# Felipe Zamana > Felipe Zamana - Professor, Writer, Speaker, and Researcher ## Posts - [Large-Scale Contexts](https://felipezamana.com/large-scale-contexts/): This is the fourth episode of the book interview series, and I would like to introduce you to Prof. Johnathan Feinstein from Yale School of Management. He studies creativity as an unfolding process of learning, engagement, and development, exploring both individual and collective paths of creative growth. Prof. Feinstein’s research also examines how creative fields evolve, highlighting the often-overlooked influences and connections that shape innovation but are lost in the historical record. Beyond creativity, he is also an authority on tax compliance, detection, and models of auditing and compliance. Prof. Feinstein has been exploring the role of contexts in creativity […] - [Why time travel may be good for you](https://felipezamana.com/why-time-travel-may-be-good-for-you/): If you travel back in time, let’s say, 200 years, knowing the same things you know now, what “new ideas” could you actually propose? Do you know how it works well enough to recreate it in the past? I stumbled upon this question, and it gave me a few interesting thoughts. Would you be able to explain most things that you use daily today, such as how to create electricity, a silicon chip, a battery, a combustion motor, a gas stove, or a toilet discharge? My first thought was that most people don’t really know how most stuff works (me […] - [Learning to see](https://felipezamana.com/learning-to-see/): For this third interview of the book series, I had the pleasure of talking with Prof. Keith Sawyer about his new book, Learning to See. Prof. Sawyer is a Professor of Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he leads pioneering work on creativity, collaboration, and learning. A prolific, award-winning author, he has published 20 books and over 100 scientific articles. Beyond academia, he is a jazz pianist and a sought‑after speaker and consultant, sharing his insights on creativity in businesses, schools, and organizations globally. So, here is my first question (and I love to start […] - [The future is not about technology](https://felipezamana.com/the-future-is-not-about-technology/): As I follow my deep curiosity for different forms of social organization – the creative ecosystems – looking into the past for clues about the future has always proved to be an interesting path. As Antonio Gramsci once said, “History teaches, but it has no pupils.” That’s why it is good to look back now and then. The Industrial Revolution was a huge influence on how we work and learn today. Modern school systems were born in the 19th century to fuel factories, and not long afterward, the office work model followed suit, at the hands of Peter Drucker, considered […] - [When creativity meets power](https://felipezamana.com/when-creativity-meets-power/): For the second edition of this book interview series, I sat down with Prof. Michael Hanchett Hanson to talk about his latest book, Creative Work and Distributions of Power. This conversation felt especially meaningful to me not only because of the book’s relevance, but because Michael has deeply shaped the way I think about creativity. He’s been a brilliant mentor, an intellectual guide, and a good friend over the years. But let me introduce him to you first. Prof. Hanchett Hanson is a developmental psychologist who looks at the lifelong development of creativity and the very concept that this is […] - [We live for the next trend](https://felipezamana.com/we-live-for-the-next-trend/): In my sophomore year, I had an incredible art history professor who, when explaining modern art, once said: “Today, we don’t know which rules to break because there are no rules. We don’t know what to do because we can do anything.” She was referring to how, in the past, groundbreaking artists understood the rules well enough to subvert them meaningfully. Now, with no clear boundaries, true innovation has become harder to define. Her point applies far beyond the arts. When creation in any field can be anything, it becomes incredibly difficult not only to do something genuinely innovative but […] - [Is Simplicity Killing Creativity?](https://felipezamana.com/is-simplicity-killing-creativity/): Unfortunately, we live in a world that idolizes simplicity. The mantra is always the same: make it clear, make it fast, make it scalable. But what if that very impulse — to strip away messiness, nuance, and contradiction — is quietly suffocating the conditions creativity needs to thrive? Reading Sand Talk made me sit with that question. Tyson Yunkaporta, an Australian academic and author, delves into the roots of Australia’s indigenous culture, past to present, moving in spirals, loops, and seemingly disjointed stories that slowly start to weave something coherent (if you’re willing to engage with it). But he does […] - [Creativity is social](https://felipezamana.com/creativity-is-social/): In this post, I decided to do something different: an interview. I’ve never done it before here. And I have to say that it was a lot of fun! I have known Prof. Zorana Ivcevic Pringle for quite a while, but mostly through reading her papers and newsletter. We met in person around two years ago at a conference, and we have been in touch from time to time to discuss projects, ideas, and creativity (of course) ever since. If you don’t know her, let me introduce her to you. Prof.  