Saturday Special - Benjamin Zander and the Art of Possibilities

I've written before about Benjamin Zander and the impact of his message of possibilities. There was a link this week on Twitter to this recent presentation of his. Take a look and open yourself to a different way of thinking!

An Online Ad that Made Me Laugh, Stop, and Click

ancestry.com "black sheep" online ad

1 Great Way to Be More Creative Each Day

I did a post late last summer about using Trait Transformation to revamp your personal brand.

Amazingly, it was almost a year into this blog before sharing this incredible technique that I use almost every day.

While you can use it formally (i.e., with a full grid and a listing of the attributes for your innovation topic), it’s easy to commit the “transformer” questions to memory and simply run through them at any time.

• How could we do more of it?
• How could we do less of it?
• In what ways could we replace it?
• Is there a way to turn it around?
• Is there a way to remove it?
• Are there ways to customize it?
• Can it be standardized?
• How could we simplify things?

When thinking, interacting, or working with others ask these transformer questions to generate a nearly endless supply of new possibilities!

What Do You Do When Management Hates Creativity?

The reality of managers having problems they’re unwilling to admit with people expressing creativity is a subject I’ve wanted to cover for a long time.

The initial desire to address it came from talking with an executive about a new position he was intending to fill. In describing the role and type of person he wanted, he proceeded to explain where we he wanted the person to be creative and where he didn’t.

I was dumbfounded by his audacity and misguided thinking in expecting someone to turn creativity on and off. Over time, it’s proven to be a clear issue. While never saying it directly, the meaning behind his words continually reinforces his view of creativity as frivolous, threatening, and an impediment slowing down implementation of “real” things.

Being able to address opportunities and challenges creatively is completely positive, yet too often, it’s not appreciated or cultivated within companies. This post from Strategy Driven Innovation by Jatin DeSai titled “Forget "Creativity", Embrace "Creativeness"- A workforce strategy for the future!” addresses the topic by drawing an interesting distinction between “creativity” and “creativeness.”

Until I get other thoughts down in writing, this article provides a starting point for conversations with senior people undermining organizational success by getting in the way of their people bringing creativeness to business efforts.

Define Innovation Your Way

Here's another opportunity to define innovation at Jon Burg's Future Visions blog. According to Jon, "The goal of this project is as follows: To create a crowdsourced definition of innovation." Click here to go to the original post and be part of his ebook "Innovation in 2009."

29 Quotes, Notes, and Posts from Twitter

Exploring Twitter has been part of early changes in my 2009 online strategy. Getting exposed to interesting ideas has been one of the advantages so far. Here’s a re-presentation of quotes and links that reflect Brainzooming-oriented perspectives.

Get your clicking finger ready and head off to the web to see as many of these interesting points and people as you’d like. Have fun, and follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/mikebrown!

THOUGHTS & QUOTES FROM OTHERS

• “Once dust settles from layoffs, we will see a surge of startups and innovation in 2009/10-what greatness lies ahead?” @amckinnis


• “Trying to get people to realize that innovation & transformation doesn't come from doing what you are currently doing better” @robstoltz


• “I agree. I also think that working under constraints encourages creativity and innovation.” @TaraAgacayak: @doshdosh


• “The metal Slurpee straw may be the greatest beverage intake innovation in the history of beverages.” @emily_l_f


• “Right now, you could be grinning. Why aren't you?” @DesignPepper


• “Strategy is the art of sacrifice.” @bbhlabs "What won't you do?" may be toughest question to answer.


• "Always question the status quo. Complacency is no one's friend." Great thought for the day! @BethHarte

THOUGHTS & QUOTES FROM ME

• Just posted business growth tip (listen, adapt & deliver) on @smallbiztrends at http://adjix.com/2hp4


• Posted "7 Tips for Marketing in Tough Times" on Business Exchange. http://tinyurl.com/77uhte Thnx @michaelgass for pointing out this list.


• Best co-worker quote this week: "Things are always better with collaboration." So true! http://tinyurl.com/a3uk9x


• Priest @ mass: "My 100 yr old aunt can't believe how times flies. She can't find time to get everything done!" That's a wonderful life.


