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SPOILER ALERT!   If you don’t want to know how the book ends,  skip thus blog. The story describes the frustration of a young boy participating in a school wide competition for the furthest flying paper airplane. and how he was being partnered with a classmate who has autism. The boy continually pushed his partner […]

The Paper Airplane Challenge   The Paper Airplane Challenge is great to do with a group, but might not be as much fun if you are sitting quietly somewhere by yourself holding your Kindle.   Many of the activities above can be and are designed to be group activities and I have modified them so

Build An Innovative Network   Innovative by association.  If you want to be more innovative and originate unusual ideas, then surround yourself with people who are innovative as well.  Get creative and inspiring people into your social circle and interact with them on a regular basis. I had a partner for 17 years who when

Begin With The End In Mind   Steven Covey teaches us in “The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People”, you need to visualize the end result then work backward.   Lay out the specific steps you need to take until you get to the beginning. It’s similar to what Michelangelo said about creating his masterpiece, David

S C A M P E R The idea analysis technique called SCAMPER was invented by Bob Eberle, and popularized in books like “Thinkertoys”.  It’s a great acronym that allows you to easily remember how to see your ideas from a completely different perspective.  SCAMPER stands for:   Substitute Combine   Adapt  Modify Put To

What Is The Hidden Parking Space Number   Think differently.  The answer is below.   “Have no fear of perfection, you’ll never reach it.” -Salvador Dali   Lon Safko Serial Innovator, Keynote Speaker, Trainer, Innovative Thinking   Tags: innovative thinking, creative, creative thinking, Innovation, critical thinking definition, innovation definition, critical thinking skills, creative process  

Try This Now   Time for another activity!  Grab your pen and paper. Take a few moments and write down an example of a problem. Write that problem down both ways, Divergent and Convergent.  Here is an example for each. Divergently, e.g.: How can we get women to become repeat customers?   Convergently, e.g.: We

Divergent vs. Convergent Thinking   We are going to take a look at many different techniques scientists and innovative thinkers have found to help them develop their creative thinking ability. Some techniques work much better for some than for others. We are going to start with Divergent versus Convergent Thinking.  This is the yin /

SWOT Analysis SWOT Analysis, the old standby.  It’s an oldie but a goodie. It really is a good way of positioning your idea in the bigger picture. You start by creating the following four heading.  Then, as a group, you list everything you can about your concept that fits into each category.  If you spend

Mind Mapping   Mind Mapping is similar to brainstorming except ideas are visually expressed on a white-board or flip charts by topic area.  As with Brainstorming, you start with your core idea and write it in the middle. The team then starts naming ideas that need to be considered regarding that first concept.  Then you