The 1980s TV character Angus “Mac” MacGyver is a secret agent with a unique ability to improvise solutions on the spot with odd combinations of found objects. A characteristic MacGyver solution: “Alright MacGyver, think. Rope…a smoke alarm…sheets of plywood…yeah. It just might work.” [...]
The composer Igor Stravinsky, when he got stuck in the middle of creating one his innovative modernist compositions, would take a break to stand on his head. (This story, along with many other accounts of the work routines of creative individuals, can be found in the book Daily Rituals by Mason [...]
Bonding with a group of like-minded people is a thrilling experience. Clubs and fraternities, communities of faith, and reunions often have this quality. We understand each other, we’ve had a lot of shared experiences, we can almost finish one another’s sentences. Our tribal impulse has deep [...]
In ThinkerToys, Michael Michalko has a category of creative thinking activities he calls “rechoreographing”. The essence of this work is to apply the attributes of the problem you’re trying to solve to a preexisting framework. A SWOT (Strengths/Weaknesses/Opportunities/Threat) analysis is one [...]
The flexibility that leads to creativity is a habit that you can develop on many levels. There are micro-flexibility practices like getting up on the other side of the bed, writing a note with your non-dominant hand, or driving to the grocery store by a different route. There are structured [...]
Empathy and innovation: they seem like an odd pairing: the first sounds squishy and touchy-feely, while the second seems cool and hip and sleek. But the two concepts have a lot to do with each other. If you’re in the business of designing products for other people to use (and no matter how [...]
When you’re confronted with a challenging workplace problem and need to get out of habitual patterns of thought, draw a map. As John Medina points out in Brain Rules, human brains developed in an ancestral environment that required constant motion—up to 12 miles a day of walking. His point is [...]
The creative-thinking maven Michael Michalko (in ThinkerToys) tells the story of Louis Braille, the inventor of the Braille alphabet for the blind. He was musing on the problem of how blind people could be enabled to read books, and happened to pick up a pine cone. The impression of the sharp spines[...]
What does it take to be creative? All sorts of images come to mind. One of the most compelling is the starving artist, creating incredible masterpieces while freezing in a top-floor garret. It’s no doubt true that some starving artists create masterpieces. But for most of us, the challenges of [...]
"If only we could break through our communication barriers." How often have you heard this phrase expressed with longing, or anger, or discouragement, in the teams and companies you have worked for? If you want to experience an unforgettable image of what breaking through barriers really [...]