• Innovation = A fundamental, valuable improvement relative to the status quo. reply to @stonepayton


• Great Cust Exp-KCI airport parking attendant said, “Welcome home” at end of transaction! She didn't have to, so it really stands out!


• Dan Hesse in Central Park - Sprint TV Commercial - "Are those snowflakes with all the leaves on the trees?"


• Not sure who said it: "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade. When life hands you gators, make gatorade."


• "My Generation" by The Who on a Pepsi TV ad? Used to be you'd have to wait until the Super Bowl to see pop culture go that far off track!

SURF’S UP – LINKS WORTH FOLLOWING

• @HarvardBiz on "How to Think Strategically" http://tinyurl.com/8s5djv Strategic Thinking=Focus on what matters w/insight & innovation.


• Cool presentation style @TedTALKS -cartoonist Scott McCloud from 2005 Ted http://tinyurl.com/8e59v5


• @glcuccureddu... 56 reasons corp innovation efforts fails - http://adjix.com/ajpe


• @TheTeliosGroup-T.H.C.Anderson w/Seth Godin on Mkt Rsrch http://tinyurl.com/8d5mrt "Market research has to deliver practical home runs"


• Importance of stories from @chrisbrogan http://tinyurl.com/9de7uv - Another great post for communicators.


• 5 Business Mistakes You May Not Realize http://tinyurl.com/7vecau


• Adaptability? When flaws arise, LV bldg stops @ 28 flrs vs. 49 http://tinyurl.com/9kugjz


• WSJ Numbers Guy on unusual NFL Scores (i.e., 11-10 & 23-11) http://tinyurl.com/82adgn


• Read @kevinfullerton blog-says it’s for students, but really for anybody working on a career! http://www.springboard501.blogspot.com/


• US News-50 Ways to Improve Ur Life in 09 http://tinyurl.com/39auer


• Whirlpool Innovation http://tinyurl.com/97m9cl


• @heathermcgowan innovation predictions: http://tinyurl.com/97wnqn


• @leeodden: According 2 the McKinsey Quarterly, the key 2 recession marketing this time is reprioritization: http://bit.ly/SsLr

Picking Up on Hints From Twitter

I’m a contemplator and planner by nature, trying to figure out all potential angles first. It’s who I am.

When starting the blog, however, Kathryn Lorenzen, a wonderful career coach (trust me – contact her), suggested diving in more aggressively before understanding everything about blogging. Great advice, and much of Brainzooming is about approaches to do that more.

One way I’ve become comfortable with the idea is being more open to noticing and following “hints” placed in front of me and acting on them.

An example last week was participating in the Twitter-based IDEF140 contest devised by Stone Payton. The week was full of “hints”:

Follow that Tweet - @stonepayton tweeted Saturday, January 17 on a contest to define “innovation” in less than 140 characters with a $100 prize. Sounded cool, so I wrote one (Innovation = A fundamental, valuable improvement relative to the status quo) and tweeted it Saturday, thinking that was it.

Reach Out – I considered lifting the contest idea since $100 is cheap for diverse input on Twitter to help expand understanding on a topic (i.e. “creative instigation”). That was until Stone raised the potential prize to $1000. Suddenly stealing the cheap idea involved a higher prize expectation. After tweeting Stone (jokingly) about pricing “idea thieves” out of the market, it created a tweet and email conversation about alternatives. That led to visiting each others’ blogs, LinkedIn networking, and finding Chuck Dymer as a common connection.

Keeping Up with @Macker – Throughout the week, definitions were added to IDEF140 (as it became known). @Macker seemed to have an unlimited number of definitions. Seeing that forced me to write others, including a more mathematically oriented one and another (my personal favorite) tied to “Taking the NO Out of InNOvation.”