Zorana Ivcevic Pringle is a senior research scientist at […] - [Can AI make us less intelligent?](https://felipezamana.com/can-ai-make-us-less-intelligent/): The emergence of AI is calling into question what it means to be intelligent. However, the problem may not lie in tech vs. humans, but instead in our very definition of it. I’ve been playing for a while now with the idea proposed by Donald Clark that our education is mainly text-based. “From 5 to now 25 [years old],” explains Donald, “young people spend almost all of their time reading, writing and critiquing ‘text’ in an educational system”. If you think this through, it makes sense. Our very definition of intelligence is text-based. Intelligent people are those who know how […] - [What 2024 Taught Me: Key Insights on Creativity, Education, and the Future of Work](https://felipezamana.com/what-2024-taught-me/): Looking back on 2024, I realize how much my writing has revolved around a core tension: the balance between the boundless potential of human creativity and the structures—both external and internal—that shape or constrain it. Whether it was through exploring mentorship, curiosity, technology, or attention, I found myself repeatedly drawn to the spaces where growth meets resistance, where the unfamiliar nudges us toward discovery, and where stillness becomes a prerequisite for insight. Mentorship, for instance, isn’t just about receiving guidance—it’s about humility. It’s about acknowledging that our individual perspective is limited and that growth often comes through the courage to […] - [Insights from the Creativity in Education Summit](https://felipezamana.com/insights-from-the-creativity-in-education-summit/): Recently, I attended the Creativity in Education Summit at the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning and OECD headquarters in Paris, organized by the Global Institute of Creative Thinking. It brought together a global and diverse group of education leaders, policymakers, researchers, and innovators to discuss the critical role of creativity in shaping the future of education. With a focus on reimagining traditional learning environments, the summit addressed the challenges and opportunities for integrating creativity into global education systems and presented projects from different countries that are already adapting education to foster innovation, problem-solving, and critical thinking in the face […] - [Budgets of Flexibility](https://felipezamana.com/budgets-of-flexibility/): Creativity requires not just a “high level of art” (i.e., expertise), but also being up to date with the “state of the art” in your field in order to make an effective and relevant contribution. In the eagerness to “be creative”, most people forget the effort required to make this contribution. For example, although we consider people like Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton to be geniuses, we ignore the fact that it took both of them more than 20 years to make their new “art” work. The famous phrase “genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration” (the percentages can vary […] - [How boredom moves the world](https://felipezamana.com/how-boredom-moves-the-world/): [This text is part #2 of the trilogy I wrote with my dear friends William Barter and Mirian Rodrigues. The idea for exploring these topics further came from our podcast episode together. You can read the full text of part #2 in Portuguese here.] Technology has undoubtedly made us less susceptible to boredom. Any idle moment has been replaced by the scrolling of a screen, whose main function is to keep us entertained. In his controversial article Quit Social Media, published in 2016, Cal Newport commented that “at the time, in response to my critique, it felt like a cultural […] - [Attention Shortage](https://felipezamana.com/attention-shortage/): [This text is part #1 of the trilogy I wrote with my dear friends William Barter and Mirian Rodrigues. The idea for exploring these topics further came from our podcast episode together. You can read the full text of part #1 in Portuguese here.] The current generation of the Creative Economy is based on doing and led by the makers. The democratization of personalization, greatly stimulated by the Internet, was also, in a certain way, the democratization of creativity. Now we all have the means to make and create. For example, we can identify the growing popularity of DIY (Do […] - [Technology is making us boring](https://felipezamana.com/technology-is-making-us-boring/): As the words come to my mind, I write this article using my computer. Also, sometimes I translate my thoughts using an AI tool to find better words to enrich the text. Then, I publish it and share it with people all over the world via social media platforms. Just for the brief life of this small piece I just composed, technology is all over the place to help me make it happen. When it comes