Fredrik Härén's Blog, page 20

Idearise (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 134)

Every sunrise is a celebration of creativity, because every morning the sun rises and every morning it paints a new painting on the sky.

 

I got this story from Amar Ramesh, a famous wedding photographer from Chennai in India. 

 

Most mornings he goes down to the sea to watch the sun come up over the horizon. Every day the sunrise is different.

 

It’s a reminder of the endless possibilities of creativity. A celebration of the power and brightness of an idea that can light up the darkest world.

 

Get up early tomorrow and go and catch a sunrise and be inspired to create something new fuelled by the sun’s relentless habit of waking up each day to create a masterpiece.

 

Fredrik Haren – The Creativity Explorer

 

P.S. The picture above is from the sunrise at my island today.

The post Idearise (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 134) first appeared on The Creativity Explorer.

Explore and Search. (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 133)

Who do you need to learn from?

 

 

In the last 100 days, I have done more than 50 (!) one-hour one-on-one interviews with leading innovators around the world.

 

From Nicholas McQuire, Director, Strategic Missions and Technologies at Microsoft, Microsoft, (UK)

 

to Rafael de Jesus, Head of Innovation Teams Partnership & Development Petrobas (Brazil)

 

From Angelica Garza, Chief Human Resources Officer Aeromexico, (Mexico)

 

to David De Schutter, Global VP Innovation & Technology Development AB InBev (Belgium)

 

And many, many more.

 

I have learnt more about the creative process, how big organisations innovate, about creativity in different parts of the world, and much much more.

 

I might have studied creativity for the last 25+ years but it is my experience that you can learn something new in every single conversation you have with an

expert on a topic you are interested in.

 

That is why I always say that the main job of a speaker is not to speak – but to speak to people. To do research. To explore his/her topic.

 

And that is important to anyone wanting to develop in any field.

 

Who do you need to speak to?

 

What do you need to learn?

 

 

Fredrik Haren – The Creativity Explorer.

 

P.S. While some of the interviews have been done in person in countries such as Germany, Montenegro and Sweden. Most of them have been done via Zoom – a wonderful tool for in-person interviews and research.

Before the acceptance of virtual meetings there is no way I could have done so many interviews across so many regions as I have done in the last 100 days. And most of them I have been doing while sitting on my little island in the archipelago of Stockholm. Every man might very well be an island – but thanks to Zoom we are now connected

The post Explore and Search. (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 133) first appeared on The Creativity Explorer.

A Lesson in Creative Thinking From on Top of a Buoy. (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 132)

Don’t you just love it when you get to experience how your brain looks at something familiar and decides to look at it in a new way?

 

For 23 years I have been driving by a buoy next to my island where I live. I must have driven by it thousands of times.

 

And each time my brain thought: “There is a buoy to tie a boat to” (after all, that is what they are for, right…).

 

Then, a few days ago, my daughter, Maria, 9, looked at the buoy, laughed and said: “Daddy, can I sit on it?!”

 

I laughed too and replied: “Eh…?”

 

But then my mind caught up with me and I added: “Yes, of course you can!”

 

I drove close to the buoy and she jumped onto it.

 

Instantly it became a gymnastics bar!

 

Now every time I drive by that buoy I smile to myself.

 

It is now a reminder of the value of looking at familiar things with a mindset of “what else…?”

 

Pick a thing in your environment that you have looked at thousands of times, smile and ask yourself: “What else could this be?”

 

Fredrik Haren – The Creativity Explorer.

__________________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to The Creativity Suite on LinkedIn.

[image error]

If you are interested to learn about creativity and innovation from leaders in some of the world’s leading organisations then sign up for The Creativity Suite: My weekly newsletter on LinkedIn.

 

During the last couple of years, I have started an interview series where I interview innovation leaders.

 

The two latest interviews are with Rafael de Jesus, who is based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he is the Head of Innovation Teams Partnership & Development at Petrobras, and Nicholas McQuire, Director, Growth Innovation and Strategy, Strategic Missions and Technologies at Microsoft. 

