This insightful guest article conjures the spirit of legendary restauranteur Danny Meyer, who said, “ABCD so you can ABCD: Always be collecting dots to always be connecting dots.” The collection- and connection-instinct is at the heart of a curator. Read on…

Imagination is sparked by unexpected information. If you want to stimulate fresh thinking, seek out surprises. Here’s the inside scoop on the origins of an innovation at Mattel, which highlights the importance of welcoming an unexpected direction.

The most exceptional innovators are just as diligent about their inputs as they are their outputs. Academy Award-winning producer Brian Grazer has kept up a rigorous input practice for thirty five years.

What’s routine to accomplished “creatives” like Steve Jobs and Lecrae isn’t even on the radar for many innovators-in-training. Learning to get inspired is one of the fundamental instincts we have to develop.

Frustrated by bad design, Steve Jobs left his desk. He didn’t do it absent-mindedly; he did it deliberately: looking for something that would unlock the riddle.

Innovation is all about unexpected recombinations. Sometimes, it seems like theft. My belief is we need to normalize such acts of recombination by sharing our own!

“I don’t know,” might be three of the hardest words to say, especially for a professor. A leader is often conceived as the one who knows. And yet, not knowing creates space for the unexpected to emerge…

Wildly inventive individuals have a habit of gathering conceptual pieces before they know exactly what they’re going to do with them. The more legos you collect, the more ideas you can make.

How did I have the boldness to approach a living legend of innovation as a total stranger? I was inspired by one of my own students, and followed suit.

I’ll never forget the first time I caught a glimpse of my own dormant creative potential. It’s like a whole new world of possibility opened up to me. Ever since then, it’s a gift I’ve wanted to give others.

“Who in their right mind would work in such conditions???” I often think to myself… And then that very, messy environment delivers an unexpected connection, and I remember: Picasso, Angelou, and me.

Imagination is sparked by surprising information. Customer insights leader Kelly Garrett Zeigler tells a story that highlights the importance of welcoming an unexpected direction.

It’s easy to dismiss tools like mood boards as “designer speak,” but the truth is, they’ve been indispensable to great thinkers seeking to capture inspiration throughout history.

Since connections are the very basis of creativity, anyone who seeks creative output should consider: what fuels new connections? Michael Dell’s early experiments give us a glimpse at a very unexpected answer…

Ben Franklin is one of history’s most prolific innovators, with breakthroughs ranging from literature to science to civics. How’d he do it? A simple but profound weekly ritual to spur fresh thinking.

How do you court the muse? Innovators from Jeff Bezos to Victor Hugo to Jerry Seinfeld teach us embrace every bit of inspiration as soon as it arrives - by writing it down.

"Catching the Big Fish," deconstructs David Lynch's creative process. Of particular note is a simple technique he calls gathering firewood…

You might think the best place to start designing is smack dab in the middle of the bell curve. But it’s not. The history of innovation teaches that the best breakthroughs (even for the middle of the curve) come from the extremes.

We can inadvertently insulate ourselves from the very things that bother our customers. When we immerse ourselves in our own products and processes, we viscerally experience what needs to be reinvented.

Music executive Jonathan Azu uses a simple formula to remain inspired: every two weeks, he meets with a leader he admires.