The most inventive folks I’ve studied are disciplined about seeking inspiration. If you don’t make time to get out of the box, you will not be able to think out of the box, either. It’s not that complicated, but it requires you obliterate clean compartmentalization in favor of messy meandering.

One critical reason folks in organizations aren’t imagining radical new applications of GenAI is, their imaginations aren’t stimulated. My recommendation might fly in the face of convention, but it’s been demonstrated highly effective in both this AI-moment and in times past.

Two words most commonly associated with ideas are “good,” and “new.” I’ve often encouraged folks to forget “good.” Here’s the case for forgetting, “new,” too.

Business leaders should take a page out of one of the most brutally-straightforward innovation laboratories in the world: lessons from Jerry Seinfeld and Steve Martin’s stand-up routines.

Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs — and what propelled their project forward — have made me wonder whether the sterile calculus of today’s valuation-obsessed start-up culture has its priorities out of whack.

Ever wonder where Amazon’s famous flywheel-spinning organizational innovation, the “two pizza team,” came from? Hint: it didn’t come from a brainstorm…

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.

Mind wandering often connotes neglect. That’s a shame, because it’s essential to creativity: it enables the synthesis of unexpected connections, and the formulation of insights and fresh ideas.

There are no shortcuts to breakthrough outcomes. Even legends like Jerry Seinfeld — after long success — have to endure the pain that accompanies the early experiments on the way to the next innovation.

A critical priority in a productive, creative life is to make time to think, reflect, and synthesize. Here are a few examples of how spectacular innovators have carved out the necessary space.

When all of our time is spoken for, we short-change the longer-duration gestation required to form insights and think creatively. Bezos’ trick? He schedules unscheduled time.

A simple ritual powers Jeff Bezos’ efficacy as a leader of innovation at Amazon. Every quarter, he conducts a simple audit — two simple tactics that every innovation-oriented-professional ought to leverage with regularity.

Contrarians are valuable. Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos both used this government-developed toolkit for identifying strategic vulnerabilities and unlocking growth.

How do you court the muse? Innovators from Jeff Bezos to Victor Hugo to Jerry Seinfeld teach us embrace every bit of inspiration as soon as it arrives - by writing it down.

Your company’s next product might be hiding in plain sight: where you’re already servicing your own needs. Thinking about yourself as the first customer among many, instead of the total addressable market, is a game-changer.

When Bob Sutton told our class, “There is no such thing as a new idea…” I thought he was wrong. Turns out, I was.

We are all busy. The most effective innovators wield their calendar to enhance their practice, rather than be a victim of their schedule. Here’s how to structure your time differently.

Lin-Manuel Miranda shares a key insight from the process of writing Hamilton. His experience resonates with countless other innovators: make time to think.

The counter-cultural practices of Google X, Amazon, and 3M demonstrate that public celebration reinforces organizational values, especially when those values run contrary to conventional business rules.

Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs both illustrate that the sterile calculus of today’s valuation-obsessed start-up culture doesn’t put nearly enough premium on a particularly elusive ingredient: love.