I Am Moving to a Blog Cabin in the Woods
I see the future.
Everyone will have a blog. Every blogger's pet will have a blog. Every blog will have a blog. Every blog's blog will have a blog. No one will be reading any of these blogs because everyone will be too busy writing blogs. Bloggers will occasionally visit other blogs, but only for the purpose of leaving comments that will direct readers back to their own blog. Letter writing will become popular once again, gaining a new lease on life after the internet crashes repeatedly because of the profusion of blogs and youtube videos created by 5-year olds, holographic spammers, and terrorist groups.
Why all the blogging?
Because people want to connect. And WHY do people want to connect? Because there is a fundamental need inside each and every one of us to feel connected.
"Connected to WHAT?" is the question.
Most business leaders are likely to say something like "the marketplace," or "our customers" or "company values," but the real answer is far more fundamental -- your self.
Remember that? The part of you that doesn't have a title, a strategic plan, or a Blackberry to keep it all together? That's where innovation begins. And even more importantly, that's where the real experience of life begins.
Bottom line, for each of us to feel truly connected, we first need to connect with ourselves. Then, and only then, does it make sense to connect with others.
Otherwise, all our efforts to connect will be fundamentally flawed -- tinged with the slightly neurotic need for approval and completion -- neither of which are really necessary once we master the fine art of tapping into who we really are in the first place.
Sort of like putting the isness back in business.
And speaking of the future -- high rises are out. Blog cabins are in.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 05:32 PM | Comments (1)
June 29, 2008More On Where and When You Get Your Best Ideas
A big thanks to Chuck Frey of Innovation Tools for his June 26th posting on our just-released poll results re: "Where and When People Get Their Best Ideas?"
Chuck notes the top ten catalysts:
1. When you're inspired
2. Brainstorming with others
3. When you're immersed in a project
4. When you're happy
5. Collaborating with a partner
6. Daydreaming
7. Analyzing a problem
8. Driving
9. Commuting to and from work
10. Reading books in your field
And here are the bottom ten:
70. Swimming
71. Brushing your teeth
72. Drinking anything with alcohol
73. Playing a sport
74. When you're sad
75. Mowing the lawn
76. Shaving
77. Procrastinating
78. In a bar
79. Having sex
80. Smoking tobacco
(If you're looking for a fun way to spark some great ideas, click here.)
Or here.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:14 AM | Comments (0)
June 27, 2008HEAR AND NOW: Small Business Big Ideas Show: 6/29/08
If you're looking for some inspiration and insight to help you grow your business and radically increase your ability to manifest BIG IDEAS, tune into the Small Business Big Ideas Show out of Toronto this Sunday, 7/29, at 9:00 am (www.ckdo.ca).
The delightfully open-minded Lissa Bergin-Boles will be interviewing me from 9:02 -- 9:15 am. We'll explore the fabulous world of creative thinking and what it takes to foster a culture of innovation within yourself and your business.
We'll also be talking about how my new book, Awake at the Wheel: Getting Your Great Ideas Rolling (in an uphill world), can help you turn your top-of-the-line ideas into bottom-line results.
If you want to call in and ask me a question, the number is 888-511-2436. Hope to hear you then.
PS: If you're interested in the results of Idea Champions' recently released "Where and When Do People Get Their Best Ideas?" poll, click here.)
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 12:57 PM | Comments (0)
June 25, 2008POLL RESULTS: Where and When Do You Get Your Best Ideas?
Einstein used to get his best ideas while shaving. Mozart used to exercise before composing. The Scientific Method came to Rene Descartes in a dream.
One of our clients gets her best ideas when blow drying her hair.
Fascinated by the question of what catalyzes people's best ideas, Idea Champions polled 163 people and are sharing the results with you here (i.e. "Where and When Do You Get Your Best Ideas?")
Why bother reading it?
1. It will help you be more creative.
2. It will increase your ability to capture your best ideas.
3. It will give you insights about how to create a culture of innovation.
4. It's fascinating (i.e Out of 80 choices, the "workplace" ranked #35. "Daydreaming" was #6.)
If, after reading the poll, you think of other "best idea" catalysts, let us know. When we get 20 or more, we'll share them with Heart of Innovation readers here.
