Wily Walnut’s Blog 2.0

Reminiscent of Thomas Edison’s Invention Factory at Menlo Park, New Jersey, Proctor and Gamble have their own creative thinking think tank over at Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati.

It sounds like a Disneyland for the creative mind. Check out this cool news item to learn about what those folks are doing over there:

Clay St Project lets P&G Think Outside of the Pyramid

I love the firestarter question that sparks a lot of creativity over there:

“If you were going to come to Earth and see things for the first time, what would they look like?”

A great question to take with you into 2009 — so you can see with fresh eyes… and thus see what others miss.

Wishing you happy new year and creative days,

Wily

I like this article over at BusinessWeek on How to Produce Big Ideas on Demand by G. Michael Maddock and Raphael Louis Vitón  of Maddock Douglas, a company that invents, brands, and markets products “for companies driven by innovation.”

Here are their tips:

1. Shower your way to creativity.

This is fairly old hat. You relax in the shower and that frees up your mind. But they add a note that there may be some scientific basis to it… that the water may stimulate synapses in the brain. There is also the diving reflex to consider. Splash cold water in your face and it triggers the diving reflex which in turn oxygenates your brain.

See The Brain Bubbles technique to permanently boost your IQ in just 3 weeks!

2. Sleep on it!

See: Sleep to succeed! Sleep and dream your way to brilliant ideas!

3. Engage in Mind-Mapping!

See: Mind Mapping: the visual creative thinking process

4. Schedule Your Day Dreaming

This is a good point. They say that many people are most creative in the morning, just at the point where they start checking and replying emails, wasting that time. I took a tip from internet marketer Michael Campbell about this, he does all his creative work first thing and leaves email till later in the day. It’s still a hard habit to break though.

5. Yuk it Up!

See: Enhance Your Intelligence With Jokes, Wit and Humor!

And: Gay Think - think pink your way to creativity, genius and wit!

Innovation strategist, Idris Mootee, of  Innovation Playground, has written an article that makes some valuable points to any business looking to develop creative thinking and innovation amongst its people.

It’s not enough just to take on creative types, he says. Most of those type of people won’t have the mental fortitude to see projects through to productive ends. Mootee stresses the need for a culture of non-traditional thinking, in which experimentation and prototyping is encouraged.

The same attitude is required by anyone who wants to live creatively in the 21st Century and grow as an individual. You have to constantly set up experiments in living, so that you can try out new ways of thinking, acting and being. Keep pushing against the limitations.

Check out Idris Mootee’s article here: “Creative Thinking” Is More Than Just “Creativity”. And Business Innovation Is Not Dependent On Creative People.
 

Damn! If you believe the news, the world’s going to hell in a handbasket! So it’s great to see governments around the world making some kind of investment into promoting creative thinking as a means to getting us out of the mess we’ve all created.

The European Union, representing 27 member countries, has just announed that 2009 will be the European Year Of Creativity and Innovation. Sounds good, but what the hell is it and what do they hope to achieve within the coming 12 months of 2009?

Here’s a quote from their website for the event.

‘European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009′

 The Year addresses a wide spectrum of related themes such as:

• fostering artistic and other forms of creativity through pre-school, primary and secondary education including vocational streams, as well as non-formal and informal education
• maintaining engagement with creative forms of self-expression throughout adult life
• cultural diversity as a source of creativity and innovation
• information and communication technologies as media for creative self-expression
• ensuring that mathematics, science and technological studies promote an active, innovative mindset
• developing a wider understanding of the innovation process and a more entrepreneurial attitude as prerequisites for continued prosperity
• promoting innovation as the route to sustainable development
• regional and local development strategies based on creativity and innovation
• cultural and creative industries including design – where the aesthetic and the economic coincide
• innovation in public and private services.

EU Commissioner Ján Figel’ says: “Both creativity and the capacity to innovate are key human qualities – they are inherent to all of us, and we make use of them in many situations and places, whether knowingly or not. With this European Year, I would like to see that the citizens of Europe understand better that by promoting human talents and the human capacity to innovate, we can actively shape Europe for the better, to help it fully develop its potential, both economically and socially.”

The slogan for the campaign is: “Imagine. Create. Innovate”

Main site: ‘European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009′

Press release for details of who is involved (besides the obigatory presence of Edward de Bono!): http://www.create2009.europa.eu/press.html