If ‘free time’ is a long forgotten concept, Susan Hamilton Meier offers a few ways to escape the confinement of the mind.   In a world where many of us are fundamentally rethinking the need to be tethered to the traditional constraints of “work” and people around the world are fighting for rights they yearn for or have lost, I have been thinking a lot about freedom. Freedom is one of my personal core values. The right to define yourself and…

In this interview with Lawrence Yeo, Paul Millerd explores visual storytelling, creativity, and the concept of the practical creator. Being an undeclared major till his senior year of college, Lawrence didn’t really know what he wanted to do. After looking up which jobs make the most money, he decided to declare as an economics major, leading him to explore Investment Banking. While he didn’t end up working in investment banking, he was still pulled by the power of prestige, something…

If you feel you need to up the mental input at work, Jared Simmons has the solution.  Albert Einstein was famous for using thought experiments to consider abstract ideas. These were hypothetical situations that would help him to develop simple theories to explain the complex forces in our universe. His theory of special relativity came from considering what would happen if he were to chase a light beam. His understanding of gravity as a form of acceleration came from thinking…

Susan Hamilton Meier shares an evergreen post on why it pays to play in all things, including branding. We’re well into fall, and while the weather here in New York remains lovely enough, my work ethic tells me it’s time to buckle down and really get some work done. No more playing around. Summer is over. But maybe I’ve got it all wrong. What if play is actually the best way to work? Recess is the most important class. Education…

Stephen Wunker takes strategic advice from a fashion icon to discover how his creative process could be applied to business innovation.  Backpacks and duffel bags used to be boring. When David BenDavid was a fresh graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York in the early 2000s, the mundaneness of these items struck him as he wandered the city’s streets, thinking about how to deploy his design talents. That’s when he settled on a simple concept – backpacks…

In this article, Shelli Baltman shares some of the critical drivers and creative strategies that she has observed link directly to innovation success.   Choose your innovation team thoughtfully Any number of books have been written about successful innovation processes, approaches, tools, requirements and techniques, but in my experience the single most important determining factor when it comes to success or failure in innovation is the team.  Your innovation team members not only need to have a diverse set of…

Paul Millerd shares eleven timeless insights on the value of life and work options. #1 Valuation & Options On The Pathless Path When I listen to my own podcasts, I am often surprised at how I don’t fully remember everything from the conversation. This can be embarrassing until you realize that this happens in many conversations. We remember how we feel during rather than the words being spoken. I recorded an episode about a month ago with a friend, Kris…

If you feel guilty for reading fiction, Amanda Setili’s article on how fiction books can improve leadership skills will remove guilt. Put your feet up and enjoy. I’m deep into The Expanse book series, and it never ceases to amaze me how many insights and inspirations I get from reading fiction, especially science fiction. Fiction makes it easier to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and to understand different perspectives: how others feel, and how they solve problems that might…