The Emotion Behind Invention
In this 19.33 minute video, note the emotions (anger, bashfulness, passion, jealousy, depression, frustration, enthusiasm, astonishment and determination) fueling Dean Kamen’s ability to craft a solution to a life-altering challenge. Subscribers to Fresh Ideas will note the impact of ‘Get an Emotional Charge’ at work:
Add comment May 4, 2010
More Unusual Combinations
Lots of great feedback on the ‘Make a Note of Unusual Combinations’ issue of Fresh Ideas. Sometimes combinations are evocative because they combine disparate fields in an interesting way, like:
(Design Within Reach) + (Coke) = (a beautiful chair containing more than 100 plastic Coke bottles)
Sometimes the combinations strike a cord because they combine two adjacent fields in a unique way, like:
(tube socks) + (flip-flops) = (Sanuk’s TubeFlop )
What combinations have been making you take a second look?
Add comment April 23, 2010
When the Problem is a Solution?
Before you throw in the towel on an intractable problem, ask yourself “How could this be a good thing?”
Still stuck? Ask someone else to help you see how this disadvantage could be an advantage.
“If you’re not careful, it can glue your fingers together!” was a problem when Super Glue was introduced.
How could this be a good thing?
Well, who/what/when/where/why/how would want to glue skin together?
Here’s one solution: during the Vietnam War, surgeons and medics began using Super Glue on wounds.
Add comment April 14, 2010
Google Map Your Snail Mail Envelopes
Rahul Mahtani & Yofred Moik at Syracuse University are playing with an interesting new way to communicate just how far your snail mail message has traveled: send snail mail through a link on gmail and print evelopes showing the google-mapped distance between the sender and the recipient. (Learn more about this idea here.)
Subscribers to the Fresh Ideas coaching series will recognize the Draw It Forward strategy at play.
Add comment April 8, 2010
More Creative Spaces
Fast Company posted an interesting slide-show highlighting “10 Workspaces That Inspire Creativity.” These spaces are from Live+Work by Shubin and Donaldson. See how they adapt different elements (such as: constraints, texture, private/personal overlaps, unique uses of everyday items, comfort, and eccentricity) to create settings that inspire creativity.Subscribers to Fresh Ideas will find strategies you can use to Refresh Your Space.
Add comment March 16, 2010
Eight Superstars’ Best Mistakes
In this post from Wired Magazine, there are interesting stories of how eight superstars’ stumbles and missteps taught them
- not feel sorry for yourself, and the importance of listening. (Bill Clinton)
- how quickly perception can become reality. (Jason Kilar, CEO of Hulu)
- “…it’s never as bad (or as good) as it seems at the time.” (Nick Denton, founder of Gawker Media)
- to invest for the long term. (Meg Whitman, former CEO of EBay)
- the value of rapid prototyping. (Max Levchin, CEO of Slide)
and more. Excellent real-world reminders of the principles described in the complementary Fresh Ideas issue Risk Failing Well .
Add comment March 8, 2010
The Opposite May Also Be True
Establishing where you are?
The job of health care?
Marking the beat?
In this two minute video, Derek Sivers shows the benefit of questioning assumptions about the way things work. Subscribers to Fresh Ideas will recognize the link to ”Stretch the Rules.”
Add comment February 2, 2010
Messy Beginnings and Quotable Reminders
John Galsworthy observed that “Beginnings are always messy” … and Abraham Lincoln advised to, “Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.”
As we begin this new decade, what kinds of changes (and maybe messes) have you made as you’ve applied new creative thinking strategies? What keeps you motivated to keep moving forward?
1 comment January 5, 2010
