There are few products less sexy that a thermostat. It is a boring, utilitarian commodity, right? The world agreed for over 100 years…until the lead designer of the iPod decided to shake things up.

Tony Fadell took a completely fresh approach and challenged conventional wisdom. Rather than starting with the existing competitive set, he shattered industry norms from design to function. The result? The incredible new device known as the Nest Learning Thermostat.

Besides its distinctive look, this baby ain’t your father’s thermostat. The artificial intelligence “learns” your habits. It has sensors to know when you are away so it doesn’t heat or cool an empty house. It’s connected to the web and evaluates external weather conditions to determine how to best respond inside. You can even control it from a smartphone app on the go.

All this whiz-bang technology does more than fuel your inner geek. The Nest saves its owners an average of 20% off their utility bills and helps reduce our reliance on foreign oil. All the while, it saves the environment by reducing emissions. Cool, huh?

It gets better. From a business perspective, the Nest sells for $250 each, and is completely sold-out. Compare that to the widely available and incredibly boring Honeywell programmable thermostat that sells for $22. That’s right… the sold-out Nest sells for ten times the price of the find-anywhere industry standard.

Once again, innovation carries the day. Even in a commodity business that appeared to offer no room for breakthrough thinking, creative fire has charred competitors into dust overnight.

As author Gary Hamel famously said, “Somewhere there’s an entrepreneur forging a bullet with your company’s name on it. Your only option is to shoot first. You must out-innovate the innovators.” Even if you are enjoying success, the disruptive forces of change can deliver a knockout blow at a moment’s notice. To win today, you need to embody creativity and innovation. There’s just no room for complacency.

Take a good look in the mirror and examine your own business. Are your products and services me-too commodities, or are they truly differentiated? Is there an opportunity to inject new thinking in either form or function to set the new standard?

Imagine there’s a Nest equivalent in your own industry – some upstart that’s just about to shatter the mold and reinvent the business. Now imagine that you are that disruptor. What would you do differently? How would you take on the sleeping giants? How could you apply creativity to your product, process, or communication to rock the very foundation of your field?

In today’s competitive environment, staying the course is the kiss of death. Nest disrupted thermostats; what will you choose to do in your industry? It’s time to sprint toward the future instead of clinging to the past. It’s time to imagine what’s possible, instead of just what is. It’s time to turn up the heat.

Oh wait… my Nest just did that for me.

Get this – Apple, Inc. now has more money than the US Government. According to a report in the Financial Post this week, the U.S. operating balance now stands at roughly $73.8 billion compared to the $75.9 billion of cash that Apple has on hand. How is it possible that the tech giant has more money that the world’s biggest economic superpower?

We can debate debt ceilings and policy all day long, but something still strikes me here. A company that started the same year our nation was celebrating her 200th birthday is now in a stronger financial position than its home country.

How is it that a single company can become so successful, and in turn change the lives of millions of people around the world? How can a company become not just a financial powerhouse, but also an icon of innovation, design, and culture?

Jobs and team have built something much more special than a cash-creation machine. As Steve likes to say, they have truly put a “ding in the universe.” Their success isn’t rooted in number crunching, cost cutting, or audit controls. No trick-the-customer, deal-of-the-day, or Wall Street gaming. Rather, they’ve built an enduring brand and culture that is now recognized as the most valuable tech company in the world.

Here are five lessons from Apple that we can all embrace to drive success in our companies, careers, and communities:

1. Shatter Conventional Wisdom. While some ‘fraidy-cat executives cower at thought of straying outside the lines, the folks at Apple live to disrupt. They don’t waste their valuable brainstorm sessions on driving .21% incremental margin or extracting costs by using cheap materials. Instead, they direct their energy toward changing the world.

2. No Limits. In our fear-based society, we often gravitate to all the reasons something can’t be done. So often, we let imaginary barriers restrict us for reaching our true potential. Not Apple. They refuse to be derailed and let those seemingly insurmountable challenges drive their cause instead of squash their dreams.

3. Innovation Wins. The culture at Apple celebrates the risk takers. The dreamers. The creators. They realize that creativity and innovation are the lifeblood of the organization, and have built a culture and philosophy that rewards it.

