Articles - Unlockedbox: Coaching for Creativity, Innovation and Breakthroughs

Paula Pan and the Lost Girls: A Case for Not Growing Up - Published in On Purpose Woman magazine, November 2005

To Be Well, Get a Little Selfish - Published in The Carroll County Times, December 5, 2005

Business Is a Contact Sport: Get Fit and Pummel the Competition - published in The Business Monthly, February 2006 (co-written with Vik Khanna - tufftrainers.com)

Ten Things to Throw Out with Your 2005 Calendar - published in Smart Woman magazine, January 2006(co-written with coach Jodi Hume)

An email conversation between Jodi Hume and Susan Olson about writing an article called, "Is Great the Enemy of Good?" that turned out to be the actual article un-bufffed, unperfected, in honor of the subject - Published in On Purpose Woman Magazine, August 2006 (co-written with coach Jodi Hume)

The Un-Masterpiece: The value of purposefully creating a flop - published in GUTS/June/07

What Type of Creative Thinker Are You? - published in GUTS/July/07

What Does it Take to Innovate? - published in GUTS/August/07

Paula Pan and the Lost Girls: A Case for Not Growing Up

Man: Honey, did you feed the cat?
Woman: Huh?... gee... sweetie, can we talk later?... I'm on level three.
Man: I do everything around here and all you do is play video games.
Woman: Hey, I'm on level three. Do you know what an accomplishment that is?
Man: You need to grow up ... Oh, and get your baseball stuff off the floor.

Does this scenario sound familiar? Maybe not. After all, most women aren't into video games. We usually don't take off every Tuesday night for softball with the girls and we don't build classic cars in our basements. No, we are grown-ups. And too often, we feel and act like the only grownups in our relationship. In fact, we expend a ton of energy wondering why we are doing all the work while others are having all the fun. We become THE PARENT, scolding the world for not taking things as seriously as we do. We give up the fight for our fair share of just plain fun.

In the process of becoming adult women, many of us have lost something very important: The ability to really play and, even more, the desire. As a woman who's slipped into the role of parent on occasion and also one known to blow off quite a few weekly responsibilities to ride bikes with my girlfriends, I can tell you, riding bikes is the way to go.

So, how do we let go of our often-overzealous "responsible self" and let ourselves play? We can start by challenging the idea that play is trivial and frivolous and recasting it as monumental and essential. While playtime may seem like a luxury, it is, in fact, a necessity - a catalyst for countless gifts. Play is one of the best expressions of our freest selves. During play, our self-consciousness guard comes down and we can be bold, powerful, silly, just because it's part of the game. We can try stuff on. We can step into a self that's the polar opposite of what we present in the workplace. We can be in the moment. We can yell. If our play is competitive, we can cream other women. It's okay, we're allowed. It's play. Through the experience of play, we wipe away the stress of the day, open our brains in new ways and encourage our imaginations. We express our child-like magnificence. We find the lost child:

From The Adventures of Peter Pan by James Matthew Barrie:

One day when [Wendy] was two years old she was playing in a garden, and she plucked another flower and ran with it to her mother. I suppose she must have looked rather delightful, for Mrs. Darling put her hand to her heart and cried, "Oh, why can't you remain like this for ever!" This was all that passed between them on the subject, but henceforth Wendy knew that she must grow up. You always know after you are two. Two is the beginning of the end.

And, in fact, young Wendy becomes the mother in Neverland, with her two little brothers and all the Lost Boys under her care. They play. She works. And that really stinks.

My challenge to you is to let go of your inner Wendy and embrace the Paula Pan inside yourself. Become one of the Lost Girls on a fairly regular basis. Start by committing to play once a day in some way for one week - and having lunch or drinks with your girlfriends doesn't count. Let your play be physical, let it be silly, whatever, just let it be outside the realm of your day-to-day. Even better, ditch one of your adult responsibilities to do it. And if an activity you choose turns out not to fit you, so what? You're just playing around. Something as simple and seemingly inconsequential as gliding through the grocery store on my cart makes me feel pretty darn playful, free-spirited and young. This tiny act of play raises my confidence exponentially - it frees me to be me, to be bold. It's a wonderful reminder that most of the rules I follow are self-imposed and can be re-examined and even abolished anytime I wish. Search for moments of play within your own normal routine and experiment to find activities you like. Then simply notice, without judgment, what comes up (laughter, embarrassment, energy, joy, guilt). Be committed to the process. Because no matter how you choose to play or what the results are, you will gain insights into your playful self - a part of you that is worth connecting with and nurturing. A part of you just waiting to be expressed more fully in other areas of your life.

