Gregg Fraley

Smokey Robinson and Barry Gordy, 1981I’ll briefly note here the passing of Motown Records founder, Barry Gordy, and make four points about creativity along the way. I never met him, but I certainly experienced, and continue to experience, the results of his prolific creativity. In his amazing career he created songs, records, stars, companies, good will, and films. First lesson in creativity from Barry Gordy: Create a lot and keep creating a lot. Perhaps his greatest creative skill was simply finding and developing talent. He had a hand in the careers of Jackie Wilson, Mary Wells, The Jackson 5 (and Michael Jackson), Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, The Supremes, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The Four Tops, and many

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There is growing attention to the idea that innovation is supported, or not, by that amorphous beast organizational culture. It’s not a new idea, Mel Rhodes defined “Press” as one of his “4 P’s” of group creativity in 1953 (the others being People, Products, and Process). Who knows where Rhodes came up with “Press” — Press is really culture. Stop yawning! The wrong kind of organizational culture can kill innovation. If you’re an individual, consider that you have a personal culture you’ve built up around you (some might call it your life) so in a way the following applies to You to. Get the best engineers and managers and marketeers, have great product ideas, and great process…and you can still

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When I was a young boy I drifted in and out of my imagination. I day dreamed about sports fantasies, the future, space, the nature of God, angels, the lives of movie stars and famous people like JFK, games of my own making, and inventions. And no surprise, I was routinely punished for day dreaming. In order to escape the browbeating I made efforts to stay focused and pay attention. I also started thinking of that “state” as a bad thing and to be avoided. It got me into trouble with those women wearing the Catholic version of a burka. I reminisce here because I want to make the point that imagination is a practice. Like yoga, meditation, guitar, or

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It’s easy to say and hard to do — Deferring Judgement. Alex Osborn the original guru of creativity suggested that during brainstorming, participants should “defer judgement.” Osborn wrote Applied Imagination many years ago, which defined brainstorming. He actually coined the term. It’s a rule from the master —  you don’t critique ideas during brainstorming — it’s challenging. But that’s not what I’m talking about here. I’m talking about Deferring Judgement as a daily habit, as a continuous way of being. I heard Sid Parnes talk at CPSI, and this was his lifestyle “add” to the original Osborn guidance. As a fundamental way of being, it’s a big shift. But wow, what benefits for your creativity! Let’s face it, we are

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You’re about 50% of the population, at least. The modest half — overly modest. Generally, the hard working half. You make modest improvements (sometimes big improvements). You focus on the task at hand, and you don’t stir up trouble.  In fact, you seek to bridge gaps in teams or departments, this while not seeking accolades, just seeking harmony and productivity. You probably don’t work in Marketing, or other glamor areas, instead, maybe in HR, or Sales, Administration, or Operations. And, you are Not Creative. If people ask, you say out loud “I’m not creative,” or maybe “I’m not a creative type.” You really believe this lie. Sorry brothers and sisters, I’m calling you out on this — it’s just not

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“Creativity is Not a Muse, it’s a Choice.” Gregg Fraley Yes, that’s my quote, and what this post is all about today. I’m writing this piece to co-publish on a cool new blog called Follow the Weasel. Most of the content on FtW is in German, but selected bits, such as mine, are in English. FtW is a potpourri of creativity and innovation topics, a bit of design and invention, and it has a younger readership in Austria and Germany. Thank you to “Alf Red” a young visionary for the invitation to guest post on FtW. My post is directed at younger people, but it might resonate with anyone seeking greater creativity. There is a ton of written material about

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So, you’d like to be more creative. It’s good news, it’s a giant step beyond “I’m not creative”. If you’re “not creative” — stop saying that to yourself and, boy, do you need the list below! Before the thought and motivation leave you, try to get into action and actually Do Something Creative Now. Something that might become a habit, like smoking, only positive. Many people have the ‘more creative’ impulse and then let it float away on the raft of inaction. 10 Ways to Be More Creative, Right Now: 1. Go out and buy a notebook, a cool one, an easy to carry around one. Then start making lists in it of ideas for your various needs. Have a

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Elizabeth Warren made a very interesting comment at a recent campaign stop. The video and quotes from it are “going viral” — I’ve seen at least 4 re-postings on Facebook, and numerous tweets. Warren is seeking to be the new Senator in the State of Massachusetts. I wish her well, she’s a very intelligent woman with a heart. Her statement can be viewed on video here, but to sum up, she’s saying that wealthy people don’t do it alone. She says those who make a lot of money did it with the support of the society around them, including roads, educational systems (educated employees), police and fire protection. These are things that aid an entrepreneur to innovate and make money,

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I’ve recently started to advocate a new theory of creative thinking. Ready? Don’t think, Do. It’s not “Just Do It” — blindly doing something (although that beats inaction).  It’s more like start Doing in order to inform your thinking.  And keep doing to inform your thinking. It’s my view that many of us waste a great deal of time thinking. Thinking is going to happen, what doesn’t happen enough is action. Don’t wait for the perfect idea to get started. Get started, and perfect ideas often emerge. Yes, you need good ideas, and, good ideas often occur to you as a result of kinesthetic or multi-sensory action. If your problem is intellectual, find a way to make it more tangible.

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A great deal is going to be written about Steve Jobs in the near future. There are already several biographies and so many articles dissecting him you could wallpaper the Taj Mahal. This brief post is about an idea I have for him. Steve, now that you’re done with being CEO of Apple, I’d like to make a humble request on behalf of very young people. One of the things you could do for them, and future generations, is to simply share, in simple terms, about your life and how to be an entrepreneur. You’ve inspired a lot of people in your time, myself included. Your courage, brilliance, and effectiveness are remarkable. Why not add further glow to your amazing

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