Spitfire Blog

You’ve heard it a thousand times, to “think outside the box.” But this way of thinking is more of an ideal than reality and I don’t know about you, but I live in reality. We are always going to have restrictions and limitations to most everything we do and the creative process is no exception. So why not embrace that fact?

Whether it’s budget constraints or a serious unavailability of time, Ernie Schenck brings to light in his book, Houdini Solution, that it’s not about the resources we don’t have, but rather do have at our disposal. Just look at the Apollo 13 space mission. NASA engineers were able to come up with a way to insert square command modules into round canisters to clean carbon dioxide from the crew’s breathable air. Oh, and they did this in under 48 hours and with simple materials found on the lunar module.

Another point this book highlights is that big budgets don’t automatically mean big results. Take Coke for example. Do you remember when they introduced “New Coke” in the late ’80’s? At the time Pepsi was steadily gaining on Coke’s market share. Coke decided to do something drastic and completely re-invent their clearly established leading taste. To say that consumers were unsatisfied is an understatement. People were hoarding and selling the original coke for crazy amounts of money.

Loaded with inspiring anecdotes, real world examples and engaging exercises, The Houdini Solution is great for anyone. Whether it’s running your own business or improving your life, being creative isn’t always about visuals.

Interested in this quick read? Check it out…