The word prototype has 17 synonyms. These include Mock-up, Model and Pre-cursor.

My favourite is Forerunner.

Often the people and businesses I work with are stuck.

They have been lured into the perfection trap, paralyzed because they have instantly tried to build the entire product all at once. Worried about what others might think. Blocked by an impending sense of pre-meditated failure. Worse still, they have built what the boardroom asked for.

There is another way, though.

Embrace the prototype. 

• Prototypes free us up by simplifying what we want to create. A scaled-back version can offer a flavour of what 'it' might be.
• They allow us to put our ideas before the very people we made ‘it’ for. Then, to listen and observe what they think.
• Suddenly we get to find out what can be better BEFORE we launch.

Good enough doesn’t mean poor quality, it represents another step towards quality.

Everything and anything can be a prototype. 

That book you have inside your head can start as a blog post. That app you want to build can be a sketch. 

Many of my successes in helping businesses evolve have come from gathering a small group of protagonists around a problem and making a prototype. Then, enlisting a larger group to test.

Similarly, putting the prototype in front of a small group of customers, improving based on feedback, and then involving a larger group of customers.

What will you make?

A key principle of my work is to teach people and businesses always to be launching. Let's talk if you fancy a chat about prototyping or need help getting you and your team unstuck.

Photo by Luis Quintero on Unsplash

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Creating anything of value takes a level of empathy and understanding that is rarely instant.

Why is that?

• It takes a presence of mind to stop, listen, and observe before taking action.
• We get caught up in the fog of what we assume we should do or what we've always done. 
• Without challenge and inquiry, our biases (conscious and unconscious) affect our judgment.

As humans (consumers), we want to feel understood. In a time when immediacy seems to come before quality, understanding and empathy feel more scarce than ever.

People recognise the care we don’t take as well as the care we do.

Lucky Dip

Click a mystery link or click all three. Try it, you might like what you see.

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Their biggest export though was not an invention of their own. Mr. Kaji was in fact a fan of a game called Number Place back in 1984. At that time he felt that we wanted to give it more of a Japanese-sounding name and so Sudoku was born ("sudoku" roughly translates to "single numbers.").

Looking at Nikoli's success through the lens of product development or innovation there are three vital insights:

1. They took an existing product and re-framed it just enough to be more intriguing and accessable to a bigger consumer base.
2. They didn't re-invent new puzzles but largely tested and perfected existing ones.
3. In the late 1990s after unsuccessfully pitching Sudoku to publishers in New York and London, they found an alternative way of distributing through hundreds of newspapers globally.

According to Nikoli, an estimated 200 million people have enjoyed solving the logic puzzle.

In an interview with the BBC back in 2007, Mr. Kaji said:

"I get really moved when I see a new idea for a puzzle which has lots of potential," he said.

"I get really excited about it. It is like finding treasure. It's not about whether it will make money. It is purely the excitement of trying to solve it."

It's fair to say that this is the embodiment of people-first-problem-solving.

Before you go...

CurveFinder Programmes help people and businesses adapt more skillfully to the modern digital market through people-first-problem-solving. Working with in-house teams, we make new or re-frame existing products and services that matter.

Get in touch if you'd like to place an innovation engine at the core of your business.

The post Maki Kaji, 'Godfather of Sudoku", Dies at 69 - here's what his most famous "invention" can teach us appeared first on CurveFinder.

I love the honesty and humour of this video about creativity from Oscar-winning director Taika Waititi.

No matter what job we do, we're all trying to create something and the process can be lonely, baffling, and disorientating at times. Someone like Waititi, given his success, could well allow his ego to tell him he had it all worked out. That he was the master of his own creative process all along.

But his self-deprecation about how he "fell into" filmmaking and what he goes through to create his work is guidance for us all.

Similarly, he talks about how important momentum is.

"Don't get too comfortable... keep moving".

And how being nervous can be a good thing.

"You've got to be nervous... If I'm nervous enough then I know I'm going to scramble and potentially make something good".

This is an important point. When taking on challenging work, we all suffer nerves or from imposter syndrome. Even Oscar winning directors.

When helping people innovate themselves and their business I often talk about the practice of acknowledging nerves as a positive force. They are simply an indication that we're doing something that matters. We can only be at our best when being pushed to adapt and evolve.