 

Subscribe here for weekly innovation inspiration: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/the-creativity-suite-6967407670718816256/

The post A Lesson in Creative Thinking From on Top of a Buoy. (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 132) first appeared on The Creativity Explorer.

“Pausebrate” (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 131)

It’s easy for creative people to run from one creative project to another.

As soon as one creative project is done, we rush to the next one. (Often we rush to the next one even before the previous project is done…).

In this post, I want to encourage you to stop and celebrate our latest creative project.

To pause and celebrate – to “pausebrate”

Here is a photo of me today unpacking a couple of beautiful gin glasses gifted to me by my dear friend Andrew Vine of The Insight Bureau.

I am lifting my glass in celebration of a project that I and Andrew have worked on for months and that finally came through.

Soon I will sit down to work on the next project, but for now I am just going to sit on my island, sip on my tonic and reflect on the wonderful feeling that comes when a creative project has reached a milestone or been successfully finished.

Here’s to more creative projects. Here’s to your last creative project!

Fredrik Haren – The Creativity Explorer.

[image error]

 

Ideas Island update:

Quote from one of the guests to Ideas Island this summer:

“The stay on Ideas Island was such a blessing. We loved the peace & quiet, being near the water, doing yoga on the deck, reading, writing, painting, sewing, getting to know the island creatures and sleeping deeply! 

We were four of us. I was focusing on embroidery. Linzy (British/Thai choreographer) was focusing on dance, Josie (Swiss/Welsh theatre maker) was working on her new script & Mish (Scottish/Turkish writer) was researching his PhD. We all got so much out of having a week away to focus on our creative practices without distractions.”

If you want to go to Ideas Island and stay a week next summer then keep subscribing to this newsletter and I will let you know when it’s time to apply for the 2023 season.

Staying at Ideas Island is FREE, but we ask those who can afford it to give some money to charity. This year 100% of the money gifted goes to humanitarian help in Ukraine.

[image error] [image error]

The post “Pausebrate” (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 131) first appeared on The Creativity Explorer.

Using Creativity to Turn a Leaking Boat Into a Garden (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 130)

Reuse, reduce, and recycle is not just a rallying call for sustainability – it is also a rallying call for creativity. 

My mother loves (!) to garden and luckily for me, she loves to come and garden on our island. But at 77 years old it’s slowly getting harder for her to bend to the ground, so today we turned an old boat upside down, filled it with soil, and named it “Berit” (my mum’s name). 

Now she will be able to continue to garden without having to bend so much. 

As a bonus, I got a better use for my old boat that was leaking anyway. 

Before and after pics are below.

[image error]

 

What could you reduce, reuse or recycle for a better life?

 

Fredrik Haren – The Creativity Explorer.

The post Using Creativity to Turn a Leaking Boat Into a Garden (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 130) first appeared on The Creativity Explorer.

The Frustrating Art of Changing Ones Mind. (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 129)

For the last two weeks, I have been swearing at myself once a day.

 

You see, two weeks ago I moved the hook to close our shower room door from a high position on the door to a low position (to make it easier for our children to close the shower room.)

 

The hook has been in the higher position for 20+ years.

 

And day after day I would find myself reaching for a hook high up on the door that is not there anymore….

 

I of course know that I have moved it, but my muscle memory is so strong that I still reach for the higher position – only to see my hand trying to grab a hook that isn’t there.

 

It took me over two weeks to start reaching for the hook in its new position, and I still do the mistake of reaching high once in a while.

 

To me this little story is a symbol of why change is so hard for us humans.

 

But also a symbol of how we – sometimes slowly, sometimes painfully – can change.

 

What behaviour do you continue to exercise even though the world has changed and you should have to?

 

Change is good. But change is hard.

 

[image error]

 

Ideas Island update

 

Quote from one of the guests to Ideas Island this summer:

 

“Ideas Island was brilliant for us. We adapted to Island life very well. We worked, swam, sauna-ed our way through it and, in between, we had long conversations about the importance of new ways of thinking about our work. We experimented with new forms of problem-solving tools, shared ideas and incubated. The perfect experience and we lived large. We explored the lake with long rows, we ate and drank like royalty, and, thanks to the weather, we were able to enjoy most meals in the sun. It truly was a magical experience which we will treasure forever.”

