What is an Artist? What are you?

We are always talking ourselves out of the creative impulses that give joy, meaning and purpose to our lives. I had never heard of Young-ha Kim before today. Perhaps that is because he is a famous Korean author and I don't read Korean novels much at all.

He speaks at G4 network speed, which is to say very fast, though the subtitles appear at a reasonable rate. And they are very much worth reading as he chastises us away from being dull and intrigues us with what it means to create, to express, to explore. One of his more profound statements...get up, turn off the TV, unplug from the internet, and go make something. Indeed.

Creative Places + Spaces

This short Artscape video considers how connecting across traditional barriers and divides is an important discipline for innovation.

OCAD Launches Strategic Innovation Lab

Last night I was part of a diverse gathering of people who made their way from as far away as Barcelona to attend the launch of OCAD's new Strategic Innovation Lab (sLAB). Those in attendance included art students, senior OCAD leadership, MaRS representatives, government officials, business leaders and others who were interested in how social innovation might bring about good for others. In addition to hearing about the sLAB vision from Lenore Richards (Executive Director) and Bob Logan (Chief Scientist), participants were given a chance to be part of a workshop facilitated by Dave Gray of Xplane that enabled us to explore as a group what our vision for the future of sLAB might be.


I was part of a group that reflected visually on collaboration, leading to an exploration of 'it takes a village to raise an idea' complete with drawings. The survival or death of ideas is something that Randall Collins explores in his Sociology of Philosophies. This was a less onerous exploration and did not occupy the thousand-plus pages that Collins exploration covers.

thinkx - The Hub

I found this creative hub sponsored by thinkx - a Canadian creativity and innovation organization. I signed up as a member of The Hub...we'll see how it is. I will be curious to see if the group is different from other design groups that I'm part of. 

It will be hard to compete with the Transforming Transformations group but I'm willing to give it a try.

Diversity and Common Purpose

A shot of Michelle and I on the upper North Saskatchewan in the cedar strip canoe I built - diverse functions, common direction.

How strong is your organizations creativity index? One indicator pair that you can think about is the diversity of your group as it relates to what you are trying to accomplish. People like Richard Florida have been telling us that, among other things, higher levels of tolerance for people who are different than we are accompanies cities and regions with higher creative output (which links to higher economic output, quality of life, and general health).

In my experience, I look at the strength of the common mission and the number of weird people who are meaningfully contributing to that mission. If you don't work in a place that is open to diversity - dress, lifestyle, work habits, personal space decorating, ideology - chances are the 'distinct and highly valuable' indicator gauge is near-empty. But a collection of diverse people doesn't equal top performance - attaining and holding a lead position requires that your eclectic crew is oriented to a deeply held common purpose. That isn't an easy combination to assemble or lead.

Ingenuity Catalyst

There's a great resource from IDEO that you can use for yourself or in a team setting. Some of you may have seen the IDEO Method Cards but if you haven't, you can take a look at them here or buy them here.

They do not map out a linear method or process. I love that about them. The cards are designed as a way to jar your thoughts, shift your thinking, nudge you off the usual path. Take a look. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

If you need a bit more background, try the Fast Company article that features them.