What Could I Do Better?

While I was working in Adelaide recently, the leader of a large and very successful building company took me to see one of his impressive display homes. As we drove away from the home, he told me about how he had found a new way to wire the homes and by doing so had saved himself 2 weeks of construction. He said that 2 weeks had now put him in front of the competition as he could now put out quality, beautifully designed homes, quicker than his competitors. He said "I'm always looking to see what I can do better." The CEO of this building company would have been in his early 70s yet he was still looking at challenging himself and his team to what could be done better. This is why this organisation has been around for close to 30 years and is one of the leading residential building companies in Adelaide.

It's his curious, inquisitive mind that makes this CEO a leader who is fostering and promoting creativity, innovation and a different way of thinking about his industry. Too many people say 'We can't innovate in our industry because we don't have cool computers or cool widgets', yet here is a guy who is in his twilight years still challenging his own brain and the brain's of those around him to say 'What can I do better?'. Marshall Goldsmigth was famous for saying 'What got you here won't get you to there'. Its the simple nature of this question 'What can I do better?' that starts to create and foster a culture around innovation and creativity. Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning and too many leaders forget to ask new and interesting questions.

A Harvard Business report recently said that most organisations have strategic plans in all areas of the business that are 70% focussed on just doing the job. In most cases less than 30% of their energy is going into looking into further improvements or innovation. Asking 'what can I do better?' is your first step as a leader or as individuals unlocking your great ideas. The funny thing is that the leader of this building company didn't set out to build an innovative or creative company, he just came with an old school view of never standing still and always wanting constant improvement.

So You Think Your Car Is Dirty!

When Scott Wade's car gets covered in dirt, he doesn't just write 'clean me' in the grime - he uses it to create an intricate masterpiece. In fact, dirty cars are the perfect canvas for his unusual art and he has built up an impressive collection of 'grime art', from Da Vinci's Mona Lisa to a portrait of Albert Einstein. The images are so incredible that motorists often jump out of their cars while stopped at traffic lights to admire them.

Wade said, 'Sometimes I feel a little twang of regret when the drawing is washed away, but it's also really great, because that means I get to do another one. The impermanence of this art form is one of the things I really love about it. For one thing, it helps me to not take it too seriously and to really have fun with it.'

He said: 'I lived on a long, dirt road for over 20 years. Our cars were always dirty and I would often doodle in the dust on the rear windows of our cars. Mostly I would draw funny faces, then I started experimenting with ways to get shading. At first I would use the pads of my fingers and brush very lightly to get grey tones. Once I tried using the chewed-up end of a popsicle stick as a brush - I liked the effect, so I started trying paintbrushes, and eventually developed the techniques I use today.'

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The True Green Card

Consumers spend some USD 65 billion on gift cards each year in the United States alone, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report. Extrapolated globally, that adds up to a lot of plastic! While some retailers have begun recycling the PVC-based cards after they're used, the fact remains that most still end up in landfills. Enter the 'ecocard', a new line of eco-friendly alternatives.

Suitable also for use as hotel key cards, ecocard's range includes four different cards with increasing levels of "greenness." First is the PETg card, made from non-PVC, food-grade plastic that can be widely recycled. Next on the green scale comes a recycled PVC card that's made from old, traditional gift cards along with waste from factories; flecks of colour give away its mixed heritage. Even more green is the Ingeo ecocard, made from a plant-based material that disappears when composted. (Retailers including L.L Bean, Apple iTunes, REI, Target and Toys “R” US are reportedly among the companies that have already begun offering cards made from Ingeo.) Finally, ecocard's flagship Bloomcard —the greenest on its eco-scale—is made from recycled paper and laden with wildflower seeds, so that it can be planted after use and "reborn as poppies, daisies and buttercups." The UK-based company also offers sustainable badge holders and card packaging. And for every order, it pledges to plant one tree.

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Dr Whippy

At the ARS Electronica festival in Linz, British artist Demitrios Kargotis, unveiled Dr. Whippy, an ice cream machine that serves customers based on their stress levels.  The unique machine that has traveled across events for two years, measures how unhappy the user is based on voice stress analysis and then serves up a dollop or heap of ice cream based on its diagnosis.

The machine asks several questions and after assessing the patient, immediately prescribes its dose for effective results.  The project was funded in part by theRoyal College of Art and will hopefully continue to circulate as crowds gather whenever it stops, spreading icy good cheer.  Therapies currently come in two flavors, triple chocolate with meringue cream and raspberry ripple with vanilla.

Spotted by Seth Clancy, DMG Brisbane.