Mounting a Campaign – When voting started Thursday, I wasn’t planning much campaigning. Then two hints surfaced – Sally Hogshead voted for entry #2, and the organizers said a modest get out of the vote campaign could mean a win. That prompted a more aggressive Twitter, blog, and email effort (including a cut and paste tweet) for votes. My dad and Jan Harness signed up for Twitter and some infrequent tweeters returned to Twitter!

What Matters Is Helping Others – Trying to win wasn’t about the eventual $200 prize. It was about learning of possibilities from new online endeavors. After discovering I won (thanks everybody that voted!), I saw Stone supports the Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta which helps recently homeless people and others in challenging situations secure basic furniture items (i.e., bedding, sofa, etc.). That seemed like a lot more appropriate recipient for the prize money, so it went to @FBMA.

That was last week. Diving in and following hints led to “meeting” intriguing people, challenging myself to think more about innovation, introducing friends to social media, identifying a potential opportunity to work with Sally Hogshead, and helping people financially who really need it!

Thanks for the “diving in” advice Kathryn. As always, it’s been a huge help!!!

Creative Quickie Week - Finding Inspiration in a Mexican Hotel Room

The first quote below from Matthew Arnold was on a cardboard coaster in my hotel room in Cancun, Mexico last year. It was intriguing, and I brought it back. Doing some quick research on him, uncovered a variety of intriguing quotes of his:

• “Culture is properly described as the love of perfection.”
• “For the creation of a masterwork of literature two powers must concur, the power of the man and the power of the moment, and the man is not enough without the moment.”
• “Use your gifts faithfully, and they shall be enlarged; practice what you know, and you shall attain to higher knowledge.”
• “The freethinking of one age is the common sense of the next.”
• “Greatness is a spiritual condition.”
• “To have the sense of creative activity is the great happiness and the great proof of being alive.”

Hope you enjoyed Creative Quickie Week, and watch for weekend updates on Twitter!

3 Easy Steps Help Me Win the IDEF 140 Contest - It only takes a minute (if you type fast)!

I reported earlier this week on a Twitter-based contest to define the word “innovation” in 140 characters or less (i.e. the maximum length for a message on Twitter). Over the course of the week, there are several definitions I’ve supplied and now it’s time to vote on your favorites by noon EST on Friday, January 23.

To review all the entries in the IDEF 140 (Innovation DEFinition) contest, click here.

If you’re inclined to vote for one of my definitions, consider choosing #2, “Innovation - The magic of imagining, implementing, & improving upon what’s been done before to benefit others” since it seems to be the favorite among my submissions.

If you’re not on Twitter currently, vote in the contest by starting at step 1. If you’re already on Twitter, you can start at step 2.

Step 1. Go to http://www.twitter.com/ and join. All you need to enter is your name, your desired user name, and password.

Step 2. Once you’re on Twitter, go to the home page and in the box at the top of the page under the question “What are you doing?” paste the following:

@toddschnick 2-Innovation - The magic of imagining, implementing, & improving upon what’s been done before to benefit others. #IDEF140

Step 3. Hit enter.

Thanks for supporting the contest, whether you vote for my entries or not!

Creative Quickie Week – Random Creativity

Random inputs provide a great way to trigger creative thinking. But if you’re really stuck, coming up with rich random inputs may even be challenging. Arghhhhhh!

If you’re there, go to “Writer’s Window,” a website that generates random ideas to incorporate into stories, drawings, presentations or any other creative endeavor staring you in the face! Use the random idea provided, asking questions such as:

• How does the random idea fit with my situation?


• How is my situation like the random idea?


• If my situation and the random idea collided with each other, what would happen?

The combinations created should get you going in an exciting, new creative direction!

SPECIAL NOTE -Starting at Noon on 1/22/2009, you can begin voting for your favorite "innovation" definition under 140 characters long, by clicking here. I submitted these 6 possibilities:

• Innovation = Shattering the status quo into a million pieces that reform into something much better and more beneficial.
  
• Innovation = ((thinking randomly + borrowing liberally) / implementing successfully) * persistence * time
  
• Innovation = The ability of @Macker to create scads of "innovation" definitions.
  
• Innovation = The magic of imagining, implementing, & improving upon what's been done before to benefit others.
  
