…a phenomenon that’s been identified by Edward de Bono, the legendary creative thinker. He calls it the “creative pause.” (…)The creative pause allows the space for your mind to drift, to imagine and to shift, opening it up to new ways of seeing.
From HBS’ Jim Heskett’s research question on deep thinking to my own comments on the value of silence, the need for undistracted time and the resulting creativity is well documented.
To be or not to be distracted is an individual free choice and can’t be dictated by others, but it is always wise to look at the consequences of one’s chosen actions.
Distracted driving kills people.
Distracted thinking kills creativity and innovation.
We all know that things are not always as they seem and people certainly aren’t.
Brilliant ideas can come from any individual and are not dependent on their level or even their expertise.
By the same token, investors that sound great may not be, while those who are off-putting could be your salvation.
There are no hard and fast rules for evaluating whether what you see is what you’ll get, because each case is different—but that doesn’t matter.
The important thing to remember is that most stuff and people come with multiple layers and they may not be what they seem.
So while I can’t offer a multipurpose evaluation tool I can provide you with an unforgettable visual to remind you to look past the obvious.
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Share the story of your startup today.
Send it along with your contact information and I’ll be in touch.
Questions? Email or call me at 360.335.8054 Pacific time.
Are you curious? Are you creative? Do you jerryrig (innovate) solutions to your own problems? Are you into contests?
If your head’s been going up and down, or even if it hasn’t, do I have a deal for you.
Not me, actually, but dozens of companies in a multitude of fields are looking for you.
They are looking for you and others like you to solve their problems, but they aren’t looking for experts.
According to Karim Lakhani, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School, “The further the problem from the solver’s expertise, the more likely they are to solve it.”
30% of the unsolved problems of science-driven companies posted on InnoCentive were solved by its non-expert network.
InnoCentive posts both the problem and the reward for solving it.
Interested in health?
“Another model combines smaller prizes for promising ideas with big prizes for success. The Gates Foundation’s Grand Challenges Explorations initiative, for example, gives out $100,000 grants for interesting but unusual ideas for solving health problems the foundation sets out: like finding cellphone-based ways to increase vaccination rates, or creating the next generation of sanitation technologies. Entrants need only submit a two-page write-up of an idea. The money finances research, and if a project succeeds, it can win a prize of up to $1 million. Since 2008, the foundation has awarded prizes to 602 researchers in 44 countries.”
You just need to describe your idea—having the skills to make it happen has nothing to do with conceptualizing it.
So click here and start putting your creativity to work now!
The topic isn’t new, but there is more and more proof that creativity flourishes more in a single mind than in a group, but it doesn’t have to be an either-or function—a better approach probably lies in a combination of the two.
I do a lot of brainstorming with my clients in the course of naming products, creating investor presentations and developing marketing material.
Much of my work is done alone, but my own creativity is substantially enhanced by the feedback I get and the new directions that happen when we discuss what I’ve done or they respond to my questions.
Often the most valuable questions I ask are based on my ignorance.
Why?
Because I have no knowledge base from which to make assumptions clients are forced to drill through their own in order to respond. Doing so often results in an entirely new thought process or direction, which, in turn, sparks yet more creative ideas.
It is an exciting and satisfying process.
It’s important to be aware of how your organization approaches innovation. Here are seven questions to ask yourself when you want to juice creativity.
Does your company/team use brainstorming as part of its innovation process?
If so, do you do it together or individually?
If individually, do you come together to review/discuss/question the new ideas?
Do people feel safe sharing what are usually still-fragile thoughts?
Do the questions/discussion lead in yet more creative directions that no one thought of previously?
Do you investigate the new directions with an open mind?
And probably the most important aspect,
Is the process about the best possible idea or who gets credit for it?
Way back in 2006 Tom Rath wrote a book called Vital Friends, in which he discusses the vital role friends play in our overall health, happiness and well-being.
“A vital friend could halve your chances of dying of heart disease; speed healing; and reduce your chances of getting cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, Type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and certain cancers.”
Now fast forward to 2012 where for many loneliness is rampant in spite of having dozens, hundreds or even thousands of Facebook friends and a similar number of followers on Twitter.
The isolation that is a hallmark of loneliness impacts people at work; after all, human emotions can’t be turned on and off like water faucets and some researchers are finally focusing on that.
Executives and managers might be surprised to learn that employees who have best friends at work are seven times more likely to be engaged in their jobs — and, if they have at least three vital friends at work, 96% more likely to be satisfied with their lives.
Loneliness is easily fixed, unlike depression (they are not synonymous)—all that is required is a friend.
This is important to you as a manager, since loneliness affects productivity and creativity.
