SuperCreativity Podcast with James Taylor | Creativity, Innovation and Inspiring Ideas: Recent Episodes

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Episode Description Eric Ries built one of the most influential frameworks in modern business — the Lean Startup — and spent the next decade watching the companies it helped create lose their way. In his new book Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad and How Great Companies Stay Great, he asks a harder question than how to build a successful company: how do you build one that stays worth trusting?

In this conversation, Eric and James explore the invisible structural forces that quietly corrupt even mission-driven organisations, the concept of financial gravity, and why governance — far from being a compliance checkbox — is one of the most creative and consequential acts a founder or leader can undertake. They also get into what the Lean Startup's MVP concept looks like when applied to organisational design, and what any employee — regardless of seniority — can do right now to find out whether their company actually means what it says.

What's Covered The thread Eric has been pulling since his basement programming days — from code to platforms to management to governance, and why each step revealed a more powerful invisible force derailing people who were trying to build something good.

Why corruption isn't a moral failure, it's a structural one — organisations are emergent intelligences, more like superorganisms than machines. Without deliberate design, they will drift toward whatever the dominant external force is pulling them. Right now, that force is financial gravity.

Financial gravity explained — the financialisation of the global economy has made the pressure on organisations to chase short-term returns far more powerful than it was when the canonical management texts were written. Most founders don't realise how strong this pull is until it's already reshaping their company.

The two things organisations need to resist corruption — coherence (internal alignment between stated mission, legal purpose, business model and culture) and integrity (structural resistance to outside predators, including activist investors and acquisition pressure).

Why the exceptions prove the rule — Vanguard, Costco, Patagonia, John Lewis Partnership. If shareholder primacy were a law of nature, these outliers wouldn't exist. Their longevity isn't lucky; it's structural. Eric cites data showing organisations built with genuine purpose are six times more likely to survive 50 years.

The founder who felt like a vampire — a striking story about ego-identification with an organisation, and why the being that will outlive a founder is the company itself, not them.

The company that hid its heart — a "very hot" tech startup that had built a genuine mission around supporting hospitality workers, was embarrassed by it, kept it secret from investors, and eventually folded. Eric's read: they killed the one thing that might have saved them.

Governance as a creative act, not a compliance exercise — most board meetings are Kabuki theatre, pre-wired before anyone sits down. Eric's argument is that governance is where the real power lies, and treating it as box-ticking is how organisations end up hollow.

The read-across to nation states — James raises Singapore, the US at 250 years, and whether the book's ideas apply to constitutions and politics. Eric's answer is careful and interesting.

The MVP of governance — what's the minimum viable version of mission protection that a founder can put in place today? The answer involves a two-page legal filing and asking some very uncomfortable questions in your next meeting.

What every employee can do right now — ask what your corporate charter actually says. Then watch the reaction.

Key Takeaways * Corruption in organisations is structural, not primarily ethical. Unless an organisation is specifically designed to resist financial gravity, it will eventually be reshaped by it. * The gap between a company's stated mission and its legal corporate purpose is where the rot begins. Silicon Valley Bank had a highfalutin mission statement; its charter said "any lawful purpose," which under shareholder primacy means maximise shareholder value. Those two realities eventually collided. * The public benefit corporation conversion is a two-page legal filing. It takes roughly one podcast episode to complete. Most founders are told it's too early to bother — and then one day they lose the power to do it. * "It's always too early until it's too late." The hardest question in mission protection isn't what protections to put in place, it's when. The answer is always: now. * Organisations with genuine structural coherence — where purpose, legal charter, business model and culture are aligned — aren't just more ethical. They're also more likely to make significantly more money over the long run. * Every individual in an organisation has more power than they realise, because companies in the surveillance capitalism era are obsessively tracking every choice and KPI. That amplifies the impact of any individual action.

Quotes "No matter how good a management system you build, it can still be unwound so easily. One board meeting and poof, everything you built is gone."

"Health is a thing you have to do something to create. Illness happens automatically if you live an unhealthy lifestyle. For an organisation, corruption is what happens unless it is properly structured to resist."

"The board meeting isn't even the meeting. The meeting happened in the pre-meetings. The board meeting is a ritual reenactment of the meeting we already had."

"As soon as you create something valuable, you have created a more tempting target for it to be taken over. Your own success becomes a liability."

"They had to hide the heart and soul from everybody — which was so sad."

"I want you to be a real pain in the ass about this. The next time someone tells you the organisation has a mission to do something, ask them: is that what it says in our corporate charter?"

"If you work somewhere that is not worthy of your trust, don't work at someplace that's mission hopeful. Go find someplace that's actually mission driven. You'll be a lot happier."

Timestamps Time Topic 00:08 Introduction — Eric Ries and the new book Incorruptible 01:47 From basement programmer to governance theorist — pulling the same thread 06:18 Was there a moment Eric realised innovation alone wasn't enough? 06:48 Why we lack good language for talking about organisational character 10:33 The founder who felt like a vampire — ego-identification and the immortal organisation 11:43 John Lewis Partnership, Bletchley Park's women, and the origins of a different model 13:16 Shareholder primacy — a very recent idea, not a law of nature 16:47 What organisations actually are: emergent intelligences and superorganisms 20:00 Financial gravity — why the pull is stronger now than ever 23:11 Does this apply to countries? Singapore, the US at 250, constitutions 26:59 Fatalism as a political danger — we are always either building or destroying 27:59 Governance as a creative act, not a compliance exercise 34:20 The hot startup that hid its mission and eventually died 35:58 The MVP of governance — what a founder can do right now 42:26 Ask what your corporate charter says. Then watch the reaction 42:55 Where to find the book and Eric's work Resources & Links * Book: Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad and How Great Companies Stay Great by Eric Ries * Website: incorruptible.co — book ordering, downloadable resources, events, and speaker/consulting enquiries * Previous mention: Eric's earlier book, The Lean Startup * Related SCP episodes mentioned: Robert Hannigan (GCHQ / Bletchley Park), Professor Roger Neibone (Expert), Francine Baylor (bioethics)

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If there is one trait that will define who thrives in the age of artificial intelligence, it is not intelligence or technical skill.

It is curiosity.

In this solo episode, James Taylor explores why curiosity is becoming the most important human advantage in a world where machines can generate answers instantly. Drawing from research behind his book SuperCreativity, as well as insights from global leaders and AI pioneers, James explains why the future belongs to those who ask better questions, not those who simply produce better answers.

He examines the widening "creativity confidence gap," challenges leaders to rethink how they run meetings, and shares practical ways to develop disciplined, persistent curiosity inside teams and organisations.

In the SuperCreative age, curiosity is not a personality trait. It is a strategic capability.

Order your copy of 'SuperCreativity - Accelerating Innovation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence' today at https://geni.us/QiDBu

Key Takeaways * In the age of AI, questions matter more than answers * Curiosity is the fuel that drives creativity and innovation * Machines generate solutions, but humans choose which problems are worth solving * The real creativity crisis is often a curiosity crisis * Competitive advantage comes from asking what will not change, not just what will * Most professionals have stopped asking bold questions * Leaders should reward question-asking, not just answer-giving * A more curious room is a smarter room

Notable Quotes * "If creativity is the engine of innovation, then curiosity is the fuel." * "Your advantage is no longer what you know. It's the questions you choose to ask." * "Machines don't wake up wondering." * "In three years' time, when everyone has the same AI tools, what will be your advantage?" * "That gap isn't a capability problem. It's a curiosity problem." * "It's not about being the smartest person in the room. It's about building a more curious room."

Timestamps 00:08 – The one trait that defines success in the AI age 01:15 – Why curiosity separates super creatives 02:30 – "Curiosity is the fuel of creativity" 03:30 – Asking what won't change in a changing world 04:40 – Why questions beat answers in the age of AI 05:40 – Insights from global leaders on hiring for curiosity 06:50 – The creativity confidence gap explained 08:10 – Why most people stop asking bold questions 09:10 – A simple challenge to transform your next meeting 10:20 – Turning curiosity into competitive advantage 11:30 – Building a smarter, more curious room 12:20 – Invitation to explore SuperCreativity

Order your copy of 'SuperCreativity - Accelerating Innovation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence' today at https://geni.us/QiDBu

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Creativity is often misunderstood as inspiration. A flash of insight. A moment of brilliance.

But if creativity were just inspiration, it couldn't be taught. It couldn't be scaled. It couldn't be embedded into organisations.

In this solo episode, James Taylor introduces the structured framework behind his book SuperCreativity: the Eight P's. This model provides a practical architecture for developing creativity at three levels: individual, team, and human–AI collaboration.

James walks through:

• The foundational P's: Purpose, Personality, Practice
• The collaborative P's: People, Process, Place
• The future-facing P's: Product, Persuasion

Together, these eight principles transform creativity from something vague into something strategic and actionable. This episode is a blueprint for leaders and professionals who want to move beyond sporadic inspiration and build a system that consistently drives innovation in the age of artificial intelligence.

Order your copy of 'SuperCreativity - Accelerating Innovation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence' today at https://geni.us/QiDBu

Key Takeaways * Creativity is not magic. It has structure and can be taught. * The Eight P's provide an actionable framework for modern innovation. * Creativity operates across three dimensions: human, human + human, and human + machine. * Purpose strengthens creativity by anchoring it to meaning. * Personality helps teams understand complementary creative styles. * Practice turns creativity into a daily habit rather than a rare event. * People, Process, and Place determine whether ideas survive and scale. * Product and Persuasion are critical in the age of AI where ideas must be explored and aligned. * Structure beats sporadic brilliance. Collaboration beats the lone genius.

Notable Quotes * "If creativity was just inspiration, you couldn't build it." * "Creativity isn't magic. It's a skill." * "The Eight P's are the architecture of modern creative work." * "Great ideas fail because the process around them is weak." * "In the age of AI, the edge is not just generating ideas, it's aligning people around them." * "Structure beats sporadic brilliance."

Timestamps 00:08 – Why creativity is more than inspiration 01:15 – Introducing the Eight P's framework 02:10 – The three dimensions of modern creativity 03:00 – Purpose: anchoring creativity to meaning 04:10 – Personality: understanding your creative style 05:15 – Practice: building creative habits 06:20 – People: who you create with matters 07:20 – Process: turning ideas into execution 08:30 – Place: designing environments for innovation 09:45 – Product: exploring possibilities with AI 10:45 – Persuasion: getting buy-in for your ideas 12:00 – Turning creativity into strategy 13:10 – Why systems outperform sporadic inspiration 14:00 – Invitation to explore SuperCreativity

Order your copy of 'SuperCreativity - Accelerating Innovation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence' today at https://geni.us/QiDBu

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Sixteen years ago, standing backstage at London's Royal Albert Hall, James Taylor witnessed something that changed the course of his life.

From the audience, it looked like magic. A rock star under the spotlight. Five thousand people on their feet. Effortless brilliance.

But backstage told a different story.

In this deeply personal solo episode, James shares the moment he realised that creativity is not a solo act. It is collaborative. It is orchestrated. It is a team sport. That insight led him to step away from managing high-profile musicians and dedicate his work to helping leaders and organisations unlock their creative potential.

Today, as artificial intelligence and exponential technologies reshape every industry, creativity is more valuable than ever. Yet fewer people believe they possess it. James explores what he calls the "creativity crisis," explains the origins of his SuperCreativity framework, and outlines the three dimensions of thriving in the age of AI:

• Human Creativity
• Human + Human Creativity
• Human + Machine Creativity

This episode is both a declaration and an invitation. The future, James argues, will not be written for us. It will be designed by those who learn how to collaborate, imagine, and build what comes next.

