Fredrik Härén's Blog, page 23

Creating Visionary Trends. (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 117)

Yesterday, I played my first ever game of Padel. I played it with Johan Staël von Holstein, one of the people behind Bliss Padel Club that just opened up a padel center in Singapore and soon will open another big one in Dubai.

 

I learned something interesting about the Padel trend from Johan.

 

Spain has tens of thousands of padel courts. Sweden had virtually no courts ten years ago, but now has thousands. Singapore has three.

 

The padel courts in Thailand and Manila are all built by Swedes. And since Johan is from Sweden, that means the courts built in Singapore are also built by a Swede.

 

I am sharing this because the padel explosion in Sweden –and the trend of Swedes now taking the sport to the world– is a great example of how some people see a trend before others see it.

 

Johan estimates that the rest of the world will see the same dramatic growth of padel players like Spain and that, recently, Sweden has seen.

 

The ability to see the future by noticing trends –and understanding where they will go next and reacting to them– is a skill that is very valuable for creative people.

 

How are you making sure that you are paying attention to the trends happening in your industry?

 

And how are you improving your ability to understand how these trends might develop?

 

One of the main reasons I enjoy traveling the world so much is that you become better at noticing different trends popping up in different parts of the world.

 

 

Fredrik Haren – The Creativity Explorer

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Exploring the creativity of Europe

Europe is the continent of explorers, the land of enlightenment, and the location where some of the biggest discoveries by mankind were made.
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A diverse and culturally rich continent –and a continent that for the next 18 months will be my home.
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Whom should I meet?
Whom should I Interview?
Where should I go?
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I am reaching out to you to help me to connect with some of the most creative people in Europe, with the most innovative companies in Europe, with the most fun conferences in Europe.
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​I am already booked to speak in many European countries, from small countries like Montenegro and Lithuania to big ones like Germany, and the UK in the next couple of months, but I want to go to many more places. Especially to places I have not been to yet.
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Europe is what I will explore next.
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What will you explore?
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And what innovation project are you pursuing?
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And –as always– how are you inspiring your people to be creative? Perhaps we can work together to make them even more creative.
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Looking forward to hearing from you.

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The Outsider’s Insights Effect. The story of the Kebab Pizza in Sweden. (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 116)

I want to share a story about pizza.

 

Peter Lo is a Chinese man born in India who moved to Sweden and opened a restaurant.

 

Learning how Swedes loved pizza and kebab he invented the “curry kebab pizza”. It became a huge success and even got featured in the press as the perfect Swedish pizza! I learned about this story from Peter Lo’s son, Andy Lo, whom I met at a conference I spoke at a few days ago.

 

It is a simple and positive story, and I love it for two reasons:

 

1) It shows that sometimes it helps to look at something from the outside.

 

An outsider has insights that the insiders just cannot see.

 

Sometimes it can help to see new opportunities because you are not so close to the situation.

 

Where could you and your creativity be the outsider who sees what no one else sees?

 

2) It shows the value of changing cultures. Leaving one culture to stay in a new one is like a turbo booster button for creativity.

 

A story about a Chinese man from India moving to Sweden and learning about Italian and Turkish food and thinking that he could combine it makes me all giggly and happy.

 

As a Swede who has been living in Asia for 17 years, I am really looking forward to now moving back to Europe. I hope I have been gone long enough to look at Sweden —and Europe— with the eyes of an outsider and the heart of an insider.

 

Which new culture are you going to use to inspire your mind to think in new ways?

 

________________________________________________________________________________________

 

In 30 days I —and my family— are relocating to Sweden to spend at least 18 months there. We will live on my island outside Stockholm.

 

I will of course still fly back to Asia for speaking opportunities and I am really looking forward to speaking about —and learning about— creativity in Europe!

 

If you have any conferences happening in Europe where it would make sense to have The Creativity Explorer I invite you to reach out to me so we can explore the possibilities of how we could work together.

 

If you know of someone whom I should meet to interview about creativity, please connect us! I am always open to talking creativity with creative people

 

Stay curious and keep exploring the wonderful world of creativity!

 

The post The Outsider’s Insights Effect. The story of the Kebab Pizza in Sweden. (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 116) first appeared on The Creativity Explorer.

Create ideas. Not war. (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 115)

​Today in Episode 115, we will talk about using creativity to try to stop a war.

