We like the quote from Pascal, paraphrased as: “I have written you a long letter as I didn’t have time to write you a short one.”
We like these headlines too – showing the power of simplicity and playfulness in The Sun.
All of which takes time (and effort and skill).
Tags: communication, thinking, time
Creativity is wanted. Actually, we are told it is essential. The changes needed in the British economy need fresh thinking.
Broadly, there are two sorts of creative people.
You have the ‘Deep Creatives’: the artists, the ideas people, the inspirers. Often brilliant and counter-intuitive, these thinkers are helpful in reframing an issue or imagining a totally new product. They write, they talk.
On the other hand, the ‘Process Creatives’ are those that help individuals and groups think more widely, clearly and imaginatively, drawing on methods such as the lateral thinking tools of Edward De Bono or techniques for facilitated meetings.
Comparing the two, there is a critical insight: one’s own ideas are ‘owned ideas’. Without that ownership, you can’t overcome the subsequent challenge of putting innovation into practice, of getting from inspiration to implementation.
Advice from the outside has its place. But the aim of this should be to involve all – and not just the few – in creative thinking that routinely and regularly makes a difference to what gets done.
Tags: creative, innovation, thinking
It’s that gardening time of year. Depending on your level of expertise, it can be hard to distinguish a plant you want to keep from a weed you want to get rid of.
And depending on the garden design, cultural norms and personal preferences, it is possible to categorise a plant one way or the other. The Rhododendron or Russian Vine can be loved or loathed in different parts of the world and different gardens.
Is this a prickly weed where it shouldn’t be? Or a prized species that will flower to delight all who see it?
Before cutting something down or pulling it out, being clear on what is of value is important.
What creative ideas could you hold onto before casting them aside? It took a while for the ineffectual glue that became essential for the Post-It Note to be appreciated.
PS it’s Berkheya purpurea, native of southern africa and growing happily in Cambridgeshire.
Tags: assumptions, choice, Decision-making, thinking
The Ebstorf map has been recreated and is on display:
We know that maps of the globe are always incomplete visions of reality. The different projections of the world owe as much to psychology as geography.
This difference has been picked up playfully time and time again over recent years, often at the expense of the powerful.
How we see the features in our immediate world is often about projections of our hopes and fears onto other possessions, places and people. Schumacher encourages us to question how we make our ‘philosophical maps’.
In what ways could you redraw your assumptions and reveal some blind spots today?
Tags: assumptions, thinking
How much do you know about climate science?
Interested in learning more?
If you are, here are some perspectives on the different schools of thought around the issues.
We first did this work a couple of years ago and have continued to use it our teaching on thinking about the future.
It seems to resonate.
We hope it helps you join the debate.
Take your pick of these quotes.
Which tickles you?
Which inspires?
Which sums up truth?
Helps progress?
The Post-It is everywhere (here in a hip converted factory as part of the Shoreditch House private members club in east London).
Yet its ubiquity, as a tool for facilitation and managing the thinking at meetings, means that it is no longer a fresh way to work in many contexts. It sometimes attracts opprobrium. Increasingly so.
We have a pad of post-its with the words “oh no, not another learning experience” printed on the top of each!
Yet, the alternative stuffy Boardroom-style meeting is tolerated despite its low utility.
Curious…
We all know the challenge: we have something important on the ‘to do’ list but we don’t get it done. It hangs over us. We worry about it. We set time aside to crack it but those hours come and go and we seem to have filled them with other things.
Try this to break that pattern:
– focus on the one thing that you really need to get done. Force yourself to prioritise and be ruthless about rescheduling everything else to fit around that.
– energise yourself by meeting with the right people. Involving others in the thinking is a great way to get your mind moving. The right people are those that can contribute the necessary perspectives and constructive ideas.
– find the right space to work in for the bits you need to do by yourself (hint: it might not be the office nor home – try a cafe, the botanic gardens, a walk).
– shut off (or switch off) the activities that distract and fill the time. Email is the worst. At its best, the mind gets into a flow, as when you are effortlessly doing something you enjoy like gardening, crosswords or playing music (and the hours fly by). You need to give it some time to get into this.
Got something important to do? Why not get it done this week?
Tags: behaviour, thinking, working life
If you believe Paul McKenna, learning to eat differently is more important than dieting or avoiding certain foods in losing weight.
Nigella Lawson says that shopping is more important than cooking in entertaining well.
In business, how we talk about things is probably more important than what we write. What we ask, more important than what we say. What we notice, more important than what we make.
Tags: choice, leadership, management, thinking
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