Order your copy of 'SuperCreativity - Accelerating Innovation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence' today at https://geni.us/QiDBu

Key Takeaways * Creativity is not a solo act, it is a collaborative process * The illusion of "effortless brilliance" hides coordinated teamwork * We are living through a creativity crisis where demand is rising but confidence is falling * The most successful professionals today are not necessarily the smartest, but the most collaborative * SuperCreativity is the augmentation of human creativity through collaboration with people and machines * Creativity is not about being artistic, it is about being capable and relevant * The future belongs to those who combine imagination with collaboration * Creativity is no longer optional, it is the engine of innovation

Notable Quotes * "Creativity is not a solo act. It's collaborative. It's a team sport." * "From the audience it looked like magic. Backstage, it looked like coordination." * "Just as creativity becomes more valuable than ever, fewer people believe they possess it." * "SuperCreativity is human plus human plus machine." * "The future doesn't belong to the lone genius." * "The future is not written. It's designed."

Timestamps 00:08 – Backstage at the Royal Albert Hall 01:10 – The illusion of effortless brilliance 02:15 – The insight that changed everything 03:20 – Stepping away from managing rock stars 04:30 – The age of AI and exponential technologies 05:40 – The creativity crisis explained 07:10 – The pattern behind those thriving today 08:15 – The birth of the SuperCreativity idea 09:20 – Human Creativity: developing yourself 10:05 – Human + Human Creativity: building creative teams 10:50 – Human + Machine Creativity: collaborating with AI 12:00 – Who this book is for 13:15 – Why creativity is now the engine of innovation 14:20 – "The future is not written, it's designed" 15:00 – Invitation to explore SuperCreativity

Order your copy of 'SuperCreativity - Accelerating Innovation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence' today at https://geni.us/QiDBu

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What happens when scientific innovation moves faster than our moral imagination?

In this episode of the SuperCreativity Podcast, James Taylor speaks with world-leading bioethicist Françoise Baylis about CRISPR, gene editing, embryo research, relational autonomy, and the future of human identity.

From the controversial 14-day embryo rule to the difference between needs and wants in reproductive technologies, Baylis challenges techno-solutionism and genetic determinism. Together, they explore how ethical collaboration can shape better science, why consensus building still matters, and why the most important question in innovation is not "Can we?" but "What kind of world are we building?"

This is a wide-ranging, deeply human conversation about creativity, power, responsibility, and moral courage in the age of AI and biotechnology.

What You'll Learn in This Episode * What bioethics actually is and why it matters now more than ever * The real meaning behind CRISPR and gene editing * Why the 14-day embryo rule exists and why it's under pressure * The ethical difference between human needs and human wants * Why genetic enhancement raises profound social justice questions * What "relational autonomy" means in a world obsessed with individual choice * Why consensus building is not naïve but necessary * The one question Baylis believes every innovator must answer

Key Moments & Timestamps 00:08 – Introduction to Françoise Baylis and her work at the intersection of science, ethics, and public policy

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01:32 – Her origin story: an unexpected philosophy class that changed everything

03:48 – Why ethics must move from the ivory tower into hospitals, labs, and boardrooms

05:42 – Ethics as collaboration: how research teams can innovate beyond competition

09:51 – The 14-day embryo rule explained Why 14 days? Neural development, twinning, and value-laden decisions

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12:01 – What happens when scientists want to go beyond 14 days? Embryo models, stem cells, and artificial womb research

16:54 – Needs vs Wants: should we use gene editing to create genetically related healthy children?

22:42 – Editing non-human animals: are we appropriating everything for our own interests?

25:28 – Relational autonomy: why we are not isolated individuals but deeply interconnected beings

29:40 – Genetic determinism, tech elites, and the future of human enhancement

32:41 – Radical hospitality and collaborative ambition in science

34:00 – The most important question in ethics: "What kind of world do you want to live in?"

36:44 – Dystopian futures vs birth pangs of a better world

40:19 – Moral courage and what Baylis is working on next

Key Quotes from Françoise Baylis "We all have ethics. We learned them sitting on our parents' knee."

"Biology will never give you the answer. You're just looking for something to hang your hat on."

"Being really cool science isn't good enough."

"We have a moral obligation to respond to needs. We do not have a moral obligation to respond to wants."

"We are not just rational atoms bouncing around in the world."

"In ethics, there's only one question worth answering: What kind of world do you want to live in?"

"Are we witnessing the end of an era, or the birth pangs of a new world?"

Big Ideas from the Conversation 1. Ethics Is Not a Brake on Innovation Baylis reframes ethics as part of the design process. Instead of arbitrary limits like the 14-day rule, she argues for value-grounded discussions tied to research goals and societal impact.

1. The Danger of Genetic Determinism CRISPR enables profound medical breakthroughs, but it also opens the door to enhancement, privilege entrenchment, and a future shaped by those with power and capital.

2. Needs vs Wants in Reproductive Technology The desire for genetically related children may be deeply meaningful. But society must distinguish between moral obligations to meet needs and preferences driven by want.

3. Relational Autonomy We are not isolated decision-makers. Our identities and choices are embedded in relationships, communities, and power structures. This challenges the dominant "individual atom" model of autonomy.

4. Moral Courage & Consensus Building At a time of polarization and posturing, Baylis advocates radical hospitality, respectful disagreement, and consensus building. Even if consensus is never fully achieved, the effort strengthens society.

Resources & Links * Françoise Baylis' book: Altered Inheritance * Her public-facing website: françoisebaylis.ca

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Episode Description How should humans really work with artificial intelligence?

Pre-order 'SuperCreativity - Accelerating Innovation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence' at https://geni.us/QiDBu

In this solo episode of the SuperCreativity Podcast, James Taylor explores two distinct and highly effective models for human–AI collaboration: the Centaur and the Cyborg. Drawing on real-world breakthroughs like Google's AlphaFold and research from Harvard Business School, James explains why the future of creativity and innovation is not about humans versus machines, but about orchestration.

You'll learn how Centaurs strategically divide work between humans and AI to protect judgment, ethics, and accountability, and how Cyborgs tightly integrate AI into their thinking process to accelerate iteration and discovery. James breaks down when each model works best, how leaders can design teams around them, and why alternating between the two may be the ultimate creative advantage in the age of artificial intelligence.

This episode offers a practical framework for leaders, professionals, and creatives who want to move beyond experimentation and start designing truly SuperCreative human–AI partnerships.

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Key Takeaways * The future of creativity is based on partnership, not replacement * Breakthroughs like AlphaFold succeed through human–AI orchestration * Centaurs divide tasks strategically between humans and AI * Cyborgs integrate AI directly into their creative thinking process * Centaur models work well where accountability and judgment matter * Cyborg models thrive in rapid iteration, design, and R&D environments * Research shows AI collaboration can increase fulfilment and work quality * The most effective teams learn when to switch between both modes

Notable Quotes * "The future is not about machines replacing us. It's about partnership." * "AlphaFold wasn't machine only or human only. It was orchestration." * "Centaurs delegate. Cyborgs integrate." * "For cyborgs, AI becomes an expression of their thinking process." * "The future of creativity belongs to humans and machines working together." * "Leadership today means designing how humans and AI collaborate."

Timestamps 00:00 – Two models for human–AI creative collaboration 01:10 – AlphaFold and the power of orchestration 03:05 – Why the future is partnership, not replacement 04:20 – Harvard research on high-performing AI users 05:10 – The Centaur model explained 06:50 – Where Centaur approaches work best 08:10 – The Cyborg model explained 09:45 – AI as an extension of human thinking 11:10 – Happiness, fulfilment, and working with AI 12:20 – Leadership choices in designing AI collaboration 13:40 – When to switch between Centaur and Cyborg modes 14:50 – A practical experiment to try this week 16:10 – The future of SuperCreative teams 17:10 – Invitation to explore SuperCreativity

Pre-order 'SuperCreativity - Accelerating Innovation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence' at https://geni.us/QiDBu

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We love the story of the lone genius. But when you look behind the scenes of the most successful companies, discoveries, and creative breakthroughs, a very different pattern emerges. Innovation is rarely a solo act. It is a team sport, and it often begins with the power of two.

In this solo episode, keynote speaker and author James Taylor explores the science and stories behind creative pairs. From iconic partnerships like Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak to long-term research collaborations that consistently outperform solo efforts, James explains why sustained creative duos generate better ideas, stronger execution, and more lasting impact.

Drawing on large-scale academic studies and his own experience working with high-performing creatives, James breaks down why productive tension matters, how complementary roles strengthen ideas, and why the future of mastery lies in collaboration rather than individual brilliance. He also introduces the barbell model of mentorship and challenges listeners to find their own creative counterweight.

Pre-order your copy of the SuperCreativity book today at https://geni.us/QiDBu

Key Takeaways * Breakthrough innovation is far more likely to come from teams than individuals * Long-term creative partnerships consistently outperform one-off collaborations * Creative pairs thrive on productive tension, not agreement * The most effective pairs combine contrasting roles such as visionary and implementer * Collaboration sharpens ideas rather than diluting them * Research shows team-authored work is cited significantly more than solo work * The barbell model of mentorship builds resilience and perspective * The future of mastery requires shifting from an age of "me" to an age of "we"

Notable Quotes * "Innovation is not a solo act. It's a team sport, and it often starts with the power of two." * "Creative pairs sit at a point of productive friction." * "They don't dilute the work. They distil it." * "If you're trying to innovate alone, you're probably hitting a performance ceiling." * "Stop trying to be the smartest person in the room and start making the room smarter." * "In a world of increasing complexity, collaboration is the ultimate advantage."

Timestamps 00:00 – The myth of the lone innovator 01:05 – Why the power of two drives breakthrough ideas 02:10 – Jobs, Wozniak, and Ive as creative pairs 03:40 – What research reveals about long-term collaborations 05:15 – Why teams outperform individuals at scale 06:45 – Productive tension and complementary roles 08:20 – Visionaries, implementers, and creative counterweights 09:50 – The barbell model of mentorship explained 11:40 – Finding the right person to challenge your thinking 13:10 – Moving from the age of "me" to the age of "we" 14:40 – Building your own brain trust 15:50 – Invitation to explore SuperCreativity

Pre-order your copy of the SuperCreativity book today at https://geni.us/QiDBu

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The biggest myth about creativity is that it belongs to the lone genius. In this solo episode, keynote speaker and author James Taylor dismantles the centuries-old idea that creativity is reserved for solitary visionaries and artistic prodigies. Tracing the origins of the "lone genius" narrative back to Renaissance-era storytelling, James reveals how collaboration, not individual brilliance, has always driven breakthrough ideas.

Drawing on examples from art history, modern business, and his own experience working behind the scenes with world-class performers, James explains why creativity is a learnable skill rather than an innate talent. He explores why so many people today underestimate their creative ability, how automation is reshaping the value of human creativity, and what leaders, professionals, and teams must do to thrive in the age of artificial intelligence.

This episode is a practical call to action for anyone who wants to stop waiting for inspiration and start building creativity through collaboration, methodology, and deliberate practice.

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Key Takeaways * The idea of the "lone creative genius" is largely a historical fiction, not a biological truth * Many iconic creative achievements were produced by teams, not individuals working in isolation * Believing creativity is reserved for a few creates a widespread creativity confidence crisis * Creativity is not about being artistic but about solving problems and reframing challenges * As automation increases, creativity becomes a core human competitive advantage * Creativity works like a muscle and can be developed, refined, and scaled over time * Breakthrough ideas often emerge from friction, diverse perspectives, and honest feedback * The future belongs to those who collaborate effectively with both humans and machines

Notable Quotes * "The biggest lie you've ever been told about creativity is that it belongs to the lone genius." * "Creativity isn't about being the smartest person in the room. It's about making the room smarter." * "Creativity is a team sport. It lives in the messy middle of collaboration." * "Creativity is not a fixed trait. It's a muscle you can train." * "Friction is often where the breakthrough lives." * "In the age of automation, creativity is our most distinctly human advantage."

