Time and space. Genetics and robotics. Education and fashion. Possibilities limited only by our imaginations. The future is yours to create. Who will be the Leonardo da Vinci of our times?
Most ideas are incremental, quickly copied and suffocated by conventions. “Future back” thinking starts with stretching possibilities then makes them a reality “now forward”.
The best ideas emerge by seeing what everyone has seen, and thinking like nobody else. Newness occurs in the margins not the mainstream. Solutions emerge through powerful fusions of the best ideas into practical, useful concepts.
We now live in a creative economy, where ideas are the most valuable assets, and creative people rise up. Visionaries, border crossers and game changers. Engage your right brain, open your eyes, think more holistically ... intuition rules.
The next book from Peter Fisk ... to be published in Summer 2010
Creative Genius is inspired by the imagination and perspective of Leonardo da Vinci, in order to drive creativity, design and innovation in more radical and powerful ways. It includes practical tools ranging from scenario planning and context reframing to accelerated innovation and market entry, plus 50 tracks, 25 tools, and 50 inspiring case studies.
The book is "the best and last" in the Genius series by bestselling author Peter Fisk. Others include Business Genius, Marketing Genius and Customer Genius. More information about these is available from the GeniusWorks. The book will be published by Capstone in May 2010, and is currently available for pre-order from Amazon at 15% discount.
The ideas : 10 thoughts to get started ...
1. Future back. Escape the limitations of existing markets by designing the future then working backwards to today.
2. World views. Creativity is about perspective, seeing your world through new eyes – children, space, art.
3. Rule breaking. First define all the rules and conventions and then imagine how you could break or invert them.
4. Open and close. Creativity is divergent whilst innovation is also convergent, ensuring creative ideas have impact.
5. Creative fusions. The best solutions often emerge from combinations – atomic ideas into molecular concepts.
6. Open innovation. Customers are collaborative partners in innovation, turning new insights into useful applications.
7. Trickling up. Ideas flow from margins to mainstream, from extreme users, other sectors and emerging markets.
8. Aesthetic design. Memorable design is like nature. It has beauty and purpose, form that follows function.
9. Market vortex. Market entry is just the start, it how you influence and reshape markets that define your destiny
10. Social entrepreneurs. Sustainability is our biggest catalyst, finding new ways to make peoples’ lives better.
The innovators : learning from most creative businesses
3M ... In 1969 Neil Armstrong took man’s first steps on the moon wearing space boots with soles made by 3M. Now, an $18bn market leader, 3M describes itself as “the innovation company”. Not only does it focus on “practical and ingenious solutions that help customers succeed”, but also on transforming markets and customer behaviour itself. 3M’s innovation techniques are legendary. These include the insights that spark new products – the choirboy that inspired the Post-It note, and 10% of every week’s hours dedicated to “bootlegging” – working on crazy ideas from which 30% of new revenues emerge. It’s innovation process consists of parallel approaches to concept, product and market innovation.
Nintendo ... “Leave luck to Heaven” is the English translation of Nintendo. The keiretsu’s first idea was handmade hanfuda cards, followed by a taxi service and love hotel. Eventually, this evolved into playing cards and today a $85 billion video game company like no other. From the double-screen, hand-held Nintendo DS to the all-conquering collaborative action of the Nintendo Wii, the Kyoto innovator continues to reshape its industry. However it is not just about electronics, but about the aesthetics of design and human interaction that sets Nintendo apart. Japanese culture Shibui means unobtrusive beauty. Wabi sabi is the reflection of inner perfection and simplicity.
Pixar ... When it comes to producing breakthroughs, both technological and artistic, Pixar’s track record is unique. Toy Story in 1995 was the world’s first computer-animated feature film and was followed by blockbusters likes of Monsters, Inc., The Incredibles and WALL·E. Every story and characters is created internally by a closely-knit community of artists and engineers. Pixar started in 1979 as the Graphics Group, a part of Lucasfilm until it was bought by Steve Jobs in1986. He shaped the company into what it is today, and continues to oversee its development since being acquired by Disney in 2006. Pixar and Disney Animation Studios now collaborate constantly pushing the technological possibilities of animation.
Virgin Galactic ... Richard Branson’s Virgin Group needs little introduction – from his early pioneering music business he leapt into the aviation world without any idea about running airlines. But quickly found people to help. Championing the customer, challenging existing markets, became a Virgin speciality – and succeeded in everything from finance to cosmetics, mobile phones and TV. What is there left to do, mused Branson to first side-kick. “Go to space” replied Will Whitehorn, who set about building Spaceport America, testing SpaceShipOne,. With the help of rocket scientist Burt Rutan, Virgin is launching space travel for the masses, at a fraction of the cost, and carbon emissions, of NASA.