4. Design Matters. The folks at Apple know that design is as important as function. Their products are beautiful works of art rather than utilitarian machinery. They focus not just on what their gear does, but how it makes their customers feel. All five senses are delighted by design, and customers are willing to pay handsomely as a result.

5. Passion First. Apple doesn’t chase money, they pursue purpose. They build products and services that they love and want to use themselves. They connect deeply to the impact they will make on customers, and follow their hearts instead of earnings-per-share. As a result, the money follows. Big time.
Apple may have more cash than our government right now, but their real value goes much deeper than their balance sheet. More than their billions, they’ve managed to build a culture of innovation that will continue to drive success and change the world. Maybe the US Government can learn a thing or two here. Maybe we all can.

Hey brother Jobs, can you spare a dime?

Shadan Malik is an Age of Creativity entrepreneur. His company, iDashboards , provides exactly the type of value people seek today – aesthetics and insight as opposed to raw data. Shadan started out as a game developer, and also has a deep engineering background. He realized the businesses trend around a concept called Balanced Scorecards, which is basically a method to track business performance through the use of Key Performance Indicators.

His “a-ha” moment was connecting the bland world of Balanced Scorecards with the engaging world of interactive Flash games. The iDashboards software is a tool for companies that makes their raw data come to life. It provides a beautiful, interactive, fun way to view and gain insight from boring raw data. The software makes data come alive as a cool, digital dashboard with colorful views and interactive gauges allowing a business leader to understand what’s going on in real-time, the same way a pilot views her own dashboard to make decisions on flying her plane.

Shadan is an example of the Age of Creativity on many levels. First of all, he used creativity and art as the premise for his business. He combined two previous experiences (engineering and game design) into a fresh, new concept. Second, iDashboards isn’t from Oracle or SAP or IBM. Since there are low barriers to entry, entrepreneurs like Shadan can launch businesses with very little investment and without being the deeply entrenched incumbent. He created a brand new competitive advantage and quickly attracted customers on the value of his idea, not his stock price. And since his costs are low and his business model is unique, it is very difficult for the big boys to compete without radically changing (and cannibalizing) their own model.

In less than three years of operation, iDashboards is a multimillion dollar success servicing hundreds of clients worldwide. They’ve created high-paying, creative-class jobs as well as an empowered culture and fun place to work. The Shadan Malik’s of the world are here, and represent the future. Your choice is to embrace this new line of thinking, or risk the toll these brilliant new idea-makers will take on your business and your career.

In the same way that a new set of rules emerged in the transition points of previous eras, the Age of Creativity contains a new set of competitive advantages. To win in the Age of Creativity, you’ll need:

• Original thought as opposed to following a rule book
• Imagination and curiosity
• To constantly challenge the status quo
• Creativity at all levels of your organization
• The ability to deal with ambiguity
• Speed, which trumps perfection
• To consider aesthetics and design, which matter more than ever
• Creative problem-solving techniques
• Empowered teams that have a system to manage and nurture their creativity capacity

The Age of Creativity is upon us, and once again – we’ll need to either adapt or suffer the consequences. Imagination, original thought, and creativity are now the raw materials of our generation. How we grow and manage these resources will determine our success or failure.

Amazing Buildings

Some of the most amazing buildings in the world demonstrate the creativity of architects all around the globe, from Chicago to Vietnam. Check these buildings out and you’ll definitely want to move to more interesting digs! http://bit.ly/9d8zhe

Found Creativity

Need to get out of a rut? Often the best way is to take a quick break and change up your attitude with a quick change of pace, of scene, of inspiration. Here are 50 simple ways to get it done: http://bit.ly/dmP0Y4

Natural Inspiration

One of the best sources of creative ideas is nature. Take something that nature does well and apply it to your need, your problem, your situation. Here, innovators have developed a new kind of paint that will improve aerodynamic flow, thus increasing the fuel efficiency and speed of airplanes, ships, and lead to better wind turbines. They borrowed the idea from the shark: http://bit.ly/chixbu

Baby knows best

Ever wonder where Edwin Land got the idea for the Polaroid camera? The Philosophical Baby tells all: http://bit.ly/cJ3PUr

Chimps are to humans as humans are to ______ ?

