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 [...]
If you’re like most, you spend a lot of time thinking about what you say at work… Did my question make sense? Was that email worded properly? What’s the best way to pitch this new idea? It makes sense to worry about language. Words matter. And in the context of your work life, they can sometimes mean the difference between being heard, and being ignored (or worse). But what about the flip side of all this? With all the time we spend thinking about what [...]
What business conferences can learn from Comic Con “How did I come to this?” This is one of the very first lines in the 1999 cult classic film Galaxy Quest. It’s uttered by one of the movie’s main characters, Alexander Dane, an esteemed British Stage Actor who – much to his dismay – is best known for his role playing the alien Dr. Lazarus on the popular, kitschy sci-fi television show Galaxy Quest. In this scene Mr. Dane, along with the rest of his castmates, [...]
The level of disruption that’s coming in the next decade is both exciting and terrifying. Artificial Intelligence expert Kai Fu Lee has suggested that upwards of 40% of jobs will be lost to A.I. in the coming decades. 3D printers have gone from a novelty to a tool that is redefining home construction, medicine, aeronautics and many other industries. Consumers tastes and habits are evolving at a rate we have never seen before in the history of commerce. While disruption has always been present in [...]
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 [...]