The contents : The book is built around 5 zones and 50 tracks, 25 tools and 50 stories
"Creative Genius" starts from the future back (tracks 1-10). Leaping frogging the limitations of today, to see possibilities, and then working backwards to understand how they can be practically realised. Just like Leonardo da Vinci was able to observe, imagine and create hundreds of years ahead of his time.
You enter the "Genius Lab", a practical journey of accelerated innovation, based on practical experience across many sectors. The ideas factory (tracks 11-20) explores new possibilities through deep insight and stretching imagination. The design studio (tracks 21-30) is all about creative design, fusing the best ideas into potential solutions. The impact zone (tracks 31-40) focuses on practical and commercial implementation.
But innovation is about more than creativity. It is about making ideas happen practically and commercially short and long-term. Now forward (tracks 41-50) is about building creative talent, unlocking creative assets, sustaining a creative culture, and the disciplined processes of managing innovation projects, portfolios and performance.
Future Back
Track 1: Leonardo da Vinci
Inspired by his relentless curiosity and perspective, what are the creative talents that enable you to think differently, better and deeper, to create a better future?
Track 2: Time and space
Exploring the future world, through time travel and whitespaces to find the best opportunities ... with the spaceships and stardust of Virgin Galactic
Track 3: Creative minds
New thinking for work and life, where ideas are the new currency of success ... as demonstrated by Nintendo’s ultimate game designer, Shigeru Miyamoto
Track 4: World changing
Seismic shifts that are transforming your markets, invisible but with immense implications ... like the new vision for India of Aravind Eye Care
Track 5: Whitespaces
Women and the elderly, genetics and water, networks and 50 billion devices ... the big opportunities that demand the creative animation of Pixar
Track 6: Future back
Start with the impossible, then work out how to make it possible with more dramatic results ... like Nobel prize-winning entrepreneur Mohammad Yunus
Track 7: Creativity
The extraordinary power of ideas, inspired by jesters and sages to make new connections and possibilities ... with the elegance of Donna Karan
Track 8: Design
The fusion of function and form to give new ideas structure and style ... learning from the “tae kuk” of new the new technology star, Samsung
Track 9: Innovation
Making the best ideas happen successfully, and ultimately make life better for people ... with sand dune-running, cyclone powered James Dyson
Track 10: Genius
Welcome to “the Genius Lab”, where inspiration meets perspiration, and how this book can help ... plus the reality distortion field of Steve Jobs
The Ideas Factory
Track 11: Getting started
The “fuzzy front-end” of problems and opportunities, dreams and napkin diagrams ... and the “grande fromage” of the creative world, Philippe Starck
Track 12: Seeing things differently
Ideas and imagination achieved through different worldviews, and by simply getting out there ... seeing the bigger picture like Tim Berners-Lee
Track 13: Patterns and paradox
Making sense of the uncertain futures, through pattern recognition and paradox resolution ... where the future is a little robot, the Honda Asimo
Track 14: Future scenarios
Building visions of alternative futures that stretch your vision and sharpen your decision-making ... with rocket scientist to the stars, Burt Rutan
Track 15: Deep diving
Immersing yourself in the customer world, through intuition and deep diving to understand more ... like a day in Mumbai with Ratan Tata
Track 16: Crowdsourcing
Harnessing the power of people, because many are smarter than few ... creating the wonderful user-generated t-shirts of Threadless
Track 17: Extremes and parallels
Finding the deviants and border-crossers, in the margins not the mainstream, and even the Masai Mara ... with the distinctive twist of Paul Smith
Track 18: Rule Breakers
Seizing discontinuity and disruption, breaking rules and conventions to do things differently ... oh, and the sheep, sharks and skull of Damian Hirst
Track 19: Ideation
Igniting the power of ideas and hypothesises to stretch, challenge and imagine better solutions ... with the enlightened teamwork of IDEO
Track 20: The Ideas Toolkit
5 essential tools to generate better ideas – to stretch thinking from the future back, and bring together ideas from different perspectives
The Design Studio
Track 21: Design Thinking
Design as a mindset for the creative business, one that creates, shapes and communicates ideas ... like the real man of Apple, Jonathan Ive
Track 22: Context reframing
Finding your bigger idea by changing the frame of reference by which ideas are perceived ... like when graffiti becomes artwork with Banksy
Track 23: Co-creation
Creativity that unlocks the power of customer “ubuntu” to develop more relevant solutions ... with the push to pull of Proctor & Gamble
Track 24: Creative partners
Collaboration that exploits open innovation and ideas exchanges with the spirit of “Koinonia” ... and the enduring magic of Disney
Track 25: Experimentation
Prototypes and simulations, accelerating time to market with “test learn test” ... and the molecular gastronomy of the world’s best restaurant, El Bulli