And if you're looking for help establishing a sustainable culture of innovation, click here... or here...or here. (Clicking your shoes three times ain't gonna cut it.)
Or, if you want to spring for $13.95, you can read Awake at the Wheel: Getting Your Great Ideas Rolling (in an uphill world).
(Much thanks to Tim Moore (scroll down to the 8th bio) for his deep thinking, coordination, analysis, and report writing on this project!)
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 03:53 PM | Comments (0)
June 24, 2008100 Simple Ways to Be More Creative on the Job
Have you ever noticed America's strange fascination with lists? Cruise any supermarket magazine rack and you will invariably notice some version of the following:
"5 Sure-Fire Ways to Find Your Soul Mate"
"10 Ways to Profit from the Recession"
"50 Ways to Retire Before 40"
"The 100 Best Companies to Work For"
For years I ignored this phenomenon. Then I mocked it. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Perfect sense.
Lists simplify.
Lists cut to the chase.
Lists help people make sense of the world.
And in today's world, where the collective sum of printed knowledge is doubling every four years, anything that helps simplify life -- without oversimplifying it -- is a good thing.
And so, in honor of America's love of lists, the little known patron saint of the phenomenon, and your own commitment to innovation, I cheerfully present to you Idea Champions' time-tested, easy-to-read, highly compelling, imminently practical 100 Ways to Be More Creative on the Job.
