Balancing Idea Development and Creative Thinking

just spent three hours staring at the same problem and getting nowhere... until i tried something that completely changed my approach to innovation hey linkedin fam, wanted to share some thoughts on creative thinking that's been transforming how we approach r&d at our medical device company we're always told to "think outside the box" but neuroscience actually shows that creativity isn't about wild, unstructured thinking it's about creating the right conditions for your brain to make unexpected connections here's what's been working for me based on actual research (not just motivational poster advice): ✨ constraint-based innovation: we now deliberately impose weird limitations on our design sessions. example: "solve this problem without using any electronics" or "design as if it's 1985." stanford research shows that constraints paradoxically expand creativity by forcing new neural pathways. last month this led to our simplest and most elegant solution yet. ✨ the 70/20/10 thinking model: i structure my team's creative work like this - 70% of time thinking about the core problem, 20% exploring adjacent domains, and 10% in completely unrelated fields. the journal of creative behavior confirmed this ratio significantly increases breakthrough ideas vs. focused-only approaches. ✨ cognitive diversity sessions: we bring together people with completely different expertise (our engineer + marketing person + someone from logistics) to solve the same problem. mit research demonstrates that diverse thinking styles create cognitive friction that sparks novel solutions. uncomfortable but incredibly effective. ✨ physical movement triggers: whenever we hit a creative wall, we literally get up and move. harvard neurologists have mapped how walking increases blood flow to the hippocampus and triggers divergent thinking. our best product breakthrough came during an impromptu walk around the building. ✨ dedicated connection time: i now schedule 30 minutes weekly just for making random connections between our current projects and weird stuff i've read/seen. there's solid neuroscience behind this - your brain's default mode network needs dedicated time to process information and find patterns. what's fascinating is that creativity isn't magical - it's a process that can be structured and optimized. once you understand the science, you can create systems that reliably produce innovative thinking. what methods do you use to spark creativity in your team? would love to hear what's working for you. #creativethinking #innovation #neuroscience #productdevelopment #leadershiplessons

Stop trying to brainstorm and create in the same sitting. That’s the fastest way to kill your creativity. I used to do both together, thinking I was being efficient. But here’s what really happened: ⚡ My ideas felt rushed and surface-level ⚡ My posts lacked clarity and depth ⚡ I ended up exhausted from overthinking every line What I learned? Creativity and execution use two different parts of your brain. When you ideate, you need freedom - space to wander, connect dots, and explore possibilities. When you create, you need structure, focus, precision, and decision-making. Trying to mix them is like pressing the gas and the brake at the same time. Here’s what I do instead 👇 Day 1: Ideation Mode - Dump every idea, headline, and thought into a notes app - No editing, no judgment, just pure creative flow Day 2: Creation Mode - Review those ideas - Refine the best ones into finished posts This separation made my content 10x easier to produce clearer, sharper, and more consistent. Now I have a running “idea bank,” so I’m never stuck staring at a blank screen again. If you’re struggling to post consistently, stop multitasking your creativity. Treat ideation and creation as two different games and you’ll start winning both. Do you plan your content this way? Or are you still mixing the two? PS: If you’re serious about building your personal brand and creating effortlessly, DM me let’s map your system.

Often times when I coach global leaders they look at me funny when I ask them how much time a day do they specifically focus on… …strategic and creative thinking? “Well I usually engage in creative thinking everyday when we’re problem solving.” I see. But those are often technical initiatives already identified by you and your team. How much time each day do you put on the “hat” of visionary? More times than not, specific time allocated to visionary, creative, and strategic thinking is non-existent. If you are the organization or team’s leader and you are not intentionally thinking about your team’s future, who else is? Creative and visionary allocated time can sometimes be referred to as a form of pro-active meditation (at least that’s how my clients will describe it after consistently doing so). So where to start? First, I’ll challenge you to block 30 minutes on your calendar, two days out of the week (try to lock something in that you know is often the slowest time of your day). Then, find your rhythm during that time. Here are three different ways I’ve seen clients execute their visionary/creative thinking time: In a room with no electronics and a white board or piece of paper. Going for a walk with no electronics. Getting their fitness in without podcasts or music. The results shared with me and our team continue to provide extreme value to the leaders we are aligned with. If Former President Obama, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk can find the time to do this everyday- what’s holding you back? Creative thinking requires intentionality paired with action. Who knows what next big idea can be fostered with intentionality around your creative and visionary thinking. Try it. Try it, today. Go! 🚀

True innovation is a combination of science and art. I just learned that one of the first prototypes for the modern car was a cart pulled by a mechanical horse 🐴 (while watching a cartoon, Ada Twist Scientist with my daughter 😂). This concept really made me think though. How often do we approach creating something new by assessing what we are doing today and just try to improve upon it? While this makes sense in theory…. This can lead to incrementalism. And what happens if what we are doing today, isn’t even the right focus/path? We think in small steps, and hopefully those steps are getting us to the right place. 🤞🫣 Same thing happens in a ultra competitive landscape. A competitor builds a feature, so you build something similar. You build something, they build something. And so on. Sure, you are incrementally getting better, but you are in a constant feature battle and spending all of your time on small potatoes instead of true innovation. But what if instead we challenge ourselves to think creatively and invent. Be scientific. The challenge is this: We can’t only focus on the big picture future state… we’ve gotta start somewhere. And we can’t only focus on today because we will never get off the hampster wheel. We need to do both. My daughter’s cartoons inspired me, stay with me here 😂 Consider applying the Scientific Method. Step 1: Start with a Question. What are you trying to solve? Why? Step 2: Research. What do you know? What resources are available? Consider PPT (people, process, technology) Don’t just focus on what you are doing today- this is a good phase to get creative and expand your research. Step 3: Create a Hypothesis. Build the vision for the future but don’t get too tactical….yet. Focus on the outcome you are looking to achieve. You don’t know “how” yet, just “where” you are trying to get to. Step 4: Experiment. Focus on the next few months and set goals/milestones. Balance easy quick wins with new ideas and approaches. Step 5: Analyze and Adjust. What’s working? What isn’t? Are you closer to your big goal? Has the vision changed? Step 6: Share Results and Keep Going! Celebrate the wins and learn from the misses…just keep going. It takes both science AND creativity to balance vision + strategy with execution + action. 🚀

Ever have one of those “aha moments” that makes you rethink a workflow approach? We made a big pivot in how we organize our product development teams last year that’s made us more nimble and innovative. 👉 It started with a single insight: we need to better balance delivery and discovery. Delivery is about solving known customer problems and expectations. Discovery is more creative. It’s about anticipating future needs and testing new ideas. Both are essential to product development. We now split our priorities evenly to give equal attention to outcomes that deliver immediate customer value and those that help us understand what problems to solve next. Each quarter, we reflect on how to rotate the opportunity to work on discovery to other team members. This way, everyone gets a chance to flex their creative muscles and bring new ideas to the table. I’m curious how other teams balance delivery and discovery. What’s worked well? How do you prioritize both? #ProductDevelopment #TechInnovation