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He understood that an experiment ending in failure is not a failed experiment—as long as constructive learning is gained.
the “real measure of success is the number of experiments that can be crowded into twenty-four hours.”
the faster you find weaknesses during an innovation cycle, the faster you can improve what needs fixing.
The surprising, compelling mathematics of innovation: if you want more success, you have to be prepared to shrug off more failure.
the process of guided mastery—a series of small successes—to help people gain courage and overcome deep-seated phobias.
“Failure sucks, but instructs.”
Check out this quote.
The inescapable link between failure and innovation is a lesson you can learn only through doing.
Fear of failure holds us back from learning all sorts of new skills, from taking on risks, and from tackling new challenges.
moving forward always requires concentrated effort, but the next goal is never completely out of reach. This contributes to what Jane calls “urgent optimism”: the desire to act immediately to tackle an obstacle, motivated by the belief that you have a reasonable hope of success.
Diego Rodriguez in his blog Metacool says that innovation thinkers often use “informed intuition” to identify a great insight, a key need, or a core feature.
An old proverb reminds us that “success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan.” To learn from failure, however, you have to “own” it.
Too often they opt out of being creative.
“Education is the system that’s supposed to develop our natural abilities and enable us to make our way in the world.
“When our self-worth isn’t on the line, we are far more willing to be courageous and risk sharing our raw talents and gifts.”
One way to embrace creativity, Brown says, is to let go of comparison.
Resilient people, in addition to being resourceful problem solvers, are more likely to seek help, have strong social support, and be better connected with colleagues, family, and friends.
Dan Roam, author of The Back of the Napkin and an expert on the art of visual thinking,
his web-based “Napkin Academy” is called “How to Draw Anything.”
1. Stick figures are very simple and convey mood or emotion—
2. Block figures add a rectangular torso and are good for showing motion
Blob figures (also known as “star” people) don’t show emotion or action well but provide a quick way to draw groups and relationships.
He just teaches you how to make better use of the simple drawing skills you already have.
The biggest hurdle is going down the slide that first time.
“Courage is only the accumulation of small steps.”
your belief in your capacity to create positive change and the courage to take action.
one of the central principles of human-centered design is that you “empathize with the end user.”
innovation—whether driven by an individual or a team—can happen anywhere. It’s fueled by a restless intellectual curiosity, deep optimism, the ability to accept repeated failure as the price of ultimate success, a relentless work ethic, and a mindset that encourages not just ideas, but action.
years, we’ve found several effective strategies to help you get from blank page to insight:
1. CHOOSE CREATIVITY:
2. THINK LIKE A TRAVELER:
3. ENGAGE RELAXED ATTENTION:
4. EMPATHIZE WITH YOUR END USER:
5. DO OBSERVATIONS IN THE FIELD:
6. ASK QUESTIONS, STARTING WITH “WHY?”:
7. REFRAME CHALLENGES:
8. BUILD A CREATIVE SUPPORT NETWORK:
at some point, they decided to be creative.
Creativity seldom follows the path of least resistance. You need to deliberately choose creativity.
We learn a lot when we travel not because we are any smarter on the road, but because we pay such close attention.
Try to engage a “beginner’s mind.”
“If you want a good idea, start with a lot of ideas.”
Create an eclectic portfolio of short- and long-term ideas, with varying potential for risk and reward.
Another place to find inspiration is to look for new ideas from different cultures or different kinds of organizations.
If you have only a few ideas in your idea bank, you’re more likely to settle on one of the few you have and defend it fiercely, even if it’s not optimal.
you can choose to be creative. But you have to make an effort to stay inspired and turn creativity into a habit.
prolific mind wanderers score higher on tests of creativity.
our minds make unlikely connections between ideas, memories, and experiences when we are at rest and not focused on a specific task or project.
Relaxed attention lies between meditation, where you completely clear your mind, and the laserlike focus you apply when tackling a tough math problem.
The notion of empathy and human-centeredness is still not widely practiced in many corporations.
it’s the ability to see an experience through another person’s eyes, to recognize why people do what they do.