• Innovation = A fundamental, valuable improvement relative to the status quo.
  
• Innovation = Taking NO, not for an answer, but for the inspiration to bring something beautifully new and wonderful to life.

Be sure to vote for one of mine, but only if you think it really deserves it!

Creative Quickie Week - Right Brain, Left Brain, Whole Brain?

Lori Schade forwarded a cool site from the Art Institute of Vancouver with a quick test to see whether you are predominantly a left (analytical, objective, quantitative) or right (perceptive, subjective, qualitative) brain thinker.

Take the test, identify your thinking strengths and weaknesses, and devise your strategy for being a whole-brain thinker, i.e. drawing on multiple, diverse thinking perspectives to address a thinking challenge.

Some people are blessed with the ability to be whole brain thinkers on their own. For the rest of us, the best strategy comes down to surrounding ourselves with people who think in different ways than we do to challenge and expand our thinking. Get started building your whole brain thinking team today!

Creative Quickie Week - Inspiration Spaces

Create an inspiration space where you work with images, objects, and any other paraphernalia that trigger fun, innovative, and/or spiritual thoughts for you and others with whom you work.

The form or structure of it doesn’t matter. What matters is whether it truly inspires new ideas and possibilities in you and those around you!

How about this? Email photos of your personal inspiration space and why it inspires you to mike@mikebrownspeaks.com, and we’ll share them here.

That includes you, Jan H., Jan L., Seth, and Chris, or I’ll just come by and take the pictures myself!

Creative Quickie Week - Check Please!

We're declaring "Creative Quickie Week" through Friday! Check back each day this week for a variety of Creative Quickies! And enjoy lunch!

Share Your Brief Definition of Innovation on Twitter and Win Money!

Here's a great opportunity to share your definition of "innovation" on Twitter with @stonepayton. Stone is running a contest through mid-week to provide one or more definitions of "innovation" via Twitter. That means that your definition has to be 140 charcters or less.

The total prize money is up to $1000 (based on the number of submissions) along with a whole bunch of publicity about how you are an innovation savant!

My first entry was "Innovation = A fundamental, valuable improvement relative to the status quo."

You can get full information on the contest (IDEF140) here.

When submitting your entry, include @mikebrown in the entry to let Stone know you learned about the contest here.

Let's turn out big with lots of definitions!

Brainzooming Saturday Special - Roger Martin and Design Thinking

From Business Week magazine, here's a video overview of Design Thinking by Roger Martin, dean of the Rotman School of Management.

Brainzooming – Do You Have a Strategic Pain in the Ass?

Want to stay well-grounded in your strategic thinking?

Here’s an uncomfortable suggestion – have someone who can be your strategic pain in the ass. I have one, a self-described “devil’s advocate,” who never fails to shoot holes in our strategic thinking. As painful as the discussions can be (I HATE to have not thought of every angle), I never fail to walk away with an honest, passionate challenge that improves our thinking.

So go ahead, seek out your strategic pain in the ass. Just have some Strategic Preparation H nearby!

Can Your New Concept Pass the Squint Test?

Reviewing new logo treatments, we were presented with a page of logos looking as if they were behind frosted glass. The page’s title was the “Squint Test.” The point is a strong logo should be so distinct that it’s clear and recognizable even if it’s not seen clearly, i.e. you’re squinting at it.

The concept is related to previous posts on CBR (the rules of “Can’t Be Right”) and extends beyond graphics as a good test for any new concept under consideration.

Think about factors that might obscure your concept’s clarity, impact, and success upon implementation. Will the factors be:

• Visual?
• Auditory?
• Related to lack of knowledge?
• Due to misinformation?
• From too small or narrow an audience?
• Mismatched technology?
• Insufficient resources?
• Or something else?

Figure out the relevant factors and apply (or approximate) them to see how well your concept works when it’s in real-life, far from ideal situations (such as when a tree falls through the neighbor's roof as in the picture here).

Reminder - Follow me on Twitter!

Happy Hour Creativity

Have a creative challenge you’re struggling with? Have a Friday afternoon creative bunch tackle it.

