George Lois Quotes

Some people are aware of another sort of thinking which... leads to those simple ideas that are obvious only after they have been thought of... the term 'lateral thinking' has been coined to describe this orther sort of thinking; 'vertical thinking' is used to denote the conventional logical process.

My characteristics as a scientist stem from a non-conformist upbringing, a sense of being something of an outsider, and looking for different perceptions in everything from novels, to art to experimental results. I like complexity and am delighted by the unexpected. Ideas interest me.

Originality is simply a pair of fresh eyes.

Ideas do not need to be esoteric to be original or exciting.

It is a rare mind indeed that can render the hitherto non-existent blindingly obvious. The cry 'I could have thought of that' is a very popular and misleading one, for the fact is that they didn't, and a very significant and revealing fact it is too.

The people who do make big discoveries are the ones who somehow manage to free themselves from conventional ways of thinking and to see the subject from a new perspective.

I am attracted to arguments that have a certain plausible originality to them.

I often try to think about, What sounds like a bad idea, but if you find the right plan of attack, it's actually a really good idea? I spend a lot of time really trying to systematically tackle problems from different angles.

All invention and progress comes from finding a link between two ideas that have never met.

All great ideas start as weird ideas. What now seems obvious, early on, is not obvious to anybody.

I have lots of ideas. Trouble is, most of them suck.

"Where do you get your ideas?" That's the one question I'm genuinely sick of being asked, and also genuinely fascinated by. What fascinates me is not that people ask the question, but what kind of answer are they really looking for? Because if I tell them the truth, which is "I make them up," they seem very disappointed. They want to know about the trek I do once a year to the mountain.

Everything has been thought of before, but the problem is to think of it again.

Invention is nothing more than a fine deviation from, or enlargement on a fine model . . .

To develop the creative attitude, analyze and focus on the wanted SOLUTION; seek out and fill your mind with the FACTS; write down ideas, both sensible and seemingly wild; let the facts and ideas simmer in your mind; evaluate, recheck, settle on the creative ideas.

The ability to make big leaps of thought is a common denominator among the originators of breakthrough ideas.

We need radical thinking, creative ideas, and imagination.

The idea was fantastically, wildly improbable. But like most fantastically, wildly improbable ideas it was at least as worthy of consideration as a more mundane one to which the facts had been strenuously bent to fit.

As soon as I stopped trying to think about a business idea and started focusing on what I’m passionate about, that’s when it came to me.

Great execution towards a terrible idea will get you nowhere.

If we want a better original idea, we must generate our own before we screen others' suggestions.

I think the enemy of creativity in the world today is that so much thinking is done for you.

Knowledge is the stuff from which new ideas are made. Thus, the real key to being creative lies in what you do with your knowledge.

The history of science is full of revolutionary advances that required small insights that anyone might have had, but that, in fact, only one person did.

Normal means lack of imagination and creativity.