to new technology, I believe it is only natural for one to think: “how these technological tools can help me think and improve the […] - [The beauty of what we don’t know (yet)](https://felipezamana.com/the-beauty-of-what-we-dont-know-yet/): In 1637, while studying Arithmetic books, mathematician Pierre de Fermat had an insight that led him to analyze the Pythagorean Theorem from another perspective. It states that the sum of the areas of the squares on the legs equals the area of the square on the hypotenuse, described in the equation x²+y²=z². But what if we raised it by a number greater than 2? At this point, Fermat wrote in the book’s margin: that the equation xn+yn=zn has no integer solutions for n>2. I have found a wonderful demonstration, but the margin of this book is too small for it. […] - [Want to go beyond great? Get a mentor](https://felipezamana.com/want-to-go-beyond-great-get-a-mentor/): How do professionals get better at what they do? And how do they go beyond great? I hear this kind of question a lot. By far, the most common answer is by practicing. But practice alone, even if deliberate, will not make us exceptional. We can always explore different techniques, read uncountable books, apply to training programs (both academic and professional), and so on. But is this enough to be really great at something? For example, I studied by myself for many years. I read a bunch of books, took classes in academic creativity programs, and discussed ideas with other […] - [If you value your time, read this (and if you don't too)](https://felipezamana.com/if-you-value-your-time-read-this-and-if-you-dont-too/): Time is our most valuable resource. That phrase may be common sense, but unfortunately, we continue to waste it. And not just our own time, but the time of others as well. But why is time, among so many other resources, the most valuable? For the simple fact that there is no way to recover once you lose it. Money, fame, purpose, dignity, meaning in life… all these things are recoverable, but not time. We can shorten or expand our perception of time, but we can’t go back. If we are looking to create a more flexible, collaborative, and people-centered […] - [The real problem with social dynamics](https://felipezamana.com/the-real-problem-with-social-dynamics/): It is common to find some urgent problem out there. It seems that everyone has a very important problem that needs to be solved, preferably now. But this “very important problem” is mostly a one-person issue. If you ever went to a condo meeting you know what I’m talking about. As a result of this self-focused attention, we are often blind (and deaf) to anything that happens outside our backyard. There is simply no space for other people’s side of the story. And just like that, we fell into a vicious circle: we only fight for our cause, demanding respect […] - [What 10 years of studying creativity taught me](https://felipezamana.com/what-10-years-of-studying-creativity-taught-me/): In January 2014, I had just graduated from college and, like most people who have just finished college, I wasn’t sure what to do next. The idea of pursuing a career as a graphic designer wasn’t something that I was eager to do. However, throughout college, I had become interested in Photography and Illustration -which could be potential paths to follow next. Besides the artistic field, I saw another possible path in the field of education. The idea of being a teacher and teaching people made sense to me. So, I decided to design courses with the idea of offering […] - [The best books I read in 2023](https://felipezamana.com/the-best-books-i-read-in-2023/): Every year, some books stand out for different reasons. Sometimes, I read a book that resonates exactly with some question I have, or I’m caught up in deeply interesting perspectives about things I’ve never thought about. In this list, I chose the best 5 books I read in 2023. 1 – Deep Work, by Cal Newport I’m familiar with Cal Newport’s writing -I read his book So Good They Can’t Ignore You, which I absolutely loved. Also, this is a “hot topic” for me right now -I’ve been writing about what takes to do meaningful work, and this book is […] - [5 Lessons to find what meaningful work means to you](https://felipezamana.com/5-lessons-to-find-what-meaningful-work-means-to-you/): Times have changed. Unlike the time of our parents and grandparents, when pleasure and work rarely went together, we are closer than before to achieving work-life balance. But there are still some miles to go. As I argued before, the biggest challenge now is not just to avoid busy work, but also to find, among so many available options, something that can be called meaningful work. As expected, meaningful work is hard work. Even when you enjoy it, there are times when you want to give it all up and go live in the countryside, as far as possible from […] - [What does it take to do meaningful work?](https://felipezamana.com/what-does-it-take-to-do-meaningful-work/): Having the autonomy to do my work always meant a lot to me. But it didn’t come easily to realize it. I bounced from job to job after college, mainly because I wasn’t willing to give up on certain conditions