[This post is part of a series on creativity. If you don’t see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you’ll get more value than reading just this post.] Yesterday I wrote some points of how the concept of genius is counterproductive and inaccurate. So what are the alternatives? My alternative to calling them geniuses is calling them accomplished, dedicated, in-the-right-place-at-the-right-time (which, if[…] Keep reading →

[This post is part of a series on creativity. If you don’t see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you’ll get more value than reading just this post.] The term genius sounds like a compliment. Virtually everyone values intelligence and genius implies extreme intelligence. Say the word genius and names like Einstein, Da Vinci, Mozart, and Shakespeare come to mind. Who wouldn’t[…] Keep reading →

[This post is part of a series on creativity. If you don’t see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you’ll get more value than reading just this post.] So you want to be more creative? What do you do? Just about the worst thing you can do is to believe people have a certain amount of creativity and that’s their lot in[…] Keep reading →

[This post is part of a series on creativity. If you don’t see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you’ll get more value than reading just this post.] The more you try to define creativity the more you learn, among other things, the term doesn’t mean what most people think it means and it says more about the person calling the thing[…] Keep reading →

[This post is part of a series on creativity. If you don’t see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you’ll get more value than reading just this post.] Thinking outside the box is to think differently, unconventionally or from a new perspective. This phrase often refers to novel or creative thinking. Who wouldn’t want that, at least when the situation calls for[…] Keep reading →

[I replaced this post with a series on creativity. Click here to view that series, where you’ll get more value than reading just this post.] The next few posts will be on creativity, mainly exploring counterproductive mainstream myths about it. I used to view the topic as vague, but a few sources dramatically and convincingly changed my perspective. One was a class at Columbia Business School called Systematic Creativity in[…] Keep reading →

If you accept mainstream ideas of creativity, then your understanding of creativity is holding you back from creating things and being creative. Mainstream views on creativity sell books, movies, magazines, and so forth. They sell over-romanticized myths that, while entertaining, undermine your ability to create things and solve problems. Let’s start with two contradictions to lay bare the counterproductivity in mainstream views. First, mainstream views value creative, original, so-called outside-the-box[…] Keep reading →