Creativity Crisis, Heathkit, and Innovation

July 15, 2010 – 10:44 am

If you are a creativity and innovation freak, you probably have already seen the excellent Newsweek article titled “The Creativity Crisis.” It’s rapidly becoming one of the most shared FaceBook links I’ve seen.

If you haven’t read it, by all means do, it’s the best piece I’ve seen in recent years related to creativity, education, and it’s impact on the American economy.  For those of us in the field, it’s somewhat old news, we’ve been screaming this for years, but nothing like a major news publication to get it on the radar. The recent research is a real eye opener, especially the part that says creativity scores are a better indicator of eventual success than IQ. Wow — that’s a big deal.  I’m desperately hoping this article will kick-start a big change, but frankly, I have my doubts.

The educational system in the USA is not oriented towards the kind of learning we need Now.  It does not create entrepreneurs and innovators. It’s just that simple, and it’s profoundly sad.  And, as the article points out, the measured decline in the creative capacity of our children, is probably a direct result of how we are raising them. Video games and TV are not bad things, but if they are the only things, our children are not leading balanced lives. Children have active imaginations, but if we serve them imaginative candy, every day, they lose the capacity to dream, create, and invent. Our ability to create has been the centerpiece of why the USA has been able to reinvent itself so many times. And that ability is just what we are losing.

The solution in my view is two fold: a radical change in the national curiculum (like that will ever happen), and pulling the plug on all the electronics. We need our kids to get out of the house and into the back yard where they can “make something up.”

Who remembers the company Heathkit? Two generations of American men (mostly men) learned to love electronics by building their own oscilloscopes and high fidelity stereo’s.  It wasn’t too expensive, and wow, did you ever learn.  It was fun!  It was cool!  I recall visiting a friend building his own stereo and watching him attempt his first solder. He was clumsy, but somehow he managed to do it, and you’ve never seen such a look of satisfaction on somebody’s face. That guy went on to be a much-in-demand television station engineer.  I’ll bet he still has that stereo. Heathkit has disappeared unfortunately, they got out of the kit business in about 92.

It’s time for another Heathkit!  How about having our kids, instead of spending hours shooting people (virtually) — they spend hours Making Something.

And it’s time for educators, school boards, and legislators to wake up to the fact that the tests they are teaching for are a waste of time if kids can’t Make Something. No Child Left Behind is a band aid.  We need surgery, or, it’s going to be No Country Left Behind.  Email that Newsweek article to your congressman and your school board members.

Posted in Creative Problem Solving (CPS), Creativity and Self-Expression, Entrepreneurial, Innovation, Politics & Government, Trends, Futurism, and Research | 5 Comments »

Integrity & Innovation

July 13, 2010 – 11:03 am

Something happened to me yesterday that I’m still processing. Think of trying to blend peanut butter and sand –it’s a sticky and abrasive emotional mess.

Sparing you the gory details, it has to do with someone not doing what they said they would do.  Now, they said they would do this thing without any pressure, they made a committment.  Well, as we all know, situations and feelings change, and, my friend and associate reneged. I said I understood, and I do, but its left a hole in my project and frankly, in my heart. We’re still friends but now it’s a bit different, sadly. I’ll get over it, people aren’t perfect. I still love my friend.

Beyond the emotional upset, which I could only express in the mildest of ways, I’m left to clean up the mess and fix something.  There’s not enough time to do it right, and so, I’ve been compromised, and the result is a product that is less than it would have been.

It has me thinking about the integrity of one’s word.  It’s a simple point I’ll make here about it’s connection to Innovation. Great products and services depend on trust in order to create and deliver.  When trust is broken, when word is broken, processes, products, and teams, break down.

One of the reasons Gandhi was so effective, without guns, was because he was utterly reliable. The British hated him, but, knew that if he said there would be 10,000 people out for a peaceful protest, they knew, as sure as the sun would rise — they would be there. They trusted his word, and it made all the difference.

If you’re looking to innovate, start with doing what you say you’ll do. If you want to be extraordinary, start with taking extraordinary measures to keep your word.

Posted in Creativity and Self-Expression, Innovation, Inspirational | 11 Comments »

Are Fitness and Innovation Related?

