https://youtu.be/rUUVaOkUcS0?si=Cxn9UzmqDHB53lJ0&t=722 In this clip (12 min. in) Herbie Hancock describes his experience in 1968 playing an electric piano for the first time. Going into the studio, Hancock saw that there was no piano in the room. Confused, he turned to Miles Davis and asked, "What do you want me to play?" Miles looked at an … Continue reading Toward the Unexplored
Category: creativity
Winter Projects
This winter I am taking a few classes. Each class is a different shape and size but one similarity is that they are live with real people at a regular cadence. I appreciate the structure and accountability that these regular meetings create. And the people are wonderful--I love being "in practice" with these people. We … Continue reading Winter Projects
Creativity and Mise en Place – Pastry Edition
a dessert by Jordi Roca My introduction to the execution side of creativity was in my mother's catering business that she ran out of our home when I was a kid. She called the business Gorgeous Food and the vision for the business was true to its name. The focus was on presenting fresh, seasonal ingredients in … Continue reading Creativity and Mise en Place – Pastry Edition
How to Run a Process Critique
A process critique is a short meeting in which you present your work-in-progress with the goal of gathering feedback. It's a tricky thing to navigate because many of us feel more comfortable presenting finished work where we sell every decision we've made with confidence. But a process crit requires us to be vulnerable. And that's … Continue reading How to Run a Process Critique
Too Many Lamps
I used to teach industrial design. A standard industrial design assignment is to ask students to design a lamp. It's a great assignment because lamps aren't just art--they need to function--but they are technically simple enough to give students room and freedom to explore interesting concepts. (We have a silly joke in design education, "Practice … Continue reading Too Many Lamps
Our Lives Are Full – Martin Short’s 9 Categories
Our brains are wired to focus on negative thoughts. This is why we wake up in the middle of the night and ruminate on that awkward conversation that happened months ago. It's why we zoom in on that one bad grade or that one negative comment.While this wiring used to serve us when we were … Continue reading Our Lives Are Full – Martin Short’s 9 Categories
Businesses and Complex Adaptive Systems
trillium in an old-growth forest Can businesses be designed like complex adaptive systems? This is the question that Roger L. Martin explores in his new book When More Isn't Better: Overcoming America's Obsession with Economic Efficiency. The book opens much like Mariana Mazzucato's The Value of Everything--it opens with a long critique of our current … Continue reading Businesses and Complex Adaptive Systems
Solving the Wrong Problem
I once had a figure drawing instructor who would playfully swat my drawing hand if I were working on a detail of a figure without first mapping out the entire body. Zoom in too soon and you might be drawing a perfect hand but in the wrong place. I love it that she did that.
Coda: The TUNING Toolkit
The TUNING Toolkit is a set of tools that helps people turn their ideas into B.Corps, NonProfits, and DIY/Open Source projects that make the world better. It’s designed specifically for projects sparked by a desire to help people. The TUNING Toolkit is kicked off with a Prelude and ends in a Coda. In between the … Continue reading Coda: The TUNING Toolkit
ORGANIZE: The Expansion
This post is part of a series on creativity and project management. REVIEW You started this workbook by articulating a high-level goal of helping a group of people solve a specific problem using a specific set of tools.Then you developed an idea for a project that could help realize that goal. You gathered feedback from … Continue reading ORGANIZE: The Expansion
ORGANIZE: The Launch
This post is part of a series on creativity and project management. REVIEW We’ve made prototypes and have tested them with a small group of customers. We’ve set a deadline for when we will launch our project to the public. Hitting this goal is something to celebrate. But it’s also a point where the work … Continue reading ORGANIZE: The Launch
ORGANIZE: from Prototype to Knowledge
REVIEW The TUNING Toolkit has three sections: BELIEVE, CREATE, and ORGANIZE. In the BELIEVE section, we set goals. In the CREATE section, we collaborated and brainstormed. ORGANIZE is the third and last section of the toolkit. In this section, we will think strategically about what to create and how to launch what you create into … Continue reading ORGANIZE: from Prototype to Knowledge
CREATE: Short Term, Long Term
This post is part of a series that fleshes out The TUNING Toolkit – a toolkit that helps people move their ideas forward. REVIEW The TUNING Toolkit has three sections: BELIEVE, CREATE, and ORGANIZE. In the BELIEVE section, we defined our ultimate goal, convincing ourselves that we have what it takes to achieve it, and … Continue reading CREATE: Short Term, Long Term
CREATE: Love the Process
This post is part of a series that fleshes out The TUNING Toolkit – a toolkit that helps people move their ideas forward. REVIEW The TUNING Toolkilt has three sections: BELIEVE, CREATE, and ORGANIZE. In the BELIEVE section, we defined a high-level goal, telling ourselves that we have what it takes to achieve it, and … Continue reading CREATE: Love the Process
CREATE: Design With Others
This post is part of a series that fleshes out The TUNING Toolkit – a toolkit that helps people move their ideas forward. The TUNING Toolkit has three parts: BELIEVE, CREATE, and ORGANIZE. In the last section, BELIEVE, we emerged with a well defined goal. We'll carry that goal into the second section of the toolkit, … Continue reading CREATE: Design With Others
BELIEVE: See the Future
This post is part of a series that fleshes out The TUNING Toolkit – a toolkit that helps people move their ideas forward. REVIEW The TUNING Toolkit is a set of concepts that we can use to move our ideas forward. The Toolkit has three short sections, titled BELIEVE, CREATE, and ORGANIZE. This post is … Continue reading BELIEVE: See the Future
BELIEVE: Reclaim Your Energy
PROBLEM Coming up with ideas for new projects is fun. But sometimes after we have an idea for a new project, we talk ourselves out of it: we don’t have the time; we aren’t qualified; someone else could do it better. Those excuses are often manifestations of fear. And rather than manage that fear, we … Continue reading BELIEVE: Reclaim Your Energy
Prelude: The TUNING Toolkit
The TUNING Toolkit is a set of tools that helps people turn their ideas into B.Corps, NonProfits, and DIY/Open Source projects that make the world better. While it can be used by individuals, the toolkit works best for small self-organized groups or for teachers and mentors guiding their students and mentees in their creative projects. … Continue reading Prelude: The TUNING Toolkit
Grounding my Gratitude
I appreciate how counting blessings on a regular basis can help us be more at ease and in turn be more generous, patient, and understanding. This is one of the big goals in life, I think, to free up some of the energy we spend on self doubt or rumination so that we have energy … Continue reading Grounding my Gratitude
What Are You Passionate About?
