Power Thinking Tool: Connect the Unconnected, pt 8 of 13
(Continuing series on the innovative thinking competencies needed
for innovation.)
Creativity doesn't always mean creating something brand new in the world. It might mean putting two existing things together in a new way. For instance, you might not automatically think that art and money go together, but if you did play with that combination, you might come up with a new idea, such as:
ArtMoney -- in late 1997, a starving artist was wondering how he might "make money." He realized that people don't actually "make money" in the sense of printing it. But he had made a lot of paintings so why couldn't they be traded as money. He decided to make "art money" and actually found some vendors who would accept it. Soon the Bank of International ArtMoney was born and now artists from 24 countries offer ArtMoney and the starving artist with the idea bought a house paying for 2/3 of it in art money.
Or go even further out and think about vending machines and art and you might come up with the idea of putting original works of art into old, and now banned in most places, cigarette vending machines. Art-o-Mats are now located in 82 locations and offer original art from over 400 artists for $4-7.
Frans Johansson in "The Medici Effect" suggests that we go "intersection hunting" and actively "search for connections in unlikely places and then see where those connections lead." Some ways to find connections include finding random words from the dictionary, strolling through a hardware store, traveling to places where the culture is different from your own, or exploring how
different industries work.
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Connect the Unconnected: Reveal hidden gems lurking at the intersection of seemingly unrelated fields. Open new possibilities with metaphors. Connect the Unconnected is the first of the power-thinking skill sets of the new Innovation Igniter Thinking Wheel series of 13 innovative thinking competencies.
The 15-minute learning module for this competency is presented by Roger von Oech, Ph.D., speaker, consultant and author of several best-selling books on creativity and innovation. These thinking skills are critical for innovation and for the creative work required for today’s world. A 15-minute video module on "Engage Energy" is available at http://innovationigniter.com.
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