Studio Notes
Weekly essays on the decisions behind innovation—the patterns that repeat, the mistakes that are predictable, and what actually works.
The Courage to Create Nothing
Standing still in a rushing world isn't weakness—it's strategic wisdom. True visionaries master the art of saying no when innovation becomes an end rather than a means.
Original Ideas Don't Exist
Innovation happens at the intersection of existing knowledge, challenging the notion that anyone truly creates rather than connects what came before.
The Innovation Crisis: How We're Stifling Our Children's Creative Potential—And How to Set It Free
A 12-year-old entrepreneur highlights the gap between education and innovation. What happens when we value answers over inquiry, and how might we unlock our children's natural creative abilities?
The 36-Hour Lesson: When Reliability Made My Innovation Career
The flashiest ideas don't change the world—follow-through does. While we worship creative geniuses, reliable warriors who execute transform industries.
Intellectual Generosity: Why Sharing Ideas Creates More Value Than Protecting Them
Giving away your best thinking generates unexpected returns. Your best ideas create more value when shared freely rather than guarded jealously.
Dangerous Ideas: Why We Fear Innovation (And Why We Shouldn't)
The psychology behind innovation resistance runs deep. History reveals bizarre examples of once "dangerous" technologies we now take for granted. Our fear-first reaction might be our most human trait — for better and worse.
Moving to Substack: A New Chapter
Innovation veteran Phil McKinney launches "Studio Notes" on Substack—revealing untold stories from 30 years of innovation leadership. What really happens in Fortune 100 boardrooms? Discover raw wisdom from failures and successes. Experience innovation's human journey as lived, not taught.
