Where does the authority to lead transformation comes from? Innovation leader and Stanford d.school coach Bill Pacheco shares insights from a recent engagement.

Due to tight delivery schedules, it might seem faster to skip deep customer research and just start building something. This is wrong. Empathy fuels both insights, and the stories that enlist enthusiastic collaboration.

Today’s post comes from Josh Ruff, consummate craftsman, coach, and innovation leader. Josh draws parallels between a creative team leveraging diverse perspectives, and a rowing team reaching the ever-elusive state of “swing.”

Bill Pacheco, gifted design thinking practitioner and instructor, sheds light on a critical element to building empathy: giving others the space to explore feelings they may not have explored before.

Innovation veteran Johannes Mutzke shares the best way to answer the perennial “build or buy” decision facing organizations seeking to enter new markets.

This post is from Peter Sims, co-founder of FUSE corps and GivingTuesday, and author of Little Bets. He’s observed leaders like Beth Comstock and Steve Jobs carefully curate their constellation of collaborators.

d.school Fellow Ise Lyfe says, “It doesn’t matter if you’re good enough. You most certainly aren’t, at any new task… the question is: are you great enough to rise to a new challenge?”

This guest post comes from Gavin Guidry, Creative Director at R/GA. Gavin writes, “Rather than viewing each brief as the impetus for creation, let’s look at the future that we want to see, and ask how our work can bring us closer.”

This guest post comes from Richard Wilding, Founder of WMW. Richard observes the default tendency is to lead through cowardice, and imagines a world in which we meet challenges head on, rather than hiding.

I had the privilege of thinking alongside the brilliant Kim Scott, and shared some insights on her “Radical Candor” blog. Re-posting here with her permission. Feedback welcome!

Today’s post comes from Chris Aho, an integral member of the ideaflow council. Chris writes about his 20+ year responsibility to deliver fresh material weekly — and what that taught him about cooking up ideas.

This post comes from super-designer, Adam Weiler, Global Manager of Social Innovation at Steelcase. Adam writes, “…

This fabulous provocation comes from the host of ABC’s This Working Life, Lisa Leong. Lisa says, “A curious, creative collective is emerging to redesign the world of work. Underpinning the second renaissance is the idea of bringing humanity back to the workplace.”

This post comes from Nicholas Thorne, one of the most gifted innovators I know. He writes, “I kindof cringed the first time I asked two people to separately help me with the same creative project. I felt like I was cheating on someone. Creative partnerships, however short-lived, have always seemed monogamous to me. 

This post comes from noteworthy d.school alum William Hardaway. Will writes, “What I urge you to do is think out loud, write it down, and get more feedback than you can handle…”

From education reformer Kwaku Aning, “Do I go deeper on a specific topic or do I learn something entirely new? Part of me is a proud generalist, but another part is an aspiring ‘expert.’ I’m at peace with the struggle.”

From Richard Wilding, Founder of WMW. “Believing that the client is always right, at the expense of the mission you’ve set out to achieve, means that you create all sorts of headaches…”

Dr. Anja Svetina Nabergoj writes, “Once you know your energy curve, you can derive WHEN to do WHAT. Seek alignment between what your brain is best primed to do at any given time and the task you will engage in.”

This post is from Kelly Garrett Zeigler, VP of Consumer Data and Insights at Vans, a VF Company. “Creativity isn’t a privilege or luxury reserved for an elite few, and it’s not a monolithic ideal with a narrow manifestation via the arts. It’s a capacity and responsibility that lives in all of us.”

Our chronotypes dictate our prime time, or the time of the day when we are most focused, most creative, and most likely to experience flow. If you want to be most effective in your creative practice, you need to be in sync with yours!