Paint + Pipette

A blog on the art & science of creative action.

Jeremy Utley Jeremy Utley

Forget

Ownership is an exceptional innovation diagnostic. Who came up with the good idea? You might be surprised to see what an exceptional team does (and doesn’t) remember…

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Roast A Problem

Some problems can be hard to see from different perspectives. William Hardaway, a design leader in higher education recommends taking a light-hearted approach to exposing unexplored angles.

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Jeremy Utley Jeremy Utley

Build Your Idea Muscle

Spectacular entrepreneurs craft clever experiments. And a robust experimentation practice demands a rigorous ideation ritual. At Stanford, this is how folks build the muscle.

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Jeremy Utley Jeremy Utley

Number Your Ideas

World-class creators like Jon Acuff literally count their ideas. It’s one of the simplest ways to measure your creative capacity, and whether it’s growing.

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Jeremy Utley Jeremy Utley

Learn With Lunatics

The surprising secret to YouTube sensation Mr. Beast’s rise to prominence? Gathering likeminded learners to exponentially reduce the ramp of a new pursuit. Such folks are lunatics.

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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

Request Criticism

Leaders at Stanford and Pixar have proven that one of the most powerful ways to accelerate the quality of our ideas is to actively seek and embrace critique.

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Wield Your Weirdness Proudly

A common thread of breakthroughs is that they occur in “accidental” or unexpected ways. What if, instead of dismissing the accidental elements as irrelevant, we started deliberately deploying them?

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Jeremy Utley Jeremy Utley

Make Sacrifices

What do Kobe Bryant, Jerry Seinfeld, Michael Phelps, and the digital artist Beeple have in common? They all made sacrifices to do something special.

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Jeremy Utley Jeremy Utley

Gather Conceptual Legos

Wildly inventive individuals have a habit of gathering conceptual pieces before they know exactly what they’re going to do with them. The more legos you collect, the more ideas you can make.

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Jeremy Utley Jeremy Utley

Tap Into Your Subconscious

David Ogilvy attributed difficulties with original thinking to what he dubbed “the tyranny of reason.” Here are a few superrational escape techniques...

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Jeremy Utley Jeremy Utley

Interrupt A Hero

How did I have the boldness to approach a living legend of innovation as a total stranger? I was inspired by one of my own students, and followed suit.

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Jeremy Utley Jeremy Utley

Question the Script

Bossy Cosmetics Founder and CEO Aishetu Dozie shares an insight with profound implications for finding purpose in work.

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Jeremy Utley Jeremy Utley

Call It What It Is

Take stock of the last time you had a good idea. How you talk about it, both to yourself and to others, matters. If you don’t chalk it up to “creativity,” then you’re unlikely call on creativity when you need it.

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Jeremy Utley Jeremy Utley

Wonder At What’s Inside

I’ll never forget the first time I caught a glimpse of my own dormant creative potential. It’s like a whole new world of possibility opened up to me. Ever since then, it’s a gift I’ve wanted to give others.

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Jeremy Utley Jeremy Utley

Look for Leverage

Leverage is one of the most fundamental mechanisms of value creation, yet folks look far enough beyond the balance sheet to reap its full rewards. Here’s how to bring leverage into daily life.

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Jeremy Utley Jeremy Utley

Set An Output Schedule

Lorne Michaels, the most-nominated person in Emmy history, has accomplished something that very entertainers do: sustained creative excellence. His mantra for creative success is quite surprising…

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Jeremy Utley Jeremy Utley

Observe Your Customers

To make empathetic engagement with customers as rich as possible, it’s essential to immerse in and observe them in the wild, and to do so regularly. Some tips from an outstanding innovation leader.

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Jeremy Utley Jeremy Utley

Grant Permission to Deviate

“Smarter is better.” It’s hard to imagine a more sound premise. And yet, that’s not what the data suggest, nor what the history of innovation teaches. What we really need is permission to deviate from the smart approach.

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