Get your creative team together mid-afternoon this Friday, head to an empty restaurant with a big table (preferably with paper tablecloths for writing ideas), spring for appetizers and drinks, and get their help innovatively addressing your challenge.

A co-worker had a naming challenge last week. On Friday, we followed this approach - bringing along some starter ideas - and with minimal set-up, had a great far-reaching discussion about naming and its broader implications for his effort. To his surprise, within 45 minutes, we had a longer and richer list of ideas than his group had been able to generate over a several week period.

So if you have a problem to solve, what is your creative bunch doing Friday afternoon?

Sometimes You Have to Push Strategic Mentors

I was talking with a previous strategic mentor of mine about a situation in his current job. A couple of new people outside his direct organization are involved in several efforts he’s leading. The challenge is that neither of them, although very junior to him, has entered the business relationship with a learning mindset – either because of trust-related issues or no self-recognition of their development needs.

The net of it, as he explained it, is that at this point in his career, he doesn’t feel compelled to go out of his way to include them in certain aspects of the project that would help develop them since they aren’t willing students.

I reminded him that if he were being true to his convictions, he would embrace the opportunity to cross organizational boundaries and grow two people who it sounded like could clearly benefit from his wisdom – as I had earlier in my career.

He was driving during our conversation, with his wife hearing his comments on why these two people didn’t deserve the opportunity. After getting off the phone with me, she asked him to explain the situation and told him the same thing – if he were true to what he “preached,” he had no choice but to include and help both of them!

Remember when you enter into a strategic mentorship relationship, that it’s very much a two-way street. Just as a strategic mentor should challenge and help shape your point of view, there are times when you have to turn the tables and challenge them also.

Creative Quickie - Share the Credit!

Want to attract more people for your personal creative team?

Here’s a way: Don’t always take credit for what you’ve done. In fact, go out of your way to recognize others and share credit with them.

Want an even better idea? Give credit away completely to the others on your creative team.

Maybe your response is, “Hmmmmm. If I don’t get my due credit for great work, it’s going to make me look less valuable!” If that’s what you’re thinking, you haven’t been paying attention.

The more successes you create around you, the more apparent it will be that you are the common denominator for successes in your organization. Quit worrying about yourself and start giving credit to everyone else to whom it’s due.

Taking the NO Out of InNOvation Featured on SlideShare.net Home Page

Not sure how long it will be out there, but check out "Taking the NO Out of InNOvation" on the Slideshare homepage. You can view the ebook on Slideshare by clicking here.


Thanks for viewing it. Don't forget to "Favorite It" and leave a comment while you're there, please!

Brainzooming - 11 Ways to Avoid Surprises

1. Read something written out loud.


2. Look at something created in color in black and white.


3. Listen to something loud at a lower volume.


4. Look at something intended to be viewed from a distance really close.


5. Show something you’re really familiar with to someone who has never seen it.


6. Take something designed to be used indoors and see what it’s like outdoors.


7. Display something designed for a small screen on one much larger.


8. Do a presentation intended for a large audience in front of just a few people.


9. Work through something with specific steps in a different order.


10. Read something intended to go from start to finish from finish to start instead.


11. And after any of these, ask, what’s working, what isn’t working, what’s surprising, and what should I change?

4 Things To Do When Your Work Doesn’t Seem Strategic

I wind up in many conversations with people who view themselves as strategic and expect to do more strategic things in their jobs, but don’t feel as if they are.

What can you do if you find yourself in this situation? Here are four ideas:

• Determine what matters most in each project you do and concentrate on those elements.


• Ask good questions more frequently, listen earnestly, and the help link apparently disconnected activities in your business.


• Hone your strategic skills outside of work through associations, church groups, or working on your own efforts.


• Subscribe to daily email articles from the Brainzooming blog and incorporate the tips into your work life!

What are you doing to be more strategic in your work?

