“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.

We all like to deduce, to prove, to know for certain. But the most interesting opportunities for innovation are a function of wonder. Specifically, of a team willing to be humble and vulnerable enough to not know.

Thomas Edison said that cultivating the imagination was one of the essential qualities of the inventor. Sounds straightforward enough… But how does one do that?

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

When all of our time is spoken for, we short-change the longer-duration gestation required to form insights and think creatively. Bezos’ trick? He schedules unscheduled time.

A simple ritual powers Jeff Bezos’ efficacy as a leader of innovation at Amazon. Every quarter, he conducts a simple audit — two simple tactics that every innovation-oriented-professional ought to leverage with regularity.

M&A isn’t exactly an arena most folks associate with creative thinking. And yet, Michael Dell describes the conditions that led to “The Idea” that enabled history’s largest deal.

Trying to figure out whether you have a good idea? Don’t ask people what they think! There’s a much better way to assess a new concept than asking for feedback.

I’ve helped nearly a million fledgling innovators come up with new ideas and assess which are worth pursuing. I have yet to see a student make this one mistake…

Senior leaders unwittingly jeopardize their organizations by insulating themselves from the pain their users experience. By removing insulation, orgs can feel the pain they should be solving!

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.

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 challenges to creativity inside of large organizations are well documented. But it’s a mistake to assume therefore that nothing creative happens inside of big companies.

Lots does. But it’s often hard to see…

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 the best way through is around…

There’s immense power in the knowledge of a network. We’ve got no excuse: Charles Darwin had to wait months for letters to travel the globe, but we can log in and instantaneously exchange knowledge.

I have been consistently disappointed at how few stories are widely-told about remarkable women in the history of innovation. Even so, I was shocked to see research on how broad a phenomenon the underrepresentation truly is.

Pat Brown, Founder and CEO of Impossible Foods, is delighted that many vegetarians refuse to try his product. The best entrepreneurs are just as deft at disqualifying customers as they are at attracting new ones.

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…

Innovation veteran Johannes Mutzke shares the best way to answer the perennial “build or buy” decision facing organizations seeking to enter new markets.

Contrarians are valuable. Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos both used this government-developed toolkit for identifying strategic vulnerabilities and unlocking growth.