The world of music and film is full of examples of people who apply a creative process and allow themselves the structure, intensity and space to do their best work.

If you find this interesting, you might like:

Getting white hot and passionate with Nick Cave and Roald Dhal

How Jack White uses restrictions to drive creativity

David Lynch on where ideas come from

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We allow the 'general consensus' to change our view. Over time, we compromise and the thing we're trying to achieve becomes, well, beige.

A homogenized pile of bland, serving a fraction of the purpose we intended

Instead, our goal could be to become more useful, remarkable, and worth seeking out.

• To create something hard to replace, groundbreaking, or thrilling.
• Generous work that makes things better.
• Something that has functional, emotional, and social value for others.

Beige isn't a goal worth having.

Today I celebrate launching the new version of CurveFinder. Something that started as a blog about creative endeavor has become my way of making a living by helping others adapt to the modern digital market. To innovate themselves and their business.

For me, it will remain a practice... and an eternal fight against beige.

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OkanaganPhotographer

Can you tell us a bit about what you do and your journey so far?

I’ve been pursuing art for many years -- I hold both a BFA and MFA in Visual Art. I’ve also been a curator, an art instructor at galleries and universities, and the head of an arts council. In September 2017 I stepped away from my other positions to focus on my artistic practice full time.

What are you working on right now?

Building my life as a full time artist, which is meaning taking a look at my life across the board: my artistic practice, my health and well being, my sense of belonging and connection, and the admin structures I need to build to make my business work -- finances, inventorying, marketing, etc. I’ve also started writing about my ideas about life, art, creative process, entrepreneurship and spiritual practice on Medium, which is showing me that I have a LOT to say about this.

Tell us about your creative process, what principles do you apply? How does it look and feel?

I’m in this really beautiful place right now where when I sit down to make something, I effortlessly step into creating. Yes, sometimes the first few things I make are a bit funny looking, but then I hit my stride and all the following pieces I make flow like water. Previously it would sometimes take me longer to catch my stride and feel somewhat more bumpy and frustrating upon entry.

I’m of the mind that the creative process is something you work with; it’s a force that you rise up to meet. It’s always there waiting for you if you can figure out how to access it in your ever-changing, ever fluid, everyday life.

Where do you take influence and inspiration from?

Everything around me.

I remember in my first year of art school learning about Fluxus, an experimental art movement of the 1960’s that believed that everything is art -- from your day-to-day surroundings to brushing your teeth to instructions on how to make art. This stance allows me to see everything I encounter as fodder for everything I do.

My favourite places to take inspiration and ideas from are from things that have little or nothing to do with art. I like getting an understanding of an idea or concept and then applying it somewhere totally different and unexpected, particularly in how I build or dream up my business practices and offerings. For example, I’ve recently been reading Simon Sinek’s Start With Why and have been thinking about how to map that onto creative practice; a curious mirroring where artists start with Why and viewers start with What has emerged.

My thinking and outlook on life and art are influenced by a lot of different schools of thought and spiritual practices. Abraham Hicks. Brene Brown. Seth Godin. Danielle Laporte. Simon Sinek. 5Rhythms - a dynamic movement practice and practice of being in your body. Osho. Yoga. Kundalini. Reiki.

As for art making, there I think in shape, colour and form. So feeding my eyes with things on instagram or pinterest is super fun and important for me.

What do you do when things get tough or you hit a creative block?

I change lanes -- immediately and often. I like to have multiple things on the go so that when one thing isn’t working I can switch over to something else. This also means leaving things alone so that they can breathe.

For example, when I first sat down to write out these answers, I wasn’t feeling quite right. What I wanted to say wasn’t clear and was feeling clunky and unyielding. I also noticed that I was pushing. Trying to make the words come and I hadn’t even eaten breakfast yet! (wasn’t listening to my own advice as you’ll see in a couple of questions) So I went and made some breakfast. I cleaned a bit too. And as I was doing that, all the ideas started to percolate and swim into my vision.

I believe that we are always working on things, mulling them over, letting them ferment in some back room of our brain, even when we’re not “working” working. This idea gives me space and permission to let myself off the hook, go and rest or do something else -- a change of scenery, mental, emotional or physical, is almost always the way back in for me.

