Imagine you had the challenge of inventing a better mousetrap. Literally. A typical brainstorm session may yield incremental improvements in the spring on a mousetrap, or the bait, or the construction materials. The whole essence of igniting your curiosity is to question and challenge everything. Why does a mousetrap need to use a spring at … Read more
sumo
The world is full of me-too players. Half the cars on the market are nearly identical. Detergents, sodas, and potato chips are pretty much all the same no matter what the ads say. When was the last time you went to a restaurant that was so different that you really noticed? Competitive advantages of the … Read more
When developing ideas, we’re always told to shoot for quality over quantity. Here’s a powerful technique that flips the model, and drives higher quality by way of quantity… In my undergraduate work at the University of Florida, I was an Advertising major. One time, I was in a course about creating magazine and newspaper ads. … Read more
Most business (and life) decisions come down to a multiple choice question. Should we launch Product A or Product B? Should we expand to Cleveland or Dallas? Should we choose ad campaign 1, 2, or 3? This is where 99% of the world stops, selections an option, and goes on to spend countless hours justifying … Read more
The pike is a fierce carnivorous fish that eats other smaller fish. They are cunning, mean, and always find a way to get their prey (sounds like some people I know who work on Wall Street, but I digress). Scientists conducted an experiment where they put a pike in a tank with many other smaller … Read more
Jenny, a 1st grader, shows up to art class and doesn’t do so well with her first project. She feels embarrassed, stupid, rejected, and sad. Later she goes to music class and has a similar experience. She didn’t pick it up as quickly as the other students, so she is once again stung by negative … Read more
In the past, there were creative companies and non-creative companies. Ad agencies were creative. Bolt manufacturers were not. The music industry was creative. The steel industry was not. The difference today is that all companies and industries must embrace creativity in order to compete. In today’s hyper-competitive world, everyone at every level of the organization … Read more
Once you’ve brainstormed a long list of powerful new ideas, the challenge becomes choosing the best ones to pursue. We all know that great ideas without execution is about as productive as protesting the rules at the DMV. One of my favorite techniques for idea selection is *Value Mapping*. In this case you are scoring … Read more
There are two types of people in the world – Zappers and Sappers. When you are with a Zapper, you feel energized. You become engaged, you lean forward, you feel stimulated. This enhanced state is ideal for creative expression. On the other hand, there are the Sappers. These are the folks that drain your energy. … Read more
Think of all the stories we tell ourselves that hold us back. “I’m too old”, “I didn’t go the right school”, “I’m too short”, “I’m not good-looking enough”, “I can’t take the risk”, “I don’t have the right connections”, “I’m not creative”. We all have fears and doubts. Even Ghandi. Even Steve Jobs. Even Barack … Read more