New Year's Resolutions - Redoing Online Strategy

Following up yesterday's post about expectations for 2009, I get bored doing the same thing over and over. So give me a little bit of thinking time, and I'll start tinkering. Based on some messing around over the holiday, here are the work-in-process changes to my online approach for 2009.

Twitter

I've been resisting Twitter because it just hasn't made that much sense to me. My POV has been I'm not always that interested in what I'm doing, let alone anyone else being interested in it!

Then over the holidays, I started following Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer at Marketing Profs, Guy Kawasaki, David Harkleroad at The Hay Group, and Peter Shankman of HARO fame.

Rather than boring stuff about going to the grocery store, they use Twitter to point followers to information and people that they find intriguing. That's not boring, so with that, I'm in! We'll see what happens when the holidays give way to regular work life. For right now though, go here to find me on Twitter - @mikebrown.

Flip Video

Early in December, I bought a Flip Video Camera, which I recommend highly. In this case, going simple with fewer features has been the right move. It's provided quick alternative input for several posts already with a poster, an onsite guerrilla marketing report, and a silly video.

The Flip will enable a lot more of this variety, flexibility, and quicker turnaround on alternative content.

Get Out There More

I don't want the blog to be too inwardly focused, but several factors work against that objective:

• Usually my approach is sharing ideas from personal experience. I prefer letting you know what works and doesn't based on what I've personally found, rather than reporting what somebody else did.
  
• 2008 was a very heavy year for output, writing more than ever before. This constrained time to visit other websites, blogs, and publications, commenting and bringing ideas back to Brainzooming.


• From a work demand standpoint, 2008 was intense; 2009 will be more so. Available time is very precious; fortunately, I can get by on little sleep.

With the positive response to case study updates from 2008 conferences and some less formal posts, in 2009, I'll try and shift to more variety and less formality in content:

• More Surf's Up type posts based on links to Brainzooming-oriented content on other websites


• More commenting on other sites and LinkedIn


• Using Tweets as an alternative source of new Brainzooming posts (look to the top left on the blog for the most recent updates)


• Greater frequency in video updates and shorter posts

We'll See

That's the early plan. I wanted to share it to help keep me on the program and so that as you see changes in the blog you have a better sense of what's going on. Your thoughts and reactions will be important as we see what works and what tweaks are necessary.

What New Is Ahead for You in 2009?

Somebody asked me how many years I’d worked at the same place. When I told him eighteen, he wondered aloud if I had eighteen years of experience – or two years of experience, nine times over.

That this person calls me every few years to apparently tear me down is beyond the point.

His comment is a great challenge for all of us at the start of the year: What specific learning and development goals are you setting for yourself so you’re noticeably different at the end of 2009?

In other words, what do you want to get out of 2009?

Creative Quickie - How Do You Define Creativity?

One of my big projects for 2008 was working with Jan Harness on “Creative Instigation.” As the presentation and book have developed, we’ve asked many people how they define creativity. Here are ten of the interesting answers we’ve received.

How do you define creativity?

• A different way to a usual place or a usual way to a different place.
• Your subconscious leaking out.
• Creating a project, product, or piece that never before existed.
• Humanity at its best.
• Going beyond your expectations to make something that educates, inspires, and entertains.
• Actions to conceive beauty.
• Random associations grounded in strategy.
• An outward expression of the awesomeness within.
• Permission granted to take my brain off its leash.
• Mistakes worth keeping.

Reader Definitions of “Creativity”

• “Anything novel that is meaningful or useful.” – Macker
• “Bending and shaping the everyday and normal into an expression of genius.” – Jan Leslie
• “Going beyond your expectations to make something that educates, inspires and entertains." – Danny Alexander

Share your thoughts in the comments section on how you define creativity and add even more variety to the list!

Favorite Posts from the Past Year

Perusing other blogs, one featured an annual favorite articles icon where the blog author shared a retrospective of stories throughout the year.

Since many readers started following Brainzooming during the year, it seemed like a fun idea to adopt. Here are my 10 favorites from the past 12 months:

December 26, 2007 – Aunt Ollie’s Strategy – A wonderful demonstration that great strategy shouldn’t be complicated or confusing. This real-life story about going to visit my aunt during the Christmas holiday is a favorite because it’s become the closing piece for my strategic thinking presentations.

