No workplace can be ‘creative’ under current management models

No workplace can really be creative under current management models

Managers love to talk about having creative teams, or creative people, or creative ideas — but most of that is a crock. Just like we confuse “strategy” (which is a long-term vision) with “operations” (which is the day-to-day execution of… Continue Reading

Creativity vs. the deadline

Creativity vs. Deadlines

One of the things I hate hearing the most at any job I’ve ever had is that something happened a certain way — a half-assed way — because people had to “get it out the door.” This is what I… Continue Reading

How to be more creative: Explain things back to yourself

How To Be More Creative

I sometimes think it’s a giant farce that people consider the concept of “creativity” to be something that fits into one of these boxes: (a) you’re born with it, (b) it’s some type of skill that certain people possess and… Continue Reading

Work isn’t set up to create innovation, no

You’d probably assume that innovation, as a concept, needs a few steps before it actually happens — and one of those steps is probably “creative thinking.” (Or, at the very least, some kind of thinking.) How do you achieve the idea of “creative thinking” that… Continue Reading

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What is ‘collective creativity?’ (And could it work for you?)

Collective Creativity and Hierarchy

What if you flipped the power pyramid (i.e. the hierarchy) of your organization so that formal power slid to the bottom and idea-generation came from the rank-and-file? Could it make you more money? It might. Continue Reading

The Five-Minute Rule could make your life a lot more rewarding

Everyone likes to talk about how busy they are — it’s the new currency of our day-to-day lives, in some respect — but regardless of how slammed you are day-over-day, there’s a good chance you have five minutes somewhere that… Continue Reading

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If you want to start and nurture a creative company (like Pinterest!), you should drive across the American Southwest for a bit first

Remember that crazy-arse story about how eBay reinvented itself based on a secret, six-person trip to Australia? Here’s another blow for the “let employees do crazy road-trip based stuff, even if it’s not directly tied to revenue immediately” contingent: Pinterest employees… Continue Reading