Creativity & Innovation

– #19 How Do I Interrupt Myself?

• Interruptions and distractions are often construed in terms of coming from the outside.
• What about inside?
• How do you interrupt and distract yourself?

– #30 Can I Accomplish Something Without Doing Anything?

• This question is intended to query our cultural bias towards doing.
• It is about “tasks to be done”.
• What if it were about “outcomes to be accomplished”?

– #108 What Rules Do I Set for Myself?

• Every aspect of our lives and work is governed by rules.
• Some are made up by others but most of them we make up for ourselves when we tell ourselves what is possible and what isn’t possible.
• Just ask yourself: What might be possible if we dreamt a little more?

– #112 What Might I Unlearn Today?

• We spend our lives adding to our stock of knowledge.
• The more you know, the better, right?
• And yet, what if some of what you know is holding you back?
• The process of ‘unlearning’ invites us to critically examine our deeply held beliefs and assumptions, to let go of outdated or incorrect knowledge, and to make room for new, more nourishing insights.
• So, the question is: What might I unlearn today?

– #117 What Am I Certain Of?

• Certainty by its very nature blocks creativity and innovation.
• If we are certain, what upside could there possibly be in asking questions?
• And yet, by being open to the possibility of being wrong and considering the perspectives of others, we can foster a culture of learning and exploration, thereby promoting innovation and creativity.

– #123 What is My Relationship with Boredom?

• Our relationship with boredom is key to our inner life.
• Are you happy to just be with yourself and the world?
• Or, do you need to be distracted from yourself?

– #124 What If I Treated Everything as a Trial?

• When we view decisions as permanent, curious things start happening.
• Firstly, we may start to identify with the decisions and defend them from attacks.
• Secondly, we may start ignoring evidence to the contrary.
• Instead, what if we treated everything as a trial?

– #127 Where Is My Upside Optionality Today?

• The term upside optionality was coined by Nassim Taleb.
• The idea is to create situations where the potential upsides significantly outweigh potential downsides.
• Whilst this idea may seem more at home in the financial markets, in truth we can apply it to everything we do.
• For example, where might your day offer upside optionality?
• How might you create more?

– #140 What Energises Me?

• If I had only one rule in life it would be “Follow the energy”.
• So, let’s play – take a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle.
• On the top left, write “What gives me energy?”
• On the top right, write “What sucks energy from me?”
• Now, fill these columns.
• This exercise can shape how you manage your energy.

– #143 What Game Am I Playing?

• One of the key differences between children and adults revolves around how seriously we take the world.
• Young children can treat everything as a game. Not so adults.
• Being “serious” has become a key part of the adulting process in many societies.
• And yet, it can be liberating to think of adult life and work simply as adult games.
• There are some desired outcomes.
• There are underlying assumptions about the world.
• There are even rules.

– #149 How Might I Disrupt My Own Thinking?

• How often do you find you have the same basic thoughts?
• Derived from the same ways of thinking?
• Ever get tired of your thoughts?
• How might new ones be generated? Old ones left behind?
• What steps can you take today to disrupt your own thinking?

– #150 Am I Playing to Win or Not to Lose?

• When my coach asked me this question, it struck a nerve.
• It forced me to reflect upon the true nature of my actions and motivations.
• Are my activities merely safe and defensive or am I genuinely playing to win?
• Are my actions about truly succeeding or merely about maintaining appearances?

– #159 How Much Space is in My Diary?

• The whole productivity movement has been built around the idea of finding ways of doing more.
• Get more done could be its mantra.
• What if doing were only part of the story?
• How often do you actively allow yourself to be “unproductive”?
• How might this impact my creativity?

– #219 What Opportunities Might Be Waiting for Me?

• No matter how many possibilities we imagine there are infinitely more just waiting for us.
• This isn’t about endlessly questioning but building a practice of better recognizing possibility and opportunity and then focusing on what is truly important right now.
• What opportunities might be waiting for you?
• Where might you look?
• Who might help?

– #222 What Choices Do I Not Know I Have?

• It may be obvious, but we can only make choices if we know we have them.
• How information is framed and how we think about the world can therefore impact the options we see.
• The options we see dictate the decisions we make.
• A key aspect of creative decision-making is therefore understanding the information and tools that are feeding into the process and how they may be skewing our thinking.

– #246 How Open Am I to Curiosity?

• Research shows that despite awareness around the benefits of curiosity and much language about encouraging innovation, most leaders actually stifle curiosity. What about you?
• Are you even aware of how you might be encouraging or discouraging curiosity in those around you?
• How might understanding and adjusting your approach result in enhanced innovation, job satisfaction and team performance?