Fredrik Härén's Blog, page 18

Creative Fatigue (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 154)

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When good ideas fade away (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 153)

Hi,

 

Today, I am writing to you from Vemdalen in Sweden where I am on a skiing holiday with family and friends.

 

I wanted to reflect on when good ideas fade away.

 

You see, I used to work in Vemdalen and Åra many years ago. Then, the ski-locks (similar to the one in this picture) were very popular.

 

However, this time when I was in Vemdalen, no-one was using them!

 

People were not even using the ski-shelves that were set up to hold skis (the red ones in the picture).

 

Instead, everyone just left their skis on the ground, creating seas of skis.

 

Ski-shelves and ski-locks are good ideas. They make it easier to ski on the ground when the un-used skis are standing up instead of laying down.

 

People used to use them – but for some reason people stopped.

 

What is it that makes people stop using good ideas?

 

Do you have any other example of when good ideas faded away?

 

As always, would love to hear your thoughts. Post them on LinkedIn: When good ideas fade away.

 

 

Fredrik Haren – The Creativity Explorer, this week more exploring the mountains on skis than creativity.

 

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Innovation to solve pain-points (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 152)

In many parking lots in Sweden, we have a system where the parking is free for a couple of hours, as long as you show a Parking Disc with your arrival time on it.

 

It’s a good system, but the problem is that many people (especially people like me!) forget to put in the arrival time before leaving the vehicle.

 

That means, we get a parking ticket – not for staying too long, but for forgetting to put in the starting time.

 

Very annoying.

 

Luckily, someone invented a Digital Parking Disc, a small device that automatically sets the starting time every time you park the vehicle.

 

It most likely costs 4 Euro to produce, but they sell it for 40 Euro (the price of one parking ticket).

 

Very smart.

 

What is that one thing in life that really annoys you? How could a product reduce that annoyance?

 

As always, would love to hear your thoughts. Post them on LinkedIn: Innovation to solve pain-points

 

Creativity – the antidote to annoyance.

 

Fredrik Haren – The Creativity Explorer.

 

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Procedure vs Creativity (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 151)

Procedure is to do what has been decided as right.

 

Professionalism is to know when that would be the wrong decision.

 

So, this just happened:

 

“Where is your badge?”, the security guard checking all the people entering the big ballroom in Mumbai gave me a stern look.

 

“Sorry, I did not have time to get it, and I really want to listen to this speaker since I am the second keynote speaker,” I said.

 

“Sorry, you need a badge to enter.” I get in return from the guard.

 

Stopped by a security guard just doing his job and following procedure.

 

But then the other guard – let’s call him “Frank,” – steps in.

 

“Mr. Haren?”, he said.

 

I look at him in surprise.

 

Turns out that Frank had studied the conference program to learn the names and faces of all the speakers. He smiles and says: “It’s ok, Mr. Haren, I know who you are. Just go in and get the badge later.”

 

The first officer was following procedure.

 

The other officer was following his professionalism.

 

I started chatting with Frank, who turns out to be a former police officer. We had a good conversation around how procedure is a good way of keeping a minimal acceptable level. But to be truly professional, is to be able to know when to ignore procedure and improvise.

 

Remember: creativity is the exception to the procedure.

 

What procedure do you need to break?

 

As always, would love to hear your thoughts. Post them on LinkedIn: Procedure vs Creativity

 

Fredrik Haren, The Creativity Explorer

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Sceptical Sceptical Dialogue. (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 150)

“Often, when I have an idea, I get this little voice in my head that tells me all the reasons for why it’s a bad idea. How do I get rid of that voice?”

 

That was the question I got in today’s coaching session. I think this is a common problem and in this text, I will share what I think the solution is.

 

My coachee gave me an example of how she would have an idea (like, “I should ask my boss for more hours at work”), and then this sceptical voice in her head would start coming up with reasons for why that would be a bad idea.

 

After listening to her sceptical voice she would abandon her idea, and then feel bad about it.

 

“I overthink things!”, she told me.

 

I replied: “I think you underthink things.”

 

Then I asked her what would happen if she used the sceptical approach also on the arguments she got from the “sceptical voice”.

 

I encouraged her to create a “sceptical sceptical dialogue” where both the positive idea voice in her head AND (!) the sceptical, negative voice in her head both got the same treatment.

