Don't say "That's impossible!"—embrace "extremes."

Have you heard of Young@Heart?
It is a choir of grandpas and grandmas with an average age of 80 who gather to sing rock songs by Coldplay, Jimi Hendrick, Radiohead, and others.

It was formed in 1982 in Northampton, a small town in Massachusetts, USA. Around 2000, they successfully toured Europe and performed in Australia and Canada. In 2007, a documentary film was produced in the UK and released in Japan the following year. They also toured Japan in 2010 and 2012. Both Tokyo performances were held at Orchard Hall in Shibuya, and at the time, inspired by the film, I experienced their moving stage performances twice.

From a grandfather over 90 years old shouting his heart out to the main vocalist, who despite illness, sang passionately from a wheelchair... Their strong personalities energized a wide audience, from young people to seniors.

I still vividly remember the thrilling stage where the crowd gave standing ovations and sang along in unison when rock numbers by The Blue Hearts and Eikichi Yazawa were performed in Japanese.

Unbound by the notion that "rock = youth"

Of course, this chorus isn't as skilled as professional artists. But why does it draw people in, regardless of nationality, age, or gender? The answer lies in a point that sparks immense interest.

It's the jarring combination of "80-year-old seniors × rock." As you surely felt, it's an instantly recognizable point of friction. What if it were "20-year-old youth × rock"? It would feel utterly ordinary, incapable of becoming a shared interest.

If we'd been stuck in the mindset that "rock is something young people sing (it's a given they sing it),"
If we'd been trapped by that conventional wisdom, the idea for this chorus group would never have been born. Conversely, it's precisely because so many people hold that belief that the unexpectedness is striking, and we're drawn to that gap.

This idea stems from a very simple concept, yet many people tell me that when they try to come up with such ideas, their minds freeze up! Common sense and preconceptions get in the way, stifling their imagination!

That's why I recommend "Mind Exercises." I call these focused stretches to shed common sense and preconceptions, along with daily little maintenance routines, "Mind Exercises."

Alongside this series, we're running a class called "Brain Exercises" on the online video learning service "schoo WEB-campus" (every fourth Friday from 7-9 PM, May 27th to October 28th). We introduce basic frameworks for idea generation. But that's not all – we also broadcast live idea-generation battles featuring three planners from Dentsu Inc. The first session (broadcast 5/27) had the theme "A More Tangible Way to Hand Out Bonuses."

Bonuses deposited into bank accounts, where only the amount (a number) is known. The days of receiving a bonus envelope filled with cash handed directly by your boss, feeling elated or disappointed by its weight, are long gone—now just a thing of manga.

But imagine if employees could experience that kind of excitement and anticipation just twice a year. It would surely boost morale. So we challenged them: How could we surprise and delight everyone?

With the mindset of "out of 100, if just one shines," encountering that gem

Generating as many ideas as possible within a set timeframe. This is something frequently done in Dentsu Inc.'s internal training and on the job. For us planners, it's our daily mental flexibility exercise. In this online session, three planners came up with over 50 ideas for "how to hand out bonuses."

Of course, not all were usable ideas. Some were silly, some impractical, varying widely in quality and level. The key is not to judge them from the start, but to unleash them without hesitation. With the mindset of "100 ideas, if just one works," write down your wildest fantasies without shame or thinking they're ridiculous. That's how you'll find that shining gem.

Now, let's introduce a few ideas that came up during the brainstorming session.

If bonuses were paid in coins instead of bills, the weight and sheer volume might hit you harder. Imagine it pouring out like a waterfall, jingling and clinking—just like hitting the jackpot at a casino or game center. That would be thrilling, right? What a wild fantasy!

Imagine arriving at work on bonus day to find a towering stack of cash. One person's share might be modest, but stacking everyone's would create real volume and impact. It wouldn't just be shocking—it would make everyone think, "We worked this hard together!" boosting team spirit. That's the idea.

Look around, and you'll find many things born from "extremes."

What kind of thinking gave birth to these ideas? There's a common thread. It involves discarding common sense and preconceptions, then "extremizing" things. Instead of saying "That's impossible!", they start by making things extreme—bigger, smaller, more, less, faster, slower, stronger, weaker...

The "Young@Heart" choir mentioned at the start is a perfect example. By drastically raising the average age from 20 to 80, the combination with rock music transforms something ordinary into something astonishing. Looking around again, you realize many things around you were likely born from this kind of "extreme" thinking.

The life-sized "Gundam" statue, a landmark in Odaiba since its debut in 2012. Even after seeing it many times, I still find myself wanting to see it again. For our generation, who were obsessed with Gunpla (Gundam plastic models) as kids, seeing the 1/144 scale model—just 12.5 cm tall—blown up to an extreme 18 meters in length is undeniably captivating. I found myself pondering this during a Golden Week holiday trip to Odaiba.

I learned about a service called "Parent's Magazine" on the TBS TV program "Gacchiri Monday!!". It involves professional editors creating a magazine-like publication chronicling a parent's life story. It's a new venture launched by "Kokoromi," a company providing elderly care services. I suspect the idea emerged from drastically reducing the readership—from tens of thousands to just the family—and selling it at a higher price point.

Reading picture books with my daughter, I notice how many characters and stories are born from this "extreme" thinking. A clear example is the "Where's Wally?" series. These books feature double-page spreads packed with countless people, and the challenge is to find Wally among them. It's filled to the brim with people to such an extreme that even adults struggle to find him. Compared to typical picture books composed of large, simple illustrations, this bold concept is what created a beloved book worldwide.

Regularly deciphering things becomes mental exercise

In this way, analyzing everyday objects and information by asking "What kind of thinking led to this?" becomes a daily "mental workout." One template for this is "extremization." Since it's a frequently used approach in advertising, occasionally analyzing the thinking behind TV commercials can also be good maintenance for your brain.

Practicing these light mental exercises daily means that when you encounter a crucial moment at work where you need to generate ideas, you'll be able to unleash your imagination. To shake off common sense and preconceptions, try forcing yourself into "extremes." You'll find that all sorts of ideas start bubbling up in your mind, which had been frozen solid and blank.

Of course, this alone won't get you to the point of generating ideas continuously. You'll need to master other methods too. That's why this series will explain one basic template for "mental exercises" each time.

Speaking of which, though it's a bit off-topic, the Okinawan chorus group "One Voice" – Japan's answer to Young@Heart – is starting to gain local attention. I'm assisting them creatively, so if you're interested, I'd be thrilled if you'd consider giving them an early look.

The second online class on "schoo WEB-campus" will be held this week on Friday, June 24th, starting at 7 PM. The theme for the Oogiri (comedy improvisation) segment is "Ideas to make waiting at railroad crossings fun." Please join us if you can.