Game on.

To Be Well, Get A Little Selfish

Recently, a friend who's under enough stress to crush a Hummer, was asked what would it mean to put herself first? After a shockingly long silence, she blurted, "I don't know, I never put myself first."

The psychology is easy to understand. Putting self first is just, well, selfish. After all, we are parents, partners and employees first, right?

But what if putting your wellness at the top of your to do list was the most un-selfish thing you could do? How much could we all contribute if we were running at optimal efficiency? My guess is much more. We would have the strength, energy and self-respect to have a real impact on the world around us.

The fact is that it's easy to pay lip service to the idea of putting yourself first, but the messages we get are quite different. For example, you're leaving work at five and your co-worker says, "Oh, you're taking a half day?" Or, you head to the gym at lunch and your boss chooses that moment to ask about a hot project. Or perhaps you are at home, about to leave for a run, and your partner wants to know if you'll be gone as long as you were last time.

No matter how much our society talks about wellness, in reality, it is telling us that our well-being is a secondary concern, if that. If our true values lie in what we do and not what we say, we will see the truth. And the truth is killing us. We are fat, sick, tired and uninspired.

I propose a revolt against the lie of selfishness and an embracing of the full-on pursuit of well-being. I challenge people to conduct an extreme care experiment on themselves. For seven days, make wellness your top priority, whatever it takes - and it may take a lot. Think of exercise, eating right and playing as mandatory and non-negotiable.

Vik Khanna, a physician assistant and exercise specialist with 20 years experience in healthcare and exercise science, suggests the following five steps to start.

Pen yourself in. Get your calendar and schedule exercise appointments with yourself for the next week. Treat them with as much reverence as you would a meeting with the boss. If you hear complaints, remind your family, friends and co-workers that a healthy, happy person will be able to do a lot more with them in the long run.
Build a scientific case. If you want to eat and exercise using sound scientific principles, this is a great time to be alive. Take advantage of emerging knowledge and build an evidence-based exercise and nutrition program. Use your seven days to seek out the truth about fitness and use those truths to reinforce your commitment.
Get ego out of it. It's good to be strong and fit. Not for their narcissistic value, but because strong, fit people also work better, sleep better, eat better, manage stress better and, oh yeah, have better sex lives - and not because they look good, but because they feel good. Forget the mirror for seven days and focus on the real you.
Keep raising the bar. It's almost impossible to be too fit. Despite this, studies show that exercise novices rarely exert themselves enough to get meaningful results. They lift too little weight and run/walk/cycle too slowly or for too short a time to build fitness. Beware of trainers who are afraid to push you. What are they scared of, that you'll actually get strong? Work with qualified professionals to learn how to set goals and achieve them.
Be a model of selfishness. If you like the results of your seven-day experiment, then come full circle by helping someone else put their wellness first. Look around, there is almost certainly a friend, family member or coworker who wants to feel better, but doesn't know how. Take the initiative and reach out. Or be a model. It may seem bizarre that your lunchtime yoga class could make someone else feel good, but it can.

Business Is a Contact Sport: Get Fit and Pummel the Competition

At one time, our physical strength determined whether we lived or died. We cut down trees, hunted animals and dug wells for water. Our survival required physical strength. But walk down the hallway of any corporation today and you will see the ingredients of a dollar-draining health care cost crisis that plagues businesses - slouching postures, bulging bellies, fast food and very few people who look like they could haul a deer home from the forest. And why should fitness matter? After all, do fit employees make a difference?

Health care costs are climbing at about 8% per year.

This means a company that spent $10,000 on health insurance last year for a family of four will spend $11,664 this year and $12,597 next year. Seventy percent of medical care dollars go to treat chronic illnesses, such as high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes. Over half of this spending is avoidable.

