Big Ideas:
- Use the Japanese idea of Shibumi to increase creativity.
- Don’t give all the information, leave something out to encourage the imagination of your customers.
Author Matthew May has an interesting PDF on ChangeThis.com (free download) based on his book, the shibumi strategy. May uses the Japanese notion of “Shibumi” to describe a moment of “being in the zone.”
Shibumi is … Elegant simplicity.
Effortless effectiveness. Understated excellence.
Beautiful imperfection
Mays writes, “The pursuit of shibumi in business, work and life is guided by several key concepts, seven of which fit neatly under the heading of creativity.”
Here are the seven creativity habits he identifies:
- Zen creativity habit #1 – Koko (austerity): Refrain from adding what is not absolutely necessary in the first place.
- Zen creativity habit #2 – Kanso (simplicity): Eliminate what doesn’t matter to make more room for what does.
- Zen creativity habit #3 – Shizen (naturalness): Before taking action, look for naturally occurring patterns and rhythms, and construct your ideas to fit them.
- Zen creativity habit #4 – Yugen (subtlety): Leave something to the imagination by limiting information.
- Zen creativity Habit #5 – Fukinsei (imperfection, asymmetry): Appreciate the beauty of natural imperfection. Leave the door open for others to co-create with you.
- Zen creativity habit #6 – Seijaku (stillness, quietude, solitude): Learn to quiet your mind; designate a time and place
for creative solitude. - Zen creativity habit #7 – Datsuzoku (break from routine): Re-energize your creativity by taking regular “timeouts”
every 90 minutes.
Creative Elegance: The Power of Incomplete Ideas
Mathew May has another PDF on ChangeThis discussing his previous book, In Pursuit of Elegance: Why the Best Ideas Have Something Missing.
Conventional wisdom says that to be successful,
an idea must be concrete, complete, and certain.
But what if that’s wrong?
He uses examples, like the Sopranos finale that didn’t show whether or not the main character, mafioso Tony Soprano was killled or not. May also suggests that part of the success of In N Out Burger can be attributed to the ‘secret’ items they leave off the menu. It is definitely worth a read.
One more PDF that
Action Item: What can you leave out of your business, to stimulate the imagination and intrigue of your customers.
Links:
Mathew E May – The author’s website.
Follow May on Twitter
The Zen of Business: 7 Habits of the Highly Creative PDF
Creative Elegance: The Power of Incomplete Ideas PDF
Mind of the Innovator: Taming the traps of traditional thinking. Another great ChangeThis PDF by Matthew May.
Related posts:
- Creative Decisions Can’t be Made by Committee
- How to Solve Creative Blocks – Video of Actor Rainn Wilson
- Linchpin by Seth Godin
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