Timestamps 00:00 – The myth of the lone creative genius 01:10 – Renaissance storytelling and the origins of the genius narrative 02:20 – Michelangelo, teams, and the reality behind iconic art 03:35 – Why believing this myth creates a creativity crisis 05:00 – Why creativity is not about being artistic 06:15 – Automation, AI, and the rising value of human creativity 07:30 – Lessons from working backstage with world-class performers 09:10 – Why creativity is a team sport, not an individual act 10:40 – Building a "brain trust" instead of hunting for geniuses 12:10 – Creativity as a learnable, trainable skill 13:30 – A practical challenge to unlock better ideas through collaboration 15:10 – The SuperCreative age: humans plus humans, humans plus machines 16:20 – Invitation to go deeper with SuperCreativity

Buy the SuperCreativity Book at https://geni.us/QiDBu

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In this solo episode, James Taylor breaks down the core idea behind his new book SuperCreativity – Accelerating Innovation in the Age of AI. He explains why the common framing of humans versus machines is outdated, and how the real competitive advantage now comes from intentional collaboration with both people and intelligent systems. Drawing on eight years of global research and work with organisations across industries, James introduces the three types of modern creativity and reveals why AI doesn't kill creativity, it exposes unpractised creativity. This episode offers a clear, practical, and optimistic explanation of what it really means to be a SuperCreative in an AI-augmented world.

Key Takeaways * The "humans versus machines" narrative is false and dangerous. The real opportunity lies in combining human imagination with machine intelligence. * AI doesn't replace creativity; it replaces unexamined creativity. If your value comes from judgment, imagination, curiosity, and the ability to connect ideas, AI amplifies you. * SuperCreativity is intentional collaboration. It's the ability to enhance your creativity by working with other people and with intelligent systems. * The three types of modern creativity: 1. Human creativity 2. Human plus human creativity 3. Human plus machine creativity

• Most organisations underinvest in human+machine creativity. Designing for this third mode is where the strategic advantage lies.
• The future belongs to orchestrators. Those who can blend people, processes, and AI will lead innovation.
• One question to start with: How can you use AI to make you more creative and more human, not less?

Selected Quotes * "When people talk about creativity and AI, why does it always sound like a fight?" * "SuperCreativity is not about humans versus machines. It's about humans plus machines." * "AI doesn't replace creativity. It replaces unexamined, unintentional, and unpractised creativity." * "The people who thrive are the ones who know how to collaborate creatively across disciplines and increasingly with machines." * "The future belongs to those who can orchestrate creativity across people and technology." * "Creativity in the age of AI is not a competition. It is a collaboration."

Timestamps 00:00 – Why the creativity and AI conversation is wrongly framed as a battle. 00:38 – What James observed over eight years working with organisations worldwide. 01:12 – The birth of the concept of SuperCreativity. 01:27 – What SuperCreativity actually means. 02:06 – Why AI changes what's possible without replacing human imagination. 02:24 – The uncomfortable truth about what AI really replaces. 03:05 – The three types of modern creativity. 03:58 – Why most companies are stuck in the first two, and the opportunity in the third. 04:20 – What SuperCreativity demands from leaders and teams. 04:48 – The single takeaway James wants listeners to remember. 05:05 – A closing question to begin your own SuperCreativity journey.

Buy your copy of 'SuperCreativity - Accelerating Innovation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence' at https://www.jamestaylor.me/supercreativity/

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In this episode of the SuperCreativity Podcast, James Taylor speaks with Jonathan Brill, futurist in residence at Amazon, inventor, strategist, and one of the world's top-ranked futurists according to Forbes. Jonathan is the co-author of AI and the Octopus Organization, a provocative new book arguing that most AI initiatives fail because they are deployed into broken organisational systems.

Rather than fixing dysfunction, AI often amplifies it. Jonathan explains why traditional, top-down organisations struggle in a world of accelerating change, and why the future belongs to adaptive, decentralised, biologically inspired organisations modelled on the octopus. Drawing on examples from Amazon, HP, the US Navy, and high-growth AI startups, he shows how distributed intelligence, fast feedback loops, and cultural redesign are essential for building truly super-intelligent firms.

This conversation is essential listening for leaders, executives, and innovators who want to move beyond AI pilots and build organisations that can sense, learn, and adapt at speed.

Key Takeaways * AI is an X-ray for culture: it exposes dysfunction more than it fixes it. * Most organisations are built for a 19th-century world of command and control, not today's ambiguity. * The octopus is a model for modern organisations: distributed intelligence, local autonomy, and bottom-up coordination. * Operational innovation beats strategic prediction: change how you work, not who you are. * Junior employees with AI are radically more capable and need greater agency, not tighter control. * The next decade will favour diamond-shaped organisations, with a strong middle layer focused on sense-making and coordination.

Notable Quotes "Most companies are deploying AI into dysfunctional systems. All AI does is make those dysfunctions faster."

"The octopus doesn't change its DNA. It changes its operating system. That's the lesson for organisations."

"AI reveals your culture more than it changes it. If you don't redesign the organisation, the pilots will fail."

"We now have an army of Einsteins inside organisations, and we're still treating them like they need to be told what to do."

"The future of leadership is not control. It's coordination."

Timestamps * 00:00 – Introduction to Jonathan Brill and AI and the Octopus Organization * 01:20 – Why the octopus is the right metaphor for AI-era organisations * 03:30 – Distributed intelligence vs command-and-control leadership * 05:40 – Biomimicry, ecosystems, and learning from nature * 07:55 – How AI collapses coordination and transaction costs * 09:16 – Jonathan's personal story and early influences on systems thinking * 11:25 – Efficiency vs reinvention in AI adoption * 12:23 – Why organisations must change their "RNA," not their DNA * 14:40 – HP vs Xerox during COVID: a case study in operational resilience * 17:04 – AI as an X-ray for organisational culture * 18:26 – Why 95% of AI pilots fail * 20:25 – Lovable, the US Navy, and radically different organisational models * 22:31 – Will AI flatten or expand middle management? * 25:44 – Human development, leadership maturity, and decision-making * 27:55 – Fast feedback loops over grand strategies * 28:23 – One bold experiment leaders should run in the next 90 days * 29:57 – Book recommendation: Scale by Geoffrey West * 30:44 – Where to find Jonathan Brill and his work * 31:03 – Closing reflections

Resources and Links * Book: AI and the Octopus Organization by Jonathan Brill & Steven Wunke * Website: https://www.jonathanbrill.com * Recommended Read: Scale by Geoffrey West

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In this solo episode of the SuperCreativity Podcast, keynote speaker and AI advisor James Taylor reveals the real conversations happening backstage, in green rooms, and behind closed doors with global CEOs, board members, and fellow AI keynote speakers.

While public discussions about artificial intelligence often focus on tools, demos, and optimism, the private conversations are shifting to much deeper questions. This episode explores how leaders are redesigning organisations, rethinking decision-making, redefining value creation, and reimagining leadership itself in an AI-augmented world.

James outlines the five non-technical questions senior leaders are now asking about AI, why judgment and creativity are becoming more valuable rather than less, and why AI is no longer a strategy but an environment leaders must design for. This episode is essential listening for executives, senior leaders, and organisations navigating the human side of AI transformation.

Key Takeaways * AI is no longer a topic or trend. It has become an environment embedded into everyday work. * The most important leadership questions about AI are organisational and human, not technical. * In an AI-augmented world, judgment, sense-making, and values matter more than raw information. * When everyone has access to the same AI tools, value shifts to problem framing, imagination, and strategic choice. * Leadership is evolving from expertise and answers to clarity, direction, and organisational design. * AI does not replace creativity. It commoditises the easy parts and amplifies the hard ones.

Key Quotes * "AI is no longer a topic. It's an environment. It's a way of working." * "This is not a technological problem. This is an organisational design problem." * "Leadership has never been about having the most information. It's about sense-making." * "AI does not replace creativity. It commoditises the easy parts and amplifies the hard ones." * "AI is not the strategy. How you lead with it is."

Timestamps 00:00 – What leaders really say about AI behind closed doors 01:45 – From 'What is AI?' to 'How do we change how we work?' 03:30 – AI as an environment, not a slide deck 05:05 – Question 1: How organisations must be redesigned for AI 07:20 – Question 2: AI as collaborator, not just a tool 09:10 – Question 3: Leadership and judgment in an AI-rich world 11:05 – Question 4: Where real value is created with AI 13:10 – Question 5: What leadership really means now 15:20 – Why values matter more in the age of AI 17:10 – Final invitation to leaders: moving beyond the AI hype

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Episode Description In this episode of the SuperCreativity Podcast, James Taylor speaks with Professor Jonathan S. Feinstein, the John G. Searle Professor of Economics and Management at Yale School of Management, and one of the world's foremost thinkers on the science of creativity. His acclaimed new book, Creativity in Large-Scale Context, explores how creative ideas don't emerge in isolation—they evolve within complex networks of people, places, experiences, and guiding principles.

Feinstein shares why pure inspiration is rarely enough in today's interconnected world, and how individuals and organizations can navigate vast creative systems by using "guiding conceptions" and "guiding principles." From Virginia Woolf's literary maps to Indigenous Australian painter Clifford Possum's dreamings and Steve Jobs's design insights, this conversation reframes creativity as a dynamic process that connects the individual imagination with its wider context.

Whether you're leading innovation, designing strategy, or nurturing creative talent, you'll learn a framework for creativity that is structured, scientific—and profoundly human.

Key Takeaways * Creativity happens in context — Every idea is shaped by our networks of experience, people, and place. * Guiding conceptions provide vision — They define what's worth exploring before the specific idea arrives. * Guiding principles provide structure — They help us recognize and refine the key missing piece that completes a project. * Artists and scientists share the same process — From Virginia Woolf to Albert Einstein, the most creative minds balance openness with rigor. * Context builds confidence — Mapping your influences helps you understand where new connections can emerge.

Notable Quotes "We create in context. Every creative act is shaped by the world we've built around ourselves." – Professor Jonathan Feinstein

"A guiding conception is your creative compass—it points to what's exciting, even before you know what form it will take." – Professor Jonathan Feinstein

"You can't connect everything; there are infinite possibilities. Guidance helps you find the fruitful paths." – Professor Jonathan Feinstein

"Artists are far more conceptual than we give them credit for—they're constantly modeling ideas in their minds." – Professor Jonathan Feinstein

"Each of us follows our own unique path of creativity, but within a common human framework." – Professor Jonathan Feinstein

Timestamps * 00:00 – Introduction to Professor Jonathan Feinstein and his work at Yale * 01:19 – Why context—not just inspiration—drives creativity * 02:33 – How network models explain creative development * 04:23 – Economics meets creativity: viewing ideas as systems of value * 06:25 – From The Nature of Creative Development to Creativity in Large-Scale Context * 08:01 – Defining "context" in the creative process * 10:48 – Virginia Woolf and mapping the creative mind * 14:42 – Place as context: Indigenous artist Clifford Possum and the art of mapping dreamings * 18:19 – The need for guidance in large-scale creative systems * 21:01 – Guiding conceptions: vision before ideas * 24:16 – Guiding principles: Steve Jobs, Einstein, and the "missing piece" * 26:54 – Teaching creativity at Yale: why artists and engineers think alike * 28:54 – Creative pairs and his mathematician brother's influence * 31:25 – The Kandinsky cover: visualizing the network of creativity * 32:18 – His upcoming third book and the trilogy's big vision * 33:42 – Where to find Creativity in Large-Scale Context and connect with Jonathan

Resources and Links * Book: Creativity in Large-Scale Context – Stanford Business Books * Previous Book: The Nature of Creative Development * Website: jonathanfeinstein.com * Yale School of Management Faculty Profile: som.yale.edu/faculty/jonathan-feinstein

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The World of Creativity: Lessons from 75 Countries with Fredrik Haren Episode Description In this episode of the SuperCreativity Podcast, James Taylor welcomes back Fredrik Haren, the globally renowned Creativity Explorer and author of The World of Creativity: A Journey Across 37 Countries to Discover the Secrets of Creative Minds. Over the past 25 years, Fredrik has travelled to more than 75 countries, meeting everyone from artists in Afghan villages to innovation leaders in global corporations — all to answer one question: What is creativity?

