Tips From Icebergs

Being creative is alchemic. Keep your eyes open – scan the horizon. It's that ability to look at everything with an open and curious mind and not get bored with that. 

You have to get seriously good at curating. Beach combing.

That means collecting all those bits of mundane rubbish and in real-time spotting what others aren't spotting. Put your thought processor on stand by and just marinade in what you see. Don't think about it too hard. 

For me the challenge goes like this. I read this the other day.

"The power of equations lies in the philosophically difficult correspondence between mathematics, a collective creation of human minds, and an external physical reality. Equations model deep patterns in the outside world. By learning to value equations, and to read the stories they tell, we can uncover vital features of the world around us." - Ian Stewart

In my head pops a visual.

That's how it works for me.

I can't explain it but that's what happens and it causes connections that I start to wire other things into. From this new words are generated and the process goes on a few hundred times a minute or until I decide to stop and do something different. 

The things on the surface are of only superficial value. You know, rather like an iceberg the best bits are usually hidden. That's as far as I should take the analogy I guess.

Ian Gilbert suggests that nature abhors a vacuum and the same applies in your head. The trouble is, if there’s nothing to replace the gap left behind when you clear out all your old rubbish then some new rubbish will come along to fill it. 

Therefore make sure that you are pretty eclectic with your own archive of stuff. Stuff you have squirrelled away - that you like – and like a real alchemist be ready to drag great things in.

Stay awake to all the fragments of the mundane and ordinary and watch for the things that aren't. They will look like the mundane too so it takes practice.

Being creative means to be open to all the stuff about to hit you, at all times and having your thought processor on stun. Working too hard at it isn't going to deliver anything worth 'jack' so let it marinade.

"The mind, at its best, is a pattern-making machine, engaged in a perpetual attempt to impose order on to chaos; making links between disparate entities or ideas in order to better understand either or both. It is the ability to spot the potential in the product of connecting things that don’t ordinarily go together that marks out the person (or teacher) who is truly creative." - Phil Beadle

"We create the new not generally through some mad moment of inspiration in fictionalized accounts of ancient Greeks in baths (though the conditions for this can be forced into existence), but by putting things together that do not normally go together; from taking disciplines (or curriculum areas) and seeing what happens when they are forced into unanticipated collision. - Phil Beadle

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How Much Of The Value You Could Create Don't You Want?

I like working on large walls.

Asking questions – drawing out thoughts – teams of people

Together – creating, curating – conceiving new ideas

It's an inspiring and privileged thing to do

We get to really see with our eyes the opportunity we have – the value we can create

Too often it doesn't get realised

Is it the people – or the 'habits' we build around us

Processes and systems that don't change?

So why don't these change?

Why don't we get rid of these millstones around our necks?

I like working on large walls

We agree the current habits are wrong because we can see them

We know they don't help because they just don't

We can see a new way ahead and these things will restrain us

What is stopping us then?

How much of this value won't we achieve?

Is it the leadership? Is it the behaviour?

Is it just us? It is all too hard – too much invested in the wrong place

There's not enough time – too much risk – "not on my watch"

Is it courage? Is it belief?

I like working on large walls

It makes us understand what is required

It gets us engaged with the right stuff

It enables us to think, create real meaning

It causes new ideas that we can execute on

It illustrates all the connections that integrates the team

It changes behaviour by showing us new value

It aligns a team because they created it

It creates the new direction that is shared and owned

So how much of the value you could create don't you want?

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The UI and The UX explained

And all the underpinning technology that goes with. Simples.

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If by Yes you mean No?

If you always do what you always did then you'll always get what you always got. 

So goes the popular epithet. Think about that then imagine what you 'do' today. Then think how different what you do might be if you could get the answer to literally anything you needed together with the inspiration of the whole world delivered to you in whatever way you wanted it.

Well that's now!

Herman Hertzberger once said about what makes us what we are today:

"When you discuss your own work you have to ask yourself what you acquired from whom. Because everything you find comes from somewhere. The source was not your own mind, but was supplied by the cultures you belong to. Everything that is absorbed and registered in your mind adds to the collection of ideas stored in the memory; a sort of library you can consult whenever a problem arises. So essentially, the more you have seen, experienced and absorbed, the more points of reference you will have to help you decide which direction to take"

So, now add to this memory you already have to the incredible system we have have to hand - a considerable system that expands our horizons beyond belief - the internet and the platforms and applications that are coming on-line every day – and that is connecting and connecting up – adding immeasurably every second to our collective brain. 

