http://thinkinghow.com a journey into thinking, ideas, creativity and innovation Sat, 24 Jul 2010 02:52:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 2006-2007 steve@thinkinghow.com (thinkinghow.com) steve@thinkinghow.com (thinkinghow.com) posts http://thinkinghow.com/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/powered_by_podpress.jpg http://thinkinghow.com 144 144 a journey into thinking, ideas, creativity and innovation thinkinghow.com thinkinghow.com steve@thinkinghow.com no no http://thinkinghow.com/ten-books-to-start-generating-original-ideas/ http://thinkinghow.com/ten-books-to-start-generating-original-ideas/#comments Mon, 24 Aug 2009 23:13:28 +0000 Steve Swann http://thinkinghow.com/?p=300 http://thinkinghow.com/ten-books-to-start-generating-original-ideas/feed/ 0 http://thinkinghow.com/caught-killing-an-idea/ http://thinkinghow.com/caught-killing-an-idea/#comments Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:10:35 +0000 Steve Swann http://thinkinghow.com/?p=276 http://thinkinghow.com/caught-killing-an-idea/feed/ 0 http://thinkinghow.com/a-parable-for-modern-times/ http://thinkinghow.com/a-parable-for-modern-times/#comments Thu, 18 Dec 2008 01:32:10 +0000 Steve Swann http://thinkinghow.com/?p=232 http://thinkinghow.com/a-parable-for-modern-times/feed/ 2 00:01:01 I recently took part in a discussion which asked the question "are there any differences between Ideas and Suggestions?" My contribution was to propose this metaphor: ...that ... I recently took part in a discussion which asked the question "are there any differences between Ideas and Suggestions?" My contribution was to propose this metaphor: ...that suggestions are seeds, ideas are seeds that have sprouted, and innovations are plants in full bloom. Here is a short parable based on that metaphor. It has the current financial crisis in mind and I hope it prompts us to think about how we might respond.  Click here (for pdf): [download#2] The shory is in a pdf file. Click the link above and it will open in a browser window. Right click the link and "save target as" if you'd like a copy or wish to share it with others. I'd like to acknowledge contribution from the following people who each provided elements for this story in the original discussion:   Prakasan Kappoth, Senior Manager KM, Systematic Innovation Facilitator & Innovation Consultant at MindTree;   Kevin Paylow, Innovation, Knowledge Management & Strategy Activist;   Nigel Collin, Business Creativity Speaker & Consultant;    Grant Bosnick, Chief Executive Thinker at YES (Your Empowering Solution); and    Marian Thier, Owner, Expanding Thought, and Professional Training & Coaching Consultant. I'd love your feedback. Please leave a comment or contact me directly through the "Contact Me" button under my photo. Ideas, Inspiration, Problem Solving steve@thinkinghow.com no no http://thinkinghow.com/becoming-a-better-thinker/ http://thinkinghow.com/becoming-a-better-thinker/#comments Wed, 03 Dec 2008 09:25:13 +0000 Steve Swann http://thinkinghow.com/?p=226 http://thinkinghow.com/becoming-a-better-thinker/feed/ 0 3:36 While reading Malcolm Gladwell's "Blink" recently one passage struck me and I thought how could it be applied to creative thinking. That passage was: "How good ... While reading Malcolm Gladwell's "Blink" recently one passage struck me and I thought how could it be applied to creative thinking. That passage was: "How good people's decisions are under fast moving, high stress conditions of rapid cognition is a function of training, rules and rehearsal." I replaced "decisions" with "creative thinking" in the original statement and I get this: "How good people's creative thinking is under fast moving, challenging conditions is a function of training, rules and rehearsal." So could this revised statement be true? Can we be more creative and generate better ideas faster if have some rules, train our minds and practice (rehearse). Let's take a look and see. Rules: Your first thought might be that there should be no rules to creativity and idea generation. But, if the rules are kept simple and everyone knows and agrees with them they can really help. Here are some examples. 1. Anything goes. 2. Record all ideas. 3. Generate as many ideas as possible. 4. Evaluate later. Understanding and applying these rules gives us permission to think freely. When everyone in a group complies with the rules the barriers come down and the ideas flow. Training: Can we train ourselves to be better thinkers? Perhaps it's actually training us to not be bad thinkers. To do that we need to learn to challenge assumptions. Learn to recognise associations that are limiting our thinking and step around them. We need to train ourselves that it's ok to have grand visions and then design the way there. We can use observation, discussion and critiques to understand how other people innovate and teach ourselves in the process. Practice: If we understand the rules and can apply what we learn then we have a suite of creative thinking tools we can apply every day in our work, and in other personal and community projects. If we accept that rules, training and practice can increase our ability to generate ideas, think creatively, and innovate at speed; is there anything that could slow our thinking down? One of the points that Gladwell makes in Blink is that people often wait for more information, analysis, or the opinions of others to support their own decisions. With each additional piece of data comes assumptions and associations and thinking becomes more conscious and linear. He argues that when you move away from trusting your instinctive responses the quality of your decisions fall. His argument is that those with a trained mind focused on the right elements