In this fascinating and deeply human conversation, Fredrik shares the most powerful lessons he's learned from creative people across cultures — from Thailand's idea naps and Finland's love of questions, to Japan's Kaizen and America's "move fast and break things." Together, they explore how curiosity fuels creativity, why we must fall in love with the process (not the outcome), and how to un-alienate people to bold new ideas.

Whether you're a leader, artist, or lifelong learner, this episode will help you see creativity not as a skill reserved for the few, but as a global language of exploration, humility, and connection.

Key Takeaways * Creativity loves process, not product — The most creative people fall in love with the how, not just the what. * Curiosity is the fuel of creativity — In languages like Finnish and Bulgarian, the word for "curious" literally means "love of asking questions." * Developing vs. developed mindsets — Declaring yourself "developed" kills innovation; true progress means staying open and unfinished. * Un-alienate new ideas — To introduce radical change, make the unfamiliar feel familiar through gradual storytelling and empathy. * Balance exploration and reflection — Fredrik's creative rhythm alternates between global travel (inspiration) and quiet solitude on his private island (reflection).

Notable Quotes "You can't master what you don't understand — and most people don't understand the creative process." – Fredrik Haren

"If you want to be more creative, become more curious." – Fredrik Haren

"Don't be a developed person; be a developing one. Stay soft, stay adaptable." – Fredrik Haren

"Sometimes the smartest way to innovate is to make the alien familiar." – Fredrik Haren

"Creativity isn't about speed or slowness — it's about knowing when to go fast and when to be patient." – Fredrik Haren

Timestamps * 00:00 – Introduction to Fredrik Haren and The World of Creativity * 01:31 – What it means to be a "Creativity Explorer" * 02:55 – Why so few people actively develop their creativity * 04:22 – Loving the process: the German brewer's lesson * 06:18 – Creativity as practice, not performance * 07:56 – The student mindset and the power of curiosity * 09:52 – Cultural biases in creativity and the danger of "developed" thinking * 11:50 – Why progress stalls in the most advanced countries * 13:43 – The psychology of complacency and lack of imagination * 17:04 – "Un-alienating" ideas: how to make the new less scary * 19:45 – Lessons from Thai "idea naps" and Sabai Sabai philosophy * 22:35 – The neuroscience of rest and creativity * 24:20 – Fredrik's creative process: selective seclusion and exploration * 26:10 – Globalization and why sameness kills creativity * 29:46 – Cultural fusion vs. cultural flattening * 31:32 – Kaizen vs. "move fast and break things" — two creative speeds * 32:33 – Profound patience: creativity lessons from Afghanistan * 36:12 – AI, safety, and the speed of innovation * 37:04 – How to explore creativity without leaving your city * 39:30 – Storytelling, curiosity, and human connection * 40:29 – Inspiration vs. respiration: why ideas need to be acted on * 41:51 – Fredrik's current book recommendation: Breath by James Nestor * 43:05 – Where to find Fredrik and pre-order The World of Creativity

Resources and Links * Book: The World of Creativity: A Journey Across 37 Countries to Discover the Secrets of Creative Minds * Website: fredrikharen.com * Recommended Read: Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor * Connect with Fredrik: Search "The Creativity Explorer" on Google or LinkedIn

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Our Brains, Our Selves: How the Mind Creates Identity with Professor Masud Husain Episode Description In this episode of the SuperCreativity Podcast, James Taylor speaks with Professor Masud Husain, neurologist, neuroscientist, essayist, and author of Our Brains, Ourselves: What a Neurologist's Patients Tell Him About the Brain. A leading researcher at the University of Oxford, Husain explores how the brain constructs our sense of self—and what happens when that system breaks down.

Through remarkable patient stories—from a man who loses his motivation after a stroke to a woman whose hand acts with a mind of its own—Husain shows how identity, motivation, and consciousness emerge from the fragile architecture of the brain. Together, they discuss the neuroscience of apathy and addiction, the role of dopamine in behavior, the intersection of AI and neurobiology, and what it truly means to be human.

If you've ever wondered how much of "you" is shaped by your brain—and how much you can change—this conversation offers profound insights into the science of the self.

Key Takeaways * The brain builds identity — Selfhood arises from multiple interacting functions: memory, motivation, attention, and perception. * Apathy and addiction share the same circuitry — Dopamine links motivational cues to action; too little or too much disrupts balance. * Motivation can be restored — Dopaminergic treatments show promise for patients whose "will to act" has vanished after brain injury. * Attention is selective and limited — The brain filters vast sensory input, sustaining focus through the right hemisphere's networks. * We remain flexible — Even in adulthood, the brain's plasticity allows for self-directed change in habits, motivation, and mindset.

Notable Quotes "Our brains create our identities—ourselves. And when a part of that function fails, so does a piece of who we are." – Prof. Masud Husain

"Motivation is not just psychological—it's biological. It lives in deep circuits that connect desire to action." – Prof. Masud Husain

"Apathy and addiction are two sides of the same coin—they both involve the brain's motivation system gone wrong." – Prof. Masud Husain

"We can still learn and reshape who we are. Even in adulthood, the brain remains astonishingly flexible." – Prof. Masud Husain

Timestamps * 00:00 – Introduction to Professor Masud Husain and Our Brains, Ourselves * 01:24 – How neurological patients reveal the building blocks of identity * 03:18 – Why the self is a neuro function, not a philosophical abstraction * 05:24 – The brain as a "controlled hallucination" machine * 06:57 – Case study: David, apathy, and the basal ganglia * 09:54 – Dopamine, motivation, and recovery through treatment * 14:35 – Oxford study on apathy and brain activation differences * 16:23 – Apathy vs. addiction: the same motivation circuitry at work * 19:02 – Dopamine as the "wanting" transmitter, not the pleasure chemical * 21:52 – Attention, distraction, and why focus is so difficult to sustain * 24:50 – How Marvin Minsky's "society of mind" shaped modern neuroscience * 27:55 – The illusion of self: from Descartes to Buddhist philosophy * 30:12 – Case study: Anna's "alien hand" and body representation in the brain * 33:38 – Phantom limbs, body maps, and how tools become part of us * 36:01 – When machines become extensions of the self * 37:41 – How adults can retrain motivation and change behavior * 39:26 – Why the brain's plasticity offers lifelong potential for growth * 40:05 – Book recommendation: Principles of Neuroscience by Eric Kandel * 40:46 – Where to learn more: masudhusain.org

Resources and Links * Book: Our Brains, Ourselves * Website: masudhusain.org * Recommended Read: Principles of Neuroscience by Eric Kandel and James Schwartz

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The Creative Brain: Busting Myths About Creativity with Dr. Anna Abraham #361In this episode of the SuperCreativity Podcast, James Taylor interviews Dr. Anna Abraham, neuroscientist, educator, and author of The Creative Brain: Myths and Truths. As the E. Paul Torrance Professor at the University of Georgia and director of the Creativity and Imagination Lab, Dr. Abraham has spent decades exploring the science behind creativity and imagination.

Together, they dive deep into some of the most persistent myths about creativity—from the supposed link between creativity and mental illness to the popular idea that creativity is only a “right brain” activity. Along the way, Dr. Abraham explains how creativity actually works in the brain, what makes myths so sticky, and why everyday creativity is just as important as exceptional genius.

If you’ve ever doubted your creative potential because of stereotypes or wanted to understand what science really says about imagination, this conversation will change how you think about creativity forever.

Notable Quotes“Every myth has a kernel of truth—it’s the way the story gets told that flattens it into something misleading.” – Dr. Anna Abraham

“Creativity is less like magic and more like fitness—it improves with practice.” – Dr. Anna Abraham

“We like outlandish explanations for creativity more than the truth, because they make a better story.” – Dr. Anna Abraham

“The unglamorous part of creativity is the real truth: it’s a craft, and you have to keep working at it.” – Dr. Anna Abraham

Resources and Links Book: The Creative Brain: Myths and Truths* * Website: anna-abraham.com * Recommended Reads:

+ *The Creative Act* by Rick Rubin
+ *The Body* by Bill Bryson

Apple PodcastSpotify PodcastTakeaways Creativity & mental illness — There are links, but they are complex, nuanced, and shaped by vulnerability and environment, not destiny. * Right brain vs. left brain — Both hemispheres play a role; the metaphor is useful, but the science is more complicated. * Everyday creativity matters — Creativity isn’t just about lone geniuses; it’s about building your own creative “fitness.” * Precarity fuels vulnerability — From writers working alone to creative industries hit hardest by crises, uncertainty impacts mental health. * Creativity is a skill — Like fitness, it can be measured, trained, and improved with the right practices and tools. In his upcoming book, James Taylor delves into the transformative concept of SuperCreativity™—the art of amplifying your creative potential through collaboration with both humans and machines. Drawing from his experiences speaking in over 30 countries, James combines compelling stories, case studies, and practical strategies to help readers unlock innovation and harness the power of AI-driven tools. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to elevate their creativity and thrive in the modern age of human-machine collaboration*.

James Taylor is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, often booked months or even years in advance due to his exceptional expertise. Given his limited availability, it’s crucial to contact him early if you’re interested in securing a date or learning how he can enhance your event. Reach out to James Taylor now for an opportunity to bring his unique insights to your conference or team.