What advice would you give someone who wants to push themselves creatively?

Number 1: Lighten Up! Be softer and kinder to yourself. More generous and understanding. This is something I have to work on all the time. When I get it, it’s the magical icing on the creativity cake. Don’t “push” yourself to be creative. Dance or trick your way there. Pushing can take the magic of creativity away all too easily.

Number 2: Know Yourself! How do I know when it’s time to step away or change lanes? Because I have taken years and years to get to know myself, inside and out of creative practice. I am finely attuned to what it feels like when I’m in creative flow; something I am always listening for. So I know when I’m avoiding something or when I’m doing things for weird intentions -- watch out for “I must be productive!” on this one. Doing something because you “think” you “should” is killer!

Number 3: Create a sacred place in which to work. Now I don’t mean get the absolutely perfect desk or space. I mean, create a mindset in which what you’re doing is sacred and separate from any other part of your life. It’s a space where the only voice that matters is your own -- in your sacred studio space you are God. Yes, other influences will creep in. But you are the vehicle through which they arrive. You decide what form they should take or how much room they are allowed to take up.

Number 4: Don’t ascribe a purpose to what you are doing. This goes part-in-parcel with working within a sacred space. Let your creativity lead the way. Don’t decide too closely what you’re going to make beforehand. Allow for surprises and play and enjoyment. I think about this as accessing another part of my brain that thinks totally differently from the more logical, linear part. It will come up with the most magical solutions if you let it.

Where can we find your work?

Website - katiebrennan.ca
Instagram - @katiebrennan_ca
Medium - @katiebrennanart
Twitter - @katiebrennan_ca

The post 'the creative process is something you work with; it’s a force that you rise up to meet' - a Q&A with Canadian artist Katie Brennan appeared first on CurveFinder.

Last year I wrote about loss and trauma and wondered whether, in a strange way,  it could lead to self-improvement.  I used the example of Nick Cave who's beautiful film One More Time With Feeling I had seen that day.  A film shot in the wake of the tragic loss of his son and one that, as a father, I found remarkably touching.  It was clear that the immense bond between Cave and his wife Susie was at the heart of their recovery.  His friendship and creative connection to long-time collaborator Warren Ellis was also hugely important.  Cave remained actively creative and , with small steps, used the process as a kind of therapy.

Jump forward a year and I witnessed a stunning performance from Nick, Warren and The Bad Seeds in Glasgow last night.  This was a performance from a supremely talented showman. Some would even say a Shayman and a Poet.  He rolled out classic after classic from a career with The Bad Seeds spanning over 30 years.  This was a white-hot and passionate performance (although I'm sure he'd prefer black-hot).

The Weeping Song by the indomitable @nickcave last night at @TheSSEHydro in #glasgow Wonderful. #NickCave pic.twitter.com/zdbhxiSY0Y

— Daniel Holland (@KingOfMen85) September 28, 2017

It turns out (as well all know deep down) keepin' on keepin' on pays off. As I traveled to the gig, I caught this quote from Roald Dhal in a book I'm reading by David Hieatt. For me, it sums up what people like Nick do and the opportunity we all have.

Main image by Daniel Ebersole on Unsplash

The post Creative endeavour: White-hot and passionate is the only thing to be appeared first on CurveFinder.

He took the leap and started at a local open-mic night, eventually

Having written poetry from childhood right into his teens, Tony was forced to stop when family commitments had to take priority. “I had no money, so I had to work in a supermarket five nights a week,” the poet told Rhuss-Tutt. “And that stopped me reading and writing. I harboured vague ideas of doing something with music or writing, but I did nothing with it.”

If you've seen what he does, you know he means it.  That's not a bad place for us all to start.

It wasn't until he was 39 that Tony managed to get something going again, using fatherhood as an opportunity.  “I’d written a few poems. We’d had kids by that point, which keeps you in the house and gives you a new perspective on things.” But in 2004 he managed to build up the courage to nervously perform at a local open mic night -  “It changed my life,” he says.

