As Marissa Mayer, head of product development at Google, says, “Creativity loves constraints.”1 And time is one of many powerful examples.

biology, physiology, electronics, and product design.

Two young fish swim past an older fish. As they pass the older fish, he says, “Morning, boys. How’s the water?” The two young fish continue on for a while until one eventually asks the other, “What the heck is water?” The message in this fable is that we so often don’t notice the things that are most important in our lives.

most people fall into the trap of running with the first solution they find, even though it might not be the best solution. The first answers to any problem are not always the best answers. In fact, much better solutions are usually waiting to be unearthed. Unfortunately, most people are satisfied with the first solution they find, missing the

As Pablo Picasso is claimed to have said, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” Steve Jobs, the cofounder and former CEO of Apple Computer, amplified this sentiment in a 1994 interview by saying that the key to creativity is to expose yourself “to the best things that humans have done and then to bring those things into what you are doing.”

Being able to connect and combine nonobvious ideas and objects is essential for innovation and a key part of the creative-thinking process. Along with your ability to reframe problems, it engages your imagination and thereby unlocks your Innovation Engine.

Another classic example comes from one of the Pink Panther movies: INSPECTOR CLOUSEAU: Does your dog bite? HOTEL CLERK: No. CLOUSEAU: [bowing down to pet the dog] Nice doggie. [The dog bites Clouseau’s hand.] CLOUSEAU: I thought you said your dog did not bite! HOTEL CLERK: That is not my dog.

across the river. The simple process of asking “why” questions provides an incredibly useful tool for expanding the landscape of solutions for a problem.

Another valuable way to open the frame when you are solving a problem is to ask questions that start with “why.” In his need-finding class, Michael Barry uses the following example: If I asked you to build a bridge for me, you could go off and build a bridge. Or you could come back to me with another question: “Why do you need a bridge?” I would