creativity – leadership dots

leadership dot #5051: patents

September 16, 2026September 15, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

An ad appeared in my Facebook feed offering framed watercolor prints of “Timeless Patents.” I had never thought about some of the things featured, but it makes sense that someone had to be the first to create or standardize something we take for granted every day.

Examples include:

An 1891 patent for a toilet paper roll and the size of perforated sheets — still in use today
The universal dimensions for a running track
The configuration of a snare drum
The dimensions and numbering protocol for a football field
A self-closing [tooth] paste tube
The basketball rim and net size
The design of playing cards
The standardization of a toilet seat
The design of a tennis ball

Designing a toilet paper roll may not have been glamorous, but Seth Wheeler’s work has lived on. In over a century, no one has developed a better design for this everyday product.

Your work doesn’t have to be fancy to make an impact.

Screenshot example of a Timeless Patents print

leadership dot #5034: reframed

August 21, 2026August 20, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

There’s a new trend where people put frames around their flat-screen televisions in an attempt to make them more aesthetically pleasing. The frame allegedly elevates the look and makes the screen feel more like a work of art than technology stuck on the wall.

A similar philosophy was at play at the Belle Isle Aquarium in Detroit. Architect Albert Kahn designed the facility so that the tanks were positioned like art hanging on a gallery wall “to engage audiences in the grandeur of both the building and the incredible life within it.” The fish were the same as elsewhere, but the way they were displayed created a unique feel in the aquarium.

Think about where a frame could elevate your surroundings. Take your children’s artwork off the refrigerator and turn it into a gallery. Dig milestone documents out of the archives and create a historical display. Frame some important signs instead of just hanging paper. How you frame your message can reframe how it is received.

leadership dot #5033: a new use

August 20, 2026August 19, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

If you’ve ever been in a store that sells Crocs, you know the Jibbitz used to decorate them have become an integral accessory. Little plastic add-ons come in every shape and style imaginable, letting people personalize their shoes in a way that is impossible with other footwear.

I hadn’t seen them anywhere besides shoes, but recently I have seen notebooks and lunch boxes designed to hold Jibbitz or their knockoffs. That makes sense, since many kids have plenty of them, and the ability to make their items unique is more appealing than generic products.

Jibbitz wasn’t designed by Crocs, though. A mom realized that colorful materials could be attached to the holes in the shoes, and a business was born. (Crocs later purchased the business for $10 million.) Now other companies are capitalizing on Jibbitz’ pervasiveness to boost their bottom lines.

Take a lesson from them and consider whether someone else has created something that could benefit your organization. You don’t need to be the inventor of everything — just the one who can implement it in a new way.

leadership dot #5018: unrestrained

July 30, 2026July 29, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

The Michigan Central campus (see dots #5016 & 5017) includes several streets where the owners have been given permission to experiment free from regulations. This allows for speedier innovation trials, without the time lag to secure permits and approval from the city.

One use of this latitude involves piloting a test strip where wireless charging capabilities are placed underground so electric vehicles can charge their batteries without stopping. Currently, it only encompasses several blocks, but the hope is that it could have greater adoption in the future. The American Automobile Association (AAA) notes that “range anxiety keeps 60% of consumers from considering electric vehicles despite their environmental benefits,” so underground charging is an experiment to overcome that hesitation.

How can you adopt your organization’s policies as Detroit has done to provide more freedom and flexibility in the innovation process? Let your thinkers, artists, and engineers spend their time on creating rather than on navigating internal or external bureaucracy.

leadership dot #4995: sketching

June 30, 2026June 29, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

A visit to an art museum reminded me of the value of sketching. Even the masters started most of their works with pencils, making multiple lines before determining the final location to paint or color. They had no illusions that the first try would be their final one.

Yet, so many times we expect perfection or a final draft right out of the gate. We want to start painting instead of sketching, making one line instead of a blur of many. It often frustrates us and makes it more daunting for others to provide feedback on the idea.

Take a lesson from the artists and start with a rough, penciled-in version of your concept, then go from there. Within the many lines, the true masterpiece can be found.

leadership dot #4991: clouds

June 26, 2026June 25, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Taylor Swift said that sometimes a song just appears to her, “like a cloud, and you just have to reach out and grab it.” Other times, she’s not so lucky.

I feel that way about writing dots; there are moments when the lesson becomes so obvious, and other times when I stare at a blank screen for an extended period.

I think that the entire creative process is like that. Whether composing songs, writing dots, painting, or designing graphics, there are times to capture and times to plod. The trick is having a system that allows you to act on the ideas that present themselves easily to you, and having the patience to outlast the blocks that inevitably worm their way into the mix. Both clouds and lulls are fleeting.

leadership dot #4966: trolls

June 1, 2026June 1, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

A nearby town has recently acquired three troll sculptures as a tourist draw and nod to the city’s history as a lumber mill. They are massive and impressive, and a unique way to highlight the town’s story. One of the local trolls is housed inside an old train depot, and the entire building is filled with branches, creating a cave effect before you arrive at the troll itself.

These are just three of the works that are located around the world. Thomas Dambo has made a career of creating giant trolls from reclaimed lumber, a niche he uses to tell ecological stories through his art. Other people may look at a pile of branches or scraps of wood and see only waste, but Dambo is able to fashion the discards into things of beauty.

What do you see that others do not? Dambo saw his gift as becoming a troll-sculptor. Consider what contribution only you can make to the world.

leadership dot #4943: waitlist

May 9, 2026May 8, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Most restaurant reservation websites are straightforward and generic — you say how many in your party, and you are added to the waitlist.

The First Watch breakfast restaurant added a clever twist to theirs. When you indicate the number of people, it populates an egg crate accordingly. It’s on-brand, distinctive, and fun.

Think about how you can infuse “you” into the small things like your waitlist software. It’s egg-xactly the kind of special touch that can make your customers smile.

leadership dot #4929: amplify

April 18, 2026April 17, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Ever wonder if anything good came from COVID? Well, here’s something that did.

During the pandemic, artist Hercule VanWolfwinkle drew some silly pet portraits and shared them with his mates on social media. It was designed to make them smile during a dark time, and he thought it would be the end of it.

But it wasn’t. Demonstrating the best of what social media can do, the drawings spread — and spread. He decided to accept donations for his drawings to support two charities that serve the homeless and their pets, setting an ambitious goal of 299 pounds. He has now raised 500,000 pounds from 30,000 donors and has received 80,000 portrait requests, all from “rubbish” drawings he shared just to bring a laugh to some friends.

Never underestimate the difference one person can make. Social media can amplify the good as well as the bad and help people turn “a jokey comment” into a major fundraising effort. What can you do with it?

Screenshot from Pet Portraits by Hercule

leadership dot #4923: pedal power

April 12, 2026April 10, 2026by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

If you want efficient movement through the streets of New York City, using a truck isn’t the way to do it. So, rather than use the same delivery system that they use elsewhere in the country, Amazon developed an e-bike delivery vehicle to navigate the crowded streets of the Big Apple.

It would have been easy for them to say that delivery times were delayed due to ongoing congestion, but instead they acknowledged the issue and came up with a creative solution.

Do you insist on staying with the same tried-and-true system that works for most, or are you open to considering new options to address micro-needs? One size does not fit all.

Thanks, Amy!