Like emotions, creativity has always been a bit of a scientific mystery. There is no real conclusive definition, and we have trouble measuring creativeness. Some see creativity as a level of intelligence and independent thinking (“Creativity is discontent translated into arts” ~ Eric Hoffer).

Others like Albert Einstein (“The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources”) or Pablo Picasso (“Good artists borrow, Great artists Steal”) see creativity as a more common skill of connecting existing ideas. Continue reading »

Design: Tom Peters Essentials is part one of the ‘Tom Peters Essentials’ series, 4 books (design, leadership, talent and trends) taken from the best selling book ‘Re-Imagine!‘. In Toms typical mix of passion, anger and American ‘loud mouthiness’  he delivers some great insights and a convincing pitch for Design as an essential part of business and ideation.

Loved it because:

• Original and ‘outstanding’ presentation style – the typical Tom Peters style works just as well on print as on flashy powerpoint slides. Bright contrasts, chaotic typography and shouting headers that make Tom’s points very clear.
• Tom Peters is a man worth listening too. Good insights, years of experience and a proven visionary in world business affairs
• Emphasis on the importance of design in ideas, products, services, brands and businesses, not so much the application and certainly not the ‘how to’ design guide. It offers a great pitch if you need to sell design inside or outside your organization.

You might not like it because:

• Tom’s style is not for everyone. It took me some getting used to, its very American, loud and even well over the top but this just speaks for Toms passion for doing things right and getting his message across.
• It’s very light reading, another one-flight book that doesn’t go very deep but gives you some great points on why and how design matters.

Whether you are a designer, marketer, coder, or anyone else who is expected to have creative ideas – you probable know this feeling. Staring at your screen, sheet of paper, scribble on a memo and liking what you see. Your idea seems to make sense, you’ve got all angles covered, no question about it – this is your best idea yet.

Then this nagging voice in the back of your head creeps up on you. Will others like it just as much as you do? Will they see the sheer brilliance of your idea – can everyone appreciate your creative outburst or is your intellectual input refined enough. Time for some feedback…

You turn to the person next to you and ask: “Be honest, do you like this idea?”. Continue reading »

A brainstorm can be a powerful tool to create great ideas. However, it’s not uncommon brainstorming is seen as ’20 minutes of fun’ – like it’s not a real business meeting just because you are creating divergent ideas. These brainstorms can harm the reputation of the technique as the productivity of sessions organized this way is very low.

Fortunately, saving the reputation of brainstorming is easy. These are the ten commandments for organizing and participating in a productive brainstorming session:

1. You will be on time
2. You will have an agenda
3. You will appoint one participant as the scribe
4. You will have no distractions or interruptions
5. You will be clear about the goal of the brainstorm
6. You will not recognize ‘ranks’ in a brainstorm session
7. You will time your brainstorm
8. There will be no discussions during the brainstorm
9. Remember brainstorming is about quantity, not quality
10. You will have a back-up plan

Continue reading »

There is a concept that is so simple, yet requiring so much discipline, and in return will become the most valuable tool in your career in any creative industry:

Start Writing Every Idea Down.

Every idea with a hint of potential is in serious danger of disappearing into the depths of your sub consciousness. Of course it’s not lost forever, but it there is tremendous value in keeping your ideas in your conscious mind by structuring them outside of your brain. In time this will create the most valuable database you will ever have access to. Continue reading »

To me creativity means a new and relevant connection between problem and solution. ‘New’ as in – the connection has not been made before, within the context of the problem. But just because it is new doesn’t mean its creative per definition. It also has to be relevant to the situation, otherwise it is just ‘randomness’.

But today none other than John Cleese challenged me to look at creativity as a state of mind. A mood even, who – much like ‘the prepared mind’ – requires certain conditions to occur. Continue reading »

One of the recurring themes of this blog is the process of ideation. In fact, it is one of the essential components to create real value from the articles posed on Crinid. In one sentence, ideation is the idea you are in control of your ideas, and can improve the quality of those ideas through training.

I’m sure you’ve heard of the expression ‘eureka!’. The expression now means as much as a sudden insight. As hit by lightning the solution seems to be right in front of you. Continue reading »