Category: Books

Lessons in Candour from Pixar’s Braintrust

Ed Catmull In his book Creativity Inc., Ed Catmull, President of Pixar Animation and Disney Animation, explains the important role of the ‘braintrust’ in the creative success of Pixar. He starts by stressing the importance of candour.  It is essential for open and honest discussion.  The opposite of candour is reserve and there are many reasons why people should be reserved. When... Read More--

Cool Lateral Ideas

There are myriad of lateral ideas in action to solve everyday problems.  We now take them for granted but when they were first proposed they may have been seen as risky, silly or impractical.  Here is a random selection of some of my favourites exprssed in the form of a problem and a lateral solution. Problem: Many trading shipping were dangerously overloaded and could capsize in... Read More--

A Lateral Puzzle that Will Have You Stumped

You are shown into a darkened room and seated in front of a table.  You are told that there are 32 coins on the table, 12 are heads up and 20 are tails up.  You cannot see anything in the dark.  You can touch the coins but you cannot tell which show heads and which show tails.  How can you divide the coins into two piles each of which will have an equal number of heads up? There is no deception... Read More--

Great Innovators Quiz

Test your knowledge of great thinkers and innovators with this short quiz. Scottish doctor who opposed conventional medical practice and pioneered antiseptic surgery.  J L The woman who is the only person to win Nobel prizes in two different sciences. M C Brilliant rock star who was born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar in 1946. F M Actress feted as the ‘most beautiful woman in the world’... Read More--

Get Someone Else to Do the Work

Mark Twain One of the most famous scenes from Mark Twain’s book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, is when Tom has to whitewash a fence as a punishment.  His friend Ben Rogers comes along to ridicule him about having to work.  Tom ignores him and concentrates on painting, so Ben eventually asks if he likes doing it.  Tom replies, “Like it? Well, I don’t see why I oughtn’t to like it. Does... Read More--

The Power of the Outsider Mindset

Elon Musk What do the following people have in common?  Levi Strauss, Henry Ford, Estee Lauder, Walt Disney, Elon Musk, Arianna Huffington, Sergey Brin?  They are all famous entrepreneurs who founded successful new businesses.  But also they are all immigrants or the children of immigrants. According to the Entrepreneurs Network, while just 14% of UK residents are foreign-born, 49% of the UK’s... Read More--

Be More Open and Less Directive, Start with These Words

In the 1970s, psychologist Matie Flowers carried out an experiment to study how teams discuss and make decisions.  Flowers asked 40 separate teams to come up with plans to solve a hypothetical problem at a school.  This involved a mix of issues including staff conflicts, inadequate budgets and classroom discipline. Each team consisted of four people who played different roles; superintendent, principal,... Read More--

Strictly for English Grammar Nerds

An Oxford comma walks into a bar where it spends the evening watching the television, getting drunk, and smoking cigars. A dangling participle walks into a bar. Enjoying a cocktail and chatting with the bartender, the evening passes pleasantly. A bar was walked into by the passive voice. An oxymoron walked into a bar, and the silence was deafening. Two quotation marks walk into a “bar.” A malapropism... Read More--

Five Foundations for a Culture of Innovation

If you are trying to transform an organisation which is sluggish and risk averse into one which is innovative and entrepreneurial then you have taken on a massive task. One approach is to use the Prosci ADKAR Change Management methodology as advocated by Jeffrey Hiatt and Tim Creasey. It consists of five key stages. 1. Awareness.  It is critical for the leader to communicate the need for change and... Read More--

The Limits of Positive Thinking

The magical potency of positive thinking has been a common theme among motivational speakers for a long time.  In 1952 Norman Vincent Peale published his seminal book, The Power of Positive Thinking.  He advocated that you should always be optimistic.  You should build a mental picture of yourself succeeding.  And at the same time you should drive out negative thoughts, doubts and self-criticism. ... Read More--