January 11, 2008 – How Fast? vs. Half-Assed – This relationship was drawn several years ago amid frustration over an unrealistic deadline coupled with an expectation for outstanding quality. The idea actually sprang from someone asking, “How fast?” but it hitting my ears as, “Half Assed.” The sketch sat in a folder as a “good idea” with no outlet until starting the blog.

January 14, 2008 – Why Do You Persist in Playing the Organ Weakly? – I took a little heat over this article about how bad the organist is at our Church. The article came about after personally snapping due to her inability to play even common Christmas songs. Imagining myself in her place, I considered options available to improve. It hasn’t worked, because she’s gotten worse during the year. Now, I’m offering it up.

February 29, 2008 – What Would You Do with an Extra Day? – I hate it when great people leave. But often it’s the right thing for them, even though it’s painful. This column’s theme came about because a great co-worker and friend picked “Leap Day” as her last on the job. I wanted to express my appreciation of her growth, my hopes for her future, and cause a few tears. Several people said it delivered on all three!

March 28, 2008 - Periodic Table of Corporate Behavior – This came from a conversation about “periodically” exercising. Somehow, that spawned contemplating if you could label behavioral compositions at work as we do chemical compositions in the periodic table. It seemed hilarious to me and is among the blog’s most frequently viewed pages. It just never generated much activity with people submitting behavioral formulas for co-workers or famous business people. Just figured out the March 28, 2009 column!

May 30, 2008 – Fixing the “Hail Mary” - This is a fave because it involves spirituality and is the most farfetched piece this year: imagine improving something 450 years old because someone with completely fresh ears misunderstood what everyone else was saying. A great testament to actively soliciting fresh perspectives and not always doing things the same way every time.

June 20, 2008 – “The Starry Night” – A story I'd been telling people informally for several years about a truly wonderful, creativity-enriching teacher. Once again, the blog provided the opportunity to finally share it with the broader audience that Matt Barr’s creativity deserves.

August 29, 2008 - “It’s a Masterpiece!” – Another real life occurrence. A parent, who could have been gruff, impatient, or indifferent, excited his child beyond belief and reaffirmed the young guy’s creativity by giving him the best possible answer to a question about his drawing. The young man was so full of creativity, he inspired another post with his fun questions during our flight to Washington, D.C.

September 22, 2008 – Giving the Bride Away – Attending our niece’s wedding inspired a variety of posts about expertise, branding, and seeing things from different perspectives (i.e., backwards at 65 mph). This post started the week, touching on the unconventional life Valerie’s created for herself and the learning opportunities it provided her uncle, who was able to do something he never thought he’d do: walk the bride down the aisle!

November 17, 2008 - Pumpkin Carving Squirrels – Number ten is probably my favorite because of its surprising ending and my sense of utter stupidity. I’m very willing to admit when someone is more creative than me, even if they are only seven inches tall!

Enjoy the look back! Thanks for your readership and here’s to a 2009 full of innovation and great successes!

New Year's Resolutions - Be More Derivative, Creative, and Fun

This photo is from the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards on Palladia. Katy Perry hosted the show and wore a variety of interesting outfits, including this one.

It looks like designer Jean Charles de Castelbajac crossed:

• Charlie Brown (color and cut) with
• The Dallas Cowboys (stars and stripes) and
• The Presidential election (Barrack Obama) to come up with this costume.

Totally derivative, yet completely creative and fun!

It's an approach worth trying next time you’re stuck for a quick creative idea:

1. Draw a 3 by 3 grid on a sheet of paper.
2. Label the three columns “Cartoon Character,” “Sports Team,” and “Celebrity” or if you want, label them completely differently.
3. Whatever labels you pick, fill in the 3 squares below each label with examples of it.
4. Then keeping pairing up three squares (one from each column) to see what the combos suggest in the way of borrowed creativity to address your challenge.

It will have you singing, "I borrowed an idea and I liked it!"