Dr. Neil Tyson, the brilliant director of New York City’s Natural History Museum, speculates on what extra-terrestrials would be like if they were as much smarter than us as we are than chimps. It’s a very clever and fascinating speculation….
http://tinyurl.com/ll78v7

What’s the most innovative company in the world?

IBM has long held the title of the most innovative company in the world, because it turns out the most patents. But if you measure the quality of the patents, another company – in fact, several other companies – beat IBM. Which ones are they?
http://tinyurl.com/yfpakuh

How much is creativity worth?

The answer turns out to be 500 % if you’re two very clever kids selling a BMX bike, in one of the funniest marketing videos in a long time. http://tinyurl.com/kw5wxg

Does size matter in innovation?

We think of the IBMs of the world the chief source of innovation, but a quick tour of the latest Consumer Electronic Show demonstrates that innovation can come from unexpected places. http://tinyurl.com/yjcotvz

The Power of Lego to Inspire

If you didn’t play with Legos as a child you missed out. The good news is that it’s never too late. Lego – and any tactile construction-type child game like it – can help adults jump-start their creativity no matter how old or uninspired. This short moving will get you thinking about Lego and all the ways it can inspire your creative thinking: http://bit.ly/bVQLgr

The 6 Myths of Creativity

Do you need to inspire creative work in your organization? A recent study shows that the ways people usually think about creativity in organizations are not necessarily born out by the facts. Get the real scope on how to make creativity work for you here: http://bit.ly/d3xJVU

Sometimes It’s Just a Picture that Inspires

One sign of a truly creative mind is to take ordinary household items that don’t usually come under the category of inspirational and use them to create wonderful new ideas and mental landscapes. The artist here clearly thinks out of the box, the egg carton, and the bowl: http://bit.ly/cIEEZt

Helping Left-Brainers Become Creative

It’s not just the accountants and the lawyers – there are a lot of left-brain people in the workplace, and they need help becoming more creative. Fortunately, there are lots of ways to ease left-brainers into a more creative working mode. Find ten suggestions here: http://bit.ly/c0wTKS

Your mind has hidden superpowers!

What does the power of placebo pills have to do with realizing your dreams? Both depend on your mind. Your mind can take a sugar pill and cure cancer. And it can take an idea – say, a personal computer in everyone’s home – and make it a reality. It just takes belief – and action: http://bit.ly/ak6IzT

Brilliantly creative healthcare advertising

Sometimes it seems like the only news coming out of healthcare is bad. It’s all about complexity, cost, and, well, screwups. But there are some areas of healthcare that are pacing the rest of the world economy, and advertising is one of them. These ads will frighten, laugh, and surprise you into good health. http://tinyurl.com/y9q3ezv

Brainstorming made easy

Having a hard time coming up with some new ideas? John Michel has made it easy for you with this idea-generating pinwheel. Just press the button, and a new idea comes up – and it’s absolutely free. http://tinyurl.com/ksvnmx

Even a contact lens?

People often use the excuse that their field is not a very creative one. That just means that it’s time for creative people to get to work! In this case, if you thought innovation was over with in the contact lens field, think again. Here’s something you have never seen before: http://tinyurl.com/kpao66

Overcoming your fears – 7 secrets from the ages

All of us must deal with our fears, and often they are what stand between us and greatness – or at least making the attempt. Clink on this link to see what the experts have been saying for 2,000 years are the best ways to overcome those pesky obstacles: http://bit.ly/cjuPGR

Creative Advertisements – Lots of them

Perhaps you thought creativity was dead in the advertising world? Not so – in fact, it’s working harder than ever in a media-saturated, 24/7, TiVo wielding age. Click on this link to see a wonderful array of great ads – 90 of them. Yes, 90. http://bit.ly/adfRvN

Creative People in Health Care

Media reports to the contrary, there are many people working very hard to try to fix the US’s health care mess, and a number of them have some very creative ideas about the problem – and its solution. Click on this link to re-charge your enthusiasm for fixing this very tough problem with some real heroes: http://bit.ly/9YMc4T

Creative Motorcycle design

OK, here’s your outrageous toy alert for the week. For a mere $70,000 USD, you can be the proud owner of the Mission One motorcycle. This baby is electric, and just about the sleekest looking thing on the planet. Be careful, if you click on this link, you may be calling the bank to raise your credit limit: http://bit.ly/9j5fVf