Today's white-collar work actually requires great physical strength. Consider the demands of a modern workplace; it is amazing that anyone functions. We drown in e-mail, juggle client and vendor demands and, thanks to cell phones and laptops, live on-call. The net result is that we eat poorly, rest too little and don't exercise. The fact is, business in the 21st century is rough and exhausting. And we underestimate what it costs us.

Physical inactivity punishes your bottom line.

A major health plan in Minnesota published a study last year reporting that in one year it paid over $86 million for health care problems that were preventable through increased physical activity and better diet. But don't worry, the health plan did fine - it just passed those costs along to subscribers.

Despite the "fitness craze" and the progressive health incentives and programs that large companies offer, many white-collar workers in small and mid-sized businesses are getting left out. Without proper guidance, these professionals are just as likely to fall victim to the "have gym membership/don't go" scenario as anyone else.

Businesses that are serious about having fit employees - people who can generate fresh ideas, work fast and move mountains - should consider how to help those employees go the extra mile. The key may be to give executives what any team manager would give any group of high-performing athletes: in-depth training, inspiration and support.

Surrounding your professionals with a support system that includes medical advice, science-based fitness coaching and motivational coaching provides a powerful combination of resources for creating a corporate wellness program that actually gets results.

Nothing matters more for saving money than reducing health care utilization by improving fitness.

Scientists at the Cooper Institute in Dallas, Texas, have shown that improving the fitness level of business executives from poor to moderate - a change that is eminently achievable - cut inpatient hospitalizations by 47%. Although vilifying drug companies for medication costs makes good headlines, hospital costs consume more health insurance dollars than any other medical service. Keep your people out of the hospital, and you keep money in your business.

Healthy physical activity is the gateway to possibility - a great place to begin exposing and abolishing the limiting ideas about what is and is not doable. The lessons that professionals learn when they pursue fitness goals can translate directly to the business environment, and having a wellness team on board reinforces this crucial link.

The secret to business success is the wise use of both human and financial capital. Fit, confident, vibrant employees are essential to 21st century competition. Dollars not spent on health care are dollars available to grow your company, improve infrastructure and deliver value to customers that your competitors cannot. As you help create a fit workforce, you will affect the lives of the very people who make your success possible and have an immediate impact on the heart of your company - and that's a heart worth keeping healthy.

Ten Things to Throw Out with Your 2005 Calendar

Your thin jeans.
Don't put off living and loving your life while you wait to fit into some ideal version of the perfect woman. If you can't enjoy your life today, 10 pounds won't make a difference.

Your parents.
You're an adult; it's time to start living by your own rules and expectations. Toss out everyone else's "shoulds" and write your own script.

Excuses.
It's a lie that there's not enough time, money or energy to get what you want. Each calorie, cent or minute spent is a vote for what you choose to be a part of your life. If you cast your votes for your core priorities you inherently create a life full of what you want.

Pecks on the cheek.
Give'em the real thing. If you're going to kiss someone, make it good. Don't dilute the power of love and compassion with impotent expressions. Kiss big. Hug hard. Live deliciously.

Something you think you can't live without.
When you give up the thing you think you need the most, you find out what you really have. Trust that you're already more than you're wildest imagination can conceive.

The voice of reason.
Logical thinking is the #1 enemy of greatness. Sometimes the voice that keeps you safe is really only serving to keep you small. You're ducks will never be in a row, so march on "as is."

Your wonder woman costume.
Fact: You cannot do it all (see above). So lose the golden lasso and take a moment to notice all the juicy joy around you that you're usually too busy saving the world to notice.

Your poker face.
Hiding your true feelings wastes energy. Besides, who decided it's not alright to be sad, grumpy, ecstatic or angry? Let your feelings show and let people see the real you.

Your meeeooowwwwww...
C'mon ladies, cut the judgment, lose the comparisons, and whip out some good ole fashioned compassion. We might make different choices, but that doesn't have to mean that one of us is wrong.

Your diary.
The old stories you hang on to are weighing you down. Let go of the past and live in today. It's all you have.

Is Great the Enemy of Good?