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CHAPTERS 00:00 – Introduction to Dr. Anna Abraham and The Creative Brain * 01:17 – Myth #1: Creativity and mental illness * 06:32 – Why myths about creativity persist in culture * 11:46 – Myth #2: The right brain is the seat of creativity * 16:35 – The metaphorical power (and limits) of right vs. left brain * 18:17 – Creativity and dementia: de novo creativity explained * 21:56 – Improvisation, jazz, comedy, and breaking the path of least resistance * 25:57 – Training yourself to disrupt automatic thinking patterns * 29:02 – Defining creativity for business audiences: creativity vs. innovation * 30:12 – The Torrance Test and measuring creativity in children and adults * 34:55 – Myth of the lone creative genius: why context matters * 39:42 – The most pervasive myths about creativity today * 42:50 – Practice makes the performance look “natural” * 44:25 – Book recommendations: Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act and Bill Bryson’s The Body * 47:51 – Where to learn more about Dr. Abraham’s work* TRANSCRIPT James Taylor (00:09)Today's guest is Dr. Anna Abraham, a neuroscientist, educator, myth buster, and the E. Paul Torrance Professor at University of Georgia. She leads the Creativity and Imagination Lab and directs the Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development. Anna's work sits at the intersection of brain science and human imagination. She studies mental time travel, the boundary between fact and fiction, self-referencing thought and how creativity works in our minds.Her latest book, The Creative Brain, Myths and Truths, pulls back the curtain on beliefs we hold about creativity. Ones like the right brain myth, the tortured artist stereotype, or that psychedelics are a shortcut and shows the truths underneath. If you've ever doubted your creative potential because you believed a myth or wondered how science can illuminate what actually helps creativity, then this episode is for you. Anna, welcome to the SuperCreativity Podcast.Anna Abraham (01:08)Thank you for having me. I'm delighted to be here.James Taylor (01:10)So Anna, what was your earliest encounter with a myth about creativity?Anna Abraham (01:17)That's a good one. ⁓ Probably my own. I've ⁓ always been fascinated by creativity, but the first time I got the chance to study it was during my PhD. the main impetus of my study was to try and figure out the link between creativity and mental illness. was my starting point. ⁓ And it's one of the, I'd call them myth truths is the way I kind of handle them in the book. ⁓of what is really the link between creativity and mental illness. And it's probably the oldest one of all of them, because it's existed since sort of the ancient Greeks thought about it. So that's probably the oldest that I have encountered and really been thinking about for decades now.James Taylor (02:01)And I wonder with a myth like that, obviously we have these different myths that have in society and the media, it seems to be one that the media often latch onto, you know, the young rock star that dies of an overdose, for example. So let's do some myth bustings in this episode. What is that? Is there a link, first of all? And if so, what is that link between this?Anna Abraham (02:29)So the interesting thing about the myth truth of creativity and mental illness is that there is a link, but it's not really clear what the directionality is, how strong it is. When we think about creativity and madness or mental illness, saying it that broadly is obviously a myth. But when we look closer, ⁓ there are certain types of disorders that are more associated with it. And there are lots of ideas about why that is. Some are sort of saying, well, when you're trying to be creative,exploring the unknown, you're taking a lot of risks, you're putting yourself, it's quite vulnerable to try and come up with new ideas that may or not, may not be accepted by the larger collective. So it's a, you're in the business of risk taking and potentially getting things wrong, or even if you're getting things right, it may not be actually recognized by others. So you're in a vulnerable position very often, depending on the kind of creative activity it is, it can be a kind of isolating experience. So if you think about writers, they tend to be more.at risk for a lot of mental disorders. They're the most at risk group. And if you sort of just think about what does it take to write a book, book of fiction, for instance, it takes, it's months and months and months or years sometimes of, you know, getting, being alone with your thoughts, trying to get it out there. And really the most, I think the tricky part is you can't force yourself.to come up with those lines. have to kind of come out of you. So a lot of it is pretty unpredictable. ⁓ So that's, you're dealing with a lot of precarity ⁓ at all levels from the creation side on one hand, and then the other side, which you have almost no control, which is, will people accept it? Will people like it? Will it bring me my bread and butter? Will I achieve renown through it? And so on. So that's the difficulty with the creative experience. A.you're putting yourself out there, you're trying to do something that's unusual, stand out in some way. You can't count on it coming in a predictable way, so there's precarity at that level, precarity at level of what you're creating, and then precarity at the level of it being accepted. ⁓ So precarity across these levels is associated with greater vulnerability. You you're much more likely to be more anxious then, ⁓ and so on. And things don't quite work out. There's only so much negative feedback you can get.without it really affecting you. ⁓ And the final thing I would say is also that creative professions as such are also associated from an economic, socioeconomic standpoint, a lot of precarity. It's the kind of position that's not seen as often associated with full-time employment. ⁓ We saw it at the time of the COVID pandemic. The first jobs to get hit was the food industry and the creative industry, right? Because everything just shut down.So there's also sort of socioeconomic precarity there. All of these things are vulnerability factors when it comes to mental illnesses. So that's what I mean by we don't know whether it is the process of pushing yourself out there, creating something that is a vulnerable space to be in. ⁓ Is it also just the situation of being a creative person in the world as it is set up now, where there's a lot of unsteadiness in your profession? What is it that leads to it? It might be a combination of both, of course.But that's, so we know that's related to certain forms of mental illness, but we don't know what's really, which way it goes. Or perhaps it's just way more complicated than we think it is. But so to just say that there's a link is somehow not satisfying because it seems to say like, if you do it, you're going to be more mentally ill or the other way around. That's not true at all. There's lots of people who have all sorts of ⁓ problems in terms of the mental health and wellbeing that don't go on to do anything creative. And there are lots of people on the other side who are pretty stable.So it's not an all or none phenomenon. And the more interesting story for me is to try to think about what is it about the act of creating, or what is it about the environment you're creating, and that pushes our vulnerabilities in a specific way.James Taylor (06:32)Sometimes I remember when I was first getting interested in this and you're reading like the Cambridge Handbook of Creativity and you're reading all these other books and all these wonderful books about creativity and it almost felt like there was two camps. There was the ⁓ kind of Elizabeth Gilbert, Julia Cameron kind of woo woo in a nicer sense. I can say that as someone who's lived in California but I love part of that. But it was a very... ⁓Anna Abraham (06:51)youJames Taylor (06:57)emotional kind of almost spirit type of energy way of thinking about things. And then there was the neuroscience folks and the kind of brain science that kind of were trying to bring it down to almost the singular. So you mentioned this one myth and in the book, The Creative Brain, you kind of lay out these seven in total, these myths as well. What made you want to write this particular book? Because you have so much experience in this area. You could have written probably about 20 different books on creativity.Why was this the book that you felt compelled to write?Anna Abraham (07:30)Well, the 19 are going to come as well. But this is the first one to come out. ⁓ Well, first of all, when one gets to a certain level of being a creative neuroscientist, and I don't know if this is true of all of us in the field, but certainly for me, when I started to do a lot more public engagement events, you know, speaking to the general public, I started to notice when you get away from your community and you're speaking to people who don't have a great curiosity about creativity, whichI I've never met anyone who's not. ⁓ And have a lot of notions about what it is. And some things started to consistently come out as things that people held to be true, such as the creativity mental illness link, the link between the right brain and creativity, psychedelics and creativity. And there was something else that fascinated me, not just the questions, but that even if you told people, well, it's not that simple. Well, it's not that, well, it's a little more complicated. It didn't seem to satisfy.a person's need to know what that was. And I thought, and that actually made me even more interested. Okay, there's a they've heard. I'm sure they've had a lot of myth busting from a lot of people. I'm not the first person to do myth busting when it comes to creativity, but it doesn't, it doesn't, it just falls flat. doesn't seem to, it doesn't even take hold. And I was very interested in why that was. So the book, I think was trying to make a case for, let's examine.I picked seven myths about the creative brain, myth truths I was always referring to it as, about the creative brain to think we have these specific notions, let's see how they started, let's do an archival troll, so to speak, when did they start, what do we know about it, and what is the best way to understand it? To sort of not see it as a black and white issue, it's right or wrong, it's myth or truth, but to essentially come to the conclusions I did in every single one of them, which is thatEvery myth has a kernel of truth in it. And it's about how the story gets told that it becomes flattened and like one dimensional in the telling of the tale. But if you actually explore the stories, it's really interesting what you learn about creativity and how people came to these assumptions about why this works in this particular context, why do psychedelics work sometimes, but not other times. ⁓ The story, the, you know, ourstory making brain is such that we highlight the things that work, not the things that don't work. Things that don't work are kind of boring, right? So there's something about our need for storytelling that it's not enough for us to tell people, for people to be satisfied. I said, well, that's not the case, but we don't really know. Nobody wants to don't know. They'd rather go with this is close enough, or it feels good enough, because I know when one of the big questions I always get is children are so creative, grownups grow out of it.And I'm thinking, why do you think that way? And they're like, well, let's say all eight year olds draw, almost no 28 year olds draw, right? So they're coming from a place of like sort of lived experience. They don't see it around them. They see a lot of children doing a lot of creative fun things. They don't see adults do it. So it's very difficult to misplace that notion and say that's not actually true that adults in general are not creative because it doesn't, and if I don't have a better story to offer in place.they're going to cling to the thing that's based on what they think to be true or what they know from their own experience or what someone else influential is told, you know, influential, I don't know, critic or whatever's told them. So that's the interesting thing about why we, it's almost a story, it's almost a book almost about why we like these stories ⁓ because a lot of these explanations are pretty magical and there's something about creativity that is so impressive, of course. ⁓ So fills us with awe and wonder that we also wantexplanations that kind of feed, you know, our representative are worthy of this thing that you're trying to explain. So we like outlandish explanations more than sort of boring stuff. So that's what the book explores, a little bit about what the myths are, why we think this way, and to get a sense of what the human brain does in terms of why it makes us want good, stories over truth. We like the poetic truth more than the real truth, so to speak.James Taylor (11:46)So one of those ones that we often hear people come up to you, if I'm on a plane and they say, what do you do? I said, I speak about creativity, innovation, AI. And they say, yeah, I'm really left brain or I'm really, I think I'm really more right brain. So this is one of the myths that you kind of myth truths that you kind of talk about in the book. So tell us this whole right brain thing when it comes to creativity, is there a kernel of truth in that?Anna Abraham (12:11)Yeah.⁓ There certainly is. ⁓ It's a very old story. It's one of the myth truths that was birthed at the time when ⁓ a lot of exciting work was happening in the neurosciences that were focused on hemispheric lateralization. And it was very clear that from patients with certain types of atypicalities who had to have certain types of surgery that severed communication between their left hemisphere and the right hemisphere to sort ofsolve the problem or at least make an intractable epilepsy and think of the past. You know, there were these sorts of surgeries that needed to be done. It's really strange that people were almost like completely themselves, even though this major surgery had happened where large sections of their white matter tracks that allow for the left and right hemisphere to communicate with each other in a way that's really fast and efficient. There are other tracks through which they can do that, but it's a little slower.people tend to be fine. And then when they did these sort of clever experiments, it became really clear that the left hemisphere was so important for all sorts of functions, right? So the first area, the first, let's say the throne of glory went to the left hemisphere and it came to things like intentional actions, language, and so on, which, and because we're human beings and we use language a lot, we think of it as sort of defining our species in very specific ways. And so,a really weird thing happened in that the right brain began to be attributed everything that was not, you know, goal-directed, everything that was more passion, thoughtlessness, everything else, almost as a sort of, there must be an area that does this, because there are people who are not as rational, and so on. So the right brain decided to get to be seen as like, it doesn't seem to be that important for the things that really matter, know, logic, communication, and analytical ability.⁓ And then came along ⁓ the idea that it was the right brain had something of worth came from the original team, the Roger Sperry team who found out about hemispheric lateralization differences. And I think it was because one member of that team, so it came from the group that was very respected as opposed to some random person, know, saying, well, when it comes to creative acts, and again, he didn't really havethe data for it. He was very, very ⁓ articulate person. He said, that, why am I blanking on his name? I am blanking on his name right now. But he said, and which is unforgivable, I'm sorry for that, but he, ⁓ I don't know why I'm blanking.James Taylor (14:51)Is that the-which is- maybe that's the part with the right part is memory. Maybe that's what it is. That's why we're going that way. Short term memory.Anna Abraham (14:57)⁓ It's deteriorating in real time. ⁓Well, he said was that the right and the left are both important. And the right is really important for certain aspects of the creative process, such as when you work away from the problem, the incubation stage and so on. He never said that the left is not important. All he said was that the right brain being delegated as this nothing-y hemisphere is incorrect. And it plays a big role in creative ideation.And so of course he's not wrong because if you do fMRI studies for instance, and so on, you usually find both hemispheres involved in some way, you know. Depending on the type of task, you might see more left or right depending on if it's verbal or if it's ⁓ a figural task and so on. ⁓ But that sort of revolutionized a lot. ⁓ That understanding that the right brain is really important potentially for creative functions. Again, he didn't really have a lot of data to show this.