Yes yes yes! I never had a name for it, but now I know why I've always liked pinning work to the walls. Or at minimum, condensing top ideas in a single Word doc page to compare them side by side. "Horizontal Thinking." Perfect.
ohmygoodness, this is music to my ears. When I became ECD at ad agency Young & Laramore, I started a blog / podcast called The Beautiful Thinkers Project. I began interviewing creatives behind world class creative work, but when I opened the roster to CEO's, founders, artists and scholars, the project really took off. So my view of horizontal thinking (or creativity) is to capture perspectives from multiple categories and disciplines to find new edges. Thank you for capturing this so beautifully Rob
Couldn’t agree more--love the evolution from lateral thinking (the brilliance of Edward Bernays in the companion discipline) to horizontal. One friendly amendment: we can train ourselves to think across the horizon, less linear and more connective, as long as we don’t forget to look up.
Although not quite the same, I often refer to 'systems thinking' which is stepping far back and seeing how everything affects everything else and how complex all the connections are. I see this as being a problem in how most businesses think. Too linear and too simple. I agree not seeing all the pieces could definitely detract from being creative.
Bravo. I believe strongly in the idea that “Survival may be the best inspiration for creativity.” I started noticing I solved my trickiest creative problems on moving trains
A friend in social psychology hypothesised that when we’re in motion we trick our brains into believing we’re being chased, so our decisions are sharper & more precise. I dunno if I believe him, but the placebo seems to work for me.
The famous black boards we used to use to pitch new business is something I still use every time I build comedy sets now.
Also reminds me of one of my favourite jokes from a friend in Canada: Alberta is so flat you can watch your dog run away from home for 5 days. Hahahaha
So ironic that creativity is about connecting dots that have never been connected and yet how do you that when you can’t see all the dots at the same time. The good part in your case is that you’re in a position that empowers you to be the great dot enforcer. If it were me I’d be insisting on the great wide open. I’d say it’s Tom Petty time.
Give me land, lotsa land
under starry skies above,
Don’t fence me in.
Right on. Thanks for writing this.
Thanks for reading.
Yes yes yes! I never had a name for it, but now I know why I've always liked pinning work to the walls. Or at minimum, condensing top ideas in a single Word doc page to compare them side by side. "Horizontal Thinking." Perfect.
"side by side" vs. "slide-by-slide" love this!
Thanks for reading!
ohmygoodness, this is music to my ears. When I became ECD at ad agency Young & Laramore, I started a blog / podcast called The Beautiful Thinkers Project. I began interviewing creatives behind world class creative work, but when I opened the roster to CEO's, founders, artists and scholars, the project really took off. So my view of horizontal thinking (or creativity) is to capture perspectives from multiple categories and disciplines to find new edges. Thank you for capturing this so beautifully Rob
I'll borrow your great piece Rob.
I can confirm hou you teach the horizontal thinking.
I stand up vertically (if only for a moment) to salute you, sir. Thank you for the inspiration.
Couldn’t agree more--love the evolution from lateral thinking (the brilliance of Edward Bernays in the companion discipline) to horizontal. One friendly amendment: we can train ourselves to think across the horizon, less linear and more connective, as long as we don’t forget to look up.
Yes. Agreed. Step one on any creative journey: look up.
Although not quite the same, I often refer to 'systems thinking' which is stepping far back and seeing how everything affects everything else and how complex all the connections are. I see this as being a problem in how most businesses think. Too linear and too simple. I agree not seeing all the pieces could definitely detract from being creative.
Oooh. “Systems Thinking.” I’ll have to look into that.
Bravo. I believe strongly in the idea that “Survival may be the best inspiration for creativity.” I started noticing I solved my trickiest creative problems on moving trains
A friend in social psychology hypothesised that when we’re in motion we trick our brains into believing we’re being chased, so our decisions are sharper & more precise. I dunno if I believe him, but the placebo seems to work for me.
The famous black boards we used to use to pitch new business is something I still use every time I build comedy sets now.
Also reminds me of one of my favourite jokes from a friend in Canada: Alberta is so flat you can watch your dog run away from home for 5 days. Hahahaha
Lol!
So ironic that creativity is about connecting dots that have never been connected and yet how do you that when you can’t see all the dots at the same time. The good part in your case is that you’re in a position that empowers you to be the great dot enforcer. If it were me I’d be insisting on the great wide open. I’d say it’s Tom Petty time.
Amen, brother. Right now we are experiencing a “Breakdown,” as Tom also sang.
Love this. And totally agree. It’s why we made Adhouse Of Cards a real deck of cards and not an app or a digital thingy.