the flying cow - an abc of creativity

ABC. A POSSIBLE ALPHABET OF CREATIVITY

THE FLYING COW

Hi. That’s me. I’m the flying cow. If you think that only ‘til yesterday I was just an ordinary cow, like all the others. I was out pasturing all day, being milked….usual life, that’s it. Well, til yesterday. Until when I tried to fly on my own. And – surprise! – it worked! Well, it wasn’t that

easy. Reaching up onto the cliff, taking off…and I’m also dizzy! But…wow! What a sight from

here! I can see all. I can see better. You don’t believe me, do you? Try for yourself!

The Flying Cow presents

ABC. A POSSIBLE ALPHABET OF CREATIVITY

Creativity is human activities’ engine.It’s like eggnog in your coffee, instead of sugar.

Or ricotta cheese on your Pasta al Pomodoro, instead of parmesan.

Ever tried?

Absolute truths do not exist. The following pages are not absolute truths. Well

they are true for me. Hope they are useful to you.

A ABSOLUTE TRUTHS

Absolute truths are fundamental. To put you out of your business.

Fast. We’ll have to learn to live without.

And always more.

A A-NA-LY-SIS

It’s not obvious, even if it should. Creativity is not sitting under a tree waiting

for the apple to fall in your hand, it’s a serious, methodical work based on analysis.

B BISOCIATION

Ok, the word sucks. But the concept is extraordinary: put two apparently non

connected things together, and you get a new product.

Examples? Piece of paper + bad quality glue = post it

Auction + Web = ebayBookstore + Web = amazon, and so on…

C CHANGE

The change, either sought or suffered, generates an incredible development of new creative ideas, concepts, products and their

possible utilization. The changement is healthy, it’s the will to explore unknown

lands.

D DEFECTS

They are often the key to find out the strong points of a project/new product.

3M transformed a failure in a worldwide success (again, Post-It)

E EXCLUSION

One of the basic exercises to help develop creativity.

Take a problem, describe it with three sentences, then delete one of them.

F FEAR

Lots of: of not making it, of doing wrong, to change, of the consequences of our chioces…

Fear is healthy when it makes you stop and think about, not when it only makes you stop. It’s a stage of

the change, you must face it and then overcome it.

G GAME

Game allows us to recreate situations that are similar to real ones, where we can try different techniques, tactics and strategies without risks

and consequences. Role playing, Possible Scenarios, these are all fantastic exercises that prepare us to manage the unforecastable in life. This is valid for everyone and everything. Work

included. Especially in these times…

H HABIT

The biggest brake to creativity, evolution and change: call into question all your benchmark at

least once a month, you’ll see that it is possible to always find a new and better habit.

I INVERSION

Inversion or reversal: take a problem, look at it upside down, study its

opposite… Lack of business? And if there was too much? What should I choose? On what should I concentrate? What

should I cut? And so on…

J JAMMIN’

No, not Marley’s. Jam as block, confuse, blur, stop…You know, all these activities that

distract you. Creativity needs time, space, rule and method.

K KOTLER

I could file it under “S”, as Saint. One of modern marketing and new management guru; to read again and again, once in a

while, in order to avoid being mistaken for an oracle. Please quote moderately. And avoid

to pass off his words for yours…

L LANGUAGE

The crossroad of languages, word plays, multiple meanings, these are all keys able

to open doors we didn’t know could communicate with one another.

In particular, the association between word and image has today a superior evocative

power compared to 10, 5, 3 years ago.

M MAKE A MISTAKE

The salt of creativity. From mistakes (especially from your own) you can

learn a lot. Obviously not everybody.

And not always.

M MULTITASKING

Yes, yes another M, I know… doing more things at the same time can be (and surely is) dispersive or even impossible for someone…True, not the best from a productivity point of

view, but here come the bad news: multitasking is the new normal. Broaden the

field of your competences, diversify, augment the product/service mix…

N NOVELTY

Not a synonym of creativity. Or of intelligence. Examples? Reality shows. It’s

often better to look for something in the old trunk…

O OPPORTUNITY

Or threat? It depends on us, on our approach to life, on how much we’re up to put at

stake every day. In some languages, crisis and

opportunity are the same word, and that’s not a coincidence.

P PASSION

I often think about what connects me to my customers, who often have different stories, culture,

ideas and birthplace: an extra strong passion for what we do, to transform “my” and “your” in “our”, to find

out that “plus” the other don’t have.

Q QUIBBLE QUIBBLE….

The moment before jumping. When you think that, well, the way you

live it’s not that bad, better not take risks, keep your fixed job/income

(fixed????lol) Come on, jump and do it fast!

R REGRETS

It’s official: regrets kill. Faith, passion and, yes, creativity too!

Create the “lost chances” folder and every 2 – 3 months check it again…if the ideas in it

were good, maybe they still are. Otherwise, keep it shut for another couple of

months.

S SOCIAL MEDIA (AND FACEBOOK)

Everybody talks about it, why shouldn’t I? We still do not know well what they’re for

and if they’re relly useful/necessary and so on…Meanwhile we’re using them. It’ s a little bit like the story of the lion and the

gazelle. Maybe it’s better you start running too…

T TOUCH

Every now and then come out of your Second, third and Fourth Life and go into the

nature

U UNIQUENESS

Probably your most successful product, though you still need to learn how to produce and market it…Uniqueness does not mean to put your comma or

mark in everything you do: uniqueness is to develop (properly) an idea/creative concept with your brain drawing on ALL the sources you know.

And NOBODY ELSE can do it as you can.

V VIRTUE

What an ancient word! It seems like everybody forgot about it, today, but I’m old fashioned too,

you know? Virtue, ethics, values, these are the roots of the creativity tree where good ideas can be grafted. But without roots (without virtues), good ideas

DIE.

W WITH OR WITHOUT?

And why not WITH AND WITHOUT?Why choose only one thing?

Choose all when you can.

X INCOGNITO

All what we don’t know (at the moment) and maybe we will never know.

Thank goodness….

Y WHY

Ask, Ask, Ask. To boredom.

ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND.

We can learn from everybody. Yes, you too.

Z ZZZZZ. SLEEP

Sleep a lot, sleep often, sleep well. Sleep as much as you can.

Your brain works much more while sleeping.And for sure it doesn’t use all the filters you do!

I am The Flying Cow. It is the paradox I chose to represent those who –

finally! – succeed in escape the safety (lol) of the fixed job. Hey.

There’s life beyond your desk.

Create. Change. Grow.

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