Gregg Fraley

Do you remember the scene in Mary Poppins where they sang the song “I love to laugh?” It was Ed Wynn, a Disney film stalwart and old vaudevillian who played Uncle Albert. When Uncle Albert laughed he rose into the air. Laughter does make us lighter, and being lighter changes our thinking. There is a real value to “going goofy” if you want to shift perspective, if you wish for heightened creativity. Goofiness is an applied creativity tool, and make no mistake, it’s serious business. The subject of my drawing looked vaguely liked Ed Wynn. Like Wynn, he had a wry smile, almost smug, on his face as we rode the train into London. His secret wish is a projection

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I had the pleasure last week of hearing the Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh. For those of you whose “woo” detection meter has just started clicking, well, hang in there, I think you’ll see the business relevance in a moment. The experience of meditating with 3000 people at Royal Festival Hall was refreshing and energizing. The focus, even before the man spoke, was on breathing. The guided meditation we all did together had us simply being mindful of the breath going in and out. When you do this, it’s actually difficult to not be “in the moment.” Thich Nhat Hanh’s comments were amazingly simple. And yet, the elegance of his poetic and wise words almost masked how deeply practical

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Andy Warhol’s famous quote from 1968, that everybody will be world famous for 15 minutes has come true hasn’t it? I just watched a YouTube of a 12 year old dancing to the Maverick’s “Dance the Night Away” — 38,000 views and counting (authentic if nothing else). The democratization of the media has happened, for better or worse. However, if you’ve not quite gotten your 15 minutes yet, I wouldn’t worry so much about it. A secret wish for fame may mask some other need. Peel back that onion before you attempt to break the world’s record for eating ostrich omelettes. Because… Creativity does not require fame. Innovation does not require fame. Full self-expression, in any of its many forms,

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Words of wisdom can echo through time. Words of positive creativity creates virtuous circles that can spiral for many years. I’m writing today of the words others have given me, and also, my own words. I occasionally hear from somebody who has read my business novel, Jack’s Notebook. The notes are generally positive. Some have been — inspirational. It’s a profoundly fulfilling thing to hear about the positive impact your words have on others. I’m grateful for the audience, and grateful for the words of empowerment others have given me. Yesterday a reader of Jack’s Notebook, Aaron Eden, posted an interesting blog piece about his journey into the world of creativity and innovation. In Butterflies to Hurricanes – How Innovation and Creative

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It’s time to innovate how start-ups raise capital. Everything is in place to do so — crowdfunding is a revolutionary change that levels the playing field. But currently, the technique is hamstrung by government regulations. This is a USA focused post, but there are similar challenges in the EU. Dave Knox (@daveknox) tweeted a link taking me to a page to sign to support the Jobs Act (aka Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act H.R. 3606).  Americans reading my post here — I urge you to click through and Sign The Letter. Did you know that start-up companies in the USA are forbidden to: Publicly discuss that they are raising money Raise money through crowdfunding Receive services like standard docs from incubators

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I don’t plug a lot of videos on this blog — how many video’s are all that relevant to creativity and innovation? This is the exception, I have one I’d really like you to watch, after you read this Jay Leno style “set up”. Growing up in anti-communist America the world was black and white. You were either pro-democracy capitalist, or a commmie pinko. There was no middle ground (gee, not so different than now). The “Domino Theory” had the USA fighting a communist insurgency in a tiny country in south east Asia that had no strategic value. The Vietnam war tore the country apart. I’d also rather forget the McCarthy era and blacklists. Which is what makes this new

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The Huffington Post published this 40 second video featuring every Apple product ever made. It’s worth taking a look at this 36 year, 40 second history of innovation. First impression — while they’ve made some really beautiful products, looking back, they’ve made some butt-ugly ones as well. And there were some marketing duds sprinkled in with the winners. Their current success helps you forget the mis-steps, see pic of the Apple Newton. The lesson to be learned here isn’t about perfection it’s about persistence. Say what you will about Apple, they keep making things, they crank out products. That persistent “practice” of innovation is part of why they are so damn good at it. Can innovation be as simple as

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I’ve been reading Steve Faktor’s Econovation, The Red, White, and Bllue Pill for Arousing Innovation. It’s been out since November, but I’ve avoided it because Steve’s an economist and I have bad memories of nursing hangovers in my 8:00 am Economics class at University of Cincinnati. I wish I had picked it up sooner because it’s a fascinating, erudite, bitingly funny, well researched, and I think important book. Americans — Buy one now and send it to your Congressman. Tell him or her that if they don’t read it you’ll lash them with wet Chinese noodles at the door to their office. European readers, there’s plenty to learn from Faktor’s manifesto about how to reinvent an economy. As the title

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I was invited by Tanner Christensen, author of the blog Creative Something to contribute a short piece to a free e-book on creativity. The assignment was to write a short response to the question “Why Creativity?” This is the first piece in ages that I wrote long hand first; maybe I should try that technique more often. See my answer below. I’m joined in Why Creativity by the likes of Julien Smith, David Meerman Scott, Patrick Algrim, Matthew E May, Mike Brown, and Frank Chimero. The e-book has just been made available for free download on Tanner’s Aspindle page. I’ve read the other bits and I think you’ll enjoy them, very inspirational — so download a shot of creativity espresso!

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Persistence is not a sexy concept. Hearing the word one might feel respect, but also a touch of dread. Persistence means working hard on something in those dreary dog days when you see no light at the end of the tunnel. Persistence is not something we usually associate with creativity. And yet, it’s a vital piece of it. It’s easy to start something. Completing things is also a great feeling. It’s that funky bit in the middle that Edison might have called the work clothes of opportunity. Dean Kamen speaks of the inevitable day when a project meets a huge unexpected hurdle — and then everybody wants to bail on it, including you. Don’t. The difference between success and failure

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