四个好方法！让你的创造力源源不断

 　　Innovation. It’s easy to talk about it — it’s probably one of your department’s key goals or built into your company’s mission statement — but it’s not so easy to do. It’s even harder to make it a habit in your day-to-day workflow.    As an innovation consultant¹ and entrepreneur, I was recently given a sneak² peek³ at a new book on innovation called A Beautiful Constraint⁴. In short, it teaches you to take your constraints⁵ — budget, time, resources, whatever — and make them work for you in your quest for innovation.    It sounds simple, and in many ways it is. Electrified⁶ by the read and brimming with inspiration for the new year ahead, I’m suggesting four easy ways to up your innovation game.

　　创新。谈论一下倒是挺容易的，也许就是部门目标之一或公司的任务计划，但实行起来一点都不容易呀。甚至还比把它成为你每天的习惯更困难。作为一名创新咨询师和企业家，笔者最近看了一本书名为A Beautiful Constraint。简而言之，这本书教导人们如何约束自己——包括预算，时间，资源，等等，并让它们在你需要创新的时候起作用。听起来很简单，不过在很多方面也的确很简单。受到了本次阅读的灵感触动，笔者建议这4种让你产生创造力的方法。

　　四个好方法！让你的创造力源源不断

　　1.Turn “can’t” into “can if”

　　1. 把“不能”变为“可能”

　　Problems make us feel paralyzed. When you meet a roadblock, it’s natural to throw your hands up and want to walk away. But next time you find yourself brainstorming⁷ on something and saying “We can’t because…” try starting the sentence “We can if…” instead.

　　各种问题麻痹了我们的神经。当我们遇到了障碍，自然而然地我们就想举起双手调头就走。但下次你发现自己在头脑风暴的时候在说“我们不能……是因为……”，换另一种说法：“我们可以……”

　　Here’s an example: Recently, my business Never Liked It Anyway made a venture into creating its own content. We needed an army of talented writers. Immediately, we waved the “We can’t because we don’t have money” flag. It didn’t serve us very well. Then, we shifted to thinking about options: “We can if… we identify talented, aspiring⁸ writers and offer them mentorship instead,” and “We can if… we align⁹ them to our vision of ousting¹⁰ Cosmopolitan¹¹ magazine and invite them to be part of that journey!”

　　举个例子，最近，我的专栏Never Liked It Anyway冒险地增设了内容，我们需要许多有才的写手。很快的，我们举了“我们不能找到人因为我们没有资金”的白旗。这让我们的感觉都不会。然后我们转换了思维方式：“我们能够做到如果……我们找到了有才的，有激情的作家，并为他们提供培训来补偿。”或“我们能够做到如果……我们把他们与我们的大都会杂志的理念联合起来，并要求他们成为其中的一员！”

　　Simple, right? We now have five talented writers on our team, and we’re growing fast.

　　很简单，对吧？笔者的团队如今已经有5位才华洋溢的作家了，并且我们还在快速发展之中。

　　2.Access your assets

　　2. 获得资产。

　　Ownership is becoming an antiquated¹² concept, replaced by the shared economy. Companies like Zipcar, Netflix, Songza, Rent the Runway, and Dropbox have smashed ownership into oblivion. This “access” mode of thinking should apply to your business assets and resources, too. Rather than thinking about what assets you own, consider what assets you can access.

　　所有权已经是一个过时的概念了，已经被分享经济所取代。诸如Zipcar, Netflix, Songza, Rent the Runway还有Dropbox这些公司都已经把公司的所有权粉碎得遗忘了。这个“通行证”的思维模式也应该应用在商业资产和资源之中。与其计算自己拥有多少资产，还不如考虑你能获得的资产有多少。

　　3.Ask impossible questions

　　3. 提出不可能的问题。

　　Weirdly¹³, in the context of innovation, impossible questions are more useful than hard questions.

　　Impossible questions collide the scale of your ambition with the problem itself. This turbocharges creativity and catapults us into problem solving mode instantly.

　　奇怪的是，在谈论创新的语境中，不可能的问题比困难的问题来得更有用。不可能的问题使你的志向幅度和问题本身相碰撞。这样的涡轮式的压力所产生的创造力引发我们瞬间解决问题的可能。

　　4.Put constraints on yourself

　　4. 严格约束自己。

　　We’re not always up against constraints. In some parts of our working lives, we actually have it pretty good. Ironically, this can be a challenge in itself and often results in us moving slowly and less creatively against our problem.

　　我们总不是一直面临着现在。在我们工作生活的一些部分，我们的确受到很大的限制。现实的是，这也能成为一项挑战并常常让我们在问题面前进度缓慢，创造力低下。

　　The solution? Put constraints on yourself. That’s right: Deliberately¹⁴ limit your time, budget, or resources. I’m in the process of launching a podcast series. Each week, I watched it slide off my task list and land on next week’s to-dos. Then, I decided¹⁵ to put a constraint on myself: Just spend 15 minutes each day working toward this goal. Of course I have 15 minutes to invest in this project every day! In five days, I made more progress than I had in the previous five weeks. Progress begets¹⁶ progress, and now the project has momentum¹⁷ of its own.