Track 26: Concept fusions
Connecting ideas to create better solutions, and articulating the concepts that will make life better ... inspired by the huge sculptures of Anish Kapoor
Track 27: Simplicity
Beauty, say the scientists, is in the simplicity of complexity. And so it is in the real world ... with the eight laws of digital artist John Maeda
Track 28: Experience design
Experiences add theatre and passion to products and services, they do more for people ... as Frank Gehry did for the Guggenheim Bilbao
Track 29: Evaluating concepts
Which are the winning designs? How to evaluate ideas that have no history and so numbers are not enough ... and the winning formula of Alessi
Track 30: The Design Toolkit
5 essential tools to design better concepts – the practical steps to turn creative ideas into winning concepts
The Impact Zone
Track 31: Launch Pads
Accelerating new ideas to market, using the diffusion of innovation, whilst ensuring you cross the chasm ... and taste the amazing chocolate pots of Gü
Track 32: Creative scripts
Selling ideas through storytelling, learning from the hype and hysteria of Apple launches ... and the “just do it” advertising of Wieden+Kennedy
Track 33: Profit models
Making sure ideas make money through innovative business models and effective pricing strategies ... with the commercial flair of Giorgio Armani
Track 34: Brand propositions
Making ideas relevant and distinctive through propositions that focus on the key benefits to customers ... like the sports cars that care, from Tesla
Track 35: Contagious ideas
Capturing the memes and viruses that make ideas spread, whilst overcoming the “hype curve” ... like rockstar with more ideas, Dave Stewart
Track 36: Market shaping
Winning in the vortex of fast-changing markets through continuous in-market innovation ... with the relentless persistence of Zaha Hadid
Track 37: Protecting ideas
Copyrights, trademarks and patents that become your most valuable assets in a creative world ... and the new entertainment world of Live Nation
Track 38: Going further
Reaching out to adjacent markets though licensing and franchising to do more with your creative assets ... like Ed Hardy revolutionary Christian Audigier
Track 39: Delivering results
Harnessing the value drivers and performance metrics to ensure that innovation delivers profitable growth ... with the creative rigour of Whirlpool
Track 40: The Impact Toolkit
5 essential tools to ensure that the best ideas have the most impact in their markets ... and to sustain their success over time
Now Forward
Track 41: Creative leaders
Recreating the Medici effect, the ability to support and connect people and partners for extraordinary results ... and the Oriental fashion of Shanghai Tang
Track 42: Innovation strategy
Ensuring that ideas drive profitable growth through alignment of business and innovation ... as demonstrated by “design for business” at Lego
Track 43: Creative Culture
Hotspots and happiness in the innovative organisation that embraces change and imagination every day ... recreating “the spirit of Enzo” at Ferrari
Track 44: Innovative processes
New product development that learns from the stage gates of NASA to become open and networked ... and reinventing innovation at 3M
Track 45: Creative people
Visionaries, border crossers and game changers. How to ignite the power of creative people ... and create fireworks like Cai Guo-Qiang
Track 46: Innovation ventures
Ventures and incubators that make ideas happen faster inside and outside your business ... and Silicon Valley’s most connected entrepreneur, Reid Hoffman
Track 47: Creative networks
The creativity of people and places and how creative companies come together to create better ideas ... like the Innovation Jams of IBM
Track 48: Managing innovation
Managing the people, projects and portfolios that make the best innovations happen time after time ... and life in the Googleplex with Google
Track 49: Game changing
Creative revolutions and the “X Prizes” that deliver breakthroughs that normal processes can’t ... and the relentless innovator, Niklas Zennström
Track 50: Now forward
So what will you do today? How to make your own ideas happen and find your edge in the changing world ... Here’s to the crazy ones
"Creative Genius" will be published by Wiley Capstone in May 2010, different and building on the previous books - Business Genius, Marketing Genius and Customer Genius. The new book is currently available for pre-order from Amazon at 15% discount.
Peter Fisk is a bestselling author, inspirational speaker and innovation consultant, with many years of practical experience as entrepreneur and business innovator. He has worked for many of the world's leading brands including Coca-Cola and Red Bull, Vodafone and Virgin. He was CEO of the world's largest marketing organisation, the Chartered Institute of Marketing, and a manager in various businesses, having started his professional life as a nuclear physicist.
You can find more insights and extracts from his books, forthcoming speaking events, masterclasses and workshops, accelerated innovation consulting projects and executive development programmes, hundreds of free downloads and latest papers, regular blog updates and much more from Peter Fisk at the GeniusWorks.
Email peterfisk@peterfisk.com
© GeniusWorks 2010