A Fortune Magazine article discusses the genesis of big ideas and concludes that they don’t come from working hard. 

We all know that when our bodies and brains are overworked, our ability to think creatively is substantively diminished. So why should you care? Mostly because as business shifts to a knowledge-based economy, it is just that sort of big thinking that will ultimately equate to competitive advantage.

Almost 40 years ago, Peter Drucker noted that “All one can think and do in a short time is to think what one already knows and to do as one has always done.”  So in our CrackBerry, Instant Messaging, Multi-tasking universe – doing more little things doesn’t necessarily (or even usually) add up to something consequential.

So if doing more doesn’t get us ahead, what does? How about doing less? If you’ve ever had a great idea while sitting on the toilet or doing some gardening in the backyard, you understand the point. According to the article, a  “team of Dutch psychologists revealed last month in the journal Science that the unconscious mind is a terrific solver of complex problems when the conscious mind is busy elsewhere or, perhaps better yet, not overtaxed at all.”

In other words, big ideas come when you’re not thinking anything that’s obviously productive at all. Maybe the best competitive advantage HR departments can provide for their companies is more flex-time, vacation days and the like. More opportunities to do everything by doing absolutely nothing.

Something to think about, anyway. What do you think?