Serendipity and Learning

 Found this gem in Lyndon Cerejos - Being Designerly newsletter. That is Stephen Fry reading Nick Caves letter on the creative process and ChatGPT.  Worth every second of those 4 minutes. 

Somebody recommended this book somewhere and as I am wont to do, I bought it. I am a sucker for books on creativity. Especially if it is recommended. By someone I know. Or dont. Or on Amazon. Thus it is that I have a collection of books on Creativity.  Helps that somewhere along the way, I self identify as a creative person. And over the years, I have in my own way understood creativity.  Helps also that I conduct creativity workshops and thus have an insight into creativity.  All said and done, I picked up Rick Rubins book -The creative act. I had no idea who Rick Rubin was - I forgot to google- this was an impulse buy remember. Turns out that he is a creative musician (yes, the book has a lot of references to music).  So, done with all the backstory. Lets get to the book. The book is a master piece of writing on the creative process. Hands down the best book I have ever read that captures the creative process (if you call it capturing, because the whole point of th...

 I like to write approximately 30-40 posts a year on this blog. Some years are more, but most of the years are in this range. At about December, I realise that I need a few more posts to reach this target and I crank my brain. As the thinking process evolves, as usual, it is difficult initially, but once it begins to move, post ideas start churning out - either via books, organization thoughts, some reflections from work or some observations.  What I have observed is that as the ideas gather momentum the flywheel continues to churn out ideas and hence on the blog, you will usually see a flurry of activity in December and January.  So, in Dec 22, I started writing a few posts and left a few as drafts and in Jan 23, many of those drafts will be published (not this one).  This is true for most ideation process as well, once you overcome the block, there is a flood of ideas. 

I was reading "How Innovation Works" by Matt Ridley . And in that he asks a question - what came first - the moon landing or baggage with wheels? You will be surprised to know that it was the former. The reasons for baggage not having wheels are many - from the travel pattern to the design of travel areas to the demography of travel - but whatever it is, many a times, there is a particular time that an innovation takes root - and some ideas are simply ahead of their time. This was a fascinating story and there were others from olden to modern times. One of the myths about innovation is the flash of insight that changes everything. While that flash does happen and you might get that insight or that brilliant idea - from there to actually making, selling and creating an impact are a far longer road. And the history of innovation has repeatedly proven that innovation is a long and often difficult process. Innovations and innovators build from each other (and rightly so), jump di...

 There are series and there are series. One particular series that caught my attention is Thermae Novae and its unique premise. You can read up to see what that premise is and all that, but I liked the juxtaposition of two things that would never imagine to come up with a something totally different.  The imagination, the execution, the premise, the creativity - all blew me away.  As you might imagine, many series are like many other series. And once there is a trendsetter, it is tough to think beyond that. So, after Apollo 13, many space sci-fi's are an enhanced version of the first movie (which is as close as it was to reality). After Sherlock Holmes (or Poirot) - many others are just versions. Ditto Lord of the rings. And I am sure you can think of many more.  This one (atleast from my limited knowledge) is a break out. Enjoying it!

 Recently a friend sent a small video he had created with the caption, "I cant believe I created this". I opened the video and it was a nice video with text, images and a simple background score. He had created a small clipping of the Bhagavad Gita. And he wanted someone to create the video - but he created it on Canva and was thoroughly pleased with the effort. This is why Canva is so loved. It makes you feel that you can design your folder, brochure, ppt, video - you name it. The free version is so generous - it is possibly the most generous app - and it makes you feel that design is accessible, affordable and captures your unique voice.  Ideally if you are building something, you want the users to feel the way they feel after they use Canva. That satisfying feeling when a painter takes two steps back from the canvas, admires her work and says "I did that".  Canva makes users feel they are designers. They can do it. It is easy. It is unique. And of course, it capt...

 DT really unlocks peoples creative confidence.  When people work in a default manner, creativity is lost - worth noting for people/teams/organizations that are forever in "full speed" mode. When you know a problem too well, you may be actually limited in looking at in a new manner.  Reframing the business challenge is often difficult when seen through the default lens. Brainstorming is limiting. 108% Indian (the tool we used) enables people to see beyond "safe" creativity.  The options teams came up were mindboggling when they were given the cards. While DT is fast paced in a workshop, the time enables them to get comfortable with the process and make it their own.  Notes from a recent Design Thinking workshop I conducted. 