⁓ But it didn't really matter. ⁓ That was enough. And over time it went from, in no time it went from the right brain is important to the right brain is the seat. But none of the people who were talking about the importance of the right brain ever said that the left brain has no role. Just over time that that became the sort of, because it was neglected, let's give it a spotlight. The good thing about having that happen, even if it's not particularly correct,is that it led to real changes in the way curriculums were designed, for instance, because people thought, well, let's cater to both sides of your mind. A more holistic. Yeah, let's not just make everything abstract about something written on a board. Let's think of it as visual and auditory. And let's try and work with more multimodally in the classroom to... ⁓James Taylor (16:35)Holistic be a more holistic education education systemAnna Abraham (16:52)reach out to students, particularly those with issues, right? Have issues concentrating, have issues ⁓ perhaps even with learning and so on. And so over time, the whole right brain, left brain thing, I think at this point, ⁓ it doesn't even matter if it's right or wrong. It serves a purpose as a metaphor, you know? So if you and I were to want to do a collaboration together and we spoke to some company.It wouldn't matter to the company what's right or wrong. If I say, we want to engage in more right brain thought, they immediately get it. It's because this metaphor, it's just now the way we think about things. So it has become powerful because it's important, but not because it has any particular truth value in its extreme form, ⁓ but because it essentially caused a revolution in the way we think about human thought. And so it's become that placard fora more imaginative style of thinking means engaging the right brain in some way as opposed to this left brain, logical brain in someJames Taylor (17:56)there is also even within that let's say there's this kind of plasticity within that I know I remember reading years ago some patients with forms of dementia or Alzheimer's as they get further into their their disease as attacks different parts of the brain suddenly theybecome a little bit more creative. They start to paint and it kind of, you know, they're a little bit to the point where they maybe start to take off all their clothes, which can go a little bit maybe too far. so what's going on that that can be attacking, killing the right brain, you know, that just must be going for different, different things in the brain.Anna Abraham (18:17)Yes.Yeah, first of all, it's Joseph Bogan is the name of the man who started this all. Thank you, Joseph Bogan. So in the case of neurodegenerative disorders and many others, it's a, explore that in another chapter actually, because it's more than just the right brain and left brain thing. You see this interesting phenomenon ⁓ in certain types of dementia like frontotemporal dementia, where it was, think, first properly studied.James Taylor (18:37)Got there, we got there, we got there. We'll put a link to Joseph as well. work.Anna Abraham (19:03)⁓ in the mid 90s it started, where they noticed that ⁓ not all patients with frontotemporal dementia, which is essentially characterized by the atrophy of the most anterior portions of the frontal lobe and the temporal lobe. So the frontal pole and the temporal pole gradually started to deteriorate and depending on which area is more affected, there are different types of ⁓ subtypes of frontotemporal dementia or FDD.In a subset of these patients, they noticed something really strange. ⁓ In a subset of them, even though they had no prior artistic training or actually any particular interest in the arts, a sub, this small subset, but sizable, you keep seeing this again and again and again, they develop an incredible interest in the arts and start to engage and practice in the arts. It's primarily visual art.But there have been some cases of musical as well and just a few of literary arts, but it's primarily in the visual domain. ⁓ So it becomes like, ⁓ it's not just a passing interest, it becomes almost a compulsive interest in wanting to engage more and more in it. And it becomes everything that they do. So a lot of these patients, you know, perhaps they can't go back to what they were doing before, ⁓ but start to spend a lot of time painting, ⁓ sketching, doing things like that.James Taylor (20:25)Is that alsobecause maybe other parts language, other parts have been closed down? So they're looking for, almost like the brain's trying to rewire, trying to find an outlet for that, that's already within that person.Anna Abraham (20:36)Yeah,that's great observation. That's exactly what Dalia Zadel from UCLA, who studies this phenomenon of de novo creativity, would say it is, is that as human beings, really have a sort of powerful drive to express yourself and to communicate. And so when your most obvious form of communication, which is to speak or write, shuts down, that needs to...to express, to communicate, to be yourself, in some way is still there, that drive is still there. And so it becomes, let's say, operationalized through these other mediums that you weren't necessarily particularly exposed to. But after some point, that becomes your only way, because very often in these types of situations, slowly the ability to understand, produce language just slowly diminishes over time. And this continues all the way till the end. ⁓James Taylor (21:19)course.So thething that inhibits that, I'm also, wondering, so why anyone, you don't have to get dementia or forms of Alzheimer's to kind of go there. I'm wondering, like, when I, my father's a jazz musician, jazz guitarist, and I noticed something with great jazz musicians and comedians, they are almost able to switch something off in their brain that you and I probably have all the time, which says, don't do that.don't say that, it's almost like, it's like a train where suddenly all the paths are open and they can just go for good or for bad, because sometimes it can take them down tracks that they can't figure out how to get out of, but is that, is also what's kind of going on there and this creativity in general, is that something that we over time we can learn to just kind of switch off, to switch on, or is it something that's just we, what's kind of going on? Is it a chemical thing, what's happening?Anna Abraham (21:56)Mm.It's a good question. I think it's not studied in the lab and so on as much because it's impossible to. It's so in the moment, it's so unpredictable. Things that are unpredictable are very hard to study in neuroscientific labs. ⁓ as you've just mentioned, if you have any contact with people who are in the business of producing creative acts and so on, ⁓ that's part of who they are. ⁓ They have learned with time.James Taylor (22:32)in the moment.Anna Abraham (22:54)For one thing, what's really common to all creative people that I've met and I've read about and we live in an age where you can read so many interviews of all these incredible achievers. ⁓ They all differ in terms of their particular practices, but what they do have in common is that they're all incredibly reflective and curious about their own minds and how they operate. So they have what they've, you what you see is this metacognitive ability iswhat they have in common. They're really curious about how they do it. There these great interviews with Pat Metheny, who's improvising all, tries to improvise on a nightly basis, it seems, or something. And he creates, he writes extensive notes about, because he's very interested in getting into the flow state.Just because someone's trying to improvise and be there doesn't mean they're always doing what they think is the absolute pinnacle of what they can achieve. know, they seem to be doing great and we listen to it and it's wonderful, but for them each person has a certain bar. And to get into that state is a little bit outside their control, but they know the conditions that are more likely to lead to it. ⁓ The person who's talked a lot about this rather well about it, not a lot perhaps, is John Cleese actually. When he talks aboutthe, you know, he's got a little creativity book out that came out, I think, two years ago. ⁓ But he has this very famous lecture now online that he has delivered to, delivered in the 90s to like a business crowd. ⁓ And he identifies conditions that you create. And I think this is what I think all creative, like people who are in the business of trying to be, like, know, it's either their profession or they love to do it, whatever it might be. Recognize that they need to shift something.intentionally about the way their minds are going down. Because our minds are mind brains if you want.essentially work on the principle of the path of least resistance, right? So if you want to get out of your room now, you're not going to take a zigzag path, you're going go straight to it. That's just automatic. It's what you're going to do. And that's because our brains are that way. We're just not going to do things that are unnecessary. This is not a problem in our daily life. This is absolutely excellent for our daily lives. When it comes to creativity though, going down the path of least resistance means going to the same boring space. So you have to essentially disruptthese pathways, these normal pathways that you're on. And most creative people have some way of getting disrupting their own ⁓ ability to take the easy way out. And they do it a number of different ways. And so someone like John Cleese points out, for instance, as a writer, ⁓ what you need to do. You need to sort of try and get into the open mode, the space where it's more playful. It's a little bit.It's zany and so on, but essentially you have to create a space time kind of, what does he call it? A space time oasis where you understand that there's going to be that voice that tells you don't do this, don't do that, but actually just wait for it to die down. Yeah. And then engage. When I had the opportunity to try and do some workshoppy things with some really eminent creators, composers, writers, and so on.James Taylor (25:57)Yeah.Anna Abraham (26:08)I tried to like engineer some disrupt some things for them. And they were, I remember one of the feedback I got was just sort of like, had this work for you? They're like, well, you could have, you could have made it really hard for us and we would have still managed to step out of it and do what we do because we literally have to train for this, you know, to not, to just break away from the path of least resistance. If there's noise in the area around you, you still have to work through it. If, ⁓ you know, ⁓ if you have a deadline, you have to, you have to get this composition done by then. You have to finish your writing by then.You just, you can't create a perfect, ⁓ there'll be lots of situations where you know that something is going to disrupt your ability to do it. And even in like high performance athletes, this is sort of like why they will do a lot of visualization to try and visualize all of the possible things that could go wrong here or change and defer from what you've trained for, ⁓ at least visualize it so that you can get down that different path. it is definitely neuro, I mean, to say it's chemical would be probably too basic, but it's,It's a behavioral, it's a cognitive behavioral sort of top-down thing you do that just blows things apart. And that can come to you easily when you're with enough practice.James Taylor (27:20)You were mentioning John Cleese. I was doing an event actually in Stockholm in Sweden and I was staying at a hotel and I bumped into him because he was staying at the same hotel and I actually had a we had a conversation, I was asking him about it. And one of the things I remember he said, maybe on the well-known videos or something else I'd seen him, was this idea of like a lens focusing and defocusing. And...Anna Abraham (27:28)Wow.James Taylor (27:42)And something I often talk and I've delivered this, I've mentioned this in Bogota and Colombia and I thought they were gonna kill me on stage when I said it, but there was some great work by Martha Farrar, a neuroscience professor from the University of Pennsylvania, where she said she discovered that high levels of caffeine coffee will reduce the number of insights that you have.Anna Abraham (28:02)Mmm.James Taylor (28:04)And what I was explaining to the audience, I said, there's nothing wrong with caffeine, coffee's great. And I use it for like the preparation stage and I'll use it for the last stage, like when you're building something. But often in these middle stages, like going back to the John Cleese thing, you actually want to defocus your brain and caffeine works exactly in the opposite. And when you tell the audience, business audiences that, they go, ah, I get it. But what I know, and I don't know, because you have the joy of speaking to all these students every day and they're lit up and...Often the audience I have to speak, I speak to and I love speaking to are very grounded business audiences that are thinking about KPIs and pharmaceutical companies or whatever the company is. And so my job is to go there and make the case for creativity in an audience that might not necessarily think there's great value, maybe the advertising department or the marketing. So I'm normally going in, speaking of a technical people, mechanics, chemical engineers, mechanical engineers for example.Anna Abraham (28:42)sure.James Taylor (29:02)One thing I have to do at the very start is I have to define what I mean by this word creativity. Because in the language we often hear it's like artistic or music. say, well that's not what I'm talking about here. That is important. For me and the definition I give, which is one of many I guess, creativity is about bringing new ideas to the mind. Innovation is about bringing new ideas to the world. But without creativity there is no innovation. Creativity is the engine of innovation. So once you're to get them on that, the other one that often they go, they're surprised at,is that creativity is a teachable or a trainable skill, like a language something can be improved upon. And the thing, and kind of coming back to the work that you do, I talked to her about the Torrance test. And I could have measured all of your creative levels when you came in today using something called the Torrance test, and I'll do a workshop with you, and at the end, we could have measured your creative, and we'll see it increase. And a lot of people are really shocked that there is something that actually, that this is a measurable thing. So,We should probably first, like you are at the Torrance Center, so we should probably describe, first of all, who is Torrance? And we're thinking about creativity. What is this Torrance test? And does it still hold up today?Anna Abraham (30:12)Yeah. Yeah, so I'm at the University of Georgia and my position is of the E. Paul Torrance professor. ⁓ Upon his retirement in 86, his graduate student founded the Torrance Center for Creativity. ⁓ Torrance was an educational psychologist and he realized, and you know, for those of us who aren't necessarily in education, ⁓ he realized that something was being, was not.being focused on at all when it came to child development and the development of children's skills, which was creativity. People focused on math, on language, science skills, and so on. But there was very little focus on creativity. And he was sort of prescient in realizing that this was something that was really necessary in the time. And so when he started to do this kind of work in the 50s and the 60s, the 1950s and the 1960s.And again, very prescient of him. was very aware of a lot. That was kind of the golden age of, you know, from the fifties on to the seventies, maybe creativity research, just a huge amount of impetus of work there. And he was very much in touch with all of those ⁓ theories. And I think spoke extensively to all of the big people in the field there. And what he recognized was that for education, the field of education and practice to take something seriously, you're to have to devise a test because they onlyyou have to be able to pick, ⁓ create something measurable so that they know, we can target something, we can see a skill and we can see it develop. So again, very prescient in realizing that, it's great what the psychologists do in terms of like coming up with tasks and assessing creativity, but he took it a step further to say, I'm gonna take, I'm gonna devise a test for creativity, just like you have a test for anything else. And ⁓ it's still in use, it gets.