JODI: Susan, I started laughing at how long I've been trying to write this single paragraph to start our article. LOSER! Remember what the article is about?!?!?! That said, I still want to do a really great job and can't seem to shake the feeling that it has to be nearly perfect. Hence, the blank white page in front of me.

SUSAN: I'm feeling a little "it's got to be great" too. Very funny. And embarrassing, given that we're trying to be the imperfection experts. I read this Goethe quote recently, "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it, boldness has genius, power and magic in it." I like that philosophy. Too often we think we have to have it all figured out before we even begin. Our culture values the slick pitch, the well-thought out presentation, the perfectly realized painting. There seems to be an over-emphasis on experience and credentials and, frankly, on perfection. Where is there room for beginners, for failure, for real risk-taking? How do we expect to be great when we're not willing to walk through good - not to mention, be willing to suck?

What would be different for you if it was impossible to be great?

JODI: Frankly, that would be a little depressing. There's something really juicy and seductive about doing a super fantastic job. I find motivation an issue if I don't think of it in terms of "making it great."

SUSAN: I find "make it great" the anti-motivator. It's a holdback from my advertising years where greatness was held as the standard no one could reach.

JODI: Maybe the question is, "what gets cheated when we aren't willing to be awkward and stumble?"

SUSAN: Well, greatness for one. And originality. If we fear being imperfect then it's tough to venture into new territory. It's much safer to stay with what is already deemed as great than it is to take a chance and create something embarrassing. We get afraid to put our unique thumbprint on the world. The trick is developing the stomach for it.

JODI: True. But that's a pretty tall order. I like the idea of finding a way to remove the sense of measurement all together. Like, what if we adopted a first draft mentality, just in the interest of developing some momentum? I had a client once who used this mantra about everything just being a scribble to relieve her anxiety about getting it right.

SUSAN: Great idea. I use the "done, not perfect" mantra a lot. It's permission to start before we feel ready. And while I do agree that building the muscle to not have to look good is a tall order, being in the uncomfortable place of uncertainty and failing is so necessary. After all, it's proof that we're stretching in new ways. The fact is, we may never be ready until we start. This may sound odd, but I love witnessing women I respect being good, not great and even downright not good. It gives me permission to be that too. To try. You know, there's also a life balance piece here: Embracing good enough in one area frees you up to be great in another.

JODI: When you said "we may never be ready until we start" another whole piece occurred to me. And that is that once you take a step on the path, the entire landscape changes. You may find your choices, opportunities, obstacles and expectations change with each step you take. So trying to get your ducks in a row before you begin also cheats you out of finding the undiscovered coves and crannies along the way. And it doesn't really help prepare you either, because you might encounter an entirely different set of complications. Essentially, all that time preparing and procrastinating in pursuit of perfection is a complete waste of time. And there's nothing GREAT about that.

SUSAN: Trust the process.

JODI: Yeah. Savor what unfolds along the path. Loosen the grip on the rudder, just enough to allow the magic to show up.

SUSAN: I love that. What is so good about letting go of great is the chance to get something even better than our original expectations. Not be confined by our limited experience of what great is. A life beyond our wildest expectations.

JODI: Exactly! I'd love to end our article with a fearless challenge to the readers to let go of great and just get going. To start moving and see where it leads. Can you imagine the impact if 16,000 readers gave up their paralyzing focus on the perfect end result and just simply launched their dreams into action?

SUSAN: That would be something.

The Un-Masterpiece: The value of purposefully creating a flop

In the movie, "The Sketches of Frank Gehry," director Sydney Pollack asks renowned architect Gehry this simple question: Is it hard to start? To which Gehry answers: You know it is.

Later in the film, Gehry references what he calls the "Dangerous Place of Beginning" and the courage it takes to draw that first line.

As an artist and writer myself, I certainly relate to that. Whether it's the blank canvas, unwritten speech or the product/service yet to be invented, creators and innovators are constantly in the place of beginning. And, of course, it's the place we most often get stuck. In fact, we can get so stuck there that we don't even start.

What if it's crap? What if other people hate it? What if I get laughed at? What if, what if, what if?

But what if we committed to fail, flop and create garbage right off the bat? What would it be like if we got our horrific failure out of the way and out into the public?

