Crossing T's

When I am working on a problem I never think about beauty. I only think about how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.

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—	Buckminster Fuller

How Do You Encourage Creative Thinking (@MichaelHyatt)

#4 in a series of leadership questions, @MichaelHyatt gives 4 ways he encourages creative thinking. I don’t know that they are in order of priority, but I would venture to guess that holding your tongue is the first recommendation for a reason…

Hold my own counsel. I might see the solution more quickly or be tempted to cut to the chase. The problem is that this inhibits everyone else’s creativity.
Enlist outside resources. If you aren’t constantly refilling the creative pool, it will eventually run dry.
Affirm creative thinking. If I want more innovative thinking, I have to notice it and publicly affirm it.
Create a safe environment. If people don’t feel safe, they will only parrot your ideas.

Read the full article.

Michael Hyatt is the Chief Executive Officer of Thomas Nelson Publishers, the largest Christian publishing company in the world and the seventh largest trade book publishing company in the U.S.

The most important thing about art is to work. Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying. Why is this important? Because when we sit down day after day and keep grinding, something mysterious starts to happen. A process is set into motion by which, inevitably and infallibly, heaven comes to our aid. Unseen forces enlist in our cause; serendipity reinforces our purpose.

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—	The War of Art, Stephen Pressfield

Fun Theory from VW

Proving that an enjoyable experience = participation. Even something as simple as recycling pop bottles. Introducing the Bottle Bank Arcade - Another do-gooder stunt from Volkswagen and DDB Stockholm.

I have a can on my desk right now. When are we going to get one in Holland, MI?

One of the new ads from Play-doh. Simple and effective… and possibly somewhat inappropriate. Its all good though. I am a fan.

The race is not always to the swift, but to those who keep on running.

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~Author unknown

In reference to Ecclesiastes 9:11, “I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.”

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I can often get down on myself when I discover that my great idea has already been thought of by someone else. I will get all pumped up about a new and cool idea, only to realize that someone has beaten me to the punch. I then doubt my idea and put it on the back burner. I mean, why bother? Someone else already thought of it. Someone else already “owns” that idea.

But maybe this rationale is more of a measurement of my competitiveness and less of a measurement of the greatness of my idea. What if great ideas aren’t great just because you got there first?

Think about it “I will always love you” was originally written and released by Dolly Parton in 1973. It did OK on country charts, but was not picked up on pop charts. Then, Whitney Houston comes along in 1992, re-records it and most everyone thinks it is this new, awesome song.

Correct on the awesome, not so correct on the new. Dolly got there first, but I believe the race goes to Whitney.

So, what if an idea is not great just because you were first to come up with it. Maybe an idea is just an idea, and it becomes great when you execute it well or find the right audience/medium/situation for it. Maybe the race is not necessarily to the swift, but to those who keep running.

There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.

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—	Buckminster Fuller

Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.

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—	Franklin D. Roosevelt

Decision by democratic majority vote is a fine form of government, but it’s a stinking way to create.

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—	Lillian Hellman