1. Find the most creative people at work and ask for their ideas.
2. Brainstorm daily with a co-worker.
3. Tape record your ideas on your commute to and from work.
4. Present your biggest challenge to a child.
5. Take your team off-site for a day.
6. Listen more carefully to your inner muse.
7. Play music in your office.
8. Go for a daily brainstorming walk.
9. Ask someone to collaborate with you on your favorite project.
10. Exercise during your lunch break.
11. Turn on a radio at random times and listen for a "message."
12. Invite your customers and vendors to brainstorming sessions.
13. Think of five other ways to define your challenge.
14. Assign a "fun fairy" to each of your meetings.
15. Reward yourself, in specific ways, for small successes.
16. Introduce odd catalysts into your daily routine.
17. Get out of the office more regularly
18. Play with fun toys in your office whenever you get stuck.
19. Take more naps.
20. Take the train, instead of driving to work.
21. Work in cafes.
22. Transform your assumptions into "How can I?" questions.
23. Write down as many ideas as you can think of in five minutes
24. Redesign your office.
25. Take regular daydreaming breaks.
26. Dissolve turf boundaries.
27. Initiate cross-functional brainstorming sessions.
28. Arrive earlier to the office than anyone else.
29. Turn a conference room into an upbeat "think tank" room.
30. Read odd books -- having nothing to do with your work.
31. Block off time on your calendar for creative thinking.
32. Take a shower in the middle of the day.
33. Keep an idea notebook at your desk or in your briefcase.
34. Decorate your office with inspiring quotes and images.
35. Create a headline of the future and the story behind it.
36. Choose to be more creative.
37. Recall a time in your life when you were very creative. Feel it.
38. Wander around a bookstore while thinking about a challenge.
39. Trust your instincts more.
40. Immerse yourself in your most exciting project.
41. Open a magazine and free associate off of a word or image.
42. Write down your ideas when you first wake up in the morning.
43. Ask yourself what the simplest solution is.
44. Get fast feedback from people you trust.
45. Conduct more experiments.
45. Ask yourself what the market wants or needs.
46. Ask "What's the worst thing that could happen if I fail?"
47. Pilot your idea, even if it's not completely ready.
48. Work "in the cracks" -- small bursts of creative energy.
49. Incubate (sleep on it).
50. Test existing boundaries -- and then test them again.
51. Schedule time with the smartest people at work.
52. Visit your customers more frequently.
53. Benchmark your competitors -- then adapt their successes.
54. Enroll your boss or peers in your most fascinating project.
55. Imagine you already know the answer. What would it be?
56. Create ground rules with your team that foster new thinking.
57. Ask stupid questions. Then ask some more.
58. Challenge everything you do.
59. Give yourself a deadline -- and stick to it
60. Look for three alternatives to every solution you originate.
61. Write your ideas in a notebook and review them regularly.
62. Make connections between seemingly disconnected things.
63. Use creative thinking techniques.
64. Play with the Free the Genie cards.
65 Use similes and metaphors when describing your ideas.
66. Have more fun. Be sillier than usual.
67. Ask "How can I accomplish my goal in half the time?"
68. Take a break when you are stuck on a problem.
69. Think of how your biggest hero might approach your challenge.
70. Declare Friday afternoons a "no-email zone."
71. Ask five people how they would improve your idea.
72. Create a wall of images that inspires you.
73. Do more of what already helps you be creative off the job.
74. Laugh more, worry less.
75. Remember your dreams -- then write them down.
76. Ask impossible questions.
77. Eliminate all unnecessary bureaucracy and admin tasks.
78. Create a compelling vision of what you want to accomplish.
79. Work on hottest project every day, even if only 5 minutes.
80. Do whatever is necessary to create a sense of urgency.
81. Go for a walk anytime you're stuck.
82. Meditate or do relaxation exercises.
83. Take more breaks.
84. Go out for lunch with your team more often.
85. Eat lunch with a different person each day.
86. Ask for forgiveness, not permission.
87. Invite an outside facilitator to lead a brainstorming session.
88. Take more risks outside of the office (i.e. surf, ski, box etc.)
89. Ask for help when you need it.
90. Know that it is possible to make a difference.
91. Find a mentor.
92. Acknowledge all your successes at the end of each day.
93. Create an "idea piggy bank" and make deposits daily.
94. Have shorter meetings.
95. Try the techniques in Awake at the Wheel
96. Don't listen to or watch the news for 24 hours.
97. Make drawings of your ideas.
98. Bring your project or challenge to mind before going to bed.
99. Divide your idea into component parts. Then rethink each part.
100. Post this list near your desk and read it daily.
NOTE: If your favorite way to be more creative on the job is not included on the above list, you may want to enter Idea Champions' First Annual 100 Ways to Be More Creative on the Job contest by clicking on the comment link below.
Prizes will be awarded in the following FIVE categories:
1. Most Intriguing Suggestion
2. Funniest
3. Most Likely to Start a Revolution
4. Wished We Thought of It First
5. Biggest Bang for the Buck
KIND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS TO: Anne Howe, David Beath, Jim Aubele, Gary Kvistad, Howard Moody, Farrell Reynolds, Hector Cruz Rosa, Jill Peckinpaugh, and Marcy Turkington for their wonderful suggestions.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 01:16 AM | Comments (4)
June 18, 2008IMPROVE YOUR INNOVATION ODDS: How to Win the Idea Lottery
As the story goes... in 1939, a Russian immigrant owned the rights to distribute vodka in the U.S. His efforts bombed. Americans weren't attracted to a colorless, odorless alcohol.
Depressed, he sold the rights to Heublein, an alcohol distribution company, who asked themselves: "What can we combine with Vodka to give it a distinctive color and a taste?" In time, they came up with tomato juice and, voila, the Bloody Mary was born, boosting sales through the roof.
What most of us think of as "innovation" is really just the elegant combination of two (or more) pre-existing elements resulting in the creation of a new, value-added product or service.
What is roller blading but the synthesis of ice skating and roller skating? What is MTV but the synthesis of music and television? When Johannes Gutenberg was asked how he arrived at the invention of the printing press, he confessed it was as simple as seeing a new connection between two existing products: the wine press and the coin punch.
If you are committed to coming up with a BREAKTHROUGH IDEA, start looking for new connections between the stuff that's all around you.
Click below for instructions on how to use this technique -- and where to find the online IDEA LOTTERY tool.