What can you do?
Encourage better communications.
Provide an avenue for your people to connect in a relaxed atmosphere, whether at work or a more social get together.
Create a buddy system as part of your on boarding efforts.
But the most important action you can take is to pay attention to your people and not assume the problem will fix itself.
A lot of stuff circulates on the internet and by email and I normally don’t use anything I’m pretty sure is copyrighted, but being as weak as the next guy I’ve occasionally given in to the urge—as I have today.
This is great innovation and a terrific solution to the bane of most people’s existence, but considering it’s 2012 there should be an app for that!
Creativity. Thinking outside the box. Innovation. Whatever you call it, idea generation often starts with a brainstorming session and too often goes no where.
McKinsey alumni Kevin P. Coyne and Shawn T. Coyne offer a seven point guide that will make your efforts much more productive.
Know your organization’s decision-making criteria.
Ask the right questions
Choose the right people
Divide and conquer
On your mark, get set, go!
Wrap it up
Follow up quickly
Sounds like common sense, right? But you’ll see from the explanations how habit, misconceptions and politics often undermine these efforts.
And remember, while the first six points assure you of a productive effort this time, ignoring number seven will cripple not only this time, but all your next-times, too.
It doesn’t have to be 100% and every little bit helps.
Starting tomorrow through January 31st, MAPping Company Success will be silent for the first time since March, 2006; I’m also going to curtail my online reading (I’m not social, so I don’t have to stop that.).
I’m not planning a trip and I won’t stop working, because I can’t change client deadlines, but I will eliminate as much online activity as possible.
What will I do with all those free hours?
Clear and organize my office; something I’ve been fantasizing about and trying to do a bit here and a bit there all year.
Catch up on all the put-offable stuff of everyday life.
Winter garden clean-up if weather permits.
And, I hope, spend phone time with some of you.
Seriously, give me a call at 360.335.8054. I’m usually available between 8:30 and 11 PM, barring errands, lunches and gardening.
I’d love to talk to you about anything you want. Perhaps we can solve a problem you’re having or at least shed light on it; maybe you have a question, subject or pet peeve you want to hash out; or you’re curious and just want to chat and get to know each other.
I hope you’ll take me up on my invitation; conversation with new people is at the top of my holiday wish list.
I also hope you’ll follow my example, cut back your online activities and give that time to your family, friends or favorite cause.
Have a wonderful Chrismakwanzkkah (as a friend says) and I wish you great happiness and success in 2012.
Option Sanity™ — Do the Right Thing
Come visit Option Sanity for an easy-to-understand, simple-to-implement stock process. It’s so easy a CEO can do it.
Warning.
Do not attempt to use Option Sanity™ without a strong commitment to business planning, financial controls, honesty, ethics, and “doing the right thing.” Use only as directed.
Users of Option Sanity may experience sudden increases in team cohesion and worker satisfaction. In cases where team productivity, retention and company success is greater than typical, expect media interest and invitations as keynote speaker.
In a series of studies, Francesca Gino and Dan Ariely found that inherently creative people tend to cheat more than noncreative people. Furthermore, they showed that inducing creative behavior tends to induce unethical behavior.HBS Working Knowledge
Not good news when your goal is to increase creativity in your people, but not really surprising.
When we think actively, we see more possibilities, and that includes ways to gain an advantage – a survival mechanism. When we think passively, we don’t see the possibilities, so we follow the rules. –Deb Pekin, Change Manager, Kraft Foods Inc (from a comment)
Creativity isn’t a faucet that can be turned off when it’s inconvenient—it’s part of a person’s MAP; it’s who they are, so they will apply it across the board.
“Dan and I are of the hope that managers will start thinking about how to structure the creative process in such a way that they can keep ethics in check, triggering the good behavior without triggering the bad behavior.”
That’s one approach.
Perhaps a better one is to build a strong ethical culture first and overlay it with a culture that encourages creativity and innovation.
One of the most important things is to make sure that unethical behavior is not tolerated, let alone rewarded; in fact, in some cases it should be terminated.
Of course, that means ethics would trump expediency; not the most common scenario in modern business.
Are you curious? Are you creative? Do you jerryrig (innovate) solutions to your own problems? Are you into contests?
Way back in 2006 Tom Rath wrote a book called Vital Friends, in which he discusses the 
Creativity. Thinking outside the box. Innovation. Whatever you call it, idea generation often starts with a brainstorming session and too often goes no where.
I frequently praise the 
In a series of studies, Francesca Gino and Dan Ariely found that inherently creative people tend to cheat more than noncreative people. Furthermore, they showed that inducing creative behavior tends to induce unethical behavior. 
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