July 12, 2010 – 11:49 am

Continuing my current trend of writing about personal experiences related to Innovation.

I’m currently on a diet and fitness program.  The reason: I’ve let my weight creep up very slowly and now my clothes don’t fit, except for the stretchy waisted “fat” clothes.  I’ve made half-hearted efforts for a few months and decided last week to accelerate progress and quit fooling around.  So, I’m on a regime of daily exercise, no alcohol, and moderate (but not starvation) eating. It’s been challenging, my body is resisting, I’m sore all over, and very tired at the end of the day. As Rocky Balboa once said “I need to call a Taxi to get to the bathroom…”

And, what I’ve noticed, after only one week, is I’m getting up feeling sharper and am thinking more clearly. And I’m getting more done.  I’m also feeling more optimistic generally.

Some might think that fitness and innovation are a long way from each other.  It’s simple to think that your weight or health are immaterial to your ability to create or invent.  I would say there is a relationship. My friend Murli (@murliman) put it simply in a tweet the other day “healthy mind = healthy body, makes sense..then you have Van Gogh and other tortured geniuses.”

Murli makes a good point about the tortured creative souls. Ah, those tortured geniuses we know and love. Did they  have to be tortured to perform? The list is long, particularly in Rock music.  What might Kerouac have done if he lived another 20 years beyond his 47?  If he hadn’t drank himself to death.  I believe those tortured souls might have been even more productive as innovators without the torture.  Yes, living dangerously can have you thinking differently, but, you are less able to take action, less able to put thinking in perspective, less able generally to innovate due to pure lack of energy. There are also lots of famous artists and creators who have lived to ripe old age, for example Edison (84), and Picasso (91), Norman Mailer (84), Grandma Moses (101). While there was some controversy in these lives, I think what they had in common was a balanced lifestyle (and lack of torture) conducive to long life and a lot of creativity.

I don’t have my copy of The Owners Manual for the Brain (by Pierce J. Howard, Phd) with me here in my writing cave, but I recall reading the impact that food and exercise have on the brain.  It’s measurable. Anecdotally I can share with you two observations: 1.) I have great ideas during and just after exercise, and 2.) I notice in ideation sessions that groups generate more ideas after a physical activity.

So, “you see Timmy” if you are seeking greater personal innovation capacity, you might put your physical life into better balance.

Posted in Innovation, Inspirational | 4 Comments »

Making Things, It’s Where Innovation — & Humanity — Starts

July 8, 2010 – 10:27 am

I was in London for a meeting last week and due to my “on time” compulsion, arrived quite early. I was killing time window shopping, and I spotted a cool looking linen walking hat on display at a men’s store.  On impulse, I went in and bought it. I had a nice conversation with the clerk at T. Fox & Company. They had some high quality hand-made knit ties — got one of those as well.  I resisted the lovely leather baggage, but was delighted to hear all their goods are made in the UK. Made in the UK means jobs in the UK.  The UK and the USA certainly need more brands like this.  Started me thinking, again, about our need to return to a culture of  Making Things in the west.

Just coming out of the shop and hustling to get to my meeting, I was immediately confronted by a homeless man, meekly, asking for change. I fumbled about and found a pound — a pretty nice donation I thought.  As I was giving him the money he asked if I wanted a flower or a name.  I was totally confused until I noticed that on his belt he had a spool of thin wire.  I was surprised — he was going to make something. As he clipped off a piece, everything changed.

The social contract with a homeless person is usually simply to give and ignore.  Or, not give and ignore.  Personally, I tend to give but always find the moment clumsy, an awkward transaction, filled with guilt, resentment, and status ambiguity flowing in two directions. As my man started to twist me up a flower, making something for the money I gave, the dynamic changed.  For one, I really looked at him and realized, yes, this is a human being, just like me.  As he created the flower, he had a bit of a rap that went along with it, he talked about the four petals representing awareness, transcendence — I don’t remember it all — but in the moment it was mesmerizing. I asked him how things were going and he smiled and said he was getting divorced, and these were hard times for him. We commiserated a bit. He gave me the flower with a smile and it made me smile.  I wished him luck and went my way.

