Wrigley Wiggles: Zigzagging to Creativity
Creativity is never a straight linear path from idea to execution. … Read More Wrigley Wiggles: Zigzagging to Creativity
Tag: improvisation
The Emergence of Creativity: Matt Ridley’s New Book
You’ve got to read the excerpt from Matt Ridley’s new book in today’s Wall Street Journal. Just released this week, his book is called The Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge. I have a lot of respect for his previous books, so I’m delighted to learn that his new book makes the same points as… Read More The Emergence of Creativity: Matt Ridley’s New Book
The Costumed Character “Buford Beaver”
For my summer job while in high school, in 1977 I passed a stage audition at the Busch Gardens theme park, in Williamsburg Virginia, to perform as the costumed character “Buford Beaver.” Just today, I found a long-lost photo that shows me, in costume, with my mother and grandmother, check it out! I stumbled onto… Read More The Costumed Character “Buford Beaver”
Great Improv One-Liners
I’m fascinating by improvisational theater, and I’ve spent my career studying Chicago improv, the world headquarters for innovative improvisation. While studying for my PhD at the University of Chicago, I played piano for two years for the campus improv group, Off-Off Campus. It sounds like just another campus activity, but improv theater was invented at… Read More Great Improv One-Liners
Cirque du Soleil
The process of choreography is surprisingly collaborative and improvisational, and Cirque du Soleil is the perfect example, as demonstrated by a recent interview with Circus Choreographer Debra Brown in the Wall Street Journal*: When she’s creating a new act, Ms. Brown begins by leading the acrobats in improvisation sessions to see what they can do.… Read More Cirque du Soleil
Applied Improvisation
I just returned from giving a keynote at the Applied Improvisation Network conference, in Chicago–the legendary world headquarters for improv theater. This is a fascinating and fund group of performers and teachers. I was delighted to discover that improv has gone international–lots of folks from Europe, Asia, and Australia had flown in for the event.… Read More Applied Improvisation
Professional improvisers
I’ve just returned from presenting a keynote address at a conference at the University of Padua, in Padua, Italy: the title of the conference was “Improvisation: Between Technique and Spontaneity.” The core idea of the conference was that the tension between technique and spontaneity is found in just about all expert and professional activity. Professionals… Read More Professional improvisers
Innovation = Learning
Innovation is the flavor of the month; has been for more than a few months now. Organizational learning is another management trend–it refers to the ability of an organization to learn–to become more effective over time, to develop new knowledge and retain it to respond to future situations. What both innovation and learning have in… Read More Innovation = Learning
Improvised Innovation
I’ve just been reading a new book by William Duggan, a professor who teaches business strategy at Columbia Business School. The book, Strategic Intuition, argues that the best innovation comes through improvisation, not through advance planning. It’s called “opportunistic innovation”: instead of planning and setting advance goals, sit back and watch for opportunities. When you… Read More Improvised Innovation
The Creativity Guru 