can make instant and accurate decisions. Transferring that thought to creative thinking we could say that by applying the rules, our training and practice, the quality, quantity and spontaneity of our ideas will improve. Tim Brown, CEO of the innovation and design firm IDEO, talks about some of these themes in this recently released TED video “forgetting the adult behaviors that are getting in the way our ideas.” Ideas, Innovation, Problem Solving, Thinking steve@thinkinghow.com no no http://thinkinghow.com/getting-other-people-to-contribute/ http://thinkinghow.com/getting-other-people-to-contribute/#comments Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:21:13 +0000 Steve Swann http://thinkinghow.com/?p=219 http://thinkinghow.com/getting-other-people-to-contribute/feed/ 3 1:07 I recently downloaded a great little ebook from Nigel Collin's website. It's a collection of 21 articles from Colin's Weekly Bits -The Early Years.  One of ... I recently downloaded a great little ebook from Nigel Collin's website. It's a collection of 21 articles from Colin's Weekly Bits -The Early Years.  One of the first articles suggests setting up an Idea Board in a common space either at work, or at home. Then you write up a problem and invite others to contribute to the solution. I'm going to give this a try. Colin makes the point, and I totally agree, that this is a great tool to foster creativity and  collaboration in an organisation. The phenomenon of blogging, the likes of twitter, other online networks, and commenting in general on the "net" have set the expectation that it's quite ok to anonymously or publicly contribute. Of course it helps if you have something of value to say. So perhaps the time is good for this very simple and low tech idea to produce some really creative outcomes. Ideas, Problem Solving, Tools & Resources steve@thinkinghow.com no no http://thinkinghow.com/sharing-your-ideas-with-others/ http://thinkinghow.com/sharing-your-ideas-with-others/#comments Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:05:23 +0000 Steve Swann http://thinkinghow.com/?p=208 http://thinkinghow.com/sharing-your-ideas-with-others/feed/ 1 http://thinkinghow.com/tools-for-getting-your-ideas-in-order/ http://thinkinghow.com/tools-for-getting-your-ideas-in-order/#comments Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:47:47 +0000 Steve Swann http://thinkinghow.com/?p=68 http://thinkinghow.com/tools-for-getting-your-ideas-in-order/feed/ 0 http://thinkinghow.com/think-fast-and-get-more-ideas/ http://thinkinghow.com/think-fast-and-get-more-ideas/#comments Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:14:55 +0000 Steve Swann http://thinkinghow.com/?p=8 http://thinkinghow.com/think-fast-and-get-more-ideas/feed/ 5 http://thinkinghow.com/collecting-ideas/ http://thinkinghow.com/collecting-ideas/#comments Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:08:05 +0000 Steve Swann http://thinkinghow.com/?p=5 http://thinkinghow.com/collecting-ideas/feed/ 6 2:07 Ideas may seem like strange things to collect but if you’re interested in creativity and innovation you’re probably subconsciously doing it already. Somewhere in your brain ... Ideas may seem like strange things to collect but if you’re interested in creativity and innovation you’re probably subconsciously doing it already. Somewhere in your brain (probably scattered about) you already have the memories of things that intrigued you. Remember all those times you’ve tried to recall a great idea and wanted to share or apply it and couldn’t recall where you saw or heard it. I borrow an idea from the advertising world and it’s called a Swipe file. It’s a pretty simple idea – just write down the idea, the website name, the book name, or whatever and keep it so you can refer back to it. So do I have a messy pile of scrap paper and curled up Post It’s in the corner of my office? Yeah, sometimes, but I regularly sort them and put them in a folder. I have a blank form that I transfer, staple, or stick the original notes to. I refer to my folder regularly and I’m always surprised how a solution manifests from the least likely connections. So why should you collect ideas. Here are a few reasons that spring to mind, though I’m sure there are plenty more. It prompts you to think differently about the things you see and hear. It allows you to look at seemingly unrelated things and make a connection. It helps develops your sense of what is a good or useful idea. It allows you to see how your thinking “maturity” grows. It gives you a ready source of inspiration and problem solving triggers. It trains your thinking and creativity “muscles”. It can help you to spot trends. And, once you’ve recorded your idea it “releases that brain space” for something else. Happy collecting. Ideas, Innovation, Thinking steve@thinkinghow.com no no http://thinkinghow.com/hello-world/ http://thinkinghow.com/hello-world/#comments Wed, 04 Jun 2008 08:23:34 +0000 Steve Swann http://thinkinghow.com/?p=1 http://thinkinghow.com/hello-world/feed/ 0 0:42 thinking how is a journey, though the destination is not quite clear yet. It is a journey to look at how ideas become ideas, and what ... thinking how is a journey, though the destination is not quite clear yet. It is a journey to look at how ideas become ideas, and what do we do with them. It is a journey that will ask - Is creativity and innovation learnable? How do we leap from thinking to doing? Can thinkers "do", and can doers "think"? Are ideas, creativity and innovation spontaneous or are they a process. I suspect that the answers will lie somewhere in between the extremes. I'm sure too that the questions will evolve as the journey progresses. Come join me. Doing, Ideas, Innovation, Thinking steve@thinkinghow.com no no