that I unconsciously knew I needed to do meaningful work. Also, and maybe more importantly, I was definitely NOT down for doing busy work -but I didn’t know back then how to say no without creating conflict. Somehow, it was thanks to these frustrating job experiences that I devoted myself to understanding what it takes to do meaningful work -after […] - [Why Productivity Is More About Us Than About You](https://felipezamana.com/why-productivity-is-more-about-us-than-about-you/): Based on our current understanding, productivity is up to you. It is in your hands, and your hands alone, to manage your time and effort to do more and faster. Buy an agenda, hire a secretary, stay until late at work, make more calls and meetings, and write emails faster. It doesn’t matter; whatever it takes. So how can my own productivity have to do with anyone other than me? Before we answer this question, first we need to reconstruct what we understand by productivity. In this piece, I will explore how productivity grew from a clever industrial solution to […] - [Are Good Ideas Getting Harder to Find?](https://felipezamana.com/are-good-ideas-getting-harder-to-find/): Peter Drucker, the father of modern management theory, famously said that “ideas are cheap and abundant; what is of value is the effective placement of those ideas into situations that develop into action.” Is there so? While ideas may be abundant, good ones are not so much. At least, not anymore. A recent study showed that good ideas are growing rarer by the year -dropping by half every thirteen years, to be more precise. “Research effort is rising substantially while research productivity is declining sharply”, explains the researchers. Compared to the 1970s, 18x more researchers are needed to continue its […] - [The Algorithm is Killing Creativity. Here is how to save yours.](https://felipezamana.com/the-algorithm-is-killing-creativity-here-is-how-to-save-yours/): It is no wonder that one of the major advances of our species was to develop systems to measure and quantify. With these metrics, it was possible to know how many animals, food, and resources we had available and how many people lived in our community, which made our lives more manageable and controllable. Currently, algorithms help us with these processes, offering an invisible help to optimize our lives. But at the same time, it created some difficulty in seeing what is beyond or even behind the data. There is often no way to accurately predict the opportunities or difficulties […] - [Why using AI is about ethics](https://felipezamana.com/why-using-ai-is-about-ethics-2/): Following the trail left in my last newsletter, when an AI creates, who is the creator: you (who prompted) or the AI? I’ve been reflecting a lot lately on the ethical implications of our creations, and artificial intelligence really highlights this need. Mainly because we can only grasp what AI will be used for in the future, most of its repercussions are still unknown to most of us. A good example of AI’s ethical discussion is in Education. Teachers are having a hard time dealing with AI in the classroom. Copying and pasting from Google is not a problem anymore, […] - [AI X Humans: Who is the best creator?](https://felipezamana.com/ai-x-humans-who-is-the-best-creator/): Going further in this month’s topic of “AI”, I would like to explore the AI x Humans discussion. According to Gil Weinberg, this subject has been debated for more than 170 years. In 1843, Lady Ada Lovelace, an English mathematician considered to be the world’s first programmer, said: “A machine cannot have human-like intelligence as long as it only does what humans have programmed it to do. A machine must be able to create original ideas to be considered intelligent.” Well, Lady Ada, the time has come, but… As much as we can create complex programs and algorithms, in a […] - [The case for AI as a ready-made creator](https://felipezamana.com/the-case-for-ai-as-a-ready-made-creator/): History is, again, repeating itself. The AI topic is trending, and there are people fighting against or in favor. “What AI creates is/isn’t art/novel/creative/…” and so on. Just pick your battle. However, what we are maybe missing is that, again, history is repeating itself (yes, I repeat the sentence on purpose). Why? Let’s put it in a different context. At the beginning of the 20th century, Marcel Duchamp was ahead of his time. His critique of the art regime of the time became the basis for contemporary art. At that time, those who dictated what was or wasn’t art were […] - [From Creation to Creativity: where is the difference?](https://felipezamana.com/from-creation-to-creativity-where-is-the-difference/): In the last newsletter, I talked about having the confidence to create. In this one, I will explore the difference between creation (or creating) and creativity. To start, can every creation be considered creative? The answer to this question will depend on which creativity researcher you ask. Some researchers will defend creativity as an everyday event, where every small thing we create is somehow a potential creative expression, for the minor it can be. Other researchers will argue that there is no such