Archive for the 'Blog' Category



Pressure creates diamonds

That is, pressure forces change & innovation.  A time to rethink things.

I love this JP Morgan quote:

Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you’ll be able to see farther.

Which is the same, go there, stretch yourself.  Then see what you can see.

 

 

May 30th, 2014

Walking Increases Creativity

When I have a problem that I’m chewing on, I’ll go for a walk.  Typically by the end of a walk I’ve cracked the problem or figured out what the next step to getting to the solution is.  Its simple and it works.  Stanfords recent study mirrors this by  showing that walking increases creativity.

A person walking indoors – on a treadmill in a room facing a blank wall – or walking outdoors in the fresh air produced twice as many creative responses compared to a person sitting down, one of the experiments found.

Crazy – even walking indoors in a room with a blank wall, aka no external stimulus other than walking did it.

I’m also reading Daily Rituals of Artists, one thing that stood out for me is how much time they dedicated to just going on a walk.  Often up to 90 minutes giving their mind time to roam, to relax and enjoy life.

Steve Jobs was noted to instead of having a meeting go on a walk with whoever he was meeting with.

Why? That’s yet to be fully established – and as to whether other physical activities increase or decrease the effect has yet to be proven.

But that’s enough for me.  Get some more walking into your daily rhythm.  I’m definitely going to.

May 29th, 2014

Why tip on the spot?

Why not, a delayed tip, if you’re still happy in a couple of hours you will tip a bit more, or if you’re not happy you’ll tip a bit less.

For hairdressers – that makes sense.
For things like massages, not so much.
Car service – makes sense.

It’s something to think about.

May 28th, 2014

Why is one for one so popular?

It makes giving back a habit.

And that’s the best way to evoke change, is to make the things which are creating the change a habit (read Charles Duhigg).  You often can’t control the outcome but you can control the inputs that go in to doing it.

That’s why, things like Toms monthly coffee is interesting. you can support the cause and in an ongoing fashion.

Set it up. and it becomes a habit.

I like it.  If you do too, here’s some others I do:

May 27th, 2014

Childrens Art Gallery

I was browsing the Vancouver Art Gallery last week, and saw a few kids running through.

They were reasonably bored. Not surprising.

I never got art growing up, we had an art class and I thought art was about drawing – reflecting on that I wonder how we get kids into art, so that they understand what it is and what it means.

Thus the idea for a children’s art gallery, a gallery aimed at getting kids interested… funnily enough LegoLand is kind of like that.

What else should / could we get the next generation into early enough?

May 23rd, 2014

Leaks driving organisational change

It was really curious to see the leaks about the NY Times Innovation last week.  It’s a good read, just for how real it is.

The reality though, despite the content of the leaks, the act itself is going to drive change.

Clearly, internally, they are at a point of hey we need help to get the Times to see for itself and to get an outside perspective on how we need to change.

This will be noted as either a moment in time whereby they turned the corner and hit their stride.  Or didn’t.  I’m confident it’ll be the former.

The Times is able to attract some of the best & the brightest – they just need to empower them to take the organisation where it needs to go.

What I think they can forget, is that the world references what the Times are up to, I was in New Zealand the week before last and people were asking what the publishers were up to over here.  This is a great privilege but also a responsibility.  A responsibility to help guide & lead the sector through the rapid changes in the market.

The next six months should be interesting.

 

May 20th, 2014

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