Keep Digging for Ideas
![Keep Digging for Ideas - 'We need to entertain... every chance that could result in new combinations [of ideas]... The probability is that 999 of them will come to nothing... but the 1000th idea may be the one that will change the world.' - In 'Applied Imagination' by Alex Osborn](http://www.idea-sandbox.com/blog/blog_images/thought7May08.png)
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May 7, 2008
sticktoitivity
April 29, 2008
cocktail napkin wisdom
Discovery (and Innovation)
April 16, 2008
cocktail napkin wisdom
Confusion and the Fool
April 4, 2008
cocktail napkin wisdom
It is what it is.
Sometimes, despite your passion for problem solving, there are things that can't be fixed.
That's when you need to accept it as a condition of the environment, learn from it and say "it is what it is."
March 19, 2008
big dig
Big Dig: Problem Solving
Thank you to Bob Nauneimer from Prism Strategic Services for this great quote.
Bob is right... The last thing you want to do is spend a lot of time solving the wrong problem!
You'll find Bob's quote and unearth more thought starters by using the free Idea Sandbox BIG DIG tool!
March 12, 2008
cocktail napkin wisdom
Productive or Active?
This is a Post-It note I had stuck to my computer monitor for a while. Now I have a smaller note that states "busy ≠ productive."
Often we're merely active in what we're doing. Activity feels busy. But it's not necessarily productive.
Are you keeping yourself busy to avoid a project? Or have you fallen into the trap of doing busy work and (if you were honest with yourself) unnecessary tasks to avoid what really needs to be accomplished.
Being active doesn't mean you're being productive.
February 27, 2008
cocktail napkin wisdom
What's Your Red Rubber Ball?
February 13, 2008
cocktail napkin wisdom
Idea+Action=Initiative
February 6, 2008
cocktail napkin wisdom
Ben Franklin on Remarkability
January 30, 2008
cocktail napkin wisdom
Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid
January 23, 2008
Fresh Eyes Approach to Problem Solving
January 9, 2008
cocktail napkin wisdom
It is hard to believe how many nice, bored, girls with private photos want to chat with me.
Where have you been?
January 2, 2008
cocktail napkin wisdom
Practice the 4 REs Constantly
December 12, 2007
Stop Running Ads
December 5, 2007
cocktail napkin wisdom
On Nurturing Ideas
November 28, 2007
cocktail napkin wisdom
Cocktail Napkin Notebooks
It seems I spend quite a bit of time talking about... and referring to... cocktail napkins.
It is just that they are such a classic and unassuming vehicle for great ideas.
- I've been using them as the medium for great quotes.
- I recently mentioned a book coming out in March - "The Back of the Napkin", by Dan Roam.
How could you go wrong with a spiral-bound notebook of napkins?
They come 20 to a pack and with a pen.
I'm not no mathmagician, but if many a million dollar idea came from the back of a napkin, it seems this pad of 20 could bring the jotter over $20 million!
Last I checked, the link on the Napkin Notebook site to MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) didn't take me to the notebooks. I asked the Napkin Notebook Team and they let me know...
At this time, the notebook is available in the MoMA Soho store and the MoMA gift store.It's also available for purchase if customers call the MoMA Store customer service number - 800-447-6662.
It won't be on the MoMA Store web site until January - we're sorry about the confusion and will correct our site to reflect this new information soonest.
I've got to go find my thin, black marker!
November 13, 2007
cocktail napkin wisdom
On Purpose
November 7, 2007
Solutions Suggest Themselves
November 6, 2007
cocktail napkin wisdom
Book Scoop: "The Back of the Napkin" by Dan Roam
In March of 2008 a new book, "The Back of the Napkin: Problem Solving and Selling Ideas," by Dan Roam is due to hit book shelves.
Here's a whole book dedicated to (1) solving problems through pictures and (2) big ideas can come from a simple place.
For those of you who have been following my bits of cocktail napkin wisdom, you're aware I'm fond of the napkin as idea substrate [1].
Used properly, a humble napkin is more powerful than Excel or Powerpoint. It can help you crystallize your ideas, think outside the box, and communicate more powerfully than any traditional business presentation.
I'm looking forward to getting my mitts on this one!
You can learn more at Dan's book site The Back of the Napkin (thebackofthenapkin.com) and/or read Dan's Blog Digital Roam.
[1] sub•strate - noun, a substance or layer that underlies something, or on which some process occurs, in particular. ORIGIN early 19th cent.: anglicized form of substratum. (Source: New Oxford American Dictionary)
October 31, 2007
cocktail napkin wisdom
Knowledge-Added
October 10, 2007
REMARKABILITY
Remarkability
September 26, 2007
cocktail napkin wisdom
Success & Failure
September 19, 2007
Ideas: Popular vs. Big
September 11, 2007
Freshness
September 4, 2007
cocktail napkin wisdom
Take Responsibility
September 1, 2007
REMARKABILITY
Quid Tum
August 30, 2007
be the Champion
Changing versus Being Changed
