Is this you?
I’ve seen teams start out by making big long lists of tasks and deliverables at the beginning of a project. This assumes that they know exactly what the product is going to end up being. I think that this kind of way of thinking goes entirely against a culture of creativity and innovation, and of the Agile philosophy. By deciding on all of the tasks up-front and by setting up an infrastructure for the team to work in (process, tools, tracking, tickets…), we actually restrict the potential for innovation.
What it takes to innovate:
Innovation requires serendipity …

photo credit: erix!
If you want your development team to be autonomous, rapid and creative, then you need to ensure that they have the room to move so that can occur. Often teams are given a very tight brief, which leads to the group of smart people you hired taking time to convince you on an alternative solution, or actually just not being in a mindset which drives innovation and excellence. You’ll get good functional software for sure, but getting what you asked for isn’t always a blessing. If you …

A lot of people talk about innovation, and a lot of people describe themselves as innovative. You probably know some too: “innovative problem solvers”, “innovators”, “innovation machines”, “creative problem solvers”, “Creative innovators”… but few people actually do innovate. What was your last innovative act? Was it an idea? If it was that’s good, but realising that idea is just as important, and sometimes where your greatest chance at innovation lies. If all you have is a big list of ideas that never became reality…you’re dreaming. Imagination is a really important …

photo credit: desbiens_jean
“The essence of serious play is the challenge and thrill of confronting uncertainties…The challenge of converting uncertainty into manageable risks or opportunities explains why serious play is often the most rational behaviour for innovators”. (Michael Schrage)
As a society, we are finally beginning to give play time the attention it deserves. It is being recognised as serious business, and so it should be. Play is how children learn social skills, make sense of the world they live in, discover new things about it, and invent, create and dream. …

photo credit: lilongd
Social psychology is all about researching how social groups interact, and how the individuals interact with each other within social groups. Experimental psychology is ”the study of the mind and mental operations by the use of experimental methods.” (Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health) – Experimental social psychology is what you get when you mix both of the above together.
It has found its way into the popular bookshelves, in the pages of Gladwell’s Outliers, for example (there are many more others of course), and …

photo credit: derekkeats
Unless you have been asleep underneath a comfy rock for the last few years (or in a totally different industry – both perfectly acceptable btw), you will know that the world of advertising is on the move.
“Going digital”
Adland used to be all about intellectual capital, idea creation and mostly revolved around print and TV. I can’t tell you much more than that because I have only spent 14 months in Adland and can really only comment on the changes I’ve been observing. And they are big changes. …

photo credit: pasukaru76
 
You don’t really need anything at all to come up with an innovative or interesting idea, but if you’re going to make a habit of it, then it’s probably a good idea to get comfortable. I make sure that I’m exposed to a large number of different types of ideas by reading news ranging from electronics industry breakthroughs to new health fads to software releases right through to newly published research papers. I want to know what’s new, what’s cool, what works, what doesn’t and how to …

photo credit: Stuz?
The Sydney opera house was completed in 1973 and is one of the greatest architectural works of the 20th century. It brings together incredible creativity and inspiring feats of innovation. It’s an awesome urban sculpture but also a really functional and smart building. In fact, it’s one of my favourite places to hang out in Sydney. I never get tired of photographing its lines and curves, and the cafe is pretty good too. Seeing as we’re all in the business of innovation, I thought it would be …

Released in November 2010, Microsoft’s Kinect has created a bow wave amongst the more technically minded communities. Most computing departments in Universities own one and they’re doing very cool stuff with it. You will have all seen the long stream of videos under the tag “Kinect hacks” and you will have all seen it do some things it wasn’t intended to do. In this post, I want to talk about why it’s actually such a complicated device, and where it’s going next.
If you read this blog, you more than likely …

photo credit: époque
There is a very well shared Zen story that goes something like this:
“The Japanese master Nan-in gave audience to a professor of philosophy. Serving tea, Nan-in filled his visitor’s cup, and kept pouring. The professor watched the overflow until he could restrain himself no longer: “Stop! The cup is over full, no more will go in.” Nan-in said: “Like this cup, you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup.”
You might empty your cup and …