Nine Lessons Learned about Creativity at Google

HKUST really fully utilized their email system. They used to notify, practically everything through email which I feel it was really cool!

Well, I wanted to keep this for my future reference easier, then I decided to placed in this blog, which was to serve to keep me ‘on line’ or ‘in track’ from the beginning of the creation of the blog.

This e-seminar series were sent to all students in UST, not sure how many of the students actually watch it. I feel this video is worth sharing.

The title of the seminar was Nine Lessons Learned about Creativity at Google by Marissa Mayer which is Vice President of Search Products and User Experience at Google. It was presented at 17^th May 2006 around 4 years ago, but the video was worth sharing.

“How did Google start without knowing how it can make money? What cultivates creativity & innovation in Google? How is creativity important to the success of the corporation? Do creative ideas equal instant perfection?

Let us hear from Marissa Mayer, VP of Search Products and User Experience at Google, on the top nine lessons learned about fostering creative ideas and innovation based on her experience developing highly successful Web applications.”

Below is the link to the 9 videos.

http://ecorner.stanford.edu/playerPopup.html?groupId=86

1.       Ideas come from everywhere.

2.       Give ideas credit, not credit for ideas.

3.       Work with smart people.

4.       License to pursue dreams.

5.       Learning from mistakes.

6.       Data is apolitical.

7.       Creativity loves constraint.

8.       Bank users, not money.

9.       Don’t kill project, morph them.

10.   Surviving the bubble.

Who Moved My Cheese?

My sis shared a video at FB few days ago. I read this book few years back, and wow! Video is a much more powerful tool to convey message than books.

Below is the link to the 11min video.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=445401792887

Here is the abstract of the book.

Who Moved My Cheese? Is a simple parable that reveals profound truths about change.It is an amusing and enlightening story of four characters that live in a 'Maze' and look for 'Cheese' to nourish them and make them happy.

Two are mice named Sniff and Scurry. And two are little people' - beings the size of mice who look and act a lot like people. Their names are Hem and Haw. 'Cheese' is a metaphor for what you want to have in life - whether it's a good job, a loving relationship, money, a possession, good health, or spiritual peace of mind. And 'The Maze' is where you look for what you want – the organization you work in, or the family or community you live in.

In the story, the characters are faced with unexpected change. Eventually, one of them deals with it successfully, and writes what he has learned from his experience on the maze walls.

When you come to see 'The Handwriting on the Wall', you can discover for yourself how to deal with change, so that you can enjoy less stress and more success (however you define it) in your work and in your life.

Writings on the wall!

1.       Having cheese makes you happy!

2.       The more important the cheese is to you, the more you want to hold onto it!

3.       What will you do if you weren’t afraid?

4.       Smell the cheese often so you know when it is getting old.

5.       When you move beyond your fear, you feel FREE!

6.       When you change what you believe, you change what you do!

7.       Change happens, they keep moving the cheese!

8.       Anticipate change, smell the cheese often, so you know when it is getting old!

9.       Adapt to change quickly, the quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you can enjoy new cheese!

10.   Enjoy change, savor the adventure and enjoy the taste of new cheese!

11.   Be ready to change quickly and enjoy it again…they keep moving the cheese!

Choices, Questions

记得大学一堂选修课上。教授面带微笑，走进教室，对我们说：“我受一家机构委托，来做一项问卷调查，请同学们帮个忙。”一听这话，教室里轻微的一阵议论开了，大学课堂本来枯燥，这下好玩多了。

In one of the lectures, a Professor, walking into the classroom smiling and he told us: "I am commissioned by an organization, to do a survey, asks someone to help me." Hearing this, students become excited as the University lectures have been boring.

问卷表发下来，一看，只有两道题。

The Questionnaire has only 2 questions. 

