The first time I traveled to Europe on my own, I learned a trick for finding my way back to my hotel-hostel-trainstation-vaporetto, etc. If I stopped periodically to turn around and look back from where I had just come, I was able to teach myself to recognize the particular intersection or landmark from...

I’ve been thinking about creative thinking. And then, given the season, this led me to thinking about creative thanking. This then led me to an idea: the “Timely Test of Creative Thanking,” a riff on the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking. The TTCT is a well known measure of creativity....

Late last month, I attended the European Conference on Creativity and Innovation. What a wonderful experience! The conference theme was “Make it Happen,” with a focus upon the implementation of creative ideas. (In many ways, it’s easier to focus on generating ideas, than on actually...

What’s up with the resistance? You know the one. The resistance that comes shortly after you decide to launch a new creative endeavor. The resistance that whispers in your ear that maybe the idea isn’t that great, or you really don’t have the time, or you’re really not so good...

All of a sudden, you have it: a beautiful idea! It comes to you full blown and shimmery. Perhaps something brand new you’ve never before conceived, or perhaps the result of pondering long and hard. Regardless, there it is: exciting, and full of energy. Your idea can do no wrong. The world is its...

Over the past several months, I’ve been part of a team developing an experiential program on creativity and innovation for business audiences. We are now stepping up our marketing efforts for the program, and in the course of this I contacted my network, asking permission to send info on “a...

Two books in my current stack, having a conversation with each other: The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything, by educator par excellence, Sir Ken Robinson, PhD; and poet David Whyte’s Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity. Robinson advocates for finding your...

Janus is the Roman god with the two faces, one looking forward and one back (or: in opposition). In the 1970’s, psychiatrist Albert Rothenburg coined the term “Janusian Thinking” to describe the oppositional energies that are often present in creativity. An image of Janus hangs on the...

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to hear Peter Senge speak. This was a real privilege, as one of his books has been instrumental in helping me along my path as an (organizational) entrepreneur in the arts. A few years ago, I had a big “ah-ha” that what I had learned through years...

I’m working on my first paper for the creativity program that I mentioned earlier. The assignment: to research an aspect of creativity and how it applies to my professional life. The subject I chose to write about is the relationship of the physical self (and our awareness of our embodiment) to the...

Hello, everyone. I’m excited to be a member of your community. I know Cyriel and John (we were together in New York at the end of March), and have spoken with Lisa on the phone. I’m looking forward to getting to know the rest of you more fully. I decided to introduce myself to you through the topic...