Most of us are familiar with the genius of Leonardo da Vinci (1452 –1519). Not only did he paint several famous works including the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper, da Vinci was an observer, scientist, and inventor. His studies in science and engineering are as impressive and innovative as his artistic work, much of which is recorded in notebooks comprising over 13,000 pages of notes and drawings. Da Vinci is also credited with inventing a tank and helicopter centuries before they were produced in their now familiar form. He was a man of ideas well before their time.
Michael Gelb’s book, How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci, has a roadmap to use what Gelb calls the da Vinci principles, with one in particular, sfumato, managing ambiguity and change, is extremely relevant to facing the prospect of change and innovative processes in the workplace. While many of us have fears of the unknown, using da Vinci’s sfumato, which refers to a style of painting where the edges are hazy but implied, we need to become at ease with the unknown. Only by embracing the inherent uncertainty of creativity and innovation, can we move to da Vinci’s level of thinking and creativity.
For more information on Gelb’s book and the other da Vinci principles, visit his website.
In an earlier post, I included an exercise called Write it Down, which uses some of da Vinci’s technique of observation to gather ideas and information for unleashing the creativity process.
Need more ideas to unleash Creativity@Work? Download a free, 25 page preview of THE training guide to Creativity@Work, Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing More Creativity@Work, at the E-book website.
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