Recently, I polled 140 people to find out what they need "more of" in order to succeed with their various creative projects. The sixth highest rated item was IMMERSION.

And then, this morning, noted in Drive, the Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, I discovered a great example of how true this is:

Once a quarter, software developers at the Australian company, Atlassian -- for 24 hours -- are allowed to work on whatever they want, in any way they want, with whomever they want. All the company asks is that people show what they've created to the rest of the company at the end of those 24 hours. They call these experiences "FedEx Days," because people have to deliver something overnight. It turns out that those one-day bursts of intense, undiluted autonomy have produced more innovation and creativity than just about anything else the company has done.

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Since 1986, every brainstorm session we've facilitated has included a large poster of Albert Einstein. I don't remember exactly how this tradition got started, but I'm glad it did.

Somehow, Einstein's smiling countenance inspires everyone in the room -- no matter what their social style, gender, title, or astrological sign.

The only thing I find more fascinating than this is the incredible amount of powerful quotes he left behind for us to contemplate. Take a look...

"Not everything that counts can be counted; and not everything that can be counted counts."

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."

Nowhere in the human psyche is the conflict between the need for independence and the need for support more pronounced than in the creative act, especially the very specific act of generating new ideas in a group -- an activity that has come to be known as brainstorming.

Historically, most people have believed that ideas come to them like bolts from the blue, flashes of inspiration that descend from the
beyond -- a dimension free of the laws of Earth.

Even the modern dictionary speaks of ideas as "transcendent entities." The implication of this way of thinking is that people need to be highly attuned in order to attract new ideas -- becoming a kind of channel through which ideas flow.

The importance of other people, in this approach, is almost non-existent.

Bill Gates recently advertised for a new chairman of Microsoft Europe.

Five thousand candidates respond and assemble in a large room. One of them is Isaac Ginsberg, a little Jewish man from Israel.

Bill Gates thanks the candidates for coming, but asks all those not familiar with the JAVA program language to leave.

Two thousand people stand up and leave the room.

Isaac Ginsberg says to himself: "I do not know this language, but what have I got to lose if I stay? I might as well give it a try!"

Bill Gates then asks all those who have no experience managing teams of more than a hundred people to leave.

For the past 25 years I've been fascinated by the phenomenon of why SOME people succeed with their creative ventures and OTHERS don't. There is no simple answer, of course, but there are definitely indicators.

If you are interested in increasing the odds of succeeding with YOUR latest venture, respond to this online poll. It will only take five minutes and MAY surface some big insights.

I will post the results in the next two weeks. Feel free to forward it to friends and co-workers, as inspired. Thanks!

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One of the biggest obstacles to innovation in most organizations is the addiction to short-term results.

Hustling, speed, and fire fighting rule the day -- resulting in the kind of over-caffeinated efforts that make everyone cranky.

Focusing on your next quarter, of course, is a necessary part of business. But not to the exclusion of the long-term.

Someone's got to focus on projects that won't see the light of day for tree years... or five .... or ten.

If you are serious about innovation, you will need to develop an Innovation Portfolio, one that includes short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals.

Every once in a while I come across a quote or excerpt from an article that I want to immediately post on the windshield of every client of mine. It cuts to the chase and lucidly states what I've been trying to say, in various Neanderthalic ways, all these many years.

Take Einstein for example: "Not everything that counts can be counted; and not everything that can be counted counts." Bingo! Bullseye! What a perfect way of explaining to a left-brained addicted world that metrics and analysis is not the only game in town.

And then there's Gary Hamel. He takes a bit more time than Albert to make his point, but hey, it's all relative isn't it? Check this out from the man behind one of my favorite business books of all time:

"Today, innovation is the buzzword du jour in virtually every company, but how many CEOs have put every employee through an intensive training program aimed at boosting the innovation skills of the rank and file? Sure companies have electronic suggestion boxes, slush funds for new ideas, elaborate pipeline management tools, and innovation awards -- but in the absence of a cadre of extensively trained and highly skilled innovators, much of the investment in these innovation enablers will simply be wasted."

"Creativity is a lot like looking at the world through a kaleidoscope. You look at a set of elements, the same ones everyone else sees, but then reassemble those floating bits and pieces into an enticing new possibility. Effective leaders are able to shake up their thinking as though their brains are kaleidoscopes, permitting an array of different patterns out of the same bits of reality." - Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Thanks to Chuck Frey for the quote.

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10. Analysis paralysis.
9. Reason is highly over-rated.
8. If you need more data to prove your point, you'll never have enough data to prove your point.
7. You already know what to do.
6. You're going to follow your gut, anyway.
5. "Not everything that counts can be counted; and not everything that can be counted counts." (Einstein)
4. By the time you put your business case together, the market has passed you by.
3. "Conclusions arrived at through reasoning have very little or no influence in altering the course of our lives." (Carlos Casteneda)
2. The scientific method came to Rene Descartes in a dream!
1. "Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana." (Groucho)

If you are reading this, please help me. I need your help!

For the past eight days, I've been in Mexico, being deprogrammed. My captors are quite clever -- latino ninjas, I believe. They never show their faces. But they are definitely having an effect on me.

Two days ago, I completely lost my desire to log on to Facebook. I can't remember any of my passwords. Or the name of my insurance agent.

What in the world is happening to me?

And it's getting worse. Last night, after being fed some "fresh" guacomole, I found myself looking at the moon instead of my email.

These days, almost all of my clients are talking about the need to establish a culture of innovation.

Some, I'm happy to report, are actually doing something about it. Hallelujah! They are taking bold steps forward to turn theory into action.

The challenge for them is the same as it's always been -- and that is, to find a simple, authentic way to address the challenge from the inside out -- to water the root of the tree, not just the branches.

Guess what? Systems are not sufficient to guarantee change. In the words of Oliver Wendell Holmes, "Systems die. Instinct remains."

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There's a simple reason why so many brainstorm sessions are a waste of time. The problem statement being pitched to participants is the wrong one.

This is not surprising -- especially when you consider how little time most facilitators put into preparing for a session.

Here's what happens: The person who calls the session is usually scrambling -- overwhelmed, over-caffeinated, and running from one meeting to the next. Out of breath, they pitch the topic to the group, but the topic is either vague or secondary to a more essential challenge that remains unspoken.

G.K. Chesterton, one of the most influential English writers of the 20th century, distilled the phenomenon down to 13 words. "It's not that they can't see the solution," he said. "They can't see the problem."

Facilitating a brainstorm session is like going to a casino.

You show up, find your favorite game, place your bet, and pray for luck. Sometimes you win. Most of the times, you lose. And the odds are always stacked against you.

That's the way it is for most of us -- casual visitors to Vegas or Atlantic City or a neighborhood poker game.

Then, of course, there are the professionals -- people who gamble for a living. They have a different approach. They know how to find an edge.

They count cards. They calculate the odds. They read body language. They know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em. And they know how to trust their instincts -- developed over years of study, practice and experience.

Here's one of the dirty little secrets of corporate brainstorm sessions:

When they are led by upper management, department heads, or project leaders, they usually get manipulated.

Because honchos and honchettes are heavily invested in the topic being brainstormed, it is quite common for them to bend the collective genius of the group to their own particular point of view.

Not a good idea.

Participants -- out of respect for the expertise (or position or parking space) of the facilitator -- will invariably moderate their input. And while this can sometimes lead to good results, the results are usually disappointing.