Lego thinkers and Play-Doh thinkers.
Some people are Play-Doh thinkers: they like to create from unformed raw materials. Sculpting something to their own vision, and creating something from nothing. This is the same kind of thinking that leads to a Big Idea, or a truly new concept. Play-Doh doesn’t offer you anything beyond a base substance with which to express your creativity.
I’ve realized recently, I’m a Lego thinker. I work best with a large set of pieces already in front of me, so I can look at them and find ways to make them fit together better, with more benefit, or with a greater end result. Lego thinking is about taking what already exists and finding ways it can connect. Lego thinking is a lot more like process innovation, or creating a network or ecosystem out of existing parts.
Play-Doh thinkers will see a thing that does not exist, and be driven to bring it to life. Lego thinkers will see a hole in a current system, and be compelled to fill it, because it will make the rest of the pieces come alive in a new way.
Both are valuable, and they tend to work well in teams. Two Lego thinkers will focus on what the best way to arrange the pieces is; two Play-Doh thinkers will focus on determining who has the better vision of what the end result should be.
What I’m saying is, share your toys.
Sometimes I think of side projects.
Last week at the office, we segued into a conversation about the absurdity of the award show gift bag. The idea that the most famous people in the world, who already get to attend something as exclusive as the Oscars, need a $20,000+ bag of swag to make them feel valued.
And I started to think: what is the total value of all of those bags, at auction.
And I started to think: what is the simplest way to reach out to as many award show attendees as possible, asking them if they’d be willing to donate their bag to an online charity auction.
And I started to think: how much would the perceptual value of the goods (iPods, Swarovski crystals, designer clothing, etc) included in these bags increase due to the connection with 1) the event itself, and 2) individual celebrities.
A system that would let celebrities (or their reps) make a public pledge, some sponsorship to reduce the costs of shipping, and a nice chunk of human hours, could create a nice amount of money, and awareness for charities, directly out of one of the clearest examples of unnecessary excess that I can think of.
That said, I’d not passionate enough about the idea to actually see it through, even if I think it’s a neat idea. So, someone should probably steal it.
Death by Process.
Do you have a process, or a cage?
A process is a massively useful tool. It’s a powerful way to make sure you don’t miss any steps, and that the finished product reaches the standards for quality you set.
But a process is also inherently limiting. By establishing steps, procedures and specific measurements of quality across the board, you run the risk of creating a factory that generates one kind of solution, rather than a method of determining the best solution for each unique problem.
And no, brainstorming doesn’t ‘fix’ this situation. Inserting a creative act into a box that limits its shape and scope does not make a process creative, or original.
That said, you need a process of some kind. Creativity, when aimless, rarely ships anything of value.
Things that I consider key parts of my process:
- Open ended questions that get me to consider what the actual problem, and actual solution are
- Identifying creative elements that each project requires (from myself, and others)
- Listing un-executable but awesome solutions (then dissecting why they are un-executable)
- Identifying the end behavior desired, then working backwards
- Screwing around: that is, diverting focus to tangentially related content for inspiration and insight (WARNING: not billable)
If every action is identified in advance, the range of potential outcomes is limited. When playing an instrument, there’s a limited number of notes, and pleasing combinations thereof. You are already inherently limited by the extent of what your chosen canvas (whether it be artistic, or professional) can incorporate.
Consider this before creating a rigid process that turns your ideas into widgets, all coming off the same assembly line.
Mark(Twain)eting
Theory: Mark Twain’s insistence that his autobiography not be published until a century after his death is marketing.
It is arguably the kind of marketing that wins awards.
In that it is creative, original, risky, and executed with a complete disregard for generating a result when it counts.
[Of course, in the situation the idea has been applied, it works perfectly - Twain didn’t need your money, and was well known for wanting to provide for future generations of his family. Most of your clients aren’t Mark Twain.]
Some notes re: #TOideaUP
- You don’t NEED to share an idea, but you’ll probably have more fun if you do.
- We might all chip in and order pizza. I know, it’s rebellious.
- Respect the privacy requests of the person talking. If they ask ‘don’t tweet this’, you’ll be expected to respect that. Similarly, if they ask ‘don’t blog this’, it probably means they’re working on something, and don’t want you to ruin it by spilling the beans.
- Take criticism well. (Which doesn’t mean just accept it, feel free to respond and discuss, and make sure everyone understands each other.)
- Give constructive criticism (which means - there is some action to be taken based on what you say, other than being discouraged)
- Approach things from your own skill set (The value of workshopping ideas in a diverse group is that I don’t know how a developer would consider my concepts - if you do, please share, expand my point of view)
- Make friends. (This is my general rule for all situations, but it boils down to: be kind, listen, treat others fairly, take turns, and don’t be a dick. If you enter every social situation with a ‘make friends’ mindset, life is awesome.)
It’s tomorrow! 6pm, at Jet Cooper (20 Maud St, Toronto, ON) Further details are available in this post, and you can email me at joncrowley@gmail.com, or find me on twitter @joncrowley
#TOideaUP
Twitter doesn’t randomly generate community. But it’s a serendipity machine, and that’s just as powerful.
Earlier this week, I made a short post, letting people know that I was interested in getting together over the holidays, to talk about new ideas. I like new ideas, and I like excuses to see friends, so this was a pretty easy call for me. My total expectation was to grab coffee with two or three people, have some interesting discussions, and have everyone walk away with a second perspective on an idea they’d been mulling over.
But, serendipity happened.
In the space of a couple hours, a hashtag was decided on #TOideaUP, things got a little more exciting to think about, and my good (and supportive, and generous) friend Satish at Jet Cooper was kind enough to offer their office space for the discussion.
A random suggestion turned into a fully fledged idea, thanks to a conversation platform, spare brain cycles from some seriously busy people, and an existing community that we have in Toronto.
TOideaUP is taking place at on December 29th at 6:00pm. If you drop me an email at joncrowley@gmail.com, or hit me up on twitter (@joncrowley) I’d be happy to fill you in further.
The concept is simple: getting together to discuss, critique, expand and workshop ideas in a group setting. We haven’t set a limit on what can be discussed, but based on the group that’s expressed interest, I expect we’ll hear a lot of stuff in the business / tech / marketing space. I’d be ecstatic to hear some personal / social ideas, but I’m pretty much down for anything people are passionate about, and want to get (honest, fair) feedback on.
If you’re interested in coming, send me an email. If you’d like some idea what I plan on talking about, I’m debating between the importance of the Object/Content divide in the future of marketing creative products, or strategy based on conceiving of people as Narrative Machines. But I’m a bit of a theory guy.
December 29th. At Jet Cooper (20 Maud St, Toronto, ON) 6:00pm, send me an email for further info, or just to discuss.
Because ideas are sexy.
[This post is subject to edits, updates and revisions]