 

She realized that if she questioned the sceptical voice’s arguments those arguments would often not be true to her anymore. You see, many people just take the sceptical voice’s arguments at face value – not realizing that they often do not make sense.

 

So, the next time you feel that the negative, sceptical voice in your head is killing your ideas, use sceptical questioning to question that negative voice. Create a “sceptical sceptical dialogue”.

 

Doing that will give the good ideas a much better chance of surviving.

 

Fredrik Haren – The Creativity Explorer.

 

ps. Thank you for reading my newsletter. I am now also sharing these posts as articles on LinkedIn where you can subscribe to them too. (There I post a bit more often than here as I do not want to overload your inbox)

 

Subscribe here: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/...

 

Would love to connect with you there.

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Happeness. (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 149)

There is a special kind of joy that comes from making things happen. That special kind of happiness you feel when you have created something.

 

Yes, true and pure happiness lies within and is not measured in accomplishments, but that should not stop us from also doing things that create that feeling of delight one feels after making something happen.

 

It could be something epic, like finishing a book, or building a house; but also something small like deciding to bake a cake for your grandmother or inviting your friends to attend a concert with you.

 

The world is, thank God, full of them: People who make things happen because they want to, because they feel like it and because it makes them happy.

 

Let’s call it Happeness. That joy that comes from making things happen.

 

That should be celebrated more, because nothing happens without people who make things happen.

 

What are you going to make happen today to bring you Happeness?

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Look for the Rhythm. (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 148)

A photographer does not look for a “good picture.”

 

On New Years’ Eve, I was lucky enough to be seated next to Martin Diehl, a professional photographer from Germany.

 

I asked him to give me an insight into the skill of taking great pictures.

 

He said: “You have to feel the rhythm of what you are taking a picture of.”

 

At first, I did not understand, but then I suddenly got it.

 

It’s not about finding a nice shot, or the right light, or the perfect composition. Those things are important, but that’s not where the magic is.

 

It’s about finding the rhythm. Every situation has a rhythm.

 

At a wedding, it might be the mother of the bride shedding a tear – because the rhythm of that wedding is the relief the mother feels for her daughter finding the right man.

 

When photographing a dog, the rhythm might be to take a blurry photo, if the dog is full of energy and refuses to stop moving.

 

When taking a portrait, it’s about finding the rhythm of that person. And that might not be of that person smiling at all. (Way too many amateur photographers are making people smile for photos)

 

Martin told me that when he did portrait photography he would spend a large amount of the time he had just talking to, listening to, and observing the person. To understand her essence.

 

Then when it was time to take photos he knew what photo to take because he had become aligned with the rhythm of that person.

 

Many people talk about “flow” when it comes to creativity, but I think it is equally important – perhaps even more important – to find the rhythm of what you are trying to create.

 

That is true for great photography, but I think that is also true for many other kinds of creative expression. I know it’s true for speaking or writing.

 

Search for the rhythm.

 

That will be the creative advice for today.

 

Would love to hear your views, you can comment on this email or on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rhythm...

 

(Picture is self portrait by Martin Diehl.)

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Blank Ideation (WheelShare) (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 147)

Blank Ideation is when you let yourself ideate an idea all the way without ever thinking of executing it. Like you are shooting blanks. The purpose is not to “hit” something, it’s just to practice the process.

 

Like last night, when I (in a dream!), came up with an idea of a wheelchair ride-sharing service.

 

Instead of electric scooters scattered across town that people can rent by the minute, there should be electric wheelchairs.

 

The advantages of wheelchairs over scooters are:

 

More comfortable to sit

Safer to sit than to stand.

Easier to learn.

A bonus advantage would be that the city would be full of people in wheelchairs normalizing the sight of a person in a wheelchair.

 

Another advantage would be that older people could use the wheelchairs, and they would never jump on an electric scooter.

 

I even dreamt up the name: “WheelShare”.

 

When I woke up, I started thinking about the business model (Governments should be offered to buy credits to give to old people), the logo (two smiling, happy, wheelchairs next to each other?), the slogan (“Roll with us!”), etc.

 

It was not a long process, perhaps ten minutes, mostly with me lying in bed and while having breakfast.

 

But the purpose of Blank Ideation is not to create greatness or to spend a lot of time on it.