⁓ re-normed every 10 years. The last norming happened just last year. And so it's all constantly updated. And he had a range of tests of which only two are really widely used now because they have a lot more predictive value than the others. ⁓ And that one is ⁓ the verbal test and the other one is the figural test. So things like the one sounds and movement and all are not really used as much, not for the testing of creativity. Certainly...You could use them for the engagement of creative imagination in a big way to use in classrooms and so on. ⁓ So the test is still in use. It's used very widely in the United States and some other parts of the world, Turkey, not in South Korea and so on, where there is a huge amount of focus on creativity as one of the many traits that might distinguish highly capable children ⁓ from others who are less capable. ⁓James Taylor (32:50)think Singapore,I seem to remember, were very big into, because obviously the PISA rankings, all these countries are obsessed about reaching the top of the PISA rankings.Anna Abraham (32:53)yeah.Yes.Yes, and speaking of PISA, PISA's last variant of PISA essentially added a new component which was critical in creative thinking. So ⁓ it's now part of the PISA measurements as well ⁓ to assess creative thinking. When you said Singapore and PISA, was like, because Singapore is part of that.James Taylor (33:15)Andmany of these tests then, they're measuring basically what we think like divergent and convergent thinking, your ability to do these different ways.Anna Abraham (33:23)Yeah.So I think what we have to be very careful about is like a lot of these tests, it's not, they measure very specific aspects of creativity. So there's some things that you can't measure through those test batteries because it involves, let's say, engaging in a creative practice in real time. doesn't test for flow. It can't because you have to be doing something to be engaged in flow. And you can ask about something retrospectively, which a lot of flow questionnaires do.⁓ So there's lots of things that can't be tested in that format. But the things that they do look at are your ability to think, come up with a lot of different ideas, think divergently, think beyond the obvious, beyond the path of least resistance. And the focus is really on children more than adults because that's kind of what is this population, ⁓ especially because the norming goes from like, goes across childhood to adulthood, but isn't.continue after that. Like a lot of tests, it doesn't matter if you're 18 or 24, how you perform on a test. But there'll be a big difference depending on whether you're 10 or 15, right? So...James Taylor (34:26)Ithink for lot of these audience, business audiences, they kind of go, okay, realize, where can I do this test? And so then I tell them, you go online, they can take this test. The other one, which I'm not sure if you can have spoke so much about in the book, but kind of links, it's almost the historical thing you spoke about at the start. And I quote this myth of the lone creative genius. And I think it works very well because most large organizations are...Creativity is collaborative in most work. And one of the things I sometimes do, friend of mine, Frederick Haran, who's a wonderful speaker, speaks on creativity as well. He asked audiences at the start, how many people you consider yourself to be creative? And he said, depending if I'm speaking in America or Europe or South Korea, it's gonna be vastly different. Where it tends to be in Asia and especially South Asia, they tend to vote lower. And...Anna Abraham (34:55)Yeah.James Taylor (35:20)One of the things that I often talk with audiences about is this idea of this lone creative genius test, which you said at the start, it's a good narrative, it's great. And then, and you'll be able to kind of probably correct me on this, the one I, my understanding of where a lot of that kind of came from, if you go back in many societies, it was always felt that we were...we were vessels for creativity. That could come from the genius loci as the Romans recorded, the places themselves had their own creative genius or community or your tribe. And then a guy called Giorgio Vasari wrote a book, Lives of the Artists and the Renaissance. And he said, no, Leonardo.is the genius, it's not that he has genius, but by doing that he kind of painted out all the contribution of the Medici's, the sponsors, the paint, the supplies of all the equipment, all the assistants as well. So this, is this lone creative genius, is that something that kind of comes up or is it really a substrand of like something, this kind of myth that we often talk about?Anna Abraham (36:02)Hmm.Yeah, don't think a lot of the person, the people who've worked a lot on that are people like, you know, um, Simon and Dean, Simon and people like that. So there's.I thinkJames Taylor (36:35)It's morecultural, isn't it? I guess more than it necessarily is scientific.Anna Abraham (36:39)Yeah, I think it's justin a time where I think a lot of the time you have to think about, were they alone by choice? There suddenly are people who are alone when they did it, or was it just not available? We live in a hyper-connected world, a hyper-social world. ⁓ So it's very hard to imagine the kind of person who would be sort of isolated in some little room.James Taylor (37:02)The Zen Master sitting on a mountain somewhere in Japan or...Anna Abraham (37:05)But it's there,right? Like there are certain types of fields for which that sort of solitariness is absolutely key to the, I would say it's not that it's a myth that it's there, it just depends on what type of creativity you're talking about, what field. I would say in the field of math, there's a lot of silence sitting around doing your thing, know, focusing very much on your task at hand. In writing, there's a lot of that. In music, there is not. There's a lot of, it really involves a lot.a huge set of people and increasingly more and more now as productions get more complex. ⁓ In writing, if you're writing a novel alone or a poem, that's a solitary thing. If you're writing for a show, there's a lot of group writing. So it just depends on the context and some content, you know, an athlete trying to get better and better, there's parts of it that's going to be very isolating, very, very themselves on their own trying to hone their techniques and others thatdemand that you are working with other people to hone your skills, to be able to react better and so on. So I think of this loan versus not loan question as a bit sort of, well, it kind of depends. The answer for me is a little bit banal because it depends on what you're trying to do. There are situations in which we would always say you need to get away and get into yourself. And there are others and it might be doing the same process and then other parts where you have to exchange. Soin a scientific lab. There are parts by your way and other parts where you're exchanging with others. And as they say, exchange is oxygen, right? Like, I forget who said that. it is, there is no one part that, and I think anyone who would sort of put forward that there's one part to being creative is going to necessarily be wrong. There are, if anything, many, many routes. If you are going to be entirely on your own, it doesn't mean that you can't be creative. Of course you can, yeah? And so on.James Taylor (38:56)I always wanted to have at-shirt, I always wanted to have a t-shirt, and you would go to, so I could go to these demonstrations about something, so someone was like very like fixed about, this is the right way, and another group was like, no, this is the right way. And I always wanted to have a t-shirt, which just said, I think you'll find it's a little bit more complicated than that. Sorry, because then, so anyone wants to make a t-shirt? Because it is, but what, I mean, you're teaching, you're around, you're...Anna Abraham (39:13)Please make that one.James Taylor (39:24)like lots of educated people, incredibly smart women, but what is the most pervasive myth of all these myths that you share in the book? What is the most pervasive myth, even amongst people that you think probably should know better?Anna Abraham (39:42)I wouldn't say any one. I think a lot of the problem of how people approach creativity, and I think that's, I will count it as a myth, is that they see creativity on one hand as this magical thing that they don't or don't have, and like, please give me a bullet. Can I take psychedelics and then become more creative? So there's...A real lack of understanding, I think, of what it is, and that's primarily because we're very, notions of creativity are very much based on what we think of as creative. And for some of us, we will be looking at musicians. For others among us, we will be looking at authors and so on. But just like people are very famous, and that gives you a very skewed understanding of what creativity is. For me, the biggest myth is a lot of our notions about what creativity is are mythical or not completely correct.because it's based on exceptional creativity. People who've done things that are incredibly important for their fields and have really received the recognition for it, which is like the top 5%. But there is creativity that is most of the things that are more interesting about creativity for everyday regular people is based on, would say, is general creativity, everyday creativity. And things there look slightly different.actually. And so that, think, is the main reason why they're so mistaken about what creativity is. And the second thing is, I would say, related to that is that people looking at exceptionality think, exceptionality, came to them easy, they're talented. All of that is all wrong, by the way. People at that stage have had to work so, so hard. And so part of looking at things that look amazing and otherworldly,makes us think that this comes to people easily. They've not had to work hard. And the other side is the unglamorous part of creativity is where the real truth is, which is that it's a craft. You have to keep working at it. It's actually better to think of it as akin to physical fitness. That, you know, we never tell people, well, don't bother running because you can't run as fast as the St. Both. That's exceptional physical prowess. What we're looking at is like normal physical fitness. And it's good for me.to try and run a little bit, even though they're not going to be the fastest, right? And so that's way to think about creativity is as more like your own creative fitness is about pushing yourself, but only doing things makes you understand what you are uniquely capable of. And that's where creativity is. A lot of bad focus on creativity, I think, comes from understand thinking of creativity as externally determined. Only if someone recognizes that I'm creative, am I being creative. That's also.very separate from what you create, what you come up with, because that's the starting point. The starting point is not how someone else sees it. The starting point is actually what you come up with. So there's just, for me, it's hard to pick on one because there are so many terrible notions we have about creativity ⁓ that come from a very skewed understanding. We're looking at a distinct few, ⁓ and we think about it as more simple than it is, if you see what I mean.James Taylor (42:50)Do it.The one Ioften think about is when someone says, ⁓ of someone who's very, they're doing an amazing job, whatever their field is, you're such a natural. It's so natural. And I think about someone like Nikki Glaser who did the Oscars, I think it was last year, the Emmys last year. And her performance, her opening monologue was so brilliant. And...but what people don't see is that she rehearsed that 87 times. She workshopped that bit, that 10 minute bit so many times. And someone like Michael Caine said, the practice is the work, the performance is the play. And the audience only ever see that tiny little bit at the front and go, it's so natural. It's obviously so natural. I guess that as a compliment because the person has put in those hours and it's made it like, I mean, I'm sure like when you write that book,Anna Abraham (43:23)yours.Mm-hmm.James Taylor (43:48)that is just the smallest part of all that research, all those years you've spent studying as well. As we start to finish up here, I would love to know, we're gonna talk about, we're gonna have links to your book and your work as well, but is there a book by another author just now that you've been, it could be related to creativity or even maybe a bit broader than that, that's really made you kind of rethink?this field that you're in, or you've come at it and it's just kind of like a breath of fresh air, or you've just kind of reconsidered ⁓ the world and the way you look at it in some ways. Is there a book that's been like that over the past year or so for you?Anna Abraham (44:25)book on creativity?James Taylor (44:27)It could be on something else, maybe obviously with your kind wide academic side as well.Anna Abraham (44:35)There are a few things. When it comes to a book on creativity, would recommend the active, oh my God, no, we're gonna have to redo this. What's his name?James Taylor (44:49)We'll put a link to it.Anna Abraham (44:53)What's it called? Well, it's Rick Rubin's creativity book.James Taylor (44:56)Oh yeah, it's cool. I know it's got the circle on it. I can see it now actually. It's called... Yes, I know the one. I blanked on it. The creative act, that's the one? Yes. Yes.Anna Abraham (45:02)Yeah. ⁓The creative act, the creative, is that what? Yeah, okay. ⁓I think that is.For me, I found that just very intriguing ⁓ because a lot of the time when you read interviews or the scientific work can get so divorced from what creativity is that it felt wonderful sort of listening to a practitioner, someone who really is in the business of creativity, but being able to recognize and of course constantly being the business of listening to things that are new, completely new and trying to figure out how thishow it makes you feel and so on. So I just liked the whole experiential nature of how he focuses on the creative act and really makes a case for that internal over the external more than anything else is the starting point. And I think very few, very few books ever do that. ⁓ So I think that was would count because that was maybe in the last year that I read it. ⁓ And more recently,⁓ In preparation for a class that I'm doing, started to read Bill Bryson's book called The Body. And that's been marvelous ⁓ to really get a sense of how incredible the human body is and how little we know. from what we, know, it's a nice sort of overview of all of our different systems and how much we think we know what we know and how much we get wrong and how sort of the early pioneers.in these fields, a lot of them were like absolute heroes who died in the cause and then others are just disgusting specimens who stole their students' work. It's just this wonderful sort of outlining of what it takes to build a field of knowledge and all of the remarkable sort of little stories in there, ⁓ including getting a sense of what our bodies are. things like, I don't know, the...James Taylor (46:52)Yeah.Fantastic.Anna Abraham (47:10)the brain in your gut, right? Like gut brain. When I started as a neuroscience student, we weren't really taught this, but there's so much now that we know. So it's just wonderful to read that, to have read that, to get a sort of renewed appreciation of how remarkable our physiology is, this thing that allows us to be creative. It all starts from the body, from within you. And that's been wonderful to, yeah, to have that reignited again, that appreciation.James Taylor (47:13)Mmm.Great, we'll put those links here as well. And finally, if people want to learn more about you and your work, we're have a link to the Creative Brain. But if they want to learn more about the research, the other things that you're working on, just now that over there in Georgia, where's the best place for to go and do that?Anna Abraham (47:51)Possibly my website is the best place, which is www.anna-abraham.com. ⁓ That's where I keep things updated, but people can always email me if they have questions.James Taylor (48:05)Well, Dr. Anna Abraham, it's been a pleasure having you on the SuperCreativity Podcast. Thanks for being a guest.Anna Abraham (48:11)Thank you so much for this conversation. The post The Creative Brain: Busting Myths About Creativity with Dr. Anna Abraham #361 appeared first on James Taylor.