He surrounding himself with the people he wanted to emulate

In 2005, Tony used his street-smarts to blag his way onto the poetry stage at Glastonbury.  He soon found himself surrounded by people who had managed to form a career from their work.  Despite most of his peers being younger and without family commitments, he took inspiration from this and in 2008 he decided to reduce his work hours to concentrate more on poetry.

Taking a risk, persistence paid off

“As I pressed send on the redundancy form email, my phone rang asking would I like to be poet in residence at Glastonbury. Clutching at straws, I took that as a good omen.” - Tony Walsh

Reducing your hours in your day job to follow your creative purpose might seem risky enough,   especially to those of us with a family to feed.  But Tony goes on to explain how he was able to embrace the possibility of leaving his job to create an exciting new opportunity “...in 2011, I took voluntary redundancy and went full-time,” says Walsh. “Having discussed it at length at home – ‘Can I give up my job and pension and run away with the circus?’ – the weirdest thing happened. “As I pressed send on the redundancy form email, my phone rang asking would I like to be poet in residence at Glastonbury. Clutching at straws, I took that as a good omen.”

Some would call Walsh's story fate or luck.  I would call it the result of persistence and creative endeavour.  Without the open mic night, there would have been no Glastonbury - by taking that small step you could argue that he kicked off a chain of events that continue to pay off now.  At the heart of the story is a guy who is doing work that matters for himself and others.  If you've seen what he does, you know he means it.  That's not a bad place for us all to start.

Read the full interview over on iNews.co.uk

In September 2017 Tony will publish 'This Is The Place', his collaboration with Manchester’s creative community bringing his poem to life through illustration, photography, and design. With contributions from Peter Saville and Malcolm Garrett and a foreword from the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, the book’s proceeds will be split between three charities.

Photo by Oscar Keys on Unsplash

The post 'An open mic night changed my life' - Manchester poet Tony Walsh on carving a career from a sideline appeared first on CurveFinder.

I recently stumbled across this brilliant video of filmmaker Kevin Smith. In it, he gives a fantastic account of how he views criticism. His answer is honest, bustling, sweary (don't say I didn't warn you) and full of wisdom.

If you're interested in making positive change happen. Have struggled with processing criticism from others.  Or just want to guard against becoming cynical yourself and to do better work. Work that matters. If any of this applies to you, then this is 9 minutes worth investing.
Don't get distracted by the fact you're not a filmmaker or a so-called creative.  You see, Kevin's philosophy can work for anybody, in any line of work. At the heart of his message is the view that we all have a choice. We can either sit back and commentate or we can choose to step up, create and make it better. It can either happen to us or we can happen to it.

If that's not enough to make you watch the video, well, have a read of a few re-assembled soundbites below.

"...at the end of the day, it's like, do you want to pick apart something that happened or do you want to create something yourself.... You can either sit around and be entertained or you can go out and be entertaining... We live in an age of democratised media where anybody can do it.... If you percieve deficit, fill the deficite yourself... that's adding a spoke to the wheel and creating conversation.  Creating art.... It's not enough to comment anymore.  You gotta do.  Deeds not words.... Don't talk about it, go f*ckin' do it"                     -Kevin Smith

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Empathy is the currency of all change. Without taking the time to walk in the shoes of the people we are trying to affect, how can we expect to succeed?

This canvas is derived from a similar tool used in agile methodology, developed by David Gray. The original version is designed to help product development teams empathise with the end-user or customer segment they are developing for.
Using similar principles, my version is designed to help provide a framework to allow for greater empathy with a colleague, client or co-worker. It’s a tool for problem solvers, collaborators, makers, and doers and is intended to help you get to a place of deeper understanding of the very people you are trying to collaborate with in order to make change happen.

Empathy is the currency of all change. Without taking the time to walk in the shoes of the people we are trying to affect, how can we expect to succeed?
Spend some time working through each stage of the framework. Reflect on each question with an open mind and jot down your answers. Proceed with kindness and an open mind.

Empathy Canvas from CurveFinder

For more reading on empathy check out An open letter to ‘Mr. Status Quo’.

If, like me, you’re into using a canvas to frame your thinking, check out my ‘Goal Setting Canvas’.

Think there is a way to improve these tools? Have you had results using them that you’re willing to share? Please get in touch hello@curvefinder.com on Twitter @curvefinder or LinkedIn

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