Gregg Fraley

I just returned from spending a couple days in Liverpool, the city of  The Beatles.  I stayed at the new Hard Days Night Hotel, sleeping below a huge air-brushed portrait of George Harrison. I’ll write more about the hotel, it was, to use a 60’s phrase, a trip. In the meantime, I have a lot of things to say about The Beatles, and their relationship to creativity and innovation. I spent an afternoon at The Beatles Story museum at Albert Dock, which had a great audio tour and memorabilia. The anecdote that struck me was one told by their producer, George Martin. He recounted hearing the first tape of The Beatles and thinking it was awful. Brian Epstein, their manager, was insistent

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Pressured for Ideas? Here are Seven “Ideation First Aid Kit” emergency tools to get you thinking creatively again. Professional creative people often find themselves needing a brilliant idea — and simply not having one. We’ll we’ve all been there, a deadline is looming, you’ve tried this and that, and you know in your heart it’s not there, you don’t have something you can use. Anxiety, frustration, and fear creep into your being, and the harder you try, the worse things get. Don’t push the panic button, reach for the ideation First Aid Kit and triage your challenge. Here are seven tools for coming up with an idea under pressure: Think positive. Even if you’ve been stumped for days, even weeks, start

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Just watched another episode of Gordon Ramsay’s television show, Kitchen Nightmares. It’s a show where celebrity chef Gordon visits a restaurant in trouble and puts things in order. I get a huge kick out of this show! It’s entertaining, and, a real example of creative problem solving. For those who are unfamiliar with Gordon, he’s quite a character. A huge success as a restaurateur in the UK, he was once a promising soccer (football) player whose career ended early due to injuries. After years of kitchen dues paying he became a great chef. It’s quite a story. He’s quite blunt at times, and uses bad language frequently. I suspect he’s accentuating these traits at times to make the show more

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23 Creative Gift Ideas © 2007 Gregg Fraley It’s a challenge we face every year — what to do about gifts for Christmas. It’s daunting, its complex, and something we find it hard being inventive about. Panic, procrastination, and yes, fear, get in the way of creative thinking. Some people give up entirely! Don’t buy something awful just to cross someone off your list; there is no heart or creativity in that. Here’s an approach and some creative ideas to address the Christmas Challenge. It’s not about money, it’s about creative thinking! Many of these suggestions will work for even the most Scroogian of budgets. First, get out of panic mode. Decide to think creatively. Start by writing down some

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