I have a theory that the more experience we get with putting out ideas and creations that don't quite work, the more balls we have to innovate wildly. Flopping publicly unchains our brains. Until we the face the fear of flopping, it controls and limits our creativity.

When I started to work as an advertising writer, I was scared to share my ideas with the rest of the creative department. I cheated myself out of a lot - the opportunity to shine, to collaborate, to contribute, to be courageous, to allow others to build on my mediocre idea and make it great. In that behavior pattern, I was not just consciously holding back, I was unconsciously trapping myself in a place where I didn't even have access to my most creative self. I thought I did, but I didn't.

Then one day, as I sweated nervously in the conference room, I shared an idea I had been holding back. And guess what? My creative director said, "Susan, that really sucks."

The pressure was off.

This was a big, fat ah-ha moment in my life. For one thing, I noticed that he said "that" really sucks, not "you" really suck. I also noticed that it was all very casual and that we moved onto other ideas - some of them mine. I had personally experienced public failure and lived to create again. I blushed, but did not die. What do you know.

Now that's not to say that I think it's uber-loving to tell people their ideas suck, but what a gift. Failure, if held loosely by us and by others can be the most freeing outcome there is. We come to understand how our ideas are not us; that they are simply ideas - to be SUBJECTIVELY considered and judged. From then on I wasn't so afraid of sticking my neck out. I have created a lot of bad stuff in my life and a lot of good stuff and a few really, really great things as well.

We all know that failure is part of success, but I'm not sure we risk failure enough to make us as successful as we could be. I mean the type of monster success that I believe some of us reading this could have if we risked more - including me. I would love to see what I could do if every time I stood at the metaphorical blank canvas, I let it fly.

This is where the Un-Masterpiece comes in. I challenge all of us to create a gigantic flop and display it publicly. It could be a painting, a poem, a product idea, whatever. But it has to be really bad, and preferably embarrassing. And it must be elegantly displayed in the main part of our homes or offices.

My suspicion is that more people who see it, who glance at us quizzically, who just don't know what to say, the more able we will be to get past the dangerous place of beginning and on to truly creating.

I challenge us to be dangerous.

What Type of Creative Thinker Are You?

Scenario #1: You're driving your car, thinking about a new work project when, as if out of nowhere, the big idea comes to you. In fact, you see it all - in full-color, three-dimensional detail. You know exactly what it is, how you will complete it and even the likely outcomes. In the end, your idea becomes an overnight success - a true masterpiece. You are like Picasso.

Scenario #2: You are in your workspace, notebook in hand. You have a creative problem to solve. You begin designing a possible solution, not knowing where it will take you or even if it will work. Over the next six months, you add layer after layer, revising and painstakingly perfecting as you go. Each time you look, you see something, another piece you can improve. Over time, your idea is wildly successful - a true masterpiece. You are like Cezanne.

Which of the above do you relate to most? The big breakthrough, I-can-solve-it-now-and-here's-how Picasso style of creating, or the slower, more exploratory Cezanne approach?

Recently, Fast Company blogger Michael Prospero commented on a HSM World Innovation Forum speech delivered by Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point. Using concepts based on social economist David Galenson's research on artists, Gladwell classified creative thinkers into two categories: Conceptualists (Picasso's) and Experimentalists (Cezanne's).

The fact is that both approaches can result in fantastic (or not so fantastic) outcomes, so perhaps the more important question is this: What is lost when we consistently use the same creative approach again and again?

When we operate primarily as conceptualists (Picasso), we miss out on opportunities that can only be seen when we give ourselves the freedom and time to follow tangents and even probable dead ends. Additionally, we miss out on the opportunity to refine and perfect as we discover flaws and possibilities. Slow like Cezanne can mean an end result with fewer kinks and more benefits because more options were considered during the process and potential problems were fully addressed.

Conversely, when we spend most of our creative energy operating like experimenters (Cezanne), we stand to lose out on the flow and synchronicity that comes with ideas and decisions made in an instant, based on gut instinct and followed intuitively. We also lose time for the next project because it takes us longer to develop ideas - that is, if we even get to develop them.

