***The Key to Being Innovative

Most of the time, being innovative is simply putting together existing elements to create what appears to be new. I was touted as being innovative when I came up with the mixed use condominium and hotel tower, which I did with the Trump International Hotel & Tower in New York. Since then, the concept has been copied by myself and others, and it has proven to be tremendously successful nationally and internationally.nnTo me, the idea was common sense, and I didn’t think I was being particularly creative. When I look back, maybe I was. But when I read subsequent articles about innovation and certain inventors, it got me thinking about how one might become an innovator, which is something I think is important for students to think about.nnI remember reading about a composer named Steve Reich who came up with a new idea called phasing, which is like windshield wipers going in and out of synch. Apparently he was caught in a traffic jam one rainy day and the rhythm of the windshield wipers caught his attention and he applied what he heard to his musical compositions. He has had a significant influence on contemporary music and I think he’s a great example as an innovator. Sometimes new ideas can come from something as mundane and functional as your windshield wipers. The key is to pay attention and keep your brain and senses open to new stimuli.nnIt also helps to be thinking of two things at once--multi-level focusing is what I call it. The intersecting of ideas is when innovation will follow--thinking in musical terms while listening to your windshield wipers, or thinking of a hotel tower and condominiums at one time, or maybe watching a stone roll and imagining a wheel. Who knows what will result? Sometimes it will be fantastic and other times it won’t, but it gets the mind working in new dimensions that can sometimes prove fruitful.nnThis can also happen without deliberately attempting to be innovative, so the other technique to employ--consciously and unconsciously--is to keep an open mind. That’s very important in business as well as in the creative arts. Don’t limit yourself to staid thinking, because you want to excel in business. My first book was called The Art of the Deal because I view business deals as being an art form. Maybe that’s why I’ve been a successful dealmaker. I employ both sides of my brain when I’m thinking and working.nnYou may be aware of the number phi (which is pronounced ‘fee’) which has an astonishing history. It’s been employed by people from Pythagoras to da Vinci and most likely the builders of the pyramids used it as well. It’s been around for a long time and the number itself is 1.6180339887. It’s called the golden ratio and if you want to know more specifics, you can read The Golden Ratio by Mario Livio, who goes into great detail about it. My point is that it appears that some people use the number deliberately, and other people know it subconsciously and it can appear in their work with or without intention. But it can be used intentionally, and very often is. It’s very mysterious, as this ratio appears in unrelated works and natural phenomena, from the chambered nautilus to galaxies to artwork and architecture. It can make your innovative attempts a little easier when you make an effort to understand that there are mysteries in life, and to be open to them.nnI’m not advising you to dwell on the mysterious--a successful life requires common sense and hard work--but to be aware of things that are sometimes inexplicable, because it’s a big step towards innovation. We don’t really create, but we assemble what has been created for us. Be a great assembler, no matter what your interests may be--and you’ll be on your way to inventiveness. A big mind requires a variety of thoughts and impulses to keep it well occupied, so make sure you keep your mind engaged in the best ways possible. It could very well be your calling card for success.