第一题：他很爱她。她细细的瓜子脸，弯弯的娥眉，面色白皙，美丽动人。可是有一天，她不幸遇上了车祸，痊愈后，脸上留下几道大大的丑陋疤痕。你觉得，他会一如既往地爱她吗？

A、他一定会 B、他一定不会 C、他可能会

First question: He loves her. She have a thin oval face, crescent curved eyes, and pretty. But one day, she met a tragic car accident, and end up with few ugly scars on her face. Do you think he will still love her?
  A, he will  B, he will not C, he may  

第二题：她很爱他。他是商界的精英，儒雅沉稳，敢打敢拼。忽然有一天，他破产了。你觉得，她还会像以前一样爱他吗？

A、她一定会 B、她一定不会 C、她可能会

Second question: She loves him. He is elite in the business field, a fine man. Suddenly one day, he went bankrupt. Do you think she will still love him as before?
  A, she will B, she will not C, she may 

一会儿，我们就做好了。问卷收上来，教授一统计，发现：第一题有10%的同学选A，10%的同学选B，80%的同学选C。第二题呢，30%的同学选了A，30%的同学选B，40%的同学选C。

The the questionnaires were collected and found that: the first question, 10% of the students choose A, 10% of the students choose B, 80% of the students selected C. The second question then, 30% of the students chose the A, 30% of the students to choose B, 40% of the students selected C.  

“看来，美女毁容比男人破产，更让人不能容忍啊。”教授笑了，“做这两题时，潜意识里，你们是不是把他和她当成了恋人关系？”

"It seems that faded beauty of women was even more intolerable than a man declared bankruptcy" Professor laughed, "When analyzing these two questions, do you guys subconsciously thought that both of them are lover?"  

“是啊。”我们答得很整齐。

"Yes ." We answered.

“可是，题目本身并没有说他和她是恋人关系啊？”教授似有深意地看着大家，“现在，我们来假设一下，如果，第一题中的‘他’是‘她’的父亲，第二题中的‘她’是‘他’的母亲。让你把这两道题重新做一遍，你还会坚持原来的选择吗？”

"But the questions itself does not state that relations between them was lover?" 

"Now, let us assume that, if the first question of the 'he' was 'her' father and the second question,  the 'she' was 'his' mother. Will you still adhere to the original choice? " 

问卷再次发到我们的手中，教室里忽然变得非常宁静，一张张年青的面庞变得凝重而深沉。几分钟后，问卷收了上来，教授再一统计，两道题，我们都100%地选了A。

Suddenly everyone became very quiet and solemn. When the questionnaire were recollected, All of us choose A as the answer for the questions. 

教授的语调深沉而动情：“这个世界上，有一种爱，亘古绵长，无私无求；不因季节更替。不因名利浮沉，这就是父母的爱啊！”

"In this world, there is a love, which is long lasting, selfless; transcend time. Unaffected by fame and fortune, this is the love of parents!"  

善待自己的父母，他们永远是最爱你们的。

Be obedient to your parent as they always love you and care for you. 

From FB. Using Google translator

每个人都是一本书。

• 每个人都是一本书。

封面是父母给的，我们不能改变，

我们所要做的就是尽力写好里面的内容。

或许，开始写得令自己或别人不太满意，

但这没关系，只要我们尽力了，就无怨无悔，别做盗版书。

• 每个人都是一本书。

开始的部分用的最多是问号，那里记载了你人生最有趣的童年时光；

接着就是很多的惊叹号，你在那里尽情泼墨，那是你最美的日子；

中间部分更多的是逗号了，人生渐渐趋于平淡，

少一份困惑，多一份感慨 ；少了些许激动，多了些许宽容.

不知不觉就到了书的最后一章，你写完了你要写的，该落笔了。

或许你意犹未尽，或许你心有不甘，或许你踌躇满志...这些都没有必要了，

那些文字，或悲伤，或忧郁，或激昂...

我们都无法改写啦。

• 每个人都是一本书。

书的品质不在于书的厚度，更不在于外表的装帧，

那些内容枯燥没有自我的书，装帧的再豪华也令人乏味。

我喜欢外表素雅内涵丰富的书籍。

每个人都是一本书。

你读别人，别人也在读你；

你读别人，更要读读自己..

From FB.

李嘉誠14格言

1、在20歲前，事業上的成果百分之百靠雙手勤勞換來；20歲至30歲之前，事業已有些小基礎，那10年的成功，10%靠運氣好，90%仍是由勤勞得來；之後，機會的比例也漸漸提高；到現在，運氣已差不多要佔三至四成了。

不敢說一定沒有命運，但假如一件事在天時、地利、人和等方面皆相背時，那肯定不會成功。若我們貿然去做，失敗時便埋怨命運，這是不對的。