　　解决方法是？约束你自己。对的，故意限制自己的时间，资金或资源。笔者正在进行着播客系列的内容创建，每周我都会看着它在我的待办事项中消失，然后出现在下周的清单中。然后，我觉得给自己一些限制：每天只花15分钟完成这件事。当然我每天都有15分钟完成这件事！坚持五天后，我所取得的进步比之前5周的进步多得多，进步推动进步，现在这个栏目已经很受欢迎了。

　　So there you have it: four easy ways to up your innovation game. Most importantly, remember that innovation is a habit. The more you practice it, the easier this way of thinking, and being, becomes. Next time you encounter an innovation-crushing roadblock, allow yourself to feel the frustration¹⁸ — and even a sense of resignation. But then challenge yourself to overcome it and to actually embrace its limitation. A Beautiful Constraint may sound like an oxymoron, but therein lies its challenge and effectiveness.

　　所以就这样：你有这4种方法来增加自己的创造力。最重要的是，记得创新是一个习惯。你越多加练习，创新的思维，创新的发现和创新的结果就会越来越容易出现。下次当你遇到一个创新障碍时，要让自己去感受这种焦躁的情绪，即使是辞职的想法。然后挑战自己的耐力去解决它，并接受它的局限性。“美丽的限制”听起来有点像双关语，但实际上它就隐含了挑战与效果。

1 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

2 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

3 peek   

vi.偷看，窥视；n.偷偷的一看，一瞥

参考例句：

• Larry takes a peek out of the window.赖瑞往窗外偷看了一下。
• Cover your eyes and don't peek.捂上眼睛，别偷看。

4 constraint   

n.(on)约束，限制；限制(或约束)性的事物

参考例句：

• The boy felt constraint in her presence.那男孩在她面前感到局促不安。
• The lack of capital is major constraint on activities in the informal sector.资本短缺也是影响非正规部门生产经营的一个重要制约因素。

5 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

6 electrified   

v.使电气化( electrify的过去式和过去分词 )；使兴奋

参考例句：

• The railway line was electrified in the 1950s. 这条铁路线在20世纪50年代就实现了电气化。
• The national railway system has nearly all been electrified. 全国的铁路系统几乎全部实现了电气化。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 brainstorming   

献计献策,合力攻关

参考例句：

• With Brainstorming, treat the view on how to solve the problem rightly. 利用脑激励法(Brainstorming)，正确对待学生实验中的问题解决观。
• We are going to do some brainstorming soon. 我们很快就要做些脑力激荡。

8 aspiring   

adj.有志气的；有抱负的；高耸的v.渴望；追求

参考例句：

• Aspiring musicians need hours of practice every day. 想当音乐家就要每天练许多小时。
• He came from an aspiring working-class background. 他出身于有抱负的工人阶级家庭。 来自辞典例句

9 align   

vt.使成一线，结盟，调节；vi.成一线，结盟

参考例句：

• Align the ruler and the middle of the paper.使尺子与纸张的中部成一条直线。
• There are signs that the prime minister is aligning himself with the liberals.有迹象表明首相正在与自由党人结盟。

10 ousting   

驱逐( oust的现在分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• The resulting financial chaos led to the ousting of Bristol-Myers' s boss. 随后引发的财政混乱导致了百时美施贵宝的总裁下台。
• The ousting of the president has drawn widespread criticism across Latin America and the wider world. 洪都拉斯总统被驱逐时间引起拉丁美洲甚至全世界的广泛批评。

11 cosmopolitan   

adj.世界性的，全世界的，四海为家的，全球的

参考例句：

• New York is a highly cosmopolitan city.纽约是一个高度世界性的城市。
• She has a very cosmopolitan outlook on life.她有四海一家的人生观。

12 antiquated   

adj.陈旧的，过时的

参考例句：

• Many factories are so antiquated they are not worth saving.很多工厂过于陈旧落后，已不值得挽救。
• A train of antiquated coaches was waiting for us at the siding.一列陈旧的火车在侧线上等着我们。

13 weirdly   

古怪地

参考例句：

• Another special characteristic of Kweilin is its weirdly-shaped mountain grottoes. 桂林的另一特点是其形态怪异的岩洞。
• The country was weirdly transformed. 地势古怪地变了样。

14 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

15 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

16 begets   

v.为…之生父( beget的第三人称单数 )；产生，引起

参考例句：

• It begets at least seven standard type offspring from such matings. 这类交配中生下至少七个标准型后代。 来自辞典例句
• Violence begets violence until the innocent perish with the guilty. 暴力招致暴力直到这因罪行而无缘无故的毁灭。 来自电影对白

17 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

18 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。