"One of the troubling things happening in business today," says Gladwell, "is that companies are favoring precocious innovation [Picasso] and have lost patience with innovation that takes a long time to mature [Cezanne]."

Thus, the experimentalist's ideas often get left on the table. After all, it is difficult to convince a business owner (even if you are the business owner) that there is time to spend on ideas that may not work, or that can't even be fully articulated. And yet, there is such value and potential for a masterpiece in the experimental approach.

The bottom line is that much can be gained, and much can be lost, in each creative approach. What might serve us better is to gain the ability to consciously choose to approach a project as either Picasso or Cezanne - or perhaps something else entirely. If we could call on a variety of approaches at will, or challenge ourselves to take on a different style of creativity just to see what comes, we might be happily surprised by the result. At the least, we will have understood a new way of "being" creative.

Several years ago, my husband sat down to write his first novel. For months he couldn't get past the first chapter. He didn't want to move forward until every word was perfect. Even though it had served him well on past projects, his Cezanne operating style was truly holding him back. He had to ask himself, what is most important to me right now? Having a near perfect first draft or finishing the book quickly. He switched into Picasso gear, conceptualized the entire story and speed wrote it. Then he went back and worked out the kinks.

Now that he has experience creating in a new way, he is freer to choose what works best for him in the moment. Moreover, he let go of a limiting belief that was truly holding him back as a writer: "Serious writers slave over every page." His new belief, discovered through this process, supports him more: "Serious writers have many tools in their toolbox and choose the one that works."

Personally, I am a Picasso-type creator most of the time. I love to conceptualize the complete idea. The entire poem, product, article comes to me in one fell swoop and it's easy for me to see it through from there. For me, the growing edge is to allow the paint to hit the canvas before I know what the painting will be; to let it dry and then add another layer. To resist calling it done. I will be curious to see what I create as Cezanne.

What Does it Take to Innovate?

Innovation (noun): the act or process of inventing or introducing something new; something newly invented or a new way of doing things.

Almost every business venture and project is fueled by innovation, whether it's developing new products and services or designing new ways of handling processes. We have an idea to create something fresh and we spend a lot of time fine-tuning our concept before introducing it publicly or implementing it internally. Sometimes the process is easy - ideas seem to come out of thin air and our brains are so full of thoughts that we keep a pad and pencil on our nightstand. Other times it's difficult - we get stuck and may even start to question our original thinking. Either way, we are actively and consciously in the process of innovating.

But once our venture is complete, the act of innovation has a tendency to slow down or even stop completely. After all, our brains are fried, the business or project is a success and we need to put our attention toward managing, supervising, selling and administrating.

Of course, these tasks are critical and it's good to take a break and run with the status quo for awhile. But focusing all of our energy on the day-to-day for too long can get us into trouble. Complacency sets in. We can stagnate. We notice that other businesses or professionals in our category are going in new directions and that we've been left behind to play catch up. Our success flattens out and we might even lose some of our desire.

Unless we make innovation a core philosophy and operating principle of our work - right from the beginning.

The most successful professionals and businesses in any category are often either the continual innovators or businesses with enough resources to purchase another company's innovative idea and launch it on a large scale (think Microsoft). They're the organizations and people who work toward innovation every day - which doesn't mean they have a new idea every day. They simply operate in an environment that allows for continual innovation and creativity. They focus on managing, supervising, selling, administrating and innovating.

However, an innovative environment or an innovative person doesn't just happen. Both have to be created - a concept that runs counter to many people's beliefs about creativity: A person is either born with the ability to think out of the box or not; that creativity is a magical unconscious process with no structure; that ideas can't be forced and should be effortless. The fact is that innovation and creativity both have structure. Even more, they need it.

Fortunately, developing an environment and philosophy conducive to innovation is well-researched and documented. Some of the great business thinkers of our time have put much effort into creating models and guidelines to support and sustain innovation.

What is different about the process and structure of innovation as opposed to the process and structure of, say, accounting, is that the process of innovation can and frankly should look a lot like a mess.

The principles of innovation encourage failure, embrace ambiguity, even require, horror of horrors, unproductiveness and often seeks out the illogical. People who want more innovation set aside time, money and other resources to allow for it.

