It’s Here! It’s Here! The Basics is Here!

APRIL '08 In our April 2008 series we're getting back to THE BASICS and discussing some of the core fundamentals of healthy creating. You'll discover the five elements of creative rhythm, how to eliminate unhealthy creative boundaries, how to cultivate your curiosity, the  principles of effective collaboration and the four phases of creative growth. THE BASICS series contains five audio podcasts, three Whiteboard Sessions videos, five PDF's with additional exercises and ideas, and additional tools including computer desktops to help you stay focused throughout the month.

(AC Premium Subscribers, log-in to download the series.)

I’m Not Dead…

Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated. I’m sorry for pulling radio-silence on the blog over the past several days, but I’ve been spending every available spare moment overseeing the details of the launch of our new podcast series called The Basics. The series will officially launch on Monday, March 31st, though Premium Subscribers are already getting a sneak peak. (And uncovering a few bugs, no doubt.) I’ll post again when it’s up and available to all.

I’ve also been doing quite a bit of writing over the past several days. My thinking and journaling seem to go in spurts and are at least correlated with (if not caused by) the amount of reading I’m doing. It’s alarming to me how often I surprise myself with things I already know.

At any rate, look for me to be much more active over the next few weeks. (That is, after I sleep off the torturous loss of the XU Muskies in the NCAA tourney…)

Awareness, Focus and Problem Solving

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This little clip (sorry for two in a row) perfectly illustrates why we miss important stimulus in our environment. When we inaccurately frame problem statements, we’ll miss the good stuff. (Thanks to Matt for the link.)

Hobby ADD

This video was featured in Jim Coudal’s talk at SXSW on The General Theory of Creative Relativity . I can identify with this guy. Sounds like Crisis phase to me… (Warning…there’s some colorful language within…) Thanks to Ben for sending the link.

Friday Linkage

A few diversions:

Business Week on Apple’s Design process

Jim Coudal on the “General Theory of Creativity” [SxSW] (Thanks, Ben)

Multiple Jobs At Once? [NY Times]

Productively Disorganized [JuggleZine]

Defense For The Caffeinated

Lifehack.org cites some of the benefits of coffee. Read at your own risk.

How to Defend Your Coffee Habit - Lifehack.org: {xtypo_quote}Antioxidants prevent and slow disease and oxidative damage. When the body uses oxygen, the process creates harmful by-products that antioxidants destroy. This reduces the risk of disease and promotes optimal health.

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Lessons from Obama

Regardless of personal political views, I hope you’re watching the Obama campaign with as much wonder as I am. They are reaching the ever-coveted twenty-somethings in droves, inspiring people to fund campaign events with their own credit cards, and engaging people to get involved in the political process who have never even stepped into a voting booth.

With my organizational leadership hat on, here are a few thoughts:



1. His message is primarily one of hope, but he couches it in the message of “don’t let them tell you what you can’t do.” It’s the same strategy as the “Truth” campaign - play on peoples’ inherent sense of justice and mobilize them to act.

2. He’s the “I want to have a beer with that guy” guy, but not because he’s the “everyman.” It’s more about the desire to be around his kind of focus. It’s not the “Bill Clinton” kind of beer test, it’s much more like “I’d like to have a beer with Obama, but not because we’re going to tell jokes and watch the game. I want to know what he knows that I don’t.”

3. His campaign design ethic is impeccable. Simple, elegant, yet still very presidential. DESIGN MATTERS CRITICALLY. It’s the price of entry to get twenty-somethings to pay attention. (We can’t think design is icing on the cake…that goes for systems/processes as well as outward appearance and product.) Our good friend Lisa Johnson has written extensively on this.

4. He neutralizes his opponents’ arguments about experience by showing them why his inexperience is a good thing. (It connects with the Millenials’ “I’m so special and I’m destined for great things” belief and ethic.)

5. His message is one of action, not defense. (He’s unapologetic.)

6. If I hear “Yes We Can” one more time, I will probably get sick. Seriously. But it shows the power of a very concise, simple aspirational message that deeply resonates with the core felt needs of his target. (What is that for you?)

Again, this is not in any way an endorsement of Obama or his politics. It’s simply a dissection of how a first-term Junior Senator from the Midwest can quickly and efficiently give his message a rocket pack.

Reading List

Here’s what I’m reading this week:

Artful Making: What Managers Need To Know About How Artists Work by Robert Austin and Lee Devin
This is my second pass at this one. It uses the metaphor of a theatre production company to demonstrate how companies can be more thoughtful of the creative process in their systems. Overall, I consider it a good read. (Hence, the second reading…)

Duma Key by Stephen King
Ooh…spine tingling. Actually, I’m only a little into this one, but I’m already hooked. 

In the queue:
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris

So…what are you reading? What should be in my queue?

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. 

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?