Creativity Without Borders

Innovation from East and West

by Nancy K. Napier, Ph.D.

When Complaining Is a Good Thing

Usually, I argue for not complaining too much -- who wants to be around someone who whines? But when it comes to creativity, sometimes being irritated and talking about it can lead to some great inventions. Read More

Caffeine Pizza With Medical Benefits.. Huh?

If you want shake yourself up a little and try to spark your creative thinking, invite a foreigner or child who’s just learning to read to ride along on a highway for an afternoon. You’ll see signs in a whole new way and shake up your brain in the process. Read More

You may be a starfish and not even know it

What do you remember learning about starfish? In school, I recall hearing that they can regenerate a limb if they lose it. Well that’s just the start to what these remarkable creatures can do. But more than that, what we can learn from them is even more intriguing. Read More

The Magic of Unexpected Time

What I learned about creativity by spending time in a medical clinic in Vietnam. Not what I expected. Read More

The Year of Small Changes

How an odd sort of murder scene in my backyard is changing the way I start the new year. Read More

Know Why Chameleons Change Color? Think Again.

Chameleons change color, that's a given. But what if you learned they change color for different types of reasons? That sometimes they change so fast humans can't see it? Or that maybe the change is not for the reason many people thought they knew? If we understand why they change, maybe we can use the lessons in our own lives. Read More

How Are Einstein And Football Coaches Similar?

Creativity in football? Really? Read More

Go With the Flow... Or Fight It?

What can traffic teach about flow? In the chaos of Hanoi's streets, a lesson about what it might take to boost creativity. Read More

The Teen and the Traffic Ticket—New Ending?

Give a ticket or solve a problem? Read More

Oops! Bloopers We Don't Know We Make

Do you confuse people without even knowing it? Read More

Three Little Words That Pack Power

Ideas: treat them like seedlings and use three small words when those seedlings spring up. Read More

Love a Bargain? Find Them in the Oddest places...Like Theatre?

Don't you love it when we get more than we'd expected? It happens all over, even in the theatre world. Read More

Take a Picture, Improve Your Life—Or At Least Your Organization

Good photos and good organizations start with vision.... Read More

Improvisation...It's All About Practice

On the football field and on the stage, things go wrong. A missed pass, an interception, a fumbled kick… expected foibles in a game. A forgotten line, “costume malfunction,” or rainfall in an outdoor theater…expected problems in a performance. Yet, as fans and audience members know, The Show Must Go On and sometimes the players and actors and dancers just…improvise. Read More

What's Small, Tasty and May Change the World?

When you want to change the world, start with a cup of coffee. Read More

How Can David Beat Goliath, Again?

What happens when a pip squeak wrestles with a giant? It loses. So how can a small organization take on Goliath and succeed? Read More

English as a Creative Adventure

If you think of email as "computers massaging each other," what other novel ideas might come from language slip ups? Read More

No Rhythm? No Problem.

Lots of organizations seem to operate on a constant 24/7 time frame, or at least 12/12. So how do they find time time to reflect and refresh? One company did just that by creating its own "90 day cycle" to push hard and then stop to review and reflect. Results? Great way to fail fast and learn faster. Read More

Ideas From Unexpected Places…Like Elephants and Giraffes?

Intriguing ideas can come from unexpected places. Creativity involves finding ideas in one field and applying them to very different one, so what might managers learn from African animals that could help their organizations? Maybe more than they would think. Read More