S1E17: Makoto Fujimura: How to think like an Artist in creating new ideas.

The bigQUEST Podcast with Andy Murray

There's a question I've been thinking about for some time. How do we create truly new ideas that move us forward? Fresh ideas that truly move our companies forward? How will we need to think differently to find fresh, new ideas?
So much of what we call new is really just an extension of the present. The post industrialized work world has been great for incremental improvements and efficiency, but struggles to generate cultures that can voyage beyond the land we already know.
Few would argue today we need leaders with the ability to bring both left and right brain thinking to the moment or maybe better said a more balanced approach using both intuition and reason. It is hard to find a recent business book that doesn't advocate for more intuitive thinking at work or challenge us to "think like an artist."
But how do artists think?
To answer that question, I set out to reconnect with a brilliant artist who I knew would have a perspective worth hearing, Makoto Fujimura. Mako is not only an amazing artist, he's also an accomplished writer who is just as passionate about the process of art as he is the outcome.
In this episode, Mako and I talk about intuition, how it works, and how it needs to be harmonized with reason. We take a look back into history to 500 years ago, to a time when Europe was coming out of the Black Plague and how that applies to what we are going through today.
We also talk about how artists look at constraints, mastery, and asking questions beyond the question. In the last half of the podcast, I turned the tables and asked Mako how he might use the approach of an artist if he were to take on a C-Suite job in a big company. And I can tell you now, his answer was brilliant. Mako shares some practical stories from his work on the Board at Bucknell University. Lastly, I asked him to look forward into the future and tell me what gives him hope. Again, his answer will surprise you.