If you are passionate about something, find a way to work on it. The work can be small as in the amount of time, but make it consistent. Maybe it’s an hour every Thursday morning without fail. Over the course of 6 weeks or so, you will have made progress. WHY work on things you … Continue reading What Are You Passionate About?
Being Right vs Being Effective
With the polarized political environment we are in, there's a lot of advice out there on how to have effective arguments. An effective argument is one in which both parties remain open and not feel shut down. When we talk to each other in a way that allows us to remain open, then there is … Continue reading Being Right vs Being Effective
HOLIDAY GIFTS – WOMEN MAKERS – ITHACA NY
from left to right: Julia E. Dean; FlipBooKit; Robin Tilling For the holidays, I love to buy gifts from makers that I know. Below is a short list products made by women makers. There are some great gifts in here for adults and kids. While I encourage you to check out their work, you might … Continue reading HOLIDAY GIFTS – WOMEN MAKERS – ITHACA NY
UNDERSTANDING POPULISM
Populism - a political approach that strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups. I don't normally write about politics, but I am very concerned about our recent election. Trump has opened the door to populism and it seems that many in his party are considering … Continue reading UNDERSTANDING POPULISM
TUNING = STRIVING
For those of us that strive to be better, more empathic, creative, kind, consistent, TUNING is a fun way to think about that striving. TUNING is ongoing, it’s musical, and it’s collaborative. TUNING has three components: Believing, Creating, and Organizing. BELIEVING in ourselves and in others opens our hearts and our minds. It isn’t always … Continue reading TUNING = STRIVING
Celebrate
Sometimes we get so caught up in our own striving that we forget to celebrate our success. Or worse, we forget to celebrate other people's success. Don't forget. Celebrating is important. Make a ritual around it. The ritual can be small: Share an ice cream; Make a memento; Toast with champagne or a fancy soda. … Continue reading Celebrate
One Hundred NOs to One YES
This is straight from Arlan Hamilton's book, It's About Damned Time. Hamilton is the founder and principal of Backstage Capital, an angel fund that invests in underestimated founders. She offers great advice throughout the book and this bit is one piece of it: Put yourself out there. Expect to hear 100 NOs before you get … Continue reading One Hundred NOs to One YES
Believe + Create + Organize
In order to make a positive impact in the world, you need to work with three concepts: BELIEVE, CREATE & ORGANIZE.BELIEVE means believing in yourself and in your overarching goal. When you feel tired, believe. When you feel doubt, believe. Just choose to believe. Doubt is useful to a point, but after that, it's merely … Continue reading Believe + Create + Organize
A Pocket-Sized Vision Board – Arlan Hamilton
I've been reading It's About Damn Time by Arlan Hamilton, founder of Backstage Capital, a fund that invests in companies led by underestimated founders. There is a chapter in it called "Write Your Own Headline" that I adore. When Arlan had the idea for Backstage Capital, she wrote an email to herself with the subject … Continue reading A Pocket-Sized Vision Board – Arlan Hamilton
What is your ultimate goal?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBgBy4vP_QE&feature=emb_logo It's easy to get distracted by our to-do lists. It's easy to overcommit ourselves and take on too much. What's hard is taking the time and focus to define an ultimate goal. That's a goal that can be stated in 10 words or so. Once we articulate an ultimate goal, all of the decisions … Continue reading What is your ultimate goal?
Looking to Theater for Inspiration
Business, design, and engineering cultures have a record of looking to theater for inspiration. At any hip conference you will find at least one activity that draws on the art of improv. Improv encourages us to suspend disbelief and instead say, "Yes, and" to build on the ideas of others. Now that we find ourselves … Continue reading Looking to Theater for Inspiration
It Has to be Bad at First
If you make things, then you know that the first time you try something, it isn't that good. Lorne Michaels says about SNL, "It has to be bad at first. Dress rehearsal is bad before it's good." In order to make things with a high level of craeft, we need to push through the discomfort … Continue reading It Has to be Bad at First
Is Losing Faith Helpful?
There is a curious pattern that I observe in my own work and in the work of some of my peers. We struggle with faith. Logically we know we need it. It's helpful. But when we are deep in the mud struggling with a problem, we lose it. At that point, I guess one could … Continue reading Is Losing Faith Helpful?