Thinking about both of these experiences it occurs to me that actually making things is where innovation starts. The making of the flower changed the encounter. Basic creativity, making something, has the power to transform human relationships.  It’s also where innovation begins, working the wire, the clay, the concepts, the business, in front of you.

So, if you are an aspiring entrepreneur, think about making something.  Start small.  If you are a hot shot corporate innovator, it’s really much the same — make something tangible of value.  Return to that basic and it’s hard to go wrong.

Posted in Creativity and Self-Expression, Entrepreneurial, Innovation, Inspirational, Pop Culture, Trends, Futurism, and Research | 5 Comments »

Pecha Kucha, Innovation Stimulant (Coming to London Suburbs)

July 5, 2010 – 10:34 am

Pecha what?  Pecha Kucha (sounds like “peh-cha koo-cha”) is a pithy presentation format, 20 slides, 20 seconds each.  You have six minutes and 40 seconds to get your point across.  People all around the world are doing Pecha Kucha. My friend Simon Strong of Human Zoo is organizing a series of Pecha Kucha events in the suburbs of London, and stay tuned for more information. Be looking for Rhyme Not Reason, later this year, in:

• Guildford
• Woking
• Farnborough
• London
• High Wycombe (I’ll be helping organize this one!)
• Oxford
• Reading

Simon’s events won’t be focused on innovation per se, but I’m thinking this public speaking format/phenomena is a great innovation stimulant — no matter what the subject.  Why?  Well, first of all you learn something, and quickly.   But more importantly, it forces one to encapsulate and distill ones ideas.  Try presenting a new business idea using Pecha Kucha and you are forced to come to terms with your own imprecision.  As they say in Hollywood, if you can’t describe a movie in a couple of sentences, you really don’t have a concept. Same for new business ideas, if you can’t communicate with 20 slides, you really don’t know what you are trying to say.

I love Pecha Kucha.  Beyond the words you say, it also forces you to do more with the visuals in a presentation. How many of us have suffered death by PowerPoint? Slides loaded with text are a complete waste of time.  Isn’t it interesting that PowerPoint is often used as a reporting tool, for reports that are meant to be read and not presented?  And yet, how often do those same data-heavy slides end up on a screen boring the living hell, and ruining the good eyesight of, audiences.

Posted in Innovation, Public Speaking, Trends, Futurism, and Research | 1 Comment »

E-readers, Interactive Books, Innovation

June 30, 2010 – 9:48 am

Call me a Johnny-come-lately but I’m suddenly enamored of what’s going on with electronic book readers (or “e-readers” as they are sometimes called) and the potential for a whole new kind of reading experience. This is an area of exploding innovation.

I’m talking about devices like the Kindle, and the iPad.  And there are others — from Sony and Barnes & Noble — that I’m less familiar with. I’m going to leave it to others to do a cross compare of features and functions, this post is more about the potential for innovation in this space. Apologies to Sony and Barnes & Noble, I may try to do you justice in a future post.

Up until now I’ve thought of e-readers as convenience devices, and surely they are that, the idea of having hundreds of books on a slim little reader is huge. I get a warm fuzzy feeling looking at my book shelf on my iPhone (not yet an iPad owner, but I’m now compelled to buy one mostly because of iBooks).

However, I think convenience is only where this story starts.  I think these products are going to change the reading experience in a profound way, and, we’ll see over the next few years a whole new kind of book emerge. Books that include audio and video, books that include interactive learning, books that have highly valuable international communication forums (using Wiki’s etc.).  The whole idea of what a book is will shift. It’s mind boggling and I can hardly wait to see what’s going to emerge.

Books have always been interactive.  There is nothing more intimately interactive — short of pillow talk — than the communication between a writer and a reader.  For many people, I hesitate to say older people, there will never be a replacement for the physical book.  Indeed, books are special, and they always will be. What can compare to the experience of curling up with a good book, a fireplace, and a comfortable couch? Still, for centuries, writers have sought ways to broaden and deepen that interaction.  Color plates and illustrations were included in even the earliest books.  Mark Twain and Charles Dickens did speaking tours. Many writers build exercises and questionnaires into their books — personally I’ve always found this to be less than compelling (I tend to ignore them and I don’t think I’m unique).  In more recent years, books have their own web sites and blogs.  They all pale in comparison to what is now possible with e-readers.  What’s possible, in a nutshell, is a very rich learning experience of a kind we’ve never had before.