What do we think will actually happen when we can harvest (in real–time) amazing insights from the fire hose of information and inspiration we have at our fingertips? 

What will it mean when we've wrestled and re-engineered it all into that perfect 'app'? What will we think when we have sorted inspiration from mess – structured it intelligently within a platform that we can all use as if we were brushing our teeth? 

We receive gazillions of bits of information through all our media devices every day? What will it be like when this information ONLY consists of the stonkingly incredible stuff we actually value and want? What will be capable of when we have at our disposal stuff that we can immediately do something with – something that we can make real value from?

Well what would you do with it because it's almost there now?

The following was written in a letter to Eva Hesse (the eternal artist) from Sol LeWitt (the conceptual artist)

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Eva

From your description, and from what I know of your previous work and your ability; the work you are doing sounds very good 'Drawing-clean-clear but crazy like machines, larger and bolder… real nonsense.' That sounds fine, wonderful – real nonsense. Do more. More nonsensical, more crazy, more machines, more breasts, penises, cunts, whatever – make them abound with nonsense. Try and tickle something inside you, your 'weird humour.' 

You belong in the most secret part of you. Don’t worry about cool, make your own uncool. Make your own, your own world. If you fear, make it work for you – draw & paint your fear and anxiety. And stop worrying about big, deep things such as 'to decide on a purpose and way of life, a consistent approach to even some impossible end or even an imagined end' You must practice being stupid, dumb, unthinking, empty. 

Then you will be able to DO!

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Whatever it is you say you will do make that what you think deeply about. Really think what that means – then do that. 

Imagine if this new connection we have with such inspiration could connect you to things that you always wanted to do. Perhaps you hadn't recognised it before but there it now is. You are truly inspired. Well that's what these new insights and opportunities mean.

We are all too conditioned to do things that we actually don't like and don't get value from – and all too often it isn't really valuable to anyone else. But it is called work. You get paid for it. But what if you had better value to add and you could do that so that you could do something of more value. 

If you think about that it would have to start by thinking about different things, being inspired by new sources of value. Then if you didn't agree with something that isn't valuable against your wider thinking then you can say no. 

In practice this means that if you can think of something more valuable then push to do that! 

What's so tough about that idea? That's evolution. Why don't more people say that they don't want to do something – rather than just going along with it. Why don't they think for themselves about what they could do that's more valuable?

If we thought more, widened our horizons, made smarter choices then we could get on with things we actually wanted to do. Like Eva that thing could be cathartic, spirited, different – wholly satisfying and even more creative and interesting to the world.

I don't think people think hard enough about what could they be? 

What could we do? What might we become if we could get access to that much inspiration. If we could sort the rubbish from the truly inspirational would we? Would we know it if we saw it? Could we do something special with that much powerful stuff?

I think people try to be something they so aren't. All too often people are inspired by what they hear around them and think they are supposed to be inspired by it. They tend to agree with the popular view without really thinking it through. Without widening their world view. I think they are conditioned to simply want to look like they are going with the flow of things and yet have no sense of what that means or worse have no intention at all of doing the thing with any vigour! 

It drives me nuts in a working sense because nobody gets value from this. 

We don't get at the root cause of anything or changing things really because we are pushing the thinking through a very restrictive filter. We aren't pushing ourselves as a species to be truly creative or innovative – we don't get at the true value of ourselves.

Well listen up people - we are getting very close to this ability so will we do the smart thing and take advantage of it or will we continue to let progress pass us by? I hope not.

Final word goes to Sol

"Just stop thinking, worrying, looking over your shoulder, wondering, doubting, fearing, hurting, hoping for some easy way out, struggling, gasping, confusing, itching, scratching, mumbling, bumbling, grumbling, humbling, stumbling, rumbling, rambling, gambling, tumbling, scumbling, scrambling, hitching, hatching, bitching, moaning, groaning, honing, boning, searching, perching, besmirching, grinding grinding grinding away at yourself.  Stop it, and just DO!"

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Close Encounters Of A Material Kind

Making A Deep & Visual Impact.

When you think about it we all like to know how things actually work. It's a universal thing. And as things get more and more complicated what was once simple is now more complex. And now a whole bunch of complex things are joining up to make them simpler for us to use. As a result the stuff in the background stays getting more complex and needs careful maintenance and consideration to keep it working. 

Have you noticed thought that our obsession to wonder how things tick stays ever present. We also know that making anything work excellently is as much about how it was made (deep inside the system) as it is about how it looks or how easy it is to use and consume.