thing as creativity -at least not how we normally think about it. Creativity is not something that […] - [The Knowledge Movement](https://felipezamana.com/the-knowledge-movement/): From time to time, an invention emerged to change the course of evolution once again. Globally, these opportunities follow a pattern of evolution labeled as Possible Adjacent by scientist Stuart Kauffman, to exemplify the limitations and potentialities of human creativity. To illustrate this concept, imagine that everything we know is within a circle, and all possible combinations with the materials available within it are in a second circle around it. As we discover these combinations and incorporate the second circle into the first, we have new materials to be used and combined, the combinations of which enable us to wonder […] - [Multiple discoveries](https://felipezamana.com/multiple-discoveries/): Have you ever had a brilliant idea, only to discover that someone else had already thought of it? We eventually come across similarities between our ideas and those of others, if not even identical ones. But if we came up with that idea on our own without the slightest idea of the existence of something closely related, how is that possible? This is because we are all “building” with the same materials. The ideas and references out there are the same for everyone, and eventually, different people will curiously arrive at the same result, even if they follow a different […] - [Teaching by asking](https://felipezamana.com/teaching-by-asking/): Last month, I focused on the general topic of “learning/teaching”. This month, I will explore the general topic of “education”. Creating a link between both topics, I would like to start with this question: Does a teacher who only asks questions for their students teach them something? The short answer is yes, but I already know that you want more than just that. This teaching approach is often referred to as the Socratic method, named after the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, who was known for his use of questioning to stimulate critical thinking and facilitate learning in his students. To […] - [3 Challenges for the future of education](https://felipezamana.com/3-challenges-for-the-future-of-education/): A good teacher knows that must work well with the syllabus to be successful with the student’s learning. But how can we prepare our students for the future if we limit them to the “right answers” of the past? Learning normally comes from questions we ask about the world around us. Also, with computers getting better and better at giving answers, we need people who know how to ask good questions. However, most students are only able to ask basic or even obvious questions, even when the answers are right in front of them. Now, more than ever, we need […] - [The Discomfort of Learning](https://felipezamana.com/the-discomfort-of-learning/): Ken Robinson famously said that school kills creativity. But what it actually kills is curiosity. During our school years, we get used to having the right answer; so we get one that slightly seems like the right one and we are done with looking. This difference is what Julia Galef called the Soldier and Scout mindset: while the soldier will stick to the first answer and defend it, the scout will survey the territory and draw the most accurate map possible so he/she can see the whole picture. Another point is that, in the same measure that we don’t get […] - [Creativity Black Hole](https://felipezamana.com/creativity-black-hole/): Are you afraid of the unknown? This question can sound strange -especially to open the text- but I really had to start with it. In the last newsletter, I mentioned my fascination with the universe and even gave an example of Neil DeGresse Tyson talking about the shape of the earth. In this one, I would like to do a thought experiment and delve a little further into this universe metaphor for creativity. Please, follow me. In the standard definition of creativity, it is something that is both new and effective. To be new, it has to be something that […] - [Teach for curiosity](https://felipezamana.com/teach-for-curiosity/): How much do you want to know? The universe always fascinated me. I read and listen and watch everything I can put my hands on about stars, galaxies, gravity, outer planets, you name it. One (big) reason for that is that the universe is so vast and full of mysteries that one can hardly get tired of discovering. A second reason is that it gives you perspective. For example, the comedian Jerry Seinfeld used to have a photo of a galaxy hanging in his office to remind him that the work he did wasn’t that important -so why spend time […] - [The idea journey](https://felipezamana.com/the-idea-journey/): What is the path of an idea?Where does it start and end -if it ends at all? This is indeed a curious question -and an old one. Aristotle was one of the first to question it. Back then, he used his own mind as a subject for his experiments. He paid close attention to his thoughts and what path they took during his thinking. Every route and turn was noted. Finally, he concluded that our thinking is somewhat associative: the