Accidental Creative

Visual Information

RESOURCE: About a year ago my friend and colleague David introduced me to some books he had purchased featuring the work of Edward Tufte. The books were a survey of some of Tufte’s best work, most of it centering around the visual representation of very compex information.

What moved me the most about Tufte’s work is the underlying beauty of this data when represented visually. I love patterns and I love finding meaning in seemingly meaningless places.

Tufte’s work will inspire anyone who desires to be challenged to see the beautiful simplicity on the other side of complexity. 

AC Podcast: #90, Unnecessary

If we want to be able to “create-on-demand” we need to connect with our creative abilities in times of “unnecessary creating.”

Reading List

I haven’t done this in a while, so I thought it was high-time to let you all in on my current reading efforts. I read a lot - usually a few or more books per week - so it becomes difficult to keep these updates fresh. Still, here’s what’s currently at the plate:

THIS WEEK
Books:

I’ve just finished Cormac McCarthy’s tome The Road. I’ve now begun a campaign to collect much of the non-perishable miscellaneous food that’s strewn around our offices and store it in my desk cabinet for…well…whatever might come. Not that I’m paranoid or anything…

 ADVICE: skip skim study SAVOR

 

 

POWER OF AN HOUR : This is not my usual fare, but given the reviews on Amazon I thought I would give it a try. Disappointingly, I managed to make it about 25% before putting it aside. Possibly good advice for some, but nothing that appealed much to me. Still, again, some might find it appealing.

ADVICE: SKIP skim study savor

 

 
A WHOLE NEW MIND : This one was a recommendation from our AC Premium forums. I’m finding it interesting thus far…I’ll provide a review upon completing it.
ADVICE: skip SKIM study savor

 

MICROTRENDS : I’m almost through this one as well. Who knew that petite women would soon rule the world?

ADVICE: skip skim STUDY savor

 

 

Magazines:
Atlantic Monthly (Dec 07), Time, Harvard Business Review (Dec 07)

 You can also visit the AC Bookshelf to see other related books on creativity, organizational life and innovation.

So…I’m always on the lookout…what are you reading right now? What should be in my queue?
 

The Ethic of Finishing

I spend a lot of my time “nexting.” I’m not referring to the phenomenon spelled out in the book Stumbling on Happiness in which our minds are filling in the gaps of our sensory experience to predict what’s coming next, I’m talking about starting work on the next thing before I’ve finished what’s in front of me.

This phenomenon is so prevalent in my life that it even affects my eating habits. Sad, but true. A few weeks ago the family was sitting around the dinner table and I stood up from the table to get another serving of vegetables. This is not especially odd except for the fact that I still had a half-serving of vegetables left on my plate! Even before I knew that I could finish what was in front of me, I was going to add more.

Sad? Yes. It’s not that I don’t finish, it’s that I don’t always finish strong. I sometimes let go of the reins as the chariot is thirty feet from the finish line because I see another race to join. (Eh…the horse knows what it’s doing, right?)

This not only (sometimes) hurts my work, it also affects my sense of accomplishment. When I don’t finish strong, I have less that I can point to and say “I did THAT. I poured myself into THAT. THAT was good.”

The two most difficult parts of the creative process are starting and finishing. I very good at the former. As the new year approaches, I’m making a personal commitment to be more of a finisher in my work.

And…I’m finished.

{mosgoogle}

Mosquitos and Doubts

I have lots of doubts. I doubt in the middle of a project. I doubt when it’s finished. I doubt whether it’s finished. I doubt whether or not something is even worth pursuing from the outset.

In fact, I can’t recall the last time I was clearly certain about something before I did it - even when the numbers were in my favor. Because I fall on the experimentalist side of creative polarity I tend to work in iterations. This inherently creates doubts about which direction is best.

{xtypo_quote_left}Mosquitos can ruin the hunt for big game. David Allen{/xtypo_quote_left}In taking a cursory glance at successful artists and leaders it’s easy to buy into the notion that all success was pre-destined and that all that was required was to follow the blueprint carefully. If you read biography (which I do often and recommend furiously), you begin to notice that successful people have lives riddled with doubts and failure.

The common theme I’ve noticed, however, is the willingness to sniff out opportunity and the persistence to keep exploring and attempting new things. This pattern applies to artists of old, (Da Vinci was notorious for "patron-hopping" - he went wherever the money and opportunity was best) - as well as contemporary scientists, artists and leaders.

It’s easy for us to allow the doubts - call them mosquitos - to ruin our pursuit of worthwhile goals. The real trick is to have an over-riding "thing" that trumps our specific goals or tasks at any given time. This prevents us from seeing any one deal, project or goal as ultimately important.

We need metrics and we need ways of measuring our progress. We also need to ensure that we’re not becoming myopic in our day-to-day activity.

Don’t forget - mosquitos survive off of the life-blood of their victims. Don’t let your doubts cause inaction - keep moving.

{mosgoogle}