Lorne Michaels, the most-nominated person in Emmy history, has accomplished something that very entertainers do: sustained creative excellence. His mantra for creative success is quite surprising…

Experiment broadly! Fantastic example from Ogilvy on the power of fighting tunnel vision, which limit us to far narrower ideation and far fewer experiments than would be beneficial.

What if one reason we aren’t all a little more like Einstein is a simple cognitive bias? What if we could short circuit that bias with practice?

Good news: we can!

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.

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

Design is an inherently optimistic field. We are, after all, trying to make the world a better place. But this optimism can lead to naïveté, and can actually hinder real progress, if left unchecked.

A fascinating psychology study reveals a disturbing truth: the world around is ripe with potential inspiration that is far too often unrealized simply because we aren’t looking.

Most folks want to stop diverging as quickly as possible. As soon as a reasonably good idea comes up, there's a collective sigh of relief which says, "Whew! We did it! Mission accomplished!" …

What makes an idea a good idea? Research suggests that the best idea — irrespective of commercial merits — is actually the one that provokes thinking the most.

Most folks are the victims of a breakthrough more often than they are the perpetrators of one. It doesn’t have to be that way. We can tempt lightning… Or at least, we can increase the odds of a strike.

Almost every attempt to introduce innovation is met with resistance. By examining the surprising sources of resistance, we can learn how to frame innovation in a way that wins minds.

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.

If necessity is the mother of invention, then constraints are invention’s crazy uncle. Stories as varied as the origins of Wikipedia, Dyson Vacuums, and the ice industry illuminate.

A recent experience in a Stanford classroom reminded me of one of the most dangerous myths we can believe about knowledge.

Philippe Barreaud, Head of Michelin’s Customer Labs, has a hard-won portfolio of insights from leading global innovation for 20+ years. Here, he revels in the paradoxes of prototyping as a toolkit.

One of the most trajectory-shifting inputs for Phoebe Yao’s start-up came when she least expected it: not during a mind-blowing mentor meeting arranged by a VC, but in a chance encounter with a friend in the park. 

I had the privilege of thinking alongside the brilliant Kim Scott, and shared some insights on her “Radical Candor” blog. Re-posting here with her permission. Feedback welcome!

The definition of “genius” changes as teams shift between convergent and divergent modes — and what gets rewarded should, too.

What if eliminating failure reduces the likelihood of a breakthrough? There’s lots of research that suggests that’s the case.

One of the most famous studies of creativity was conducted by a former spy-master. The insights he pioneered about productive, effective creativity never cease to surprise…