next thought follows the cues from the thought before. However, what Aristotle failed to notice was that our thinking does […] - [Innovation in the creative work](https://felipezamana.com/innovation-in-the-creative-work/): I normally don’t talk explicitly about innovation, especially because it is a product of creativity, so I rather talk about creativity instead. But since this month the central subject of this newsletter was “creative work” (in a general sense), makes sense to talk about innovation in creative work. In a nutshell, innovation means “introduce something new” (in-nova). But today, innovation may have embraced some new meanings. I recently came across this wonderful matrix by Jeroen Kraaijenbrink which made me think about where we can apply innovation in the workplace. Jeroen explains how both axis works: Inward-Outward axis Outward-oriented innovations are […] - [What makes a great leader?](https://felipezamana.com/what-makes-a-great-leader/): In my work, I cross paths with leaders and decision-makers all the time. Every time during these encounters, I couldn’t help but notice what behaviors made some leaders more effective in promoting creativity among their followers, employees, and/or colleagues. Based on my own experience and observations, but also in research, I listed some of the most indispensable characteristics these leaders have when dealing with themselves, with others, and with the world/society. Leaders with themselves They act with honesty and integrity, in all circumstances, especially when making decisions. They understand and recognize their own strengths and weaknesses. Also, understand that a […] - [The case for good jobs](https://felipezamana.com/the-case-for-good-jobs/): If you are from the Educational field, probably isn’t a surprise the number of programs to promote creativity in children, teenagers, and graduate students. This is great, really is. But one question that I keep asking myself is what will happen with those same youngsters when they join the workforce? Given this new education they are experiencing (and by new I mean not-the-19th-century-factory-like-traditional-one), how will the work culture treat them? How they will feel about getting a job? Or even, is the workforce ready for them? Also, we already have people in the workforce feeling bad about it -like, REAL […] - [What questions are we trying to answer?](https://felipezamana.com/what-questions-are-we-trying-to-answer/): One thing that I learned is to always suspect people who are 100% certain of themselves. In other words, those who do not acknowledge their doubts are charlatans. We simply cannot navigate through life without dealing with uncertainty -and the best way to do it is to ask questions. For example, in my book, I explored several perspectives of creativity history and research. I brought some insights, but a lot of questions as well. My goal was to provoke the reader to ask those questions himself/herself and pursue their own curiosity. And talking about questions and curiosity, I found this […] - [How to have productive conflicts](https://felipezamana.com/how-to-have-productive-conflicts/): In the last newsletter, I talked about the importance of using our anger as a source of ideas. To give continuity to this thought, in this newsletter I wish to talk about a more pragmatic way to use our anger: harnessing conflicts. Before you jump to any conclusions, I’m talking about good conflicts -after all, when everyone engages in tepid agreement is unlikely to generate much in the way of creative sparks. In other words, we need some disagreement to keep the juice flowing. In a Stanford study, professor Kathleen Eisenhardt and her colleagues found that working groups with low […] - [Ask your anger for ideas](https://felipezamana.com/ask-your-anger-for-ideas/): Have you ever dwelled on imaginary arguments, workshopping the ultimate comeback? If so, welcome to the Angry Ruminators’ Club. While most people see anger as a “bad emotion”, the truth is that emotions are a form of information. The question is what you do with the information. You need to find a way to channel these emotions into the making of the work. I used anger a lot as fuel for my work. Many times, I wrote about things that pisses me off -and most of my book are the result of these angry writing moments. More than just “having […] - [What is the value of your time?](https://felipezamana.com/what-is-the-value-of-your-time/): Time is our most valuable resource. That phrase may be common sense, but unfortunately, we continue to waste it. And not just our own time, but the time of others as well. But why is time, among so many other resources, the most valuable? For the simple fact that there is no way to recover once you lose it. Money, fame, purpose, dignity, meaning in life… all these things are recoverable, but not time. We can shorten or expand our perception of time, but we can’t go back. “Time waits for no one.” – Rod Stewart If we are looking […] - [How to Find the Time](https://felipezamana.com/how-to-find-the-time/): Have you ever thought “I don’t have enough time”? “Maybe if I better manage my time and/or be more organized…” you probably thought right after. Well, that will be great, actually. But there is more. Timekeeping might be a human creation, but it is curious to notice how it accelerates over time. In other words, what started as a way to keep pace with the seasons and crops, now the clock defines everything we do. For example, most of us are paid by the hour of work, and not for the actual value our work generates. Also, while working from […] - [A Manifesto for Slow Creativity](https://felipezamana.com/a-manifesto-for-slow-creativity/): The Manifesto for Slow Creativity: 1. Focus on direction, not destination Immerse yourself completely in the journey and you will reach your final goal gradually. 