What can you learn from Seinfeld?

Today's focus: What can you learn from Seinfeld?

Reading time: 4.5 minutes

Inside: We're talking surprising facts about what might be one of your favourite Seinfeld bits, how brothers made themselves millions in 100 days and more!

Writer: Jonathan Dunnett hails from Canada (no, he doesn't live on the ice), with his family. He's passionate about helping growth-minded people up their skills as leaders, and help those who help leaders that, too!

Creativity can come from fascinating sources in our daily lives: where do you get yours?

Imagine this...

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.

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 or man on the ladder?

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Henri Matisse"Creativity takes courage."

Exercise: Write a newspaper headline

Strategic Advisor and Speaker Susan Perry, MBA uses an exercise for leadership teams coming together around a change is asking them to write a newspaper headline that generates excitement & provides insight into what that future will look like. She shares "It’s amazing to see the creativity and a lot of what’s generated can be used!"

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Dig Deeper: Scott Barry Kauffman

Scott Barry Kaufman has an amazing background: nearly deaf for the first years of his life, diagnosed with a learning disability called central auditory processing disorder (we have that in common) and he's now a professor of psychology at Columbia University and director of the Center for Human Potential. Scott is all about creativity! Be sure to look into him for inspiration.

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Data and Stats

People also believe AI can enhance creativity, from formulating ideas for their work (76%) to editing their work (75%). The more people understand AI, the more they see its promise to help with the most meaningful parts of their jobs. For example, 87% of workers in creative roles who are extremely familiar with AI said they’d be comfortable using AI for creative aspects of their job. 

Source: the 2023 Work Trend Index: Annual Report from Microsoft .

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