 

It’s to practice the art and skill of developing ideas.

 

So when you do get a great idea that you want to take all the way to finished product launched you are already used to the process.

 

And also because Blank Ideation is a lot of fun!

 

To, just for the heck of it, develop a whole business plan on the back of a breakfast napkin is just so enjoyable. Loads of fun without any of the work.

 

So enjoy some Blank Ideation during these holidays before you go back to the hustle and bustle of “regular life” when much of your creative energy will be used to solve everyday problems.

 

 

Fredrik Haren – The Creativity Explorer.

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The Graph of Missed Opportunities. (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 146)

A cautionary tale of missed opportunities.

 

In November I offered 100 university students one free coaching session while I was giving a speech for them.

 

It was my gift to them.

 

95% of the students applauded the gesture and seemed to value it.

 

All the students had to do was to send me a message on LinkedIn and I would offer them a slot.

 

23% of them did.

 

When they messaged me I, right away, wrote back and told them to suggest a day that would work for them in January.

 

5 of them did.

 

So just 5% of the students grasped the opportunity to get a 1500 USD coaching session for free.

 

100% of them were given the opportunity.
95% of them were excited about the opportunity
Just 23% acted on the opportunity
and
just 5% followed through on the opportunity.

 

I think this is a pretty normal spread for most opportunities.

 

Let’s call it “The Graph of Missed Opportunities”.

 

Lesson: Most people miss opportunities – not because they were not presented to them – but because they did not act or follow through on them.

 

Remember: “Missed opportunities are, actually, missed actions.”

 

I think this is very important to keep in mind when it comes to reflecting on why your best ideas or dreams do not materialize

 

As 2023 arrives, make sure to grasp more opportunities.

 

Fredrik Haren – The Creativity Explorer.

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“Dvinking”: Two People Thinking Together (Often while Drinking Gin) (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 145)

In celebration of Hernö Gin winning “Best Gin in the World” again (!) (they have won it every year since 2015!) I am posting this text from when I met with Jon Hillgren, founder of Hernö Gin last year.

 

I want to introduce you to a very useful word. It’s a word describing an important part of the creative process that we have all experienced, but never had a word for – until now.

 

The word is “dvinking”.

 

Let me explain.

 

If a group of people is sitting together to come up with new ideas we say that they are “brainstorming”.

 

If one person sits by himself/herself we say this person is “thinking”.

 

But there is a space in between. The time when just two people sit down in focused conversation for the purpose of together coming up with or developing some ideas.

 

That’s called “dvinking”.

 

It’s a word for one of the most valuable and most rewarding types of idea generation.

 

The word is derived from the Sanskrit word “dvi” (meaning “two”) and the English word “to think”.

 

If you have not heard of the word before you may be forgiven because I just co-created it with Jon Hillgren, founder of Hernö Gin. Hernö gin has been voted “Best Gin in the World” multiple times. I met with Jon in the Hernö Gin Bar (Yes, they have their own bar in Stockholm).

 

In the company of two glasses of Hernö Gin (of course) we talked about creativity, ideas, dreams and gin.

 

It was a conversation where we shared ideas, built upon each other’s ideas, got inspired by each other stories and created some new ideas as well. After a great hour or so I said to Jon: “There should be a word for what we have been doing – two people sitting and thinking together and discussing ideas while drinking gin.”

 

We both exploded with ideas and suggestions for what this new word should be and, in the end, landed in “dvinking”. (“dinking” has some negative connotations, and I personally love a word with Sanskrit roots.)

 

So to “tvink” is “two people thinking together (often while drinking gin)

 

Example: “I really enjoyed dvinking about new business ideas with you.”

 

After interviewing 100,000’s people about when they get their best ideas I know that a huge percentage (around 20%) will reply “when I am talking to friends” and many will add “in a bar”.

 

Now we have a word for this very powerful and effective creativity activity.

 

That word is dvinking.

 

The next time you dvink with a good friend (over a glass of gin, wine – or water) enjoy the moment and now know you have a word for what you are doing.

 

Comment on: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dvinking-two-people-thinking-together-often-while-drinking-haren

 

Keep Exploring Your Creativity.

 

Fredrik Haren.

The post “Dvinking”: Two People Thinking Together (Often while Drinking Gin) (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 145) first appeared on The Creativity Explorer.