Category Archives: Creativity

Flow

Posted on March 22, 2006 by John Hunter

“Flow” and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi [the broken link was removed] by David Farmer: How does it feel to be in “the flow”? 1. Completely involved, focused, concentrating – with this either due to innate curiosity or as the result of training 2. Sense of ecstasy – of being outside everyday reality 3. Great inner clarity – knowing what needs to be done and how well it is going 4. Knowing the activity is doable – that the skills are adequate, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Management, Psychology, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

The Art of Work

Posted on February 20, 2006 by John Hunter

The Art of Work [the broken link was removed] by Ann Marsh: These companies are now using Csikszentmihalyi’s ideas to learn how they can get the best out of their workers or create more compelling connections with their customers. Without flow, there’s no creativity, says Csikszentmihalyi, and in today’s innovation-centric world, creativity is a requirement, not a frill. Excellent books by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, 1991. People enter a flow state when they … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Management Articles | Tagged

Innovate or “Play it Safe” to Avoid Risk

Posted on December 8, 2005 by John Hunter

The Xooglers blog has some really interesting posts. In one, “But, but, that’s just crazy talk!” [the broken link was removed], Doug Edwards discusses a great example of what true leadership is about. In my defense, my background conspired against me. Past public relations debacles had taught me always to evaluate worst-case scenarios before considering the possible benefits of any new initiative. “First, do no harm” had become my mantra. This is the reality of many people. There are many … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Google, Innovation, Management, quote | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Gary Hamel’s Idea Hatchery

Posted on December 4, 2005 by John Hunter

Gary Hamel’s Idea Hatchery [the broken link was removed] by Whitney Sparks: Q: So how do you hope to change the standard approach to management? A: Sometimes innovation is about creating a whole new class structure. Hierarchies are not very good at getting the best out of people. Communities are where people are most likely to give their gifts, bound not by economic dependency but [with] dreams. I’d like to make business more humane. How do you create organizations where … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Creativity, Education, Innovation | Tagged | 1 Comment

Google: Experiment Quickly and Often

Posted on November 25, 2005 by John Hunter

Google Thinks Small by Quentin Hardy, Forbes: Brin and Page have created a corporate organism that tackles most big projects in small, tightly focused teams, setting them up in an instant and breaking them down weeks later without remorse. “Their view is that there is much greater progress if you have many small teams going out at once,” Schmidt says. The mission overall: to collect “all the world’s information” and make it accessible to everyone. “It’s a cause.” … Hundreds … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Data, Google, Innovation, Management, Process improvement, quote, Software Development | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Innovation in Organizations

Posted on October 10, 2005 by John Hunter

Assessing Your Organization’s Innovation Capabilities [the broken link was removed] by Clayton M. Christensen: Three classes of factors affect what an organization can and cannot do: its resources, its processes, and its values. When asking what sorts of innovations their organizations are and are not likely to be able to implement successfully, managers can learn a lot about capabilities by sorting their answers into these three categories. Innovation is one of the areas of management improvement that is not given … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Creativity, Deming, Innovation, Management, quote | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Innovation and Creative Commons

Posted on October 2, 2005 by John Hunter

Creative Commons is a license that lets the creators of intellectual property clearly define how that property may be used by others. Partially this license is a reaction to the poor way copyright law is being viewed today (see links below). Partially it is tool that gives creators a way to provide for more interaction with their ideas. And this interaction is a great way to market, in the right circumstances. More managers should be thinking about how their organizations … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Economics, Innovation | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

How Toyota Turns Workers Into Problem Solvers

Posted on September 25, 2005 by John Hunter

How Toyota Turns Workers Into Problem Solvers [the broken link was removed], Sarah Jane Johnston interview of Steven Spear. It is our conclusion that Toyota has developed a set of principles, Rules-in-Use we’ve called them, that allow organizations to engage in this (self-reflective) design, testing, and improvement so that (nearly) everyone can contribute at or near his or her potential, and when the parts come together the whole is much, much greater than the sum of the parts. The main … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Deming, Management, Process improvement, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

25 New MacArthur Fellows

Posted on September 21, 2005 by John Hunter

25 New MacArthur Fellows Announced press release [the broken link was removed] overview of fellows [the broken link was removed] The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation today named 25 new MacArthur Fellows for 2005. Each received a phone call from the Foundation this week informing them that they will be given $500,000 in ‘“no strings attached’ support over the next five years. I think the fellowships are a great idea: give money to people who have done excellent … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity

Car Navigation Systems

Posted on September 7, 2005 by John Hunter

Topic: Management Improvement Thinking About in-car Navigation Systems by Robert Scoble: What’s frustrating is there’s no way to report a mistake. So, everyone who has Toyota’s system is doomed to repeat the same errors. While Toyota is doing great things they still have things to learn. As the quote above indicates they don’t think like software companies. Software companies have learned to take every advantage of the internet to collect feedback. And those used to such system will find fault … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Innovation, IT, Management

Transforming Aggression into Creative Problem Solving

Posted on August 19, 2005 by John Hunter

Transforming Aggression into Creative Problem Solving [the broken link has been removed] by Margaret J. Wheatley and Geoff Crinean With their intelligence awakened, people want to contribute, want to change things, want to make things happen. They will work with existing structures and processes, but they will be altering and adapting them as needed, almost without noticing. Too often, leaders fear a loss of control and attempt to rein in such groups. Their own fear pushes them back into aggressive … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Management

Traffic Congestion and a Non-Solution

Posted on May 9, 2005 by John Hunter

Topic: Management Improvement, Problem Solving I read, Study: Nation’s Traffic Jams Worsening [the broken link was removed], today on CNN.com. That same headline could have appeared in newspapers every day for the last few years. For decades traffic congestion has been a problem in American cities and one that has continued to get worse. The typical proposed solution is to increase the number of roads. The theory behind this solution is not normally stated but, I believe, it amounts to: … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Management, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments