Gregg Fraley

You meet some interesting people using Twitter. Going back a couple years now I ran across a guy named Mark Dykeman (@MarkDykeman).  More accurately, he found me, and was kind enough to review Jack’s Notebook.  In any event, it’s clear we have similar interests.  I’m always keen to hear his unique perspective related to creativity and keep an eye on his Thoughtwrestling blog.  I was delighted to hear he’s just completed a new e-book about Mind Mapping titled: “Unstuck, Focused, Organized, using Mind Mapping.” The short version of this review is simply, if you are disorganized, either generally, or in some area of your life, this is a highly useful, amazingly practical, heaping helping of fast acting self-help. The book

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Briefly noted: My good friend Alan Black sent me a link today to a very hip and creative blog called Crooked Brains. The post up today has to do with electronic or smart pens and he thought I’d like to see it given my recent review of Livescribes Echo smart pen.  Check out these wacky pens, some of which are quite innovative, some just interesting. Livescribe’s Echo is included in the list, and I still think it’s the most practical, but the others are quite interesting, and may suit your needs.  For instance if you’re a music composer the Gigiway device looks great. Is it just me thinking that this market is about to take off, or am I just

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Call me a Johnny-come-lately but I’m suddenly enamored of what’s going on with electronic book readers (or “e-readers” as they are sometimes called) and the potential for a whole new kind of reading experience. This is an area of exploding innovation. I’m talking about devices like the Kindle, and the iPad.  And there are others — from Sony and Barnes & Noble — that I’m less familiar with. I’m going to leave it to others to do a cross compare of features and functions, this post is more about the potential for innovation in this space. Apologies to Sony and Barnes & Noble, I may try to do you justice in a future post. Up until now I’ve thought of

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When I’m traveling one of my rituals is to drop by an airport bookstore and pick up something entirely new. I do a quick survey of what’s hot, and poke around for some hidden gems. It’s often quite difficult to pick out a book; there’s just too much to choose from. Last week, under the gun to get to my gate, I begged help from a shop person and, I’ll be damned if she didn’t pick a winner.  ShopClass As Soulcraft is a newish book by Matthew B. Crawford. The subtitle is “an inquiry into the value of work”.  I guess it wasn’t too much of a risk, it’s a “notable” book by the New York Times, and a best

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I found a compelling book while running to catch the train. Picked up 59 Seconds, think a little Change a lot on the run and have devoured it in just a couple days. The author is a British professor, Richard Wiseman. In the spirt of the book, this will be a 59 second analysis. What this book is all about is untangling the myths around self-help. As a self-helper in my own right I found his research to be thorough, and his insights to be significant. Actually there a goodly number of eye opening insights in 59 Seconds, and delivered in highly digestible, non-academic, bite-size bits. Further, Wiseman provides actions steps that can be done in less than a minute,

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It’s here. The iPad is already another Apple phenomena. I’m not surprised at the hype, the hoopla, the press — the attention — that’s being paid to it. Apple has already established its reputation for inventing cool new gadgets, and why should the iPad be any exception. We’ve had some wonderful arguments at our dinner table about iPad. My step-son Arthur is 14 and he’s not impressed. He predicts that it will ultimately be only a curiosity. He doesn’t see how it will replace laptops, and thinks it’s too big to be handy for music and even video. I argue that it will be used differently and that we don’t even know yet the needs it will fill. He doesn’t

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I’ve been doing a lot of “innovation” reading and wanted to mention a few books I found helpful.  The common theme in these three very different books is finding that place or opportunity in the market where something new and different is needed. One is personal (Branson), one is conceptual (The Medici Effect) and one is strategic (Seizing the White Space).  All are worthwhile. Read These Books: Richard Branson, Business Stripped Bare, Adventures of a Global Entrepreneur. I found this business autobiography a delightfully easy and highly insightful read. Being an entrepreneur isn’t easy, but this guy makes it look like more fun than a barrel of airlines and record companies. Particularly interesting is the “how” around creating the versatile

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I feel compelled to write something about J.D. Salinger. I loved his work and read all of it, which sadly for fans such as I, wasn’t really that much.  Beyond Catcher in the Rye, there was Franny and Zooey, Nine Stories, and Raise High the Roombeam Carpenters, and Seymour an Introduction. This is his body of work. And, what incredible work. These stories are gifts, they are some of the richest, most colorful, romantic, accessible, entertaining, and multi-layered fiction written in the last 100 years. For me personally it was an introduction to writing as an art form, but also to the world beyond my provincial Cincinnati. It was a glimpse into Oz-like New York, into genius, insanity, fantasy, humor,

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I’ve realized while reading Winners & Losers, Creators & Casualties of the Age of the Internet that the role of the storyteller in innovation is under respected. Author Kieran Levis has written a book that is chock full of real life business stories.  Reading these stories I’ve learned a great deal about why companies succeed or fail. Is there anything more valuable when it comes to preparing yourself for innovation?  Why fall on the same sword that, for instance, Webvan did?  Instead why not emulate the team that founded Sony just after WWII? If you want to catch up on your business reading, this book is essentially an MBA in a box. It’s fascinating. Levis uses real world business stories

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For about a week I’ve been struggling with how to frame Grant McCracken‘s latest book, Chief Culture Officer, How to Create a Living , Breathing, Corporation.  I like the book a great deal — it makes me want to run out and get a degree in anthropology.  To start, this book has a wealth of insight and perspective on how culture — and I mean that in the broadest of all possible ways — impacts innovation. That said, I didn’t have a theme for my comments, but it came to me this morning, and the theme is… “holistic.” Holistic Innovation is something I preach and it’s amazing it took me this long to connect the dots of my current mantra and

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