Today’s Focus: What can you learn from Seinfeld?

You’re one of the top people in your field, you’re just killing it in the boardroom, and you hear a voice: “Hey! Psttt!”

“Yes?”

“Instead of embracing that new market like you’re talking about, if you just incentivized your current users by adding that functionality you put on the board for Q4, it could probably help you bolster revenue by 20%.”

“Who are you? That’s brilliant!”

“Oh, I was just fixing your photocopier, but I’m getting my business degree at night school.”

How would you react?

While you might find that slightly impossible, you may recognize the name of Bryan Cranston, right? The accomplished actor that has been on the screen for titles like Breaking Bad, Malcom in the Middle, and of course, Seinfeld, as Dr. Tim Whatley, Jerry’s dentist.

Why am I sharing this? Because one of his best moments of inspiration came from… wait for it… a man on a ladder on the set.

As I thought about other sources of inspiration, there were some great examples that came to mind for me:

Some will not consider them creative (as you’ll see, the Samwer brothers are described by some as “thieves“) but some of their origin story was because Ebay refused to engage with them. As is shared in the previous link:

The brothers say they sent several emails to eBay suggesting that the company establish an online auction platform in Germany, and that they should be hired to run it. When they didn’t receive a reply, the brothers returned to Germany and, in January 1999, brought in three friends to develop their own platform.

Ebay bought the company for £35 million within a 100 days. 

Another that comes to mind? In media, Dick Wolf has taken the idea that the police have a lot of great stories to tell.

With at least seven versions of Law and Order on the books, he’s now making a foray into working with Netflix on two real crime shows, too. John Oliver has some perspectives on Law and Order that you want want to check out: like many stories, there are different perspectives!

One more fun angle on this? Have you ever heard the word INTERPOLATION? I’m sure you have, but, have you heard about it about music? If you enjoy music, and the stories of how your favourite songs came to be, Luxxury and Diallo Riddle jump into the stories, samples and structures of songs on the One Song Podcast.

Where do you find your creative inspiration? Some points to consider:

• Who are the voices that you are listening to in your organization? Who are the voices you are not engaging? Why?
• We can get stuck in our every day: what are some unusual points of inspiration you could draw on in your life? Where is your electrician?