WHAT TO DO:
1. Create a 5x5 grid on a piece of paper.
2. In 15 of the squares, write down the key elements of your current challenge (i.e. a person, place, task, etc).
3. In the remaining 10 squares, write random nouns.
4. Combine words in two or more squares. Then see if the relationship between those words spark any new ideas.
5. Continue the process with other 2 or 3-word combinations.
Excerpted from Awake at the Wheel: Getting Your Great Ideas Rolling (in an uphill world).
If you want to play the virtual idea lottery, click here.
If you want to buy the Idea Lottery guidebook (hard copy or downloadable pdf version) click here.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 01:39 PM | Comments (0)
June 14, 2008IDEA CHAMPIONS' First Annual Word of Mouth Praise Poll
All human beings -- even the most cynical ones amongst us -- have had the experience of praising something at one time or another. For some of us, it may have been a restaurant, movie, or vacation spot. For others, a rock band, teacher, or TV show. Different strokes for different folks.
The purpose of this poll is to identify precisely what these "praise-worthy" catalysts are; in other words, what moves a person to spontaneously speak glowingly of something to another person. True word of mouth, you might say.
Interested? If so, go ahead and take the poll. The whole thing will take you less than seven minutes.
And check back periodically. The results of the poll will be posted on this blog within the next six weeks or so.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 04:08 PM | Comments (0)
June 12, 2008New Blog Critics Magazine Review of Awake at the Wheel
OK. These two cavemen walk into a bar. The first one burps, pounds his hairy chest, and lets out a primal scream. The second mumbles something about Nietzche and thumbs through a recently purchased copy of Awake at the Wheel.
OK, so the first paragraph isn't exactly a joke (despite it's promising beginning), but it does technically qualify as a segue to the most recent review of my new book.
Sure, as far as segues go, the opening paragraph is not what I would call a "fantastic segue" or even a "good segue," but it IS a segue, which is all I was really going for here.
Violet Nesdoly is the reviewer. (Thank you, Violet!) BlogCritics Magazine is the website.
These two blog critics walk into a bar...
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 02:04 PM | Comments (0)
June 10, 2008Getting All Googley
Interesting summary of Google CEO's speech to the Economic Club of Washington this Monday.
Among other things, Schmidt talked about his company's attempts to innovate, including allowing engineers to use 20 percent of their time to work on projects of their own choosing. Schmidt acknowledged that trusting the workforce to follow their fascination has resulted in many successes for the enterprise. "Part of Google's success is creating more luck," he said.
Success also needs a positive environment and encouragement for employees to be more creative and innovative, Schmidt said.
"It is possible to build a culture around innovation, it is possible to build a culture around leadership, and it is possible to build a culture around optimism," added the googley Mr. Schmidt
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 03:58 PM | Comments (0)
June 02, 2008The Top 16 Reasons Why Human Beings Love Lists
This just in.
The three most popular postings on this blog, of the 116 we've written since July -- the ones most frequently cited by other blogs and websites -- have one thing in common:
They are all lists.
100 Simple Ways to Be More Creative on the Job
The Top 100 Lamest Excuses for Not Innovating
26 Reasons Why Most Brainstorming Sessions Don't Work
While I acknowledge that these three postings are engaging, entertaining, and useful, I don't think they are that much more engaging, entertaining, and useful than the rest of the stuff on our blog to warrant as much attention as they've been getting.
Something else is afoot.
And that, I believe, is the medium through which the content of these postings have been communicated: Lists.
What's up with lists? Why so popular? Why does every men's and women's magazine plaster their covers with them? Why do blogs?
After some major noodling on the topic and a few consultations with the Master of the Tradition, I am very pleased to report my recent findings to you. Here we go...
THE TOP 16 REASONS WHY HUMAN BEINGS LOVE LISTS
1.We are all victims of information overload. Lists help us make sense of the world.
