Subscribe RSS

Archive for the ‘Disruption’ Category

not quite finishing the journey

July 3rd, 2009 by Steve Swann | 1 Comment | Filed in Disruption, Near Misses, Thinking

Here’s an example of thinking that’s gone 90% of the journey, and been undone in the final 10%. The picture shows a set of knives, spoons and forks made out of birch (wood). Nice style, nice idea, and they look nicely made. But they’re wrapped in plastic.

Here’s a nice sustainable idea diluted at the finishing line. We’re all guilty of similar actions. We focus in on a creative idea and forget about the context that it’s presented in. Truly effective innovations work on changing the fringe as well as the center; providing a platform for the idea to shine.

plastic-wrapped-wooden-spoons

Source: PSFK.com


  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Technorati Favorites
  • MySpace
  • Delicious
  • StumbleUpon
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • Squidoo
  • Share/Bookmark

Related Posts:

Tags: ,

I don’t know what to make of this

June 28th, 2009 by Steve Swann | 1 Comment | Filed in Disruption, Inspiration, Thinking

This photograph is taken from a Vanity Fair article titled An American in Tehran by Carrie Carlisle dated 25 June 2009. The picture shows:us-chicks-in-iranian-market

Chicks for sale at a bird market in Esfahan. The brightly colored ones are from the United States; the undyed ones are Persian.

I’ve spend half an hour looking at this image and drafted several sentences in an attempt to capture my thoughts. Quite frankly – I don’t know what to say!!

There are times when we look at objects either natural or man-made and marvel at the beauty and intelligence of the form and function. This is when creativity and innovation are in sync and we are rightfully in awe.

This image disrupts all these sensibilities for me. I’m troubled that I’m offended by such simple “change”. What about you?

My thanks to Adam Smith’s Inquiring Mind for bringing this article to my attention. It’s well worth the read.

  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Technorati Favorites
  • MySpace
  • Delicious
  • StumbleUpon
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • Squidoo
  • Share/Bookmark

Related Posts:

Tags: ,