 

[image error]

 

As you know Ideas Island (www.ideasisland.com) is my private island in Stockholm where I let creative people from around the world stay one week – for free (!) – to work on a creative project. (I do ask the guests to give some money to charity if they can afford it, but I charge nothing for letting them stay on the island). If you are interested in staying in 2023 re-apply on the site to be eligible for next years season.

 

Keep exploring and keep creating.

 

Fredrik Haren – The Creativity Explorer.

 

ps. I plan to do a South America Creativity Tour in early 2023 – any connections, introductions or suggestions of people I should interview, people who might be interested in booking a speech and/or people I should meet do email me. Thank you!

The post The Frustrating Art of Changing Ones Mind. (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 129) first appeared on The Creativity Explorer.

Thinking of Booking a Speaker for the Autumn Season of 2022? Book Fast!

The autumn of 2022 seems to be the busiest speaking period in a very long time.

 

Personally I have 29 pending or confirmed bookings for the 3 months of September to November – and they are in all kinds of industries and all over the world.

 

A speaker bureau client I spoke to recently said: “I have never been this busy in 20+ years of booking speakers”. 

 

A hotel manager I spoke to said their conference rooms are virtually sold out for all of 2022.

 

Clearly the world is back to meeting again and the demand for flight tickets, hotel venues – and yes, speakers is at an all-time high.

 

That is of course great news after two years of covid when the meeting industry was just organising virtual events.

 

Meeting virtually is ok, especially when that is the only option – but meeting live and in person is just so much more human, so much more impactful and so much more fun!

 

It’s amazing to see the energy and excitement and the human connections that are created when people are finally meeting again after being away for so long. 

 

Remember: If you are thinking of getting your own group together for a meeting or a conference, act fast.

 

I hope to see you at one of these conferences.

 

 

Fredrik Haren – The Creativity Explorer.

 

P.S. At the moment based in Sweden but taking bookings from around the world.

P.P.S. For early 2023 I am planning a speaking tour of Latin America to speak, research and learn more about creativity in this amazing part of the world. If you know of anyone who might be interested in taking advantage of the fact that I will be there, please do help me by connecting us. 

 

¡Muchas gracias!

 

Photo by Headway on Unsplash

The post Thinking of Booking a Speaker for the Autumn Season of 2022? Book Fast! first appeared on The Creativity Explorer.

Preview There Are Many Killers of Creativity: But this one might just be the most lethal one (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 128)

In the last email I sent you I wrote about the positive effect that happened when I put up a dome on my rooftop and how that triggered many new ideas for the rooftop.

 

This time I want to talk about how wonderful ideas get butchered.

 

The local government of Lidingö where my island is just came back to me today and told me that they will NOT issue a building permit for the dome. ;-(

 

The reason they stated was “It looks more like a tent than a building.”

 

They happily ignore the fact that it is (!) a tent and not a building I want to put up. 

 

(Because I live on an island I need a building permit for any structure that I put up – even a tent – but when I apply for the building permit they see the tent and think “that is not a real building” and turn it down… If I lived on the mainland I would not even need any kind of permit to put up a tent…)

 

I always feel so weird and uncomfortable when government bureaucracy gets stuck in their own rules.

 

I am sharing this story to add the sad ending to the idea of putting a dome on the rooftop – but also to make you think and reflect on the creative process.

 

Remember:

 

a) Bureaucracy, rules and regulations should encourage good ideas – not kill them. Remember that when you create rules and regulations.

 

b) Even wonderful ideas might fail. (I have received amazing feedback on my dome (and not a single negative comment), and yet I am not allowed to keep it up because someone in some admin role decided it does not look good because it’s made out of plastic. No matter how great an idea is, not everyone will like it.)

 

c) A friend in Ukraine recently posted: “They might destroy it, but build anyway.”

