Monday, July 1, 2013

Pickings from the creative garden


Ideo is that idea place--they are very clear on that--they are creative!

It also looks like a pretty cushy workplace--their Chicago office has a rooftop garden.

Naturally, being creative, they linked their garden with principles of creativity.

As they put it, "Gardening is generative, iterative, and user-centered." This means if you pick something, it better grow back. They also noticed, the less people had to work, the more they picked. Grab a berry and eat it. The eggplant--didn't that require cooking? Leave it.

Gardening hints at the approaches of the future instead of those tired old industrial rev things. We have to tend and steward creativity--encourage it. Humans must not overpower nature. (Is "steward" a verb?)

The creative leaders will be gardeners, not architects, letting products and systems evolve and unfold.

Careful guidance, not under someone's thumb. Even if it's green.

Do you think this stretching a point a little? The strawberries look good, though.

Some other readers thought this tripped the BS meter a little...Check out http://designthinking.ideo.com/?p=1110.