One of the most powerful ways to accelerate the quality of our ideas is to actively seek and embrace critique. Leaders who model embracing critique create psychological safety for others to accelerate, too.

Many early career decisions are driven by implicit — or often explicit — scripts that our communities and contexts force upon us. These scripts limit not only our perspectives, but more importantly, our potential.

Leverage is one of the most fundamental mechanisms of value creation, yet few folks look far enough beyond the balance sheet to reap the rewards of the strategy. Here’s how to bring the benefits of leverage into daily life.

To make empathetic engagements with end users as rich as possible, it’s essential to immerse in and observe the world of your user, and to do so regularly. Some tips from an outstanding innovation leader.

NYU Prof Adam Alter asked Malcolm Gladwell, “If you were given a month to come up with an idea for a new story, and you had no constraints, what would you do?” I was blown away by the simple elegance of his answer.

When you perform a calendar audit, consider the collaboration layer. Ask these three questions to identify gaps in your portfolio of perspectives.

Amidst the frenzied pace of life, it’s tempting to veg out whenever there’s a down moment. “Doomscrolling” is real! Instead of whittling away the hours, creative geniuses make good use of found time.

A critical priority in a productive, creative life is to make time to think, reflect, and synthesize. Here are a few examples of how spectacular innovators have carved out the necessary space.

Imagination is sparked by surprises. So if we want to stimulate fresh thinking, we ought to be seeking out surprises. 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 the generations.

Martin Luther King was singularly inventive in his oratory. This too-little-known story offers a remarkable behind-the-scenes view of one of the most famous public expressions in U.S. history.

The origin story of Taco Bell’s acclaimed Doritos Loco Taco illuminates one simple principle: most folks’ job is to find flaws in new ideas! Sometimes you need to bypass bureaucracy entirely…

To describe Fenty Beauty as having revolutionized the beauty industry is an understatement: by obliterating the “acceptable spectrum” of color, they literally changed the definition of beauty. Such “experience gaps” are an incredible opportunity for innovation.

André 3000 shines a light on a critical component of the creative process in a recent interview with Rick Rubin. As much as we love compliments, it’s our critics who often help illuminate the rough patches.

Design is an optimistic pursuit. But can lead to naïveté, if left unchecked. What most designers need is a healthy dose of skepticism to compliment the optimism with which they approach their efforts.

Whitney Burks says, “Don’t go with the first thing that comes to mind. The truly great ideas are the ones that come after that.” The sad irony is that NOT expecting better ideas to come along is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

d.school Fellow Ise Lyfe says, “It doesn’t matter if you’re good enough. You most certainly aren’t, at any new task… the question is: are you great enough to rise to a new challenge?”

“This can’t be all I’m supposed to be doing.” Ashanti Branch, the talent behind the #millionmasksmovement, shares how he made the slow-but-profound transition from high school math teacher to movement-maker. His experience is surprisingly common.

This guest post comes from Gavin Guidry, Creative Director at R/GA. Gavin writes, “Rather than viewing each brief as the impetus for creation, let’s look at the future that we want to see, and ask how our work can bring us closer.”

Founders have a sense for what the market wants, but have to be willing to adapt based on real-time feedback, and iterate accordingly. But sometimes, it’s hard to hear the market…