 

I love the sentiment of that. 

 

Creativity is about taking risks, about building things, about making things happen. And yes, sometimes someone is going to try to tear it down, prohibit you or destroy what you are building – but build it anyway. 

 

So build. Build anyway.

 

Fredrik Haren – The Creativity Explorer.

 

 

P.S. I am happy about the summer I got with my dome.

And who knows, perhaps the last chapter of this story is not written yet.

The post Preview There Are Many Killers of Creativity: But this one might just be the most lethal one (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 128) first appeared on The Creativity Explorer.

The Creatomino Effect. (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 127)

Let me introduce you to the “Creatomino Effect”.

 

For more than 10 years our family has had a rooftop deck on top of our house on our island. We had put an outdoor sofa there but we never really sat in it and never did anything with that area.

 

Then this summer I decided to buy a tent dome to put up on the other end.

 

Then we moved the outdoor sofa into it – making it much more comfortable to sit up there when we are not bothered by the winds.

 

Because we now spend more time up there I decided to get some flowers.

 

And then I tried putting a small table there, which got me to think about putting a bigger table there.

 

Then I realised a sun sail would be a good idea.

 

I also carried up to sun-loungers and that triggered me to get a colourful outdoor rug.

 

Finally, I put up a windbreaker to stop some more of the wind.

 

All because I decided to buy a dome.

 

Buying the dome was the “triggering idea” – the idea that triggered a lot of new ideas on how to make this area better – after 10 years of not doing anything with it.

 

The “Creatomino Effect” is the effect of how one idea creates a domino effect of triggering other ideas.

 

The difference between the regular domino effect and the Creatomino Effect is that in the former one thing leads to another. And in the latter one idea leads to more

ideas, while at the same time inspiring a creative mindset that enhances the creativity of the person.

 

I love when you get into a spirit of Creatomino, and my whole family is now enjoying how we improved our rooftop by a magnitude of 100 in just a few days, after not having done anything with that area for over a decade. The next time that happens to you, acknowledge it, take advantage of it and thrive on it.

 

 

Fredrik Haren – The Creativity Explorer.

ps. And yes, I am writing this text sitting on the rooftop. It even inspired me to write this text.

The post The Creatomino Effect. (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 127) first appeared on The Creativity Explorer.

Choose Your Workspace Deliberately. (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 126)

This week I want to share some creativity inspiration around work and island.

 

1) I just posted this on social media and thought it would be relevant for this newsletter too:

“A swan inspired chair, in a earth inspired dome, on top of a bird’s nest inspired house on a perfect little island – that is where I sit and work.

Chose your workspace deliberately.”

And to quote Buckminster Fuller – the man who is famous for promoting dome buildings:

 “When I am working on a problem, I never think about beauty… but when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.”

 

My question to you this week is: Where do you work?

 

[image error]

 

2)  IDEAS ISLAND UPDATE.

Which brings me to my other island: Ideas Island (also in Stockholm)

The current Ideas Island season is in full swing and I am starting to get emails and photos from this season’s guests.

Here are a few from the guest Julius that I hope will inspire you to apply to stay at Ideas Island, or to go and find another creative place to work on your most important creative projects:

 

– “Sometimes we need an Island to see clearly.”

– “I’m a travel journalist for more than ten years and did dozens of amazing journeys – but the inspiration and joy that Ideas Island brought is beyond comparison.”

– “I don’t have the words to describe what that journey meant to me, meant to us, three friends. Actually, I still don’t know how to put it. But I will, one day. And it will not be a travel feature; it won’t be a newspaper article at all. I want to bring the reader to Ideas Island. I want to really show him that spirit. On the first day, it seemed, that there was something waving at us, from the bushes, through the trees, with branch arms and leaf hands. That ghost, we found, was no illusion. It’s still waving, here, now, everywhere.”

 

And some of his photos:

 

[image error]

 

Stay curious, explore more and always develop your creativity.

Fredrik Haren – The Creativity Explorer.

The post Choose Your Workspace Deliberately. (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 126) first appeared on The Creativity Explorer.