2. Raise your hand Asking questions is a fundamental human right. 3. Learn at your own pace Find your rhythm, find your flow. Don’t compare yourself to others. 4. Unplug You have the right to disconnect and move your attention toward what’s essential. Learn unplugged, far away from digital distractions. 5. Change your learning path (and mind) Don’t get too comfortable in the habit zone and start with changing the aversion to change. Think differently […] - [Idols and Rivals](https://felipezamana.com/idols-and-rivals/): When people ask me about my sources of inspiration and references, they are normally expecting me to say who my idols are. But I prefer having rivals to idols. The idol is admired for his/her accomplishments, personality, attitudes, or actions. Someone alive or deceased that we aspire to reach someday, be side by side with, be part of their inner circle -or have a poster on the bedroom wall. The rival, on the other hand, keeps us going in a different way. Having a rival is a fundamental human need -to be better than someone else at something is an […] - [Top Skills of 2023](https://felipezamana.com/top-skills-of-2023/): The famous Future of Jobs Report which lists the top 10 skills for the next years by the World Economic Forum was recently released. Creativity, which has been listed 10th in 2015 and 3rd in 2020, now appears in 2nd place on the list. Despite the trends in tech and sustainability sectors, the report reinforces the urgent need for reskilling. Skills gaps and an inability to attract talent are the key barriers to transformation, showing a clear need for training and reskilling across industries. Also according to the report, “strong cognitive skills are increasingly valued by employers, reflecting the growing […] - [How to Manage Creativity](https://felipezamana.com/how-to-manage-creativity/): It’s not hard to find someone saying that everyone is creative and anyone can learn it. But such a statement makes no sense to me. If everybody is creative, having to “learn” implicitly tells that you are not -that is why you have to learn it. What you really need to learn is how to manage it. For example, if you are in a toxic environment -have an authoritarian boss, deal with highly competitive colleagues, and do only shallow busy work- you will hardly be creative at all. On the other hand, if you are in a good atmosphere -have […] - [Why do we need creativity management?](https://felipezamana.com/why-do-we-need-creativity-management/): Most people think that creativity is something that just “happens”. Or worse, that “having ideas” does not require any preparation or prior knowledge. – How most people think creativity and the creative process work: “We will follow this linear path from zero to our inevitable creative achievement and eminence, and this is the magic formula that will get us there.” – How we should look at it: “We know where we are today, and we have a good idea about the near future, but it is important to recognize that the future becomes uncertain.” – How good creativity management works: […] - [Creativity takes time](https://felipezamana.com/creativity-takes-time/): What best describes creativity: a lightbulb or a lightning bolt? Answer: neither. These are how most people see creativity. However, both metaphors are just the final step or even the result of a whole process. And all this process takes time. Creativity researcher Zorana Ivcevic Pringle from the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence explained what this process looks like: “First, people have to regulate expectations of the creative process. They have to understand the nature of the creative process. (Creativity is hard! But sometimes what has to be done is also boring.) It helps to know what kinds of obstacles […] - [Do you feel pressured to create?](https://felipezamana.com/do-you-feel-pressured-to-create/): Nobody likes to feel pressured, and we usually associate pressure to create with something negative. However, depending on the degree of pressure and the degree of creativity, we can have very interesting results. In research by Harvard Business School Professor Teresa Amabile and colleagues, they developed the Time-Pressure/Creativity Matrix: Low Pressure vs. Low Creativity Everyday activities that you barely pay attention to. In the professional environment, these are repetitive activities that will soon be automated. Low Pressure vs. High Creativity Activities you do for pleasure. They can be something simple, like knitting or drawing, as it