Guided creative thinking is like brain fuel for innovators. Work-Out your new ideas.

simplified for

Low Cognitive Load

Creative energy wanes after 3.5 minutes.
‍For this reason, we've crafted our work-outs are most productive when they are open versus closed, short versus long, and simple versus complex.

designed around

Recall First, Then Creativity

Shifting from simple work-outs that require only recall to more cognitively complex ones that demand creative synthesis produces better breakthrough thinking. In most organizations, innovation isn’t hampered by a lack of ideas, but rather a lack of noticing the good ideas already there. For example, Kodak’s research laboratory invented the first digital camera in 1975 but didn’t pursue it.

Get things done

Practical, Not Speculative

Brainstorming is both annoying and distracting when it doesn’t come from a deeply held conviction about practical, day-to-day next steps. Motivation to tackle a challenge must result in near-term action: What concrete actions will you personally take in the next three weeks to find potential solutions suggested by your most recent work-out?

encouraging

Many Small Experiments

It’s actually less risky to run a large number of experiments than a small number. At Booking.com, only about 10% of experiments generate positive results. At Walmart, people still talk about Store Number Eight, which was the location Sam Walton used when he wanted to experiment with some new approach. Think of it this way — "What can we learn for $49?" versus "What can we build for $49k?" Successful innovators design their experiments to learn faster and cheaper, and they remain open to sharp changes in direction. They test to improve rather than to prove.

instilling creative confidence

Productive Distractions

Numerous studies on divergent and convergent thinking have found improvements in creative performance when subjects temporarily set aside the focal creative task to work on an unrelated one (e.g., Baird et al., 2012; Sio & Ormerod, 2009). For instance, Dijksterhuis and Meurs (2006) found that, compared to participants who started generating ideas immediately upon receiving the task, those who first engaged in a distractor task generated more novel ideas.

Link

‍

instilling creative confidence

Reframe With Fresh Eyes

The methodology we've developed is essentially a process for recasting problems in valuable new ways. It helps people adopt a more creative habit of thinking and, when they’re looking for breakthroughs, gives them a sense of control. You break challenges down into small steps and then build confidence by succeeding on one after another. Creativity is something you practice, not just a talent you’re born with. The process may feel a little uncomfortable at first, but—as the snake phobics learned—the discomfort quickly fades away and is replaced with new confidence and capabilities.

instilling creative confidence

Diverge, Then Converge

Early in creative acts it’s important to diverge, that is, to think about what you are doing in as many ways as possible. Divergent thinking is best accomplished through individual exercises. Our Work-Outs have been structured to encourage divergent thinking first before re-joining the team to converge.

Get the full academic article

instilling creative confidence

Reframe With Fresh Eyes

The methodology I’ve developed is essentially a process for recasting problems in valuable new ways. It helps people adopt a more creative habit of thinking and, when they’re looking for breakthroughs, gives them a sense of control. The French call this déformation professionnelle: the tendency to observe reality through the distorting lens of one’s job or training. To combat that bias, question what perspective drives your attention and what you may be missing as a result.