Have I mentioned color? Amazon’s Kindle is black and white (16 shades of gray actually), for now, but the iPad is full color.  This is HUGE.  We’ve grown used to black and white books, but now, full color is a valid option for any book.  This suggests that some authors, like myself, will create books using the full palette of color, and this was simply not possible before because of the printing expense.

But wait, there’s more…

• Imagine taking notes about a book, in the book, as you go
• Imagine looking up any word or concept real time
• Imagine a database attached to a book that tracks your learning progress
• Imagine embedded links to interactive help desks with real people
• Imagine audio and video illustrative clips
• Imagine interactive drawings
• Imagine more “non-linear” books that branch according to your interests or learning style
• Imagine every school child with one of these devices under their arm…those heavy back packs can be left at home and kids can be free again

I’ll stop here, but suffice to say, this is a very exciting area where creativity can be brought to bear. Innovators looking for opportunity areas should give this pool a long hard look, then, dive in.

Posted in Books & Reviews, Creativity and Self-Expression, Innovation, Pop Culture, Trends, Futurism, and Research | 2 Comments »

Shop Class As SoulCraft – A Timely Message

June 28, 2010 – 9:56 am

When I’m traveling one of my rituals is to drop by an airport bookstore and pick up something entirely new. I do a quick survey of what’s hot, and poke around for some hidden gems.

It’s often quite difficult to pick out a book; there’s just too much to choose from. Last week, under the gun to get to my gate, I begged help from a shop person and, I’ll be damned if she didn’t pick a winner.  ShopClass As Soulcraft is a newish book by Matthew B. Crawford. The subtitle is “an inquiry into the value of work”.  I guess it wasn’t too much of a risk, it’s a “notable” book by the New York Times, and a best seller.  Still, I hadn’t heard any buzz about it.

Normally I don’t cotton to books about philosophy — too much abstract concept puts me to sleep. However, Crawford’s book about work really has the balance of conceptual thinking and rubber-meets-the-road-reality just right.  This is a thoughtful book about something all to real in modern society — the disconnect between what we do, and who we are.  I recall the 70′s faddish (but very good) book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and Crawford’s book does cover some of the same ground, but it goes further, and it is just as timely to the reader in 2010 and Robert Pirsig’s book about values was to the readers of the 70′s.

Crawford’s essential message, and this is my spin on it, is that “work” has become to abstract for those of us who don’t work with our hands. How many of us know people, high level executives and other workaholics, who run marathons, or do something highly spiritual on their vacations or weekends?  One reason is that it’s an effort to reconnect with something more real and tangible.  As a society we’ve devalued jobs that require working with our hands and getting dirty.  Schools routinely steer kids into college even when they have little aptitude, or, interest. I see this in the children of some of my friends, who have kinesthetic or mechanical talent, but that is pushed aside in favor of college prep, and white collar jobs.

Crawford is a Univ. of Chicago PhD in philosophy, and, he’s an electrician and motorcycle repair shop owner.  He interweaves stories about his “physical” work and the various ethical and business decisions he makes in those more “mundane” roles that are quite intellectually nuanced.

In recent years the kind of skilled work Crawford admires has fallen out of fashion.  Isn’t it interesting that “shop class” is being dropped from curricula all over the USA.  Why?  Do we have less need to make and repair things?  Hardly.  And yet, our worship of creative jobs ignores the inherent creativity in working with materials and machines.  If we want a balanced economy, where we make things and sell them to others, then we’d better return to shop class, and return to a respect of the technologies that make our life easier and more interesting.

If you’ve been feeling a disconnect between what you do, and, well, your life, this book might be a real eye opener for you.  I recommend it.

Posted in Books & Reviews, Creativity and Self-Expression, Entrepreneurial, Innovation, Inspirational, Pop Culture | No Comments »