Sparking Serious Play and Creativity

Creative Organizational CultureIndividual Creativity
Written By Ben Weinlick
642 things to draw book cover

To loosen up mental habits and playfully spark  creativity, plant this book in a key bumping space in your organization.

This has been on our coffee table in our family home for a while and has been a great source of creativity, connection and humor.  My kids love to draw in it... and so do I. The drawings will be awesome to look back on in 10 to 20 years.I'm about to sneak a fresh copy  into the reception area of the organization I work with.  This is a simple tool that people can engage either through drawing in it or looking at other peoples drawings.  In addition to the natural humor and community building the tool will bring, it will get people into a different mode of thinking.

Of course this isn't anything profound or a creative problem solving tool, but it is a simple and fun tool that could be one more piece of developing and supporting a creative organizational culture. If you doubt the value of serious play for creativity also check out this video from the worlds most creative design company IDEO (They invented the computer mouse among many other useful tools and services).

The 642 things to draw book is laid out in a way that you don't have to think of something to draw. You just open it up, pick one of the 642 things to draw and scribble away.

Can buy the book here

Here are some examples from my kids and I:

Pirate Creativity, from 642 things to draw.

Pirate Creativity, from 642 things to draw.

Moog, water tower, surf board, from 642 things to draw.

Moog, water tower, surf board, from 642 things to draw.

Ben Weinlick

Ben Weinlick is the founder of Think Jar Collective.

Currently Ben is also the Executive Director of Skills Society. Skills Society is one of largest and most innovative social service organizations in Canada. Stewarding an amazing collective of 500 employee, and a 25 million a year budget, Skills Society has a long and unique history related to social innovation and systems change around the rights and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities. Ben and colleagues of Skills are known internationally for quality human centered services and creating tangible social innovations. Before becoming Executive Director in 2019, Ben stewarded Social Innovation Research & Development through an innovation lab he helped launch in 2015 called the Action Lab. The Action Lab focuses on systems change and innovation around some of the most wicked and entangled problems that humans are facing today. He is also the co-founder of MyCompass Planning which is on a mission to humanize social service case management systems where people served are centered in shaping their support services.

As the founder of Think Jar Collective and his expertise in disciplined innovation culture and methods, he regularly is asked by Universities, Businesses, Governments, and Non-Profits to help grow capacity to problem solve better and in more holistic ways. He offers keynotes on human centered service design thinking, social innovation labs and the tools and culture of disciplined innovation. Along the way striving to nudge positive systems change over the last 20+ years, he has had stellar mentors and colleagues that he shares credit with for accomplishments and awards.

He is deeply driven by the desire to help people, organizations and community to get better at navigating complex challenges together.

https://www.thinkjarcollective.com
Previous

The Paradox of Innovation
Next

Put Your Creative Brain to Work