Lasting creativity does not come from a flash of light or an afternoon of inspiration. We should regard innovation as a daily habit, just like laying a good foundation for everything. At 99U, we have summarized the common characteristics of innovators that are worth learning from many entrepreneurs, researchers, and creative workers, and help everyone cultivate:
1. Arrange a holiday every quarter
Venture capitalist Brad Feld arranges for himself a week off every three months:
“Every quarter I give myself a week off to stay away from the internet. This is the most effective thing I have ever done. On Saturday, my wife Amy and I set off to somewhere, I don’t know how to bring a computer, and when I’m at the airport, I do. Give her the phone. When we return home from vacation next Saturday, my wife will return the phone to me. Usually we travel to some relaxing and enjoyable places instead of staying at home for vacation. I spend all the time during the trip. It is used to relax and accompany my wife. When on vacation, I usually read a book every day, talk to my wife, arrange a lot of adult entertainment, and go to bed late every day. No matter when I come back, I am always refreshed.”
2. Hold a “review meeting” after each project
Harper Reed, former chief technology officer of the Obama campaign, believes that daily “reviews” are important:
“There is a great team behind the presidential campaign. A large part of the reason why this team is always full of vitality is because every time a project is over, we will hold a meeting dedicated to reviewing the entire project. This allows us to stop. Come down and reflect on,’What kind of project are we starting? What are we doing well? What are we doing wrong?’
Since we have cultivated the entrepreneurial spirit of iterative development, we can usually immediately find out what went wrong and what is right in the project, which is very valuable to us. I think it’s important to be able to be aware of where things are going and tell them quickly.
People always forget how to identify, especially in terms of technology, which is harmful to the nature of work. Everyone has feelings, but it’s important to tell how you feel. If you say this in the meeting room: “Okay, our project started today, what do you think of this?” Then your team said: “I really don’t like this, and I hesitate to give up that task. A little unhappy, but I am so excited about the implementation of this project. ‘You see, although this is only a brief conversation, it is a frank communication. “
3. Develop the habit of writing a diary
This is what best-selling author Cheryl Strayed said about the importance of keeping a diary:
“I think writing is a tool for self-exploration, it has given me too much help. Writing plays a different role in my life: as an artist, I need to write, but when I try to solve something or When making a difficult decision, I also need to write. I think that in many cases people, even if they are not writers, still need to write when dealing with crises. When you are broken in love, you will write a diary, although your habit of writing a diary will not exceed 2 years. If you want to exercise your thinking logic and observation skills, writing a diary is the most basic method. Writing can make you think clearly.”
4. Create a “foundation of interesting characters”
As a writer and entrepreneur, Ben Casnocha founded and invested in a “Funny People Foundation” to encourage everyone to find and meet various interesting people regularly:
“The’Funny People’s Foundation’ is actually a pre-commitment mechanism: by pre-setting time and funds, it is mandatory to find and meet people you are interested in. This will increase the fact that you do this. Possibility of things. Because we know that many people are like this, we know that we should do it, and we want to do it, but when things are really pushed forward, for example, you have to take an hour to complete one. It might cost 40 dollars to invite someone to dinner-then they just let it go.
From the long-term development of the network, if you do not have a long-term vision, it is easy to make mistakes. The relationship between people—whether it is love, friendship, or friendship between colleagues—will take time to develop and maintain. In many cases, treating interpersonal relationships as a short-term transaction will hinder the development of long-term interpersonal relationships in the future. “
5. Develop the habit of “newspaper clippings” to inspire inspiration
When Sarah Foelske is confused, she will go to see her newspaper clippings:
“In any project, there will usually be times when you are confused. At such times, I will stay away from the computer and escape the busy day. This is a great help for me to break through the bottleneck period. When you relax your mind , Even if it is only 10 minutes, it will be easier to find inspiration. When creative inspiration is urgently needed, I think such training and meditation are very helpful.
I also like to collect newspaper clippings, whether it’s magazines, event invitations, or beautiful wrapping paper, I will collect them as long as they can inspire inspiration. In addition, I will look for inspiration by browsing books about visual works. “
6. Take a nap every day
News anchor Pat Kiernan makes sure to take a nap every day:
“I will arrange my work schedule every day to make sure that I can take a nap every day. You must learn to say no. I generally maintain a firm stand on this. You must rest in the morning to have the energy to cope with work, so you must refuse Some trivial matters, learn to resist the temptation to distract you.”
7. Make bold assumptions and record the content of the assumptions
Simon Mottram, the founder of Rapha, often writes hypothetical business articles to help him make decisions:
“I often write hypothetical business articles about a company’s future development in the Financial Times or The Wall Street Journal. To some extent, it can be said that this is the state we are trying to achieve. I have Wrote an article to Rapha in 2005, and this article was published in Fortune magazine in November 2010. (Obviously now the world has become a bit different, and Fortune magazine has also been revised)
The article talked about Rapha’s desire to transform the bicycle market, and advocated that more people regard cycling as a way of life and an indispensable part of life; talked about 25,000 Rapha customers forming a club and gathering in Rapha Cafe, Let’s go for a ride and buy Rapha coffee. Talking about the appearance of Rapha products in many magazines…5 years later, in November 2010, the business model described in this article has been realized. “
8. Brainstorm in the bar
Designer James Victore likes to think about design creativity in the bar:
“I always sketch in a bar or restaurant, not in the studio. When I create a picture album, I leave the studio every morning to sit in the park for a few hours. Once I have inspiration, I immediately write in the sketchbook. Write it down quickly. After that, I will stay in the studio during the day to perfect the work. At 4 or 5 in the evening, I will go to the bar to sit, drink two glasses and write a few new ideas. I like every day This kind of creative process has therefore become my habit.
I can’t think about creativity in the studio. I think the studio is just a place where employees gather to produce works. However, we are not creating for the sake of producing works, so we can leave this closed grid at any time. How many great architectural ideas are done on napkins? Because they are free souls, they are not bound by works. “
9. Get out of the “cage” of reinforced concrete
Radio host Garrison Keillor made sure that he was not bound by the office building, and calmed down to observe the world around him:
“I don’t think people can come up with any good ideas just sitting in front of a computer. On the contrary, taking a sticky note, going out and observing the world around you can bring you more inspiration. If you walk into a room When you see some large columns, you will think that this place used to be a savings bank. At this time, you will write down these ideas. This will be the beginning of creative inspiration.
I think you must be good at observing everything you do. Even if the final result of this event may not be used, you start with observing your words. There are a lot of informal conversations that I hear accidentally. Of course, I think you would be happy to hear something outside the wall. “
10. Learn to use the method of “thinking synthesis” to think about problems
Artist and filmmaker Ze Frank has his own set of methods to reach the commanding heights of thinking divergence during brainstorming:
“‘Thinking synthesis’ is a way of thinking that tries to divide your thinking process into several parts. Of course, I often use this method. You can list 4 to 5 adjectives or characteristic words first, and then start your mind in this direction storm.
Generally speaking, when I have an inspiration, I usually start to diverge thinking from a small range around this point. For example, Procter & Gamble has released a new toilet paper. If I want to find inspiration from it, the first thing I want to do is to develop a certain range of associations from the toilet paper. What would happen if you didn’t have toilet paper? What size of toilet paper would you like? What kind of people never use toilet paper? What kind of people use toilet paper often? What can you do with 10,000 rolls of toilet paper? One without toilet paper What will the world be like?
I repeated these extreme thoughts until an interesting idea flashed. Then you repeat the above process on these new ideas. This kind of training is so cool, it forces your mind to break through the ordinary boundaries of things. “
