Innovators from Edison to Netflix teach us that while every innovator should know how to craft clever experiments, yet one clever experiment is hardly sufficient… you’ve got to get scrappy.

We tell students at Stanford to create portfolios of early stage directions for a simple reason: it increases the likelihood of success. Research shows that we’re unlikely to select our highest-potential idea.

A theme has emerged in my study of breakthrough thinkers: the role that parents play in shaping aspirations. Breakthrough parents plant bold dreams in their kids’ hearts!

Linus Pauling succinctly describes the essence of productive creativity: “The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas.” Sounds simple enough. But just how many is “lots”?

Entrepreneurial endeavors are fraught with risk. Rigorous, scientific experimentation is the best way to resolve the uncertainty.

In her legendary memoir on writing and life, Anne Lamott shares a simple but crucial tip for avoiding one of the worst feelings that can ever befall an individual in the midst of creative pursuit.

Plato, Newton, and Einstein all demonstrate that, when you’re on the brink of ushering in a new era, you’ve got to be willing to resist well-intentioned opposition.

Bon Jovi took an unconventional approach to deciding which tracks to include on their third album. We should all be glad they did.

When Bob Sutton told our class, “There is no such thing as a new idea…” I thought he was wrong. Turns out, I was.

We are all busy. The most effective innovators wield their calendar to enhance their practice, rather than be a victim of their schedule. Here’s how to structure your time differently.

The stars of Second City recite a profoundly moving mantra before heading onstage together. It illuminates the nature of collaborative creativity.

Very few modern leaders have given ideas — or the creative process that conceives them — the kind of respect that Steve Jobs did. Sir Jony Ive vividly describes that care.

Who doesn’t feel a little guilty taking a nap? But they’re a powerful means of tapping into the subconscious! Salvador Dalí’s “Slumber With A Key” relieves guilt, and the fear of wasted time.

When Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, it was nothing more than an absent-minded, off-handed comment during an after-hours diversion. Turns out, that’s how many insights are discovered.

Brainstorming is a well-known (and popularly-derided) practice of generating ideas together. What’s the best way to maximize creative output of a group ideation session?

“Your thoughts construct patterns like scaffolding in your mind… In most cases, people get stuck in those patterns, just like grooves in a record, and they never get out of them…” —Steve Jobs

“‘You can't understand Google unless you know that both Larry and Sergey were Montessori kids,’ said Marissa Mayer. Valuing personal freedom to pursue interests explains a lot about Google.

Imagination is particularly provoked by unexpected inputs. One tell-tale sign of a valuable surprise is, it makes you chuckle…

How does a scrappy start-up attract world-class talent? Steven Levy’s “In the Plex” shares how Google managed to attract the brightest computer scientists before it had 10 employees.

In the pursuit of creative excellence, it’s easy to forget that one of the simplest ways we can build our creative legacy is by encouraging others in their craft. A simple compliment has an amplifying effect.