If I were to approach you with two different seeds and ask you to show me which one is a weed and which one is a flower, how would you know which is which? Do you think you’d be able to tell simply by looking closely at each seed? Of course not! The only way to tell is by planting both seeds and allowing them to grow. Initially, both will break the surface with a tiny sprig of green, and likely look very much the [...]
As an ideation speaker, I talk a lot about creativity and idea generation, as these are some of the most important skills I learned during my time as Head of Creativity and Innovation at The Walt Disney Company. More specifically, I focus most of my efforts on showing people how to make their business creative and idea driven. What I don’t speak about as much is why your business needs to be creative. Quite honestly, I don’t broach this topic frequently because it feels so [...]
Anyone that’s seen me speak or has read my blogs knows that there is a universal truth when it comes to creativity: we are all born creative. Though many may want to tell themselves that they’re not a creative person, or that creativity is best left to the “Creative Departments”, the truth of the matter is that we all have creativity inside of us. The problem is not lack of creativity. The problem is the lack of time to access our creative minds. Have [...]
Why is Mickey Mouse still alive? While I start off with the title "Why Marketing Will Be Dead In Less Than 10 Years" let's skip back to one of the worlds most iconic successes in marketing... Mickey Mouse. Sure, as a fictional character his life is much more resilient than us flesh and blood mortals. But still, how is it possible that 91 years after his introduction to the world in Walt Disney’s Steamboat Willie, that Mickey Mouse remains as popular as ever? Snoopy? He [...]
Simple Tips to Improve Creativity! Think back to when you were young. What was your favourite day of the year? Most of you are probably imagining your birthday, right? That special day once a year where you got extra attention, plenty of cake and ice cream, and of course, every kid’s favourite: presents! What child doesn’t love presents? But as you may recall, there’s something funny about kids and gifts. No matter if it’s a brand-new bike or the latest, greatest toy, most of us [...]
It was nearly 4am Monday morning when my mother woke us. Minutes earlier, I had been tucked in tight and fast asleep in our cosy English home. Now, along with my two sisters, I was being marched in my sleeping gown and plopped in front of the television. As I went to inquire about what was going on – my mother always making it a point for us to watch less TV, after all – I was stopped dead in my tracks. “Sit down, shut [...]
This week, one of the most iconic, successful film franchises of all time debuts its latest (and perhaps final) feature: Toy Story 4. I’ve written at length about the success of Pixar, and how they leverage the power of storytelling to create hit after hit, after hit. So, it should come as no surprise that I am a massive fan of the Toy Story franchise. In fact, for this Toy Story fan, the last few weeks have been a wonderful trip down memory lane. During [...]
The "What Happens Tool" - Using random stimulus to get new ideas Every day you are inundated with stimuli. Various people, places, and things of all shapes and sizes coming in and out of your life millions of times a day. More often than not, your brain filters out most pieces of stimuli as irrelevant to your immediate needs and/or the task at hand. This is evolutionary. How could you possibly focus on every little single thing that crosses your path each day? You couldn’t! [...]
More than 25 years after he first introduced us to a whole new world, Disney’s beloved Aladdin returns to screens this month, this time as a live-action feature. While one can debate the merits and challenges of remaking a classic, one thing is for certain: audiences everywhere will be flocking to theatres to fall in love with Aladdin, Jasmine, and Arabian Nights all over again. Why is Aladdin such a beloved story? Because it’s the ultimate tale of a diamond in the rough. The story [...]
The next decade promises to be one of the most disruptive of all time. We are in the middle of a technological revolution. And it’s just getting started. The technology rivers are growing stronger and faster by the day, and within the next decade, the dam holding them back will most certainly burst. Think about all the remarkable changes we’ll see! The advancements brought on by Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) alone will be amazing. From early diagnosis of diseases to automated 3D printing of countless goods, [...]
