Interview with Frank Ferro, Director Insights at PostNL. In 1924 Miguel de Unamuno wrote: “Sceptic does not mean him who doubts, but him who investigates or researches as opposed to him who asserts and thinks that he has found.” One hundred years later this message is more important than ever. The root of the word “sceptic” comes from the word “spek- meaning “to observe”. To be a sceptic originally did not mean to be negative, it only meant to have an open mind and a broad view on a topic and to look closely at it. And to “scepticize” is the act of being sceptical. It’s an actual word from th ..read more

Interview with Nils Kjetil Vestmoen Nilsen, Digital Innovation Manager at Schlumberger. People like to talk about the need to take ‘calculated risks’ in business. But calculated risks are an illusion. The meaning of the word “calculated” is “done with full awareness of the likely consequences.” Raise your hand if you think it’s possible to have “full awareness of the likely consequences of where your business is going right now? (and if you think it is possible, then what is the risk?) No, instead of chasing the mirage that is “calculated risk”, we should aim to take “calibrated risk”. The m ..read more

Interview with Thomas Djurso, Country Manager for Cognizant in Denmark.   Here is a refreshing approach to building a team: Make people connect with each other as humans, not just as colleagues. And no, I am not talking about infrequent kick-off meetings that happen way too seldom, or an after-work, which is usually some friends at work going out on a Friday. I am talking about deliberately and consistently connecting people who work with each other to help them better get to know each other as human beings. The man who pointed me towards, what we can call “Humanizing the team”, was Thom ..read more

This episode of The Creativity Suite is anonymous.   Here is a question for you: If knowing the right person to make your ideas happen is so valuable, and if knowing how to correctly ask them for what you need is crucial for innovation, then why are we not spending more time helping people develop their network and mastering the art of the ask?   I chose to call this text “Six Degrees of Creativity” as a twist on “Six Degrees of Separation,” the idea that everyone is connected to everyone in no more than six connections. The more I interview creative people, the more I understand ..read more

Interview with Dawid Sold,  Managing Director of G4S in Serbia.   When the book Blue Ocean Strategy came out in 2004 it became a big hit with companies. The book is built around a metaphor of the “blue ocean” and “red ocean” In the red ocean, “companies try to outperform their rivals to grab a greater share of existing demand. Products become commodities, leading to cutthroat or ‘bloody’ competition. Hence the term red oceans.” Instead companies should aim for the blue ocean which is “an analogy to describe the wider, deeper potential to be found in unexplored market space. It ..read more

This message is inspired by the word that stuck with me after interviewing creatives in South Korea: The word was “diligence”. ​ Some people look at the economic success of South Korea and say: “It’s because they work so hard.” Or because they “work so much”. Some even say: “It’s because they work TOO hard, or TOO much.” ​ Sure, some South Koreans work way too much – they even have a word for working oneself to death: “kwarosa.” But the message of this text is not to be inspired by those who work too much but to be inspired by those who work diligently. ​ To be diligent is to have “the quality ..read more

Question: How often per day would you say you have a creative thought? 1-10 times per day? 11-100? 101-1000? 1001-10,000? For this survey, my bar for what constitutes a creative thought is quite low. I am not talking of “painting a painting” or “coming up with a breakthrough invention.” I am talking about simple everyday creative thoughts. (But I am also not talking about “Oh, I am going to have coffee for breakfast,” especially if you usually have coffee for breakfast.) Examples of what I am looking for: Changing queue at the grocery because you realize that the one you are in is slow. Solvin ..read more

Interview with Tore von Würden, Country Director Denmark/Norway/Iceland for Amgen.   The idea that “the customer is always right” is outdated. The customer often does not know what they want. How many mobile phone users would have said that they wanted the iPhone before it was launched, just to take a famous example. And to quote Steve Jobs: “It’s not the customer’s job to know what they want.” ​ But if it’s not the customer’s job, then whose job is it? It’s the job of “The Understanders.” I learned about “The Understanders” during a conversation with Tore von Würden, Country Director De ..read more

Interview with Mauro Porcini, SVP & Chief Design Officer at PepsiCo.   Here is what most people get wrong about intuition: They think intuition just “happens”. It doesn’t. The reason for this misunderstanding could come from how the word is defined. Intuition is defined as “the ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning.” And instinctively is defined as “without conscious thought; by natural instinct.” But intuition is not something that happens by instinct. It happens by action. Previous action, to be precise. If we look at the etymology ..read more

A couple of days ago, I accidentally cracked the screen on my Mac so I had no computer. While it was at service yesterday, I decided to take the day off and paddle my new kayak from the store in the central of Stockholm to my island.   After all – it was a beautifully sunny day with no wind and I could not do any effective work anyway.   (And no, there is no lemon in a strawberry milkshake and that’s my point! Re-focus from the negative and focus on something epic.) Life is about mindset.   And creative thinking helps to see the best of life. The post When life gives you lemons ..read more