Scott Galloways point that " Follow your passion" is bad advice somewhat resonated with me and I set thinking about it. I agree with him broadly. It took me a long time to realise what is my passion. And I realised that my passion is a stack - and has a couple of things at the core.  For one, I had to do something that was difficult for me - speaking in public in front of people and training them. It was through a fairly complex route that I reached here. This was neither natural not did I have a flair for it - it was pure effort and practice of getting better at it. It was also a derivative of something else - since I am not a natural speaker nor an extrovert.  The starting point was the design element of the training which I enjoy the most.  I remember from school times - I would read Brand Equity - the Economic Times supplement on advertising. And the creative side of advertising attracted me. But marketing was not something I was sure I enjoyed, so that fell by the w...

 I am one of those people who looks at a restaurant menu and asks - what is the most different item on this list. I am vegetarian and within those limits, I always make it a point to explore something different.  And I have been rewarded with delightful experiences across the country. Whether it is in a little shack in Gokarna or a restaurant in Panaji or a small Maharashtrian outlet in Parel, Mumbai. To me, this is a great way to get the mind used to stepping out of familiar zones. And that is an important aspect of divergent thinking. Cut to lockdown and I tried various dishes from across the country thanks to chefs on instagram. For each of these dishes, I had to source things that are not normally seen in our kitchen. Panchphoran, Cinnamon, Kalonji, Mustard oil - to name a few. And thus Big Basket is an outlet for building divergent thinking muscle.  I learnt that there are different types of raisins, many herbal juices (positively abhorrent by way of taste, but with ...

When I started writing a blog years ago, I wrote a few posts and I thought what next! The ideas seemed to have dried out. But no. Just as I finished writing, in came the next set of ideas and the next and the next. Creativity has to be used - like a skill it is something you have to access again and again and build over time.  And now, this blog is nearly 10 years old, 400 odd posts....

The value of jotting down an idea has been immense. Everybody knows this, but I realised another aspect of thinking. While working on a problem ( as I am at this given point in time), there are spaces of ideas, blockages, struggle, marination and flashes of insight. What I have felt is that unless the "current" idea/approach/thought is written down, expressed or captured in some form a new idea cannot flow, because this current idea is "blocking the way" in a manner of speaking. Like a traffic jam, unless the way is cleared by writing it, capturing it - the new idea cannot pass through. And it may disappear - as will that great idea that you got as an insight, but you thought no way you will forget it. So, jot them, clip them, write them, note them, snap them, whatever it takes... 

Someone I know had posted recently that creativity requires you to swear. This is something I dont believe in. Yes, creativity needs a provocation - that provocation doesnt have to be negative. It doesnt have to a jibe or a sarcastic comment or a personal insult. The same thing can be achieved by tremendous motivation, empathetic questioning and enabling the 'creator' to think better. Fear is not a motivator of creativity. Sure fear is a motivator. As is adversity. But you can achieve the same thing via passion and constraints. And yes, keep those insults away. Think Olympic athletes. Think tough love. But swearing? And insulting people around you to achieve better creativity? Well, its is a theory I dont buy. Though I admit it has its takers since many great creative artists have had a nasty temper, a strong tendency to use cusswords and throw personal insults. And many wannabes have assumed that having a nasty temper, use of cusswords and insults are the gatewa...

A few days back someone mentioned the dish Wambatu Moju on Twitter. And it led to me googling about this brinjal based Sri Lankan dish. I was sufficiently inspired to try it out, bored as we were with our regular cooking repetoire. The ingredients were there, the enthusiasm was there and it was sufficiently out of the comfort zone from a taste lens (vinegar + mustard) and it was acted upon. The end result was a "meets expectations" but nobody knows what a good Wambatu Moju tasted like (in the family I mean). Why this story? This is a typical approach of how I work. I find something. Get inspired. Try it out. Some of them are easy like Wambatu Moju. Some of them are difficult and never see light of day like the Great Leadership Digital Simulation. Some of them are in between, sufficiently inspiring upto a point of trial and error. This is creativity for me. Constantly exploring an area just outside comfort zones. Pushing boundaries physically (till the knees give up...

