From McKinsey article:  http://bit.ly/hVa5fA

Create visceral and personal experiences. This gives you food for thought and a new perspective. e.g. go see your competitors store, visit a customer in their work environment, order your own product, call your own customer service. Bring the execs along if you can.

Pretend to be someone else. This also gives you a new perspective. e.g. Ask – What would Apple do ? Or Southwest, or Google, or Disney, or a kid, or a startup.

Impose a big new constraint. This also gives you a new perspective that can spark ideas. e.g. you can only sell the product online, one hand is tied behind your back etc.

Perceiving a reality that is new to you is the essential precursor to creating a solution that is new to you. To get a new idea, get a new perspective.