SOURCE: METASKILLS BY MARTY NEUMEIER
ADAPTED
FROM
THE SAME
DOMAIN
ADAPTED
FROM
ANOTHER
DOMAIN
IMAGINATION
KNOWLEDGE

8. With more imagination, you might produce an idea that you’ve never seen
before. This is usually the first stage of becoming an original thinker. Until you
can surprise yourself, it’s unlikely that you’ll surprise the rest of the world. But,
of course, if your knowledge of the world is too narrow, you may be the only
one who is surprised.
LIQUIDAGENCY.COM | SOURCE: METASKILLS BY MARTY NEUMEIER

9. LIQUIDAGENCY.COM | SOURCE: METASKILLS BY MARTY NEUMEIER
NEW TO
YOURSELF
ADAPTED
FROM
THE SAME
DOMAIN
ADAPTED
FROM
ANOTHER
DOMAIN
IMAGINATION
KNOWLEDGE

10. Finally, when you can apply a great deal of imagination to a great deal of
knowledge, you have the ability to introduce ideas that are new to everyone.
You then become a reliable generator of valuable ideas, able to innovate
at will. But mastery begins by being honest about your abilities at each
stage of your learning.
LIQUIDAGENCY.COM | SOURCE: METASKILLS BY MARTY NEUMEIER

11. LIQUIDAGENCY.COM | SOURCE: METASKILLS BY MARTY NEUMEIER
NEW TO
YOURSELF
NEW TO
THE
WORLD
ADAPTED
FROM
THE SAME
DOMAIN
ADAPTED
FROM
ANOTHER
DOMAIN
IMAGINATION
KNOWLEDGE

12. Find more Marty Neumeier ideas to steal at
liquidagency.com/blog
LIQUIDAGENCY.COM | SOURCE: METASKILLS BY MARTY NEUMEIER