If you want to use some or part of my deck please find me on LinkedIn and tell me what you are up too. Talk given to 600 students from 70 countries at EIA's summer program in Turin Italy.

1. photo @Pamela Day

3. hello.
welcome,
Pamela Day
@ZibbyZ

4. epic?
ready to be

5. uncomfortable?
ready to be

6. thumb wrestle

7. EIA epic-ness!
experiment in

8. photo: david slater/catersphoto: David Slater

9. Merriam-Webster Definition of IDEA
1 a : a transcendent entity that is a real pattern of which existing things are
imperfect representations
b : a standard of perfection : ideal
c : a plan for action : design
2 archaic : a visible representation of a conception : a replica of a pattern
3 a obsolete : an image recalled by memory
b : an indefinite or unformed conception
c : an entity (such as a thought, concept,
sensation, or image) actually or potentially
present to consciousness
4: a formulated thought or opinion
5: whatever is known or supposed about something a child's idea of time
6: the central meaning or chief end of a particular action or situation
7 Christian Science : an image in Mind

10. photo: @Nasa

11. what are you curious about?
image: @CharlesSchultz

12. agent of ideas
framework for becoming an

13. attention
&
empathy
=
insight
ideate
<<<<< understand>>>><<<<<<< create>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<<< deliver>>>>>>>
prototype
test
repeat
combine
aha!
&
define
problem

14. attention
&
empathy
=
insight
define
&
synthesize
=
question
ideate
<<<<< understand>>>>> <<<<<< create>>>>>> <<<<<<<< deliver>>>>>>>>
prototype
test
repeat
task:
observe
&
understand
task:
id user
needs
& insights
tasks:
Generate ideas
quckly
Expand alternatives
Get unstuck
Build enthusiasm
task:
build to
learn
from
users
task:
show
dont
tell

15. “Or: Wholly and thoughtfully define a
problem before attempting to solve it”
~ James Cropcho
“Answers appear when
the problem is clear”
~Keith W Henline

16. <<<<< understand>>>>> <<<<<< create>>>>>> <<<<<<<< deliver>>>>>>>>
+ =
UNDERSTAND

17. <<<<< understand>>>>> <<<<<< create>>>>>> <<<<<<<< deliver>>>>>>>>
+ =
UNDERSTAND
+

18. <<<<< understand>>>>> <<<<<< create>>>>>> <<<<<<<< deliver>>>>>>>>
ta
CREATE:IDEATE
TASKS:
Generate ideas quckly
Expand portfolio of alternatives
Get self/people unstuck
Build enthusiasm

19. Creativity
is a renewable resource
and
like a muscle,
the more you use it,
the easier it is to create and innovate.
~Tina Seelig, Executive Director
Stanford’s Technology Ventures Program

20. “I have been
impressed with the
urgency of doing.
Knowing is not
enough; we must
apply. Being willing
is not enough; we
must do.”
~Goethe
Image: @Disney @LucasFilm

23. law #1:
Image: Futurice Lean Service
DEFER JUGEMENT*
We
don't have
the time.
VCs will
never
fund it.
Its too
much work.
I don't like
the idea.
It can't
be done.
.We tried
that
*even misspellings

24. law #2:
WILD
encourage
outrageous
ideas
Image: @Disney @Pixar Up

25. law #3:
connect
mashup
merge -
the ideas of
others
Photo: Eliza Grinnell/SEAS Harvard Gazette

26. law #4
stay on topic
Photo: Lifehacker

27. law #5
One voice at a time
Photo: Stanford D.School

28. law #6
BE V I S U A L
Photo: Stanford School of Mathmatics

29. flexibility: different ideasfluency: lots of ideas
law #7: quantity

31. adapted from Dev Patnick , The Ebb & Flow of Ideas
persist
past
goofy
absurd
stupid
weird
ideas

32. Photo: CooperHewitt Museum - Bruno Orange Alarm Cloc
law #8
time box

33. find your
voice
not an echo

34. Merriam-Webster Definition of revolutionary
1 a : of, relating to, or constituting a revolution
revolutionary war
b : tending to or promoting revolution
c : constituting or bringing about a major or
fundamental change a revolutionary new product
2. capitalized : of or relating to the American Revolution or
to the period in which it occurred
revolutionarilyplay -ˌlü-shə-ˈner-ə-lē adverb
revolutionarinessplay -ˈlü-shə-ˌner-ē-nəs noun

35. idea.
everything started with an

36. problem.
every idea started with a

37. problem.
fall in love with a worthy

38. “You will build a body of work,
but you will also build a body of affection,
with the people you’ve helped who’ve helped
you back.
This is the era of Friends in Low Places. The
ones you meet now, who will notice you,
challenge you, work with you, and watch
your back. Maybe they will be your strength.”
~Robert Krulwich

39. Self-awareness/knowledge:
Strengths Finder http://www.strengthsfinder.com/home.aspx
Talent v. Strength http://bit.ly/2vxIcQW
Myers-Briggs http://jupiter-34.appspot.com/
(it has been challenged but still useful)
Self-reflection: keep a journal http://bit.ly/2u5zhZf
Building resiliency:
Meditation practice http://bit.ly/2u59KPS
(there are also many apps, if you do nothing else for yourself do this. seriously)
Breathing practice: https://www.artofliving.org/
(learning how to manage your physiology/psychology will be profoundly helpful)
Start Cultivating Curiosity in everything:
Awe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysAJQycTw-0
Networks understanding Networks: https://youtu.be/24eWSvqy7nU
Startuplandia:
Marc Andreessen’s Guide to Startups (classic)
http://pmarchive.com/ & if you want it as a ebook https://a16z.com/2015/01/09/pmarca-blog-ebook/

40. Thank you for your
attention.
This deck references and riffs on the creations
of IDEO, Alex Osborn, Gayle Curtis, Dev Patnaik,
Stanford d.school, Intercom, Sam Kaner, BJ Fogg,
Meike Topfer Taylor, DesignKit and other wise folks
who have informed and inspired me.
Pamela Day