I live in an area of New England where many families spend their time taking their children to museums, art exhibitions, and classical music performances.  There is a constant hum of minivans taking students to various music lessons and the SAT is a topic of discussion before kindergarten has even made it to the daily routine.  It is not surprising for some children to know who Brahms and Beethoven are and yet can't identify Brady and Belichick in a Patriots' team photo. 

While most parents have already marked the days on the calendar for all of the big plays, performances, and recitals, during the upcoming school February vacation, I have learned some very disappointing news - no one I have spoken to has plans to attend the greatest cultural event that New England has to offer, the annual Bugs Bunny Festival at the Brattle Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

For eight days the theater shows nothing but Bugs Bunny and Looney Tunes cartoons.  It. Is. Awesome.  And, I would argue, more educational and inspirational when it comes to developing innovative thinking than any other venue or medium has to offer in this area.   Think about it.  The creators of Bugs Bunny don't operate within confined boundaries or predetermined reality.  Anvils drop out of the sky, Acme products arrive in all shapes and sizes (right on time and to the exact address I might add), and the only limits are those of one's imagination.  

Therefore, if you are looking to create innovative thinking at work or at home with your children, give the Chopin a break and take time to watch some cartoons.  Seriously.  This may go against conventional thinking but, as Bugs Bunny once said, "I know this defies the laws of gravity, but I never studied law."

Let's kick off 2017 with two great lessons from Star Wars and film maker George Lucas.  Did you know that Star Wars was REJECTED by United Artists, Universal, and Disney.  Yes, each of these studios passed on the movie with many people telling George to "make something more conventional."

Bewteen the films, video games, books, merchandise and other items, over $30 billion dollars in revenue have been generated from the Star Wars franchise.  Not bad for an idea that was greenlighted a long time ago in an office far, far away.

Are you asking people to make things that are "more conventional" or are you willing to take a risk on something new?