It’s a well-known fact that Albert Einstein shattered the paradigm of physics as an “unqualified” outsider. Some might suggest his lack of status was actually a benefit.

“I have come to think that one of the most revealing signs of a young man's capacity is the use he makes of his vacations...”

- David Ogilvy

Most breakthroughs sneak up on us, and can easily recede from our memories. Seeing when we’re stuck is an important step in rewiring some of our default ways of working.

LinkedIn Founder Reid Hoffman and John Steinbeck might be wildly different characters, yet when it comes to sparking creativity, they both employ an unexpected hack.

We shouldn’t see sick days as days we can’t work. A few of my favorite breakthroughs prove, perhaps we should see them as a gift — an opportunity to receive a new vision of the future.

A stratospheric success at Google might never have reached escape velocity if folks weren’t allowed to indulge pet projects. Here’s the inside scoop.

For all the ink that’s been spilled on overcoming creative blocks, we often neglect an important reality: getting stuck is essential to breaking through! Let’s stop to appreciate the feeling…

One of the greatest challenges on the journey to creative mastery is that the “rules” of productivity. Stories from Seinfeld and others encourage me to persist in the wrong direction.

Since connections are the very basis of creativity, anyone who seeks creative output should consider: what fuels new connections? Michael Dell’s early experiments give us a glimpse at a very unexpected answer…

What do Elon Musk and Albert Einstein have in common? Both of them were willing to examine things that other people dismissed as too trivial to warrant their attention.

Richard Feynman advised would-be geniuses, “You have to keep a dozen of your favorite problems constantly present in your mind…” Here’s how breakthroughs get started.

Subconscious processing has tremendous potential to deliver breakthrough thinking. But you can only tap into that potential if you actually care about a problem.

Most folks are the victims of a breakthrough more often than they are the perpetrators of one. It doesn’t have to be that way. We can tempt lightning… Or at least, we can increase the odds of a strike.

One of the most trajectory-shifting inputs for Phoebe Yao’s start-up came when she least expected it: not during a mind-blowing mentor meeting arranged by a VC, but in a chance encounter with a friend in the park. 

What if eliminating failure reduces the likelihood of a breakthrough? There’s lots of research that suggests that’s the case.

Charles Darwin wrote an astounding 15,000 letters to over 230 collaborators across more than 10 different scientific fields. He understood the value of sharing partially-formulated ideas.

B.F. Skinner’s strict working habits reveal not only how he became such a prodigious writer, but also how he became such an inventive researcher: he made the most of his nights!

“‘You can't understand Google unless you know that both Larry and Sergey were Montessori kids,’ said Marissa Mayer. Valuing personal freedom to pursue interests explains a lot about Google.

Imagination is particularly provoked by unexpected inputs. One tell-tale sign of a valuable surprise is, it makes you chuckle…

We all want to steward organizational resources responsibly. But sometimes, the problems we face aren’t clear, and neither are the solutions. In such cases, good stewardship requires divergent thinking, which often feels irresponsible.