1) Create Ideas. Not war.

Putin’s war on a peaceful, democratic and independent Ukraine has really affected me personally. Maybe because I have been invited to speak in Ukraine several times and every time I have gone there I have felt inspired by the creative energy in the people I have met.
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While war is absolutely terrible and terrifying, I have found some inspiration in how people around the world have used their creativity to try to stop the war. Even ideas that are of more symbolic value still inspire a sense of positive energy.
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– Like Lithuania, who changed the name of the street where the Russian embassy is to “Ukrainian Heroes’ Street”.

– Or the Slovakian creatives, who started the project “Special Love Operation” to send messages to Russians through dating apps (as social media apps were closed down by Putin).

– Or how people booked rooms on Airbnb or hired freelancers on Upwork in Ukraine as a way to send money to strangers in Ukraine that needed help.

 

My inner theme is “Humanity to the Power of Ideas.”

 

I believe that human creativity is an almost infinite positive force if we just learn how to harness its potential and use it for the greater good.​
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May we soon have peace in Ukraine and in all other war and conflict zones around the world so that we can go back to using our creativity for more productive things.
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​ What is the most creative way you have seen to inspire peace?

 

 

2) Ideas Island update

In 2022, all the money raised from Ideas Island guests will go to support active humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.

 

This year, the weeks for Ideas Island will go to the people who are willing to pledge 1000 USD to help to Ukraine in its defense in the ongoing war

 

Only a FEW weeks are still available!

 

If you want to go this summer, apply by emailing Maria@FredrikHaren.com, giving a short info about the idea you want to work on at Ideas Island!

 

Imagine sitting on an island for a week to just focus on a creative project! In the crazy world we are living in right now, that might just be the blissfulness and calm that you need.

 

Learn more at www.IdeasIsland.com​

 

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The policeman, a boy and creativity. A lesson that inspired me. (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 114)

This month’s story is a bit different.

 

I just want to share a beautiful story I heard. It’s extra beautiful because it’s true.

 

It’s a story about how a police officer, while on assignment one day in Sweden, in the 1970s, saw a boy crying outside a school. The police officer, his name was Björn, stopped his car and got out. He asked the boy why he was crying. The boy, who was black, replied: “They are teasing me because I look different.”

 

The policeman walked into the school and ordered the teachers to gather all the children in the school to an assembly. Then Björn held the black boys hand in his and told the other children: “If you ever tease my friend again you will have to deal with me.”

 

Fifteen years later the policeman was stopped in the street by a young man who said: “I was that boy whom you stood up to and called your friend. After that I was never bullied again and I became popular with the other kids and got lots of friends. It worked out great for me. Thank you.”

 

 

That policeman was Morgan Freedude’s father. (The picture in this post is the actual picture from the event. The local newspaper just happened to be following Björn that day so the moment was caught on camera. The picture is now hanging framed in Morgan’s living room.)

 

Morgan inherited his father’s view of life and what it’s for. Morgan, too, is about living life by helping others. His current project, called #Föreningslivet is about building a platform to help people find the right club/association to join, based on the idea that if more people found their tribe who share the same interest/hobby more people would be happier with their lives.

 

Morgon calls his way of living life: “refining lives”.

 

It reminds me of a quote by Japanese entrepreneur Kazuo Inamori who once said: “The goal of life is to refine the soul.” Perhaps we can refine Mr Inamori’s quote to read: “The goal of life is to refine the soul, and a great way to refine it is to help others.”

 

The Swedish word för “refining” is “Förädla” – “För” is an intensifier and “Ädla” come from “Ädel”, meaning “nobel” and “honourable”.

 

Meeting with Morgan and hearing about his project, and also about his father’s story, made me reflect on the need for us to use our creativity for the good of others. It’s the nobel and honourable thing to do.

 

Is your organisation inspiring its people to user their creativity for good?

 

Fredrik Haren – The Creativity Explorer.

ps. 2022 is quickly coming. How are your plans for organising events (virtual and in-person) where a creativity session would benefit the audience? I would love to be part of the conversation on how we could take their creativity to the next level.
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Island Reflections. (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 113)

For the last six months this island has been my home.
(Sitting on a private island in the archipelago of Stockholm in summer is, arguably, the best way to rid out the end of a pandemic.)

