Paint + Pipette

A blog on the art & science of creative action.

Jeremy Utley Jeremy Utley

Commission A Personal AI Project

Many organizations are asking their people the wrong question: “What can GenAI do for our business?” This is the wrong question because most employees don’t even know what GenAI can do, period! Here’s a cheat code to help your people understand its potential.

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Jeremy Utley Jeremy Utley

Block Daydream Days

Innovators ranging from Lin-Manuel Miranda to Jeff Bezos wielded down time as a deliberate strategy. For all our connectedness, being unplugged has never been more important.

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Jeremy Utley Jeremy Utley

Appreciate Feeling Stuck

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…

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Jeremy Utley Jeremy Utley

Design A Hypothesis

A good hypothesis is one of the most valuable assets in the scientific world. And they’re getting harder to come by. Luckily, this is where design thinking shines.

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Jeremy Utley Jeremy Utley

Embrace Constraints

If necessity is the mother of invention, then constraints are invention’s crazy uncle. Stories as varied as the origins of Wikipedia, Dyson Vacuums, and the ice industry illuminate.

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Jeremy Utley Jeremy Utley

Form A Hypothesis

A good hypothesis is one of the most valuable assets in the scientific world, and they’re only getting more valuable. The question is, how to form them? This is where design thinking shines.

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Jeremy Utley Jeremy Utley

Take Things Apart

If connection is the basis of creativity, anyone who wants to be more creative should ask: what fuels new connections? Michael Dell’s early experiments give us a glimpse at a very unexpected answer…

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Jeremy Utley Jeremy Utley

Be Skeptical

Design is an optimistic pursuit. But can lead to naïveté, if left unchecked. What most designers need is a healthy dose of skepticism to compliment the optimism with which they approach their efforts.

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Jeremy Utley Jeremy Utley

Hack A Creative Calendar

One of the most insidious restraining forces inhibiting professionals creativity is the incessant sequence of back-to-back-to-back meetings throughout the day. The most productive innovators wield their calendar as a weapon that enhances their practice, rather than be a victim of their schedule. So how to structure one’s time differently?

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Jeremy Utley Jeremy Utley

Expect The Unexpected

One of the most surprising things about discovery is how easily overlooked some breakthroughs are. When Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, it was nothing more than an absent-minded, off-handed comment during an after-hours diversion.

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