If you want to amp up your innovation potential, or even change from an environment/business that doesn't truly support innovation to one that does, here are a few questions to ask yourself:

What are my business's core values? Do they support innovation? If not, what values need to be incorporated to set the foundation for innovation? Many entrepreneurs who have solid knowledge of their own values don't create separate values for their business. Developing a values list for your business provides a compass point and gives you a way to judge proposed activities and projects. It also gives you the opportunity to consciously choose values that specifically support creativity and original thinking. For example, "Risk Taking" may not be a value of yours, but what would happen if your business embraced it? Examples of values that support innovation might be: Collaboration, Spirituality, Creativity, Performance, Communication, Excellence, Not Knowing, Problem Solving, Determination and Respect.
How much time do I spend each day playing with ideas? This means giving yourself major downtime or flow-time each day and, at the least, a couple of times of week. Ideas can happen anywhere, but you do need to dedicate a good number of hours to the creative process.
How much time do I spend reading, browsing the internet, plugging in to culture, trend-watching? How much of this time is related to my business and how much is unrelated? One of the tricks of innovating is finding connections between seemingly unrelated things.
Am I unstoppable? Sadly, great ideas are often killed before we've even finished explaining them. The most famous of these idea killers are "It won't work," "We tried that before" and "There's not enough money to do that?" Not to mention good old fashion fear. It's tough to be strong in the face of that kind of response to your thinking, especially if it's coming from a higher-up or someone you respect, but to innovate you've got to stand strong. Take those responses as clues that you are really onto something innovative. If it scares people, it's out of the comfort zone, and if it's out the comfort zone it's new, and if it's new, there's a good chance it's innovative. When talking about what it takes to stand behind your ideas, Ghandi once said this: "First, they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win." Look for this pattern as you propose ideas.
What support system do I need to have in place before going out on a limb? You are going to fail - just accept it. Then think about how it feels when your ideas don't work. Are you embarrassed? Do you get angry? Who or what do you need in your corner to cope? Put this in place before you need it. I recommend asking a couple of people to do this ahead of time and tell them point blank the kind of support you will need.
Where is my fire? Without passion and purpose, what's the point. And what's to keep you going when things get tough. Every time you brainstorm, tap into your "why's" - why did I create this business? why do I want to help these people? why is this important?
What tools do I have? There are a ton of great brainstorming tools available (a few have been written about in GUTS) and I will be bringing you more every month. In the meantime, check out web sites like www.thinksmart.com and www.innovationtools.com. Additionally, here are a few unconventional tools that may support you as well:
Deadlines: In my experience working in creative departments at ad agencies, nothing pumps up idea flow like a scary deadline that you have to meet. You can also make deadlines work for you if you work alone by making them more real. Here's a way to do that: Write a friend a check for $500. If you meet the deadline, you get it back. If you don't, you don't. I encourage you not to shy away from trying this. You will come up with something and you might be surprised by how many ideas are sparked.
Drive or Exercise: It is scientifically proven that when you are in a flow state, you have access to different parts of your brain. Driving and repetitive motion can put you there. Just be careful writing down your ideas while driving. Better to pull over.
Mix CD's: Create a music mix that is especially inspiring to you. Play it first thing in the morning or right before your designated brainstorming time.
How do I capture ideas? How do I evaluate ideas? While it is counterproductive to measure viability during the idea development phase, selection criteria is very important when deciding which ideas to move forward and which to abandon. General criteria might include how well an idea fits with mission or vision and how closely an idea mirrors values. It is also important to develop a system for saving ideas. Whether it is a simple notebook, a large whiteboard or a categorized set of files, develop a system that allows for easy access and review. You never know when an old, discarded idea will become relevant.

By exploring these questions, implementing a system and researching other innovation models and tools, you can ensure that your work process and workplace allow for maximum innovation. Simply by making a conscious commitment to innovate, you will be setting an intention that will serve you well and prevent you from becoming exclusively focused on the day to day. The deliberate creation of innovative working principles and environment will affect every aspect of your business. After all, amazing things come spontaneously - that is, if we invite them, have room for them and know how to entertain them once they arrive.