 

My strongest insights was:Isolating ourselves in paradise for a full six months gave me plenty of time and space to reflect.

 

You do not need a lot, if you make sure that what you have is what you need.

 

The island has solar cells generating just enough power to distill our drinking water, charge our computers/phones, light our lamps and run a dishwasher.

 

Our boat is a small rowing boat – large enough to bring us the 250 meters to shore for when we we need to get food.

 

Most of our days have been spent watching the wildlife (there are 100 nesting birds on the tiny island), swimming in the sea and having friends over for “fika”.

 

Sometimes it seems that we use our creative powers to invent elaborate, technologically advanced, innovation.

 

Nothing wrong with advanced technology, of course.

 

But could it be that we at times forget to look for the simple solutions for making our lives better?

 

My message today is: Do not forget to use your creative skills to optimise the simple joys of your life.

 

Optimising the simple joys in your life, might just be the most effective way to rapidly improve your quality of life.

 

That is my reflection as I prepare to leave the island for this season.

 

What simple joy do you need to optimise right now?

 

Stay creative and keep exploring.

Fredrik Haren – The Creativity Explorer.

 

ps. This island is also the inspiration for Ideas Island (www.ideasisland.com) my other island that I lend out to creative people from around the world – the batch of guests for 2022 summer season will be selected in January 2022. If you are interested in spending a week on Ideas Island, for free, do apply.

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Creativity lessons from how Boxbollen created a global success. (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 112)

Let me start with a statement: Boxbollen is a super fun product, a great gift, a huge success – but most of all an amazing idea!

 

Jacob and Victor Eriksson, two brothers from Sweden, came up with the idea of putting a foam ball on an elastic string and to connect it to an app that counts the hits. The result: a perfect family game that feels like a computer game but happens in real life.

 

They are on track to sell 200,000 (!) Boxbollen (www.boxbollen.com) this year – almost all of them as Christmas presents.

 

I had the privilege of meeting with Jacob and Victor and they told me that It it started off slow (they sold < 3000 copies the first year), and there were many people who told them all the reasons for why Boxbollen would never work. But the brothers did not listen to the nay-sayers, instead they looked for, what they call, “receipts”.

 

‘Receipts’ are instances when you receive positive and honest feedback about your idea being great. In the case of Boxbollen it was things like when they showed off an early prototype in a park and a family came up and refused to give the Boxbollen back. Or when they showed it off in a pool in Malaga and a couple on a date, drinking champagne and eating strawberries, could not take their eyes off the demonstration.

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Receipts.

 

When you doubt your idea, these receipts will give you energy.When you move forward these receipts will confirm that you are going in the right direction.

 

The word “receipt comes from the 14 century word “receit” meaning “the act of receiving”.

 

When you launching a new idea you are often in no-mans-land and there are few indicators that what you are creating will work. That’s where these receipts become so important. You are receiving proof that you are on to something.

 

A word of caution: Look out for fake receipts – dishonest praise from friends trying to be nice or from people with a hidden agenda.

 

But keep chasing the true receipts.

 

Jacob and Victor almost manically chase receipts.

 

The final advice from Jacob was: “Do not listen to the haters. Listen to the lovers. Collect receipts of positive and honest feedback.” And then he added: “And surround yourself with positive people with big and bold ideas.”
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Develop your creativity and keep exploring!
Fredrik Haren – The Creativity Explorer.

 

ps. As always: I would love to hear your comments and thoughts at: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/fredrikharen_boxbollen-creativity-success-activity-6853595107967533056-XWaG

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“Take calculated dares.”(The Creativity Explorer. Episode 111)

“Take calculated dares.”

 

That was the message from the very talented photographer Jesper Anhede whom i recently sat down with for a conversation about creativity.
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Many talk about “taking calculated risk”, but “calculated dares” is different. It’s about daring to be creative.
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One example is how Jesper took this picture: hanging off a racing sailboat in the middle of the ocean, holding his very expensive underwater camera with one hand in the hope of capturing the moment a fisherman catches a fish – not knowing if he will be able to hold on to the camera.

