Thomas Edison is one of history’s most prolific inventors. He made regular professional use of an under-rated if not derided personal past-time. New research suggests his radical strategy works!

“I have come to think that one of the most revealing signs of a young man's capacity is the use he makes of his vacations...”

- David Ogilvy

Here’s one of the most popular tools we teach at Stanford. A simple, structured way to “think outside the box” and court the muse when you feel stuck on a problem.

Taylor Swift illuminates one of the most counterintuitive findings in all the creativity literature: the best way to have a good idea is to allow yourself to have lots of bad ideas. Seth Godin agrees.

One of the greatest compliments you can pay a collaborator at the d.school is to say they’re “sparkable.” What exactly does that mean? They’ve learned to have a particular effect on creative combustion.

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.

In the newly-normed hybrid work world, it’s easy to isolate ourselves in the name of “focus” and “flow.” Careful we don’t insulate ourselves against valuable inputs…

The need to “think outside the box” seems obvious. A few Nobel Prize winners share their thoughts on how to do it. (It’s not nearly as complicated as you might think.)

Most breakthroughs sneak up on us, and can easily recede from our memories. Seeing when we’re stuck is an important step in rewiring some of our default ways of working.

John Cleese argues convincingly that, while we can’t guarantee that creativity will yield to our invitations, yet blocking time and space for it to emerge is essential.

Maya Angelou and Thomas Edison have given me unexpected permission. One of their secrets — quickly becoming mine — is to not tidy up so much.

It is profoundly uncomfortable to choose to work differently. But sometimes, the best way forward is to allow yourself to retreat. Work different.

Jake Karls, co-founder of Mid Day Squares, flips the “perfectionist” script. Here he shares his unexpected formula for crafting deeply engaged fans.

The single-most important decision I make weekly is to shed the “teacher’s cap” and put on the student’s. The only way to continue to inspire is to seek inspiration, myself.

Innovation is a numbers game, which is music to my ears since I’m a statistics nerd. One of my favorite counterintuitive statistical truths is Bayes’ Theorem. Study it to beat the entrepreneurial odds.

LinkedIn Founder Reid Hoffman and John Steinbeck might be wildly different characters, yet when it comes to sparking creativity, they both employ an unexpected hack.

The evidence is clear: back-to-back meetings strain our brains! One innovation leader gives “corporate athletes” a simple rule to make sure they show up ready to sprint.

To trigger the light bulb moment, you’ve got to summon your subconscious. And the best way to do that, is to care. Y Combinator’s Paul Graham explains…

Ever wonder where Amazon’s famous flywheel-spinning organizational innovation, the “two pizza team,” came from? Hint: it didn’t come from a brainstorm…

Innovators ranging from Lin-Manuel Miranda to Jeff Bezos wielded down time as a deliberate strategy. For all our connectedness, being unplugged has never been more important.