A few weeks, as the lockdown began the kids were bored. The board games were exhausted. And they wanted something to do. So I suggested, why don't we create a game? Having played a few board games (Settlers of Catan, 7 wonders and San Juan league), they understand the realm of games. This apart from the reasonably good knowledge they had of games.  I asked, what would you like to make a game on? The answer was not very forthcoming. So, we spoke what they really liked  - and pat came the answer. Cats.  We sat with a gaming mechanics card working on what game to make with cats as the centrepiece. Our building has a few stray cats - that we have seen since they were kittens. So, they are well versed with cat psychology. Ok, not psychology, but behaviour. They have observed what happens in a cat ecosystem. The following behaviours were discussed, debated, argued - we agreed that cats staked territories. They fought with each other to establish dominance. They...

This is a lockdown invention. It is known as a randomiser. Designed by the siblings to solve the vexing problem of "who will sit on which side of the sofa" especially pertinent in these days of extended lockdown where they have to necessarily bear with each other and have no other kids for company. How does it work? Drop a marble from the top . Choose a side. If the marble falls on the side you chose, you get to pick the side of the sofa. A friend pointed out that this could have been solved by a coin flip, but you know how geeks are. PS: Yes, the HR lens says, this is a human problem. But for now, enjoying the creativity. PPS: Process solves will only get you so far, human problems need human solutions - which I am sure they will learn in due course.

First it is an awakening - you can see. Then it is a springy "get up and go". A walk. Then a canter. A jog. And then you run into your beloveds hands. Thats how I feel when I get an idea. The comparison ends there. After that it is a little bit of wrestling. A series of tight corners to escape out of. A few holds that are sometimes missed. And then, sometimes, the idea is floored and brought under control. And sometimes, the idea escapes never to come back again. I have had successes and failures. More failures than successes. But this is my process. It is a process that I am used to, aware of and a familiar feeling. Over the years, I have learnt how to tap into it. For me the essential ingredient is a deep dive into various aspects. Read as much as I can, soak up information and then think think think - and then give up. Then, maybe after a nights sleep or during a morning walk or at some time the problem has escaped the focused attention, the solution sneaks throug...

She took the sketch pen and asked for a notebook.  Then opening the page, what do you want me to draw?,  she asked.  I smiled.  I asked her to draw an elephant, a cat, a fish, moon, star, sun, dot, monster and she drew all of them in no time, one after the other asking, what next?  And, she drew all of them nonchalantly, asking for more things to draw.  All of 2.5 years old, every drawing was same as the other.  The dot was indistinguishable from the fish or the monster or the elephant.  But she did not care.  She was doing something very serious - she was drawing for me - and there was no fear of failure.  Most of all I loved her self confidence in trying.  And I wonder where we lose it in the fear of failure.

2 years ago, I had started this project. It had no name. It was an Excel sheet with rows and columns. It  was a product of my frustration with not having a single tool that was Indian for my upcoming creativity workshop. Finally for the workshop, I purchased a couple of well known tools. And went on with it. But this idea did not die down. I worked with an illustrator and came up with a few concepts and then shared it with two others. They loved the concept, but told me that I was getting something wrong and offered to work with me on it. The idea became a collaboration and led into something slightly bigger than what I had in mind and evolved into a partnership and I am happy to have been part of the effort of making an Indian creativity toolset - using what is Indian. I wish I could say more, but wait for the official word on it... My views on creativity and innovation

Crowdsourcing a list of books on Creativity and Innovation. These are the books, I have read - which other books come to your mind? Creativity Inc - Ed catmull Creative Confidence - Tom and David Kelley Where good ideas come from - Steven Johnson The Innovators Dilemma/Solution - Clayton Christensen Big Magic  - Elizabeth Gilbert Road to reinvention - Joseph Linkner Rework - Jason Fried Accidental Creativity - Todd Henry The Element - Ken Robinson The Creative Priority - Jerry Hirshberg The war of art - Steven Pressfield

A bit of traveling across India - both for work and non-work purposes has left with a question. Why are all hotel rooms the same? Possibly across the world? They all look the same - change a few colour combinations, the paintings on the wall, but they are all the same. A bed, a TV (why?), A table, A chair (or three) or a sofa...They all look the same. The lower budget ones aspire to be high budget with heavy furnitures and heavy carpeting. The higher budget ones aspire to be chic and cool. Sure there are design constraints - with air conditioning and the need to stack as many rooms as possible in a space, but somehow, they are all boring. And while booking the current one, I tried my best to look for a hotel with 'character' - no luck. Have to be stuck in a box for 2 days. Maybe  I should try a pod? Or a homestay in a city (there arent many of them right?)