can be some side […] - [Creativity has seasons](https://felipezamana.com/creativity-has-seasons/): Now it is summer here in Portugal – and in entire Europe, to be more precise. It is curious to notice how the creative process operates a lot like the seasons; it also follows patterns. So, how can we learn to embody and flow with them rather than resist them? “How long will things be the same? Surely I will be awake, I will sleep, I will be hungry, I will be cold, I will be hot. Is there no end? Do all things go in a circle?” — Seneca Creativity In Summer Summer is a time of action and […] - [Why using AI is about ethics](https://felipezamana.com/why-using-ai-is-about-ethics/): When an AI creates, who is the creator: you (who prompted) or the AI? I’ve been reflecting a lot lately on the ethical implications of our creations, and artificial intelligence really highlights this need. Mainly because we can only grasp what AI will be used for in the future, most of its repercussions are still unknown to most of us. Recently, the denim brand Levi’s decided to use AI models to “increase diversity”. This initiative brought to light an important discussion about the contradictions in the use of AI by companies. If real people are left off the payroll, especially […] ## Pages - [Contact](https://felipezamana.com/contact/): You can contact Felipe via email at mail@felipezamana.com P.S.: The best way to stay in touch is to subscribe to the newsletter. FELIPE ZAMANA Professor, Writer, Speaker, and Researcher. His work aims to bridge academic knowledge and professional practice through Education. Read more→ SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER Join the readers who get Felipe’s essays delivered straight to their inbox every week: POST THREADS - [Speaking](https://felipezamana.com/speaking/): BRIDGING ACADEMIC KNOWLEDGE AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE THROUGH EDUCATION. That’s the aim of all his personalized talks and workshops: teach and guide decision-makers on how to optimize their creative processes, manage their teams more effectively, ask better questions, develop thoughtful strategies to improve performance, and structure their thinking to focus on meaningful work. With both scientific and organizational backgrounds, Felipe helps people and companies worldwide by deconstructing complex problems and achieving deeper results with limited resources. To inquire about rates and availability for in-person or virtual Speaking events & Workshops, contact Felipe here: PREVIOUS KEYNOTE SPEAKER & WORKSHOP FACILITATOR FOR: AREAS OF […] - [Posts](https://felipezamana.com/posts/) - [Books](https://felipezamana.com/books/): Where does creativity come from, and where is it taking us? We live in the contradiction of wanting to keep what we already know the way it is while, in the same measure, we yearn for news and changes. But this conflict between being conservative and disruptive is what makes the wheels of culture and society turn. As much as we like what creativity symbolizes today, it is necessary to accept that, like everything else on the planet, it is also constantly changing. With this in mind, this book proposes an interdisciplinary view of creativity, exploring it according to studies […] - [Publications](https://felipezamana.com/publications/): Contact Felipe to request a full-text .pdf of any items of interest below. ARTICLES Lamri, J., Valentini, K., Zamana, F. & Lubart, T. (2025). Creative work as seen through the ATHENA competency model. Behavioral Sciences, 15 (8), 1030. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15111469 Valquaresma, A. & Zamana, F. (2025). To infinity and beyond? – towards a more nuanced approach to creativity in the PISA creative thinking assessment test. Journal of Creative Behavior. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jocb.70070 Zamana, F., Lubart, T., Hanchett Hanson, M., Sundquist, D., Wechsler, S., & Rocha, K. (2025). How do students and teachers creatively engage within the classroom? Componential Profiles in Education. Creativity and […] - [About](https://felipezamana.com/about/): FELIPE ZAMANA is a lecturer, writer, speaker, and PhD researcher at the Université Paris Cité (Paris V – Sorbonne). His work aims to bridge academic knowledge and professional practice through Education, teaching and guiding students, teachers, and decision-makers around the world on how to structure their thinking to focus on meaningful work. He is the author of several international articles and publications, and his book Taking Creativity Seriously was nominated for the Jabuti Award, the Oscar of Brazilian Literature. Felipe Zamana gives lectures and workshops on creativity, education, leadership, and the future of work at companies, universities, and institutions such […] - [Blog](https://felipezamana.com/): FELIPE ZAMANA Lecturer, Writer, Speaker, and Researcher. His work aims to bridge academic knowledge and professional practice through Education. Read more→ SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER Join the readers who get Felipe’s essays delivered straight to their inbox every week: POST THREADS [comment]: # (Generated by Hostinger Tools Plugin)