It’s been that kind of week…or two…or three, actually, where I have had so many meetings and trips and other valuable experiences and obligations that it’s been tough to find time to write…or even to rest. 🙂 And then there’s the world outside my little world, the world of earthquakes and protests and riots and more. It’s enough to wear you out and wear you down. Or at least to tempt you to give up on some of your dreams. Which is why I found this 6-minute TED Talk by Brazilian entrepreneur and innovator Bel Pesce a helpful reminder not only that we need dreamers more than ever, but that there are some sure-fire ways to...

I couldn’t decide whether to put this post under the category of “leadership” or “creativity,” so I finally put it under both. (I know, I know, this shouldn’t be a big decision, but there you go….) Here’s why it’s in both. I think one of the most difficult things for leaders is to imagine something that is beyond our own experience. Actually, I think this is true of all of us. More often than not, the futures we imagine are slightly idealized versions of our pasts, and the solutions we come up with are essentially things we’ve seen work elsewhere or, even more likely, it’s...

I love words. Working with them, sharing my thoughts through them with others, receiving ideas and inspiration from others through them. Words are powerful. And I have to confess that, because I love words, I sometimes think I have to protect them. That is, I will admit that from time to time I get frustrated by made-up words, by what is often called a neologism (literally, “a new word”). For instance, and taking an example from my own line of work, I kind of despise the word “missional.” Even though I often use it. But it bothers me. There’s an inelegance to “missional,” I would argue, that is unnecessary and unhelpful, so why...

You probably don’t know who Jack White is. Then again, maybe you do. So let me say it this way, until earlier this morning I didn’t know who Jack White is. But I’ve recently learned something important from him, something I want to share about creativity through this 2-minute except of an interview with him. It’s actually something I know to be true from my own experience, but I seem regularly to forget, and so I appreciated the clear reminder about the relationship between creativity and freedom. Before getting to his insight, though, consider this description of Jack from Wikipedia: He has been ranked No. 17 on Rolling...

While almost any day seems like a good day to hear from Kid President, Fridays work especially well. And so today it’s Kid President on how to be an inventor. Or, really, Kid President on creativity. Three things that struck me, and then I’ll stop and just ask you to watch and enjoy the four-minute video: 1) You can’t be afraid to make mistakes if you want to invent something awesome. Mistakes come with experimenting. Indeed, you learn the most from your mistakes. As Kid President says, “It’s okay to make mistakes. It’s not okay to give up.” 2) You don’t have to do this alone. In fact, it’s really hard to. The idea of the...

Ask most people if they think they are creative, and they will likely drop their eyes, if not their heads, and answer – often very quickly – “No.” Somewhere along the line, we have decided – or probably were taught – that creativity requires some measure of genius, the ability to see something no one has ever seen, to do something completely novel, to develop an original idea or invention. Framed that way, it’s highly understandable that most of us feel like we don’t measure up. But what if creativity is far less the solitary pursuit of the inspired genius and more an attentive regard for the ideas and contributions of...