Beauty is definitely no longer a good thing if it remains skin deep. 

As if we haven't made it all tough enough we have come to expect that every 'system' we experience will be stunning on every levels. The experience we get on the surface had better be sustained as we journey on through. We will quickly vote with our feet if our experience isn't wonderful pretty much every step of the way.

So, everything that we can do to get to grips with the system has to be good. To better 'see' all the moving parts of the system means the more we are armed to improve it and better positioned to manage it dynamically. If we don't understand the pressures on all the 'elements' of the system then there will be big impacts right through it – and they will hit us very hard indeed!

Seeing Deep Inside

We need new and more powerful ways to get right under the skin of everything – to be able to peel away all the layers of the thing. To allow us to look at it from multiple dimensions. This then allows us to work out how to rewire it all as we figure out how to make it better. Getting control of everything that makes up the best possible system we can is crucial. If we don't then we can expect the result we deserve.

By bringing these complex systems to life is to make them accessible to everyone - even those not directly involved. And this means that we can dramatically improve the outcome of every strategy. It means we can convey complex ideas and complex systems simply. This is a major benefit when trying to create alignment or engagement for everyone in a big change program for example. Hugely powerful too when we need to imagine a new vision or how to operate differently to cope with today's changed world. 

Everyone gets to see their role; their part in the system in far more valuable ways.

Seeing large scale systems at work are always impressive and compelling. 

Look at any smoothly operated ocean going liner, the flight operations of aircraft, railroad or space operations centres, the inside of an expensive Swiss watch, a coral reef or the Amazon rain forest - they are all extremely impressive in how they work. It is truly amazing what it takes for them to exist and what complex components are required to be in balance to make them actually work

When we work at scale we get inside the system of these things. There is space to move and think about them. There is a bigger impact on the way we can see and understand when working on large canvases that we all feel the power of but we often just take for granted.

Within you and without you

And yet the really deep impact is actually on us as human beings. By seeing how it all works means we can actually lose any fear we had. It's no longer an unknown quantity. No more fear. We can start to get the confidence we need to make better use of it. Start to understand how to improve our decisions within it and improve the experience of it to those outside.

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A Massive Visual Attack

Something very interesting happens when we work at scale with visuals. I saw the David Hockney exhibition recently and was literally transported into his world. But what was interesting was that it was also my world.

Trust me – the similarity with Hockney ends there. He is a proper artist but I hope it makes my point.

When I'm working at scale I too observe the impact and the value of the visual in getting people engaged. The big difference with my stuff though is the act of collaborative creation. People seeing their own thoughts literally flying onto the canvas. They are part of the creativity. The conversation comes to real life!

What is going on here?

There is a very human thing in being part of a team, a tribal thing that binds people together as they go on a mission where each and everyone has a role to play. Some act of creation where the building of something weaves all their dreams and ambitions into one.

People often remark that they themselves can't draw but appreciate that seeing their thoughts drawn live and made highly meaningful is a good second. The audience is literally drawn in and they become part of the collective 'artistry.' We sometimes describe the result as a 'tapestry' and in many ways that is a better word as often tapestries are made by many artisans.

Seeing things at scale, seeing and understanding the connections between things is only really convenient at a sufficient scale. Looking at entities, intangible ideas and being creative with a sense of freedom and emotion is far easier at scale. Getting people engaged across a big team, and 20/30 feet away, is only possible at scale. Rather like an enormous billboard or outdoor installation that demands a second look – developing a strategy at scale is a very powerful thing!

Fundamentally this is about sheer scale. The size of things makes a big difference! A massive difference and something that has to be witnessed to be fully understood. Their is quite a bit of awe seeing Hockney's work at the Royal Academy. Their is a lot of surprise and immersion by people who don't often get the chance to get inside their opportunity, challenge or ambition. 

This way they most certainly can

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Peerformance!

If you think about it – when was the last time you actually modified your behaviour? When did you change the way you thought or acted about a thing? Anything!

Everywhere you look businesses are desperate to get their folk more engaged. They talk about wanting them transformed, inspired – behaving for the benefit of the whole firm!

Well mostly it ain't gonna happen!

We individuals (being individuals) tend to be able to resist most attempts to modify our attitude and behaviour. But in 'groups' we typically have to. It's just decency right? When we respect the collective spirit of the group then we soon learn that if we want to progress then we had better step up. But the key words here are respect.