 

 

And as you can see – it paid off.
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Jesper will do these things: like flying his drone close to a tree for the perfect shot, knowing full well that one time in 20 the drone will crash and he will have to pay to have it fixed. Calculated risk is defined as “Calculated risk-taking is operationally defined as the ability to deal with incomplete information and act on a risky option, that requires skill, to actualize challenging but realistic goals.”
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Calculated dare can be defined as “going for something fantastic knowing that it might not pay off – and you might even lose out – but if it does pay off it will be epic.”
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More about Jesper at: https://anhede.se​

 

Stay safe and creative,

Fredrik Haren- The Creativity Explorer

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The fourth – and best – way of tackling a crisis. (fight-flight-freeze-or-??…). (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 110)

The fight-flight-or-freeze response is a famous concept for how humans react in response to a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat. I would like to add a fourth alternative – an alternative that I think is generally the best.

 

Let me explain.

 

Let’s take the epitome of a crisis: being attacked by a lion.

 

Most people think there you have three choices:
a) Fight – attack the lion and try to kill it before it kills you (Good luck…)

b) Flight – run away from the lion (the fastest human to ever live, Usain Bolt, can run 27.79 miles per hour. A lion can run 50 miles per hour…)

c) Freeze – that might feel extremely intimidating, but is apparently the “right thing to do”.

 

So what is the fourth choice: Be Creative!

 

For example: Give the lion a foot massage.

 

The last few weeks a post have been going around about Alex Larenty who lives on a game reserve in South Africa and who gives the lions on the reserve foot massages…

 

​”One day, he discovered that every time a lion was applied a cream to cure an infection on its paws, the lion would slacken and appear to smile. Since then, he has massaged all the lions in the park on a daily basis. Thanks to the pampering, he created a bond such that just by seeing him arrive, the lions lie down, begin to stretch their legs and smile.”

 

From the post: ​https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/lion-foot-massage/​

 

Now offering a foot massage to an attacking lion will probably not work, but you have to admit that the idea of even offering lions foot massages were totally crazy to you before you found out that it actually works.

 

That is the power of creativity – it makes crazy things make sense.

 

For the last 18 months or so most of humanity have been living in a crisis. What has been your response?

 

Did you Fight?

Did you Flee?

Or did you Freeze?

Or did you use your creativity to come up with a beautiful solution to a terrible crisis?

 

When covid hit, my family decided that our children should look at the years of covid as the most happy times of their lives. We took them out of school and homeschooled them to get as much time as possible with them, and for six months now we are living on our private island in Sweden to be able to live in freedom and paradise – without a need for masks or any risk of getting sick – while we wait for the pandemic to die down.

 

The next time you are facing a crisis, evaluate your options when it comes to fighting back, fleeing and/or freezing – but do not also forget to examine your fourth alternative – to come up with a creative solution to get out of your predicament.

 

Creativity is the most amazing human superpower. If it can come up with the idea of foot massage for lions, imagine what it could come up with for you.

 

Stay creative and keep exploring.
Fredrik Haren – The Creativity Explorer.
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ps. Any comments or ideas? Please drop in to my Linkedin profile and share: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredrikharen/detail/recent-activity/posts/​
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pps. If you know of anyone in need of some help to develop the creativity and innovation in their company/organisation/team do reach out. I would love to help.
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Never be an incumbent: Lessons from the company and re-defining what “boat” means. (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 109)

How often do you get to visit a start-up rewrite the definition of a whole industry? Well, today I got to visit Candela – one of the coolest companies I have come across in 25 years of studying innovation.

 

Their boat is nothing less than a revolution. It’s a boat that flies (!) above the water. Absolutely silent, with superior seakeeping, fully connected, maintenance-free, 95% cheaper to drive and sporting the longest electric range of any boat in history.

 

While most people said “electric boats will never happen”, Candela rewrote the rules for what a boat should be. In just a few years, Candela is now one of the largest boat builders in Northern Europe and their journey has just started.

 

Traditional boatbuilders were so stuck in the idea of what a boat “should” look like, they did not realise that new technology had made old boatbuilding techniques, well, “old”.

 

The boat is built on Lidingö, just outside my island, and today, I had the privilege to take the boat for a test spin. (Will post video later).

 

​Stay safe and creative,

Fredrik Haren- The Creativity Explorer

 

p.s. Click on the link to see a photo of the boat in action.

The post Never be an incumbent: Lessons from the company and re-defining what “boat” means. (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 109) first appeared on The Creativity Explorer.