If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It: The Story of Buzz Lightyear in Space

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 [...]

2019-06-19T16:58:26+00:0019 June, 2019|Creativity, Design Thinking, Innovation, Think Different|
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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! But that’s not to say [...]

2019-06-14T11:53:33+00:0014 June, 2019|Creativity, Design Thinking, Innovation, Think Different|
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Lessons from a Real-Life Aladdin

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 [...]

2019-05-23T13:17:19+00:0023 May, 2019|Creativity, Innovation, Think Different|
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Creativity, Intuition, Curiosity and Imagination: The Four Traits That Will Dominate the Workforce of the Future

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, [...]

2019-05-23T13:13:54+00:0014 May, 2019|Consumer Experience, Creativity, Design Thinking, Innovation, Think Different|
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What Pixar Shows Us About the Power of Storytelling

Several weeks ago, Pixar released the first full-length trailer for Toy Story 4. Though I probably didn’t need to tell you that. Quite honestly, this trailer was impossible to miss. From major TV and online news outlets, to nearly every single social media feed, it felt like the release of this trailer was the biggest thing since…well, since Toy Story 3 came out! Why? Why are we obsessed with a franchise whose debut film came nearly 25 years ago? What has caused us to fall [...]

2019-05-03T18:50:45+00:0029 April, 2019|Creativity, Design Thinking, Think Different|
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Rockets, Homes & Bones: How and Why 3D Printing Will Change Everything

Are we heading for another bubble? Spend any time at all on Bloomberg or CNBC, and you’ll inevitably come across the “Real Estate Experts” discussing the current state of home prices across to U.S., and how signs may be pointing towards another bubble. You know, the same one that kicked off in 2006 and triggered an absolute financial meltdown? Yes, that kind of bubble… Now, I am not here to discuss the rising home prices, or whether you should buy or sell. What I am [...]

2019-05-03T18:50:37+00:0010 April, 2019|Creativity, Design Thinking, Innovation, Think Different, Uncategorized|
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How to Get Big Ideas on Demand (and Have Fun in the Process!)

When I ask people where they are and what are they doing when they get their best ideas, I am invariably met with a list of common responses: showering, jogging, commuting, reading, falling asleep, gardening, etc. But in all the years of asking this question, never have I heard the words “at work.” Why? Because most corporate cultures do not believe in using one of the most useful Creative Behaviors at our disposal. A behaviour that primes our brain to think of its best, most [...]

2019-04-08T15:16:14+00:0012 February, 2019|Creativity, Innovation, Rapid Prototyping, Think Different|
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How to Leverage Your Childlike Curiosity for Innovation

How to Leverage Your Childlike Curiosity for Innovation Albert Einstein once remarked: “I am neither clever nor especially gifted. I am only very, very curious.” He went on to add that “It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education!” Think of some the most curious people you know and invariably children will come top of mind. And what question do children ask over and over again? WHY? WHY? and WHY? again. WHY? is how we learn. But unfortunately, once we enter into formal education [...]

2019-04-08T15:34:16+00:0008 January, 2019|Creativity, Innovation, Think Different|
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SuperDisneyMagicStory ExtraMaryDocious

SuperDisneyMagicStory ExtraMaryDocious This weekend marks the return of one of the most beloved film characters of all time: Mary Poppins. Flying back onto the screen after 54 years, Mary Poppins Returns is a sequel to the 1964 Disney original Mary Poppins – a film that to this day is one of the most adored, acclaimed, and award-winning movies of all time.  It’s not very typical to see a sequel emerge a full 54 years after the original. But then again, Mary Poppins is not your [...]

2019-04-08T16:01:35+00:0014 December, 2018|Creativity, Crowdsourcing, Design Thinking, Innovation, Think Different|
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Real-Life Superheroes

Real-Life Superheroes During my time at Disney, I spent a lot of hours working with the Parks team. With six worldwide resorts and a dozen unique parks between them, it’s one of the most complex systems I have ever encountered in my entire career. But while the system is complex, the mission was simple: bring fantasies to life. This was especially true after Disney’s acquisition of Marvel in 2009. With a universe full of amazing stories and characters, we were tasked with not only bringing [...]

2019-04-08T15:54:32+00:0003 December, 2018|Consumer Experience, Creativity, Crowdsourcing, Design Thinking, Innovation, Think Different|
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