The greatest success we observe in change programs is when the majority of the people respect each other. We then observe those involved are themselves a kind of movement - then these rules soon become the standards. These guys are formidable.

"The most powerful modifier of an individual's behaviour is the immovable power of the peer group!"

People, in my experience, are very often quite distant and dismissive of their employer and their corporate missions. And especially dismissive because many employers just don't get what actually works. They seem to have no idea how to change their peoples minds about anything let alone the success of the business. 

And frankly most employees couldn't give a damn whether their employer achieves the targets it lays out and announces in the company propaganda. The employee often doesn't see appropriate behaviour in their leaders so why should they play ball anyway.

Sadly many senior leaders are not equipped for this level of change. Nor are they deeply determined or charismatic enough to really make the changes required. Overall engagement leading to transformation is probably the hardest kind of change to make. It involves individuals so that makes it almost impossible. Especially without real innovation in the way to think about it.

Oh dear!

There are countless 'snake-oil' tools and techniques claiming to be the magic bullet. They all have some merit but the really powerful answer is actually obvious - if you think about it. The business has to recreate the peer group. 

The business has to make a significant and sincere attempt to create a peer culture. A group of respected people that (as a group) add up to what is feasible, meaningful and downright right. This needs to be accepted by the majority of the people. How this peer group thinks and works may not be as lofty as the dream required by the enterprise strategists but it will be authentic and practical. And that is what will actually work.

In actual fact several peer groups need to exist in the business. The peer groups will need to engender the right kind of spirit and then, by degree the terrorists and naysayers will have to change or ultimately be ousted by the power of their peer group.

How to create the 'Peer Group'.

Imagine a selected group of people discussing and developing everything that they need to agree on and share in order to collaborate and succeed as a team. Imagine that this dialogue became a blueprint for everything they said, everything they stood for and everything they needed in order to manage and work as a real team every day. Imagine that this framework was publishable and could become the ultimate tool for change. A Peer Performance Framework!

The 'framework for performance' and positive progress right across the business.

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My world has changed. Beyond Recognition

It's true. I am addicted. 

And I hereby formally apologise to all around me who have to put up with my incessant obsession with gadgets and everything cool, on-line and funky but hey – go with me here. 

Within a mere 3 years I have been able to achieve some pretty heavy duty ambitions. Some powerful mojo. I always envisioned the ability to stumble across an image (or an idea) and store it somewhere where not only could I find it but I could share it with others by inviting them along. Inspire someone with the find or even better meeting others with the same or similar passion. Outside of a care home or a prison. Along comes Instagram and Pinterest. http://pinterest.com/johncaswell/

And I also thought what a really awful job most people did of their BIO and CV. And then along comes this. http://zerply.com/GroupPartners/public What a completely superb and simple way of creating a simple easy and above all for those who need to – a seriously valuable way to expose yourself! And below this one the other way to view yourself at http://resumup.com/me/259338

The 'Resum UP' Analytical View. All of these solutions take all the data from your Facebook and Twitter feeds. Then you simply add your final and more subtle points as you feel you should and also remain connected to everyone by being able to share it all again.

For those of you who have yet to discover Tumblr – and apparently there are still one or two folk out there like that – then this was another really big idea for me. Where to go to be inspired. To just be wowed - without having to go through 'trial by search' (Google) to find something (and people) who are truly seeking out the insane or the diabolically creative. By adding a quote or another thought then you can add to the circle of creativity and ingenuity that is the visual world of Tumblr. http://johncaswell.tumblr.com/

And finally I found my inner writer and a perfect platform for me to just talk to myself – like now. 

Like most people who blog I write for myself. I do it to rehearse my own thoughts and just see what I can do to be that little bit more creative. I use the blog to get over myself and outpour all sorts of mad rambles that inhabit my crazy head. And then I head to Pinterest/Instagram to get an image, to Tumblr to get over it all and realise how boring I am – and if you are reading it here, then here.

But mostly I'm razzing about what amazing tools we all have now. Simply incredible power, really really simple to implement, incredibly intuitive, free to use and totally crazy in terms of the sheer quantity and confusion of their profusion. What a great time to be living through. Where will it all end? Well hopefully it never will. There will be far smarter versions and platforms, User Interfaces (UI) and Search (Semantic) but mostly our human creativity will continue and we will take it all as it is meant to be – to improve our ability to connect, share and add value to our evolving world. 

Oh and it doesn't mean we stop talking to humans face to face right!

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