Lots of organizations rely on a Creative Director or Innovation Lead for their creative leadership. They’re theoretically given free reign to infuse the organization with ‘wild thinking, inspiration and a sense of the possible’. To them I say go, “good luck”. From where I stand,… Read More »Are You a Killer Creative Leader?
At the start of my workshops, I always ask the room to define the word ‘creativity’. Hands go up. “Thinking outside of the box!” someone always says. “How big is the box,” I ask, “and what defines what’s in or out of it”? This stops… Read More »Playing Inside the Idea Box
Confession. Until two weeks ago, I was a Blackberry person and suffered cruel mockery from all of my hipster iPhone friends. Even though I waggled my iPad in their general direction, their mirth knew no bounds. “How’s life in 2004?”. Sigh. If only they understood.… Read More »Power to the Brain Tweakers!
What good is an idea if you can’t actually ‘do’ it? I’ve always been an ‘idea girl’ – defined as someone who could easily come up with ideas and figure out how to make them happen. Was that always the case? Hell no. I started… Read More »From Dreaming to ‘Doability’
Sometimes coming up with a ‘big’ idea in the advertising / marketing space in particular isn’t a problem. It’s making sure you choose the right one to achieve your goals. I’ve been on both sides of this challenge; either so freakin’ enamored with my own… Read More »How to Make Sure You’re Onto the Winning Big Idea
There’s nothing like a cheesy sports analogy to make a point. So here we go. Just like in any A-league team, there are certain players who are celebrated for their amazing gifts. Beckham. Nash. Halladay. These guys are superheroes – able to personally achieve incredible… Read More »Why Problem Solving Is a Team Sport
One of the biggest challenges in creating anything original is overcoming the new vs. useful conundrum. When you go through the exercise of innovating, regardless of whether its a radical change to something or simply a new way of looking at an old problem, the first… Read More »The Wrongness of Rightness – Assessing the ‘New’ vs the ‘Useful’
Google “is brainstorming dead” and you’ll get about 1.9 million hits. I’m not sure which fact is more interesting; the number of results or the clear interest in trying to find the answer? And everyone and their cousin has weighed in on the discussion, from… Read More »Brainstorming: Dead or Misunderstood?
Desperately Seeking Combustion When you talk to business leaders like I do everyday, you start to get an eerie sense that perhaps they all work for the same universal company. They share the same fears, problems, barriers and ambitions. And they all approach them the… Read More »Ignite (Words from a Creative Fire Starter)