Creative Convergence?

Oh europe
Originally uploaded by LCblake.

This picture sprang to mind when I read today's blog titled "The Hummer O2 concept vehicle" at Business Innovation Insider. But then I thought maybe this is a concept influenced by the prototype shown at Serious Wheels website?
Then I remembered Steve Job's comments on creativity:
“Creativity is just connecting things. You ask creative people how they do something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. “It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things.
And the reason why they were able to do that was that they’ve had more experiences or they thought more about their experiences than other people”

Combine this with Michael Schrage's statement   

"It is increasingly apparent how often people are lured into creative collaborations by 'charismatic prototypes' - prototypes that invite participation and enhancement."

Both the Hummer and the SMART concepts seemed to offered charisma. They certainly made it to market against conventional wisdom that would have rejected them both as they are both unconventional at the time of their launch- bigger and more in-your-face versus smaller and cuter. For every trend there is a counter-trend and the challenge is to spot the right trend for your organisation. Playing (seriously) with tangible concepts is a great way to help discover the right spot.