2. Lists simplify.
3. Lists promise instant knowledge.
4. Lists make it seem as if the list maker knows something that list readers don't.
5. Lists appeal to an ever expanding population of ADD sufferers.
6. Lists provide choices.
7. Lists are made of soundbytes. Soundbytes 'R Us.
8. Lists appeal to the left brain need for order and linearity.
9. Lists are familiar. We grew up making them: laundry lists, grocery lists, and Christmas lists.
10. Lists can be updated, added to, or subtracted from easily.
11. Lists give us an instant opportunity to disagree.
12. Lists, with their declarative headlines, make list readers feel like they are just about to get a crash course on a topic of great significance.
13. Lists, when forwarded to friends or clients, position the list forwarder as a knowledgeable resource.
14. Lists include items that are numbered -- and most readers assume that an item that's numbered must be more true than an item that's merely bulleted.
15. Lists can be printed quickly, folded up, and put into one's pocket -- as opposed to New Yorker articles, the collected works of Henry Miller, or Sunday's New York Times.
16. Lists are great ways for list makers, especially in the hyperlinked blogosphere, to plug their own businesses and books, not to mention the businesses and books of their friends, chiropractors, and college roommates.
PS: If we've omitted any TOP REASONS why human beings love lists, leave us a comment. When we get ten or more, we'll post what our readers have sent us. As a list, of course.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 05:04 PM | Comments (1)
June 01, 2008Innovation as a Happy Accident
A little known fact about innovation is that many breakthroughs have not been the result of genius, but "happy accidents" -- those surprise moments when an answer revealed itself for no particular reason. The discovery of penicillin, for example, was the result of Alexander Fleming noting the formation of mold on the side of petri dish left uncleaned overnight. Vulcanized Rubber was discovered in 1839 when Charles Goodyear accidentally dropped a lump of the polymer substance he was experimenting with onto his wife's cook stove. More recently, 3M's post-it was also the result of an accident in the lab. Breakthroughs aren't always about invention, but the intervention required, by the aspiring innovator, to notice something new, unexpected, and intriguing.
WHAT TO DO:
1. Think about a recent project, pilot, or business of yours that did not turn out the way you expected.
2. Ask yourself if any of the unexpected results offer you a clue or insight about how you might proceed differently.
3. Instead of interpreting your results as "failure," consider the fact that the results are simply nature's way of getting you to see something new -- something that merits further exploration.
Excerpted from Awake at the Wheel: Getting Your Great Ideas Rolling (in an Uphill World
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 02:59 PM | Comments (0)
AWAKE AT THE WHEEL: Getting Your Great Ideas Rolling (in an uphill world)
Ta da! After seven years, 22 rejections, multiple rewrites, 2 agents, and a whole lot of looking at myself in the mirror, here it is: the publication of my new book, AWAKE AT THE WHEEL: Getting Your Great Ideas Rolling (in an Uphill World). Part fable, part creative thinking toolbox, the book is a wake up call for all aspiring innovators -- a simple way to help people "get out of the cave" and manifest BIG ideas in a world not always ready for the new and the different.
If you have an inspired idea that is lingering in your mind and needs a fresh jolt to see the light of day, this book is for you.
To order from Amazon, click here.
Tim Gallwey: "A superb catalyst for anyone with the urge to bring their best ideas into reality."
Donna Fenn: "Og may have invented the wheel, but Mitch Ditkoff has created a GPS for the innovation process. Awake at the Wheel is a witty and inspiring roadmap for the journey from ideas to invention."
Jay Conrad Levinson: "Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come. The time has come for this book and Mitchell Lewis Ditkoff has put it into words. He has done a masterful job."
Jack Mitchell: "Go ahead and 'hug' your employees by giving them Awake at the Wheel and creating a company culture that fosters, develops, and celebrates the best of their ideas."
Joyce Wycoff: "A highly accessible alchemist's stone for aspiring innovators."
Melinda McLaughlin: Awake at the Wheel illuminates! It's the perfect book for those of us who have felt the excitement of the 'aha' moment only to experience the frustration that comes when no one sees the brilliant lightbulb above our head. Mitch Ditkoff takes us on an engaging journey that re-imagines how to turn an idea into great success and makes it suddenly seem easy.?
Chuck Frey: "Entertaining and inspiring."
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 06:05 AM | Comments (0)
