Have Courage

 'Before you can be creative you must be courageous' Joey Reiman, CEO, Brighthouse.

One of the reasons that there are great ideas dying in boardrooms all over the world as you read this, is because people didn't have the courage to speak up and have their ideas heard. Few of us have the courage to rock the boat, disrupt the norm, go against the flow and swim against the tide in order to find a new and innovative way of doing something, either in or out of the office. Even fewer have the courage to speak up and be heard over the roar of mediocrity with a new and interesting way of finding a solution to a given issue. It takes courage.

There is no doubt that courage, to my way of thinking, is one of the 3 critical building blocks to having the right attitude towards creativity. Courage, curiosity and persistence for me are the cornerstones that make up the creative triad. You can have a curious mind, you can keep pushing where no one else is and persist in order to find a new way of doing things, but the final piece is that it takes courage to speak up and state your idea. So in 2010 make a commitment to yourself to be courageous. Have the courage to try new things, exercise your imagination, disrupt the status quo and most of all have the courage to speak up and have your ideas heard. In a recent documentary called The Battle of the Brain  on BBC Knowledge, one of the lecturers said that creativity is an attitude towards life. In 2010 change your attitude and make courage one of your virtues. 

Need an Extra Boost?

Could a holographic sticker give you more balance, strength and flexibility? That's a claim southern Californian based companies EFX and Power Balance are making. As the expression goes, 'The proof is in the pudding'. One of the key selling points of both companies is 'the test' in which a company representative has you stand with feet together and presses down on your cupped hands until you go off balance. Then they give you the bracelet/ sticker and you do the same test. Mysteriously, you are much more balanced the second time around(see youtube clip ). When checking the website for scientific proof, you will be given all sorts of vague explanations, which could be perceived as science, pseudoscience or quackery. Both sites touch on electromagnetic fields, acupuncture, energy centres, chakras and meridian channels. At a glance, the technology Mylar (same used to keep static electricity from damaging electrical components) could be seen as nothing more than a placebo. But with sporting names such as Shaquile O'Neill, Rubins Barichello and 3 times world surfing champ Andy Irons all endorsing the product (free of charge) and global clothing giant Billabong starting production on a line of shorts with the hologram sewn in, you may want to think again. For for $60(US) and a money-back guarantee you can do the test yourself.

Thats my Car

How cool would it be if every time you sold a product you knew it was exactly what your customer wanted without any question? Welcome Crowd Sourced Dream Cars. Everyone has heard of Open Source which is now a proven method for software design. Its the thing driving i-Phones forward. The Massachusetts enterprise Local Motors have designed crowd sourcing designs at the global community of designers and manufacturers, who put together design competitions for car bodies. Launched in March 2008, Local Motors now has an online community of 4000 car designers, engineers and enthusiasts. When Local Motors announces a design competition then the membership tribe of designers and engineers go to work. They submit their designs, Local Motors picks a winner and then that design is further developed by the community before being finalised for production by the Local Motors team. The first crowd designed car the "Rally Fighter" is already available with production limited to 2000 units (41 already sold). The cars are not cheap but this adds to the exclusivity. The buyers of the cars can even help build their own cars over 2 weekends if they choose, as well as put their cars onto the website to have the tribe custom design a look for the car. Outsourcing is the future and the challenge now is for every industry to work out how they can take this crowd sourcing/ open sourcing model to their customers.

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Shoes of Prey

In recent months the Espresso has covered many stories about the trend in marketing and brand of customising your product. Now we cover Sydney based online shoe retailer Shoes of Prey. Their website, which launched in October, is simple and allows shoppers to design their own bespoke shoes with the click of a mouse. Customers choose their style, heel type, heel height, adornments and colours and select from raw material including calf skin, snake skin, fish skin, silk and more which makes for a near infinite number of possible combinations. They are pricey but they are yours and you made them. The service is backed by a generous returns policy which guarantees that if the shoes don't fit or you dont like them then they will remake them until you like them. Or if you simply don't like the design you can send the shoes back for a full refund. We went in, tried it and thought it was very cool.

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