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Tiny Experiments: How Curiosity Beats Goals with Anne-Laure Le Cunff #360In this episode of the SuperCreativity Podcast, James Taylor speaks with Anne-Laure Le Cunff — neuroscientist, entrepreneur, founder of Ness Labs, and author of Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World.

Anne-Laure shares her personal journey from Google’s hustle culture to a health crisis that sparked a radical rethinking of success. Instead of chasing fixed goals and rigid outcomes, she advocates for a mindset of tiny experiments—low-risk, curiosity-driven trials that build resilience, creativity, and self-knowledge.

We explore her insights on neuroscience, neurodiversity, and how curiosity paired with ambition leads to growth. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, leader, or recovering goal-setter, this conversation will help you embrace uncertainty, cultivate creativity, and design a life built on exploration rather than obsession.

Notable Quotes

“Success is not reaching a goal. Success is learning something new.” – Anne-Laure Le Cunff

“A tiny experiment has no fixed outcome. Your only goal is to show up and explore.” – Anne-Laure Le Cunff

“Curiosity without ambition is escapism. Ambition without curiosity is perfectionism. An experimental mindset is both.” – Anne-Laure Le Cunff

“We don’t need to fix brains. We need to design environments that fit different brains.” – Anne-Laure Le Cunff

Resources and Links

1. Book: Tiny Experiments (Penguin)
2. Website & Newsletter: Ness Labs
3. Recommended Read: How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan Apple PodcastSpotify PodcastTakeaways Goals can trap us* — shifting to tiny experiments fosters learning, joy, and freedom.
4. Curiosity + ambition = experimental mindset — a healthier alternative to perfectionism or cynicism.
5. Neurodiversity as strength — ADHD and nonlinear thinking can be powerful in the right environments.
6. Failure ≠ failure — experiments reframe outcomes as data and opportunities to learn.
7. Practical tools — “Plus, Minus, Next” weekly review and stop-doing lists can spark creativity and focus. In his upcoming book, James Taylor delves into the transformative concept of SuperCreativity™—the art of amplifying your creative potential through collaboration with both humans and machines. Drawing from his experiences speaking in over 30 countries, James combines compelling stories, case studies, and practical strategies to help readers unlock innovation and harness the power of AI-driven tools. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to elevate their creativity and thrive in the modern age of human-machine collaboration.

James Taylor is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, often booked months or even years in advance due to his exceptional expertise. Given his limited availability, it’s crucial to contact him early if you’re interested in securing a date or learning how he can enhance your event. Reach out to James Taylor now for an opportunity to bring his unique insights to your conference or team.

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CHAPTERS1. 00:00 – Introduction to Anne-Laure Le Cunff and Tiny Experiments 2. 01:18 – A health crisis at Google that changed everything 3. 04:08 – Hustle culture, identity, and immigrant family expectations 4. 05:57 – Leaving Google and family reactions 5. 07:34 – Startup life: why uncertainty felt scarier than overwork 6. 09:27 – When startup failure became freedom 7. 10:50 – Returning to study neuroscience out of curiosity 8. 12:40 – Curiosity, ADHD, and neurodiversity as superpowers 9. 14:57 – The first “tiny experiment” and the generation effect 10. 17:42 – Recall, connections, and building a personal knowledge network 11. 21:27 – Systems vs. goals and how tiny experiments bridge the gap 12. 26:09 – Redefining success: not binary, but data and learning 13. 28:53 – OKRs, KPIs, and where experiments fit in business 14. 30:53 – Non-attachment, curiosity, and Buddhist parallels 15. 31:57 – Curiosity + ambition: the experimental mindset matrix 16. 35:32 – The dangers of “one true purpose” 17. 39:54 – How to start your first tiny experiment today 18. 40:47 – The “Plus, Minus, Next” weekly review ritual 19. 42:03 – Recommended book: How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan 20. 43:21 – Where to find Anne-Laure’s work and newsletter TRANSCRIPTJames Taylor (00:09) Today's guest is Anne-Laure Le Cunff neuroscientist, entrepreneur, founder of Nest Labs, and author of Tiny Experiments, How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World. Anne-Laure has written a book that turns the ambition-driven, outcome-focused language of success on its head, arguing that curiosity, experimentation, and small trials are more sustainable and actually often more illuminating than fixed goals. From leaving a high-profile role at Google to building a thriving learning community,Her journey has been about reclaiming meaning, creativity, and self-knowledge in a busy world. If you're tired of chasing milestones and want to make choices that feel genuinely yours, then this episode is for you. Anne-Laure welcome to the SuperCreativity Podcast.Anne-Laure Le Cunff (00:55)What an amazing introduction. Thanks so much for having me, James.James Taylor (00:59)So I mentioned earlier, were early on in your career, you working at Google, so I'm wondering, working at Google with all that external valuations and what was the moment that you felt something fundamentally inside you kind of changed, that that linear path, those OKRs, those metrics, wasn't delivering what you thought it would?Anne-Laure Le Cunff (01:18)I loved my job at Google. I loved my team. I loved the projects I was working on. It was exciting work, very intellectually stimulating work. So it took something external. It took a trigger, a big change for me to notice that something was wrong. And that thing for me was a health crisis. So I was working at Google in San Francisco at the time. I was working pretty hard.I had a very long to do list, lots of projects, but again, just waking up every morning, going to work, and sometimes canceling social plans, but just getting things done. So one morning, like any other, I was in my bathroom brushing my teeth, and in the mirror, I noticed that my entire arm had turned purple. And so I went to the Google Infirmary, because yes, we had an infirmary on campus at Google, of course.And the nurse there had one look at my arm and said, you need to go to the hospital straight away. So I went to the hospital and the doctor said, we need to operate as soon as possible. You have a blood clot in your arm that is threatening to travel to your lungs. And in that moment, what did I do? I said, one second, let me check my calendar. So I...James Taylor (02:39)How?Anne-Laure Le Cunff (02:42)The doctors were telling me that I needed surgery as soon as possible, but in my mind, what was most important at that moment was to check that all of the projects I was working on were going to be okay, that my to-do list was still going to be taken care of. And I had this almost like out of body experience when you see yourself do something completely absurd. Who is that person who is having this response?to disinformation. This is when for me, I realized that despite the intellectual stimulation, despite the fact that I was working on very interesting stuff, something was really out of whack in my life in terms of my sense of priorities.James Taylor (03:27)So I'm wondering, like, what do you think, I mean, your upbringing was this kind of way of thinking about things, was that something in your family or did you, when you, I used to work in the Bay Area as well and there was obviously that very kind of hustle culture, quite long hours, very entrepreneurial, very driven, it feels like there, it's almost like part of the water when you drink the water there, you're kind of getting that as well. So where did that?You know, that first, that sense of, okay, no, actually the first thing I'm gonna do is I'm going to check my calendar and do kind of the business-y stuff before I actually focus on my health and my wellbeing. Was that something that just kind of seeped into your life, that way of thinking about the world?Anne-Laure Le Cunff (04:08)It's interesting because I've shared that story many times, but I've never really been asked the question exactly in this way. And it makes me wonder, it's kind of a chicken and the egg kind of story, right? Because what kind of people are the kind of people who are going to seek the kind of jobs and this kind of hustle culture that you have in Silicon Valley and then make that culture, that culture is not appearing out of thin air. Culture is made by people, right? But then it becomes this almostself-perpetrating cycle where because the culture is like that, then people feel like that in order to fit within that culture, they also have to have those kinds of priorities where work is more important than everything else. So to answer your question, I think that because of my background coming from an immigrant family where work was considered a very, very important value, I already had this sense in myself, the sense of identity that I was the kind of personwho gets things done. I was the kind of person that you could count on, that I was not the kind of person who would let their team down, right? So that was really important to me, even if at a subconscious level. And second, yes, absolutely, Silicon Valley is known for its hustle culture. And I think part of me, again, even if I hadn't really articulated that to myself in a conscious way, was scared that people would think less of me.because I was not able to deliver on the promises I had made at work.James Taylor (05:35)Now, at that point, you made a decision and for those people who don't know, getting to work at Google was like one of I know it's one the most competitive things in terms of getting in there as a role as well. so what was that decision and how did your coworkers respond when you kind of told them of your decision?Anne-Laure Le Cunff (05:57)I decided to leave, which as you've mentioned, getting this job was actually wasn't easy. And especially as someone whose English is not my first language, I didn't grow up in the US. And so I had all of these additional barriers. And a lot of my coworkers were surprised in the sense that, you know, why would you leave such a job? It was, it was such a great job, right? The most surprising, not necessarily surprising,response though, the reaction that was the hardest for me to manage though was not from my coworkers. It was from my family, from my mom specifically. She thought I was headed for the homeless shelter. She was incredibly worried that I would quit my job. And I can understand, I can understand where that came from. She went from feeling like she had done her job, that I would be safe, that I had a stable career.financial security to all of a sudden getting the news that I decided to leave all of that behind and to try and do something else.James Taylor (07:04)Yeah, I think that story or what you described there will be very familiar to a lot of listeners if they come obviously from immigrant backgrounds as well and their parents who obviously had to give up things in order to get the better for their children and then you make this decision, it's almost like saying, I'm gonna go and join the circus. It's like, what are you thinking? So you made this decision, what did you do next? Did you take some time out just to focus on your health or what was that next stage of your life?Anne-Laure Le Cunff (07:34)I wish I could tell you that that's what I did, that I took a little break and I focused on my health and I took some time to think about what I really wanted to do with my career and my life in general, but the truth is I was still quite young, inexperienced and more importantly,I was very uncomfortable with uncertainty. And so the idea of not knowing what I was going to do next was paralyzing, very, very scary. And so instead of taking that time to recharge and to reflect, I directly straight away jumped into the next socially sanctified adventure that...feels completely so normal in Silicon Valley that when you tell people you quit your job to do that, people say congratulations, which is starting a startup. So I left Google and I started a startup straight away. And again, looking back, I know now that it wasn't for any good reasons in the sense that some people start a startup because they're generally on the mission, generally on the mission to change the world.and they have this great idea that they're going to implement and bring to the masses. In my case, I started a startup because I was scared of not knowing what I was going to work on next. And I was scared of not having my identity tied to my work anymore.James Taylor (09:04)So you had this still this sense of got this goal driven way of kind of looking at the world. When did that change? When did that, as you say, pivot? You know, I'm talking about technology. When did the pivot happen for you to say, actually, this is not the best thing for myself, my health, mental health, and actually it's not actually maybe the best thing for the community that I'm trying to serve?Anne-Laure Le Cunff (09:27)Again, it took another external event. It's only when my startup failed that finally, finally, after all of those crossroads and wandering and trying to figure out what I actually wanted that I allowed myself to admit that I didn't know what I wanted to do next and I was completely lost. And in a strange way, this was the most freeing thought I had ever had, just...admitting that I was lost. And so I went back to the drawing board and I asked myself, okay, so you're lost. You don't know where you want to go. But what is something that you're so curious about, so excited about that even if you don't have an end goal, and even if nobody was watching, even if money and success and prestige were out of the equation, you would be happy to explore, to wake up every morning and to study and explore.just for the sake of it. For me, that was the brain. had always been curious about why we think the way we think, why we feel the way we feel. And so I decided to go back to university to study neuroscience, not with an end goal in mind, not to start a startup, not to plan the next steps in my career, just because I was curious about the topic.James Taylor (10:50)So you started to make that transition, you moved into a very different world, although actually I know Google employ lots of PhD neuroscientists because, and many of these like, meta, they all do in terms of how people use their products and services. So as you were going on that journey and you were kind of moving into this different phase of your life, talk to us about which part of, because it's such a big field in neuroscience, was there an area you found that really spoke more to you?Anne-Laure Le Cunff (11:20)Well, at the time I was starting from scratch. I had never studied neuroscience before. I had no previous degree in brain science or in science in general. So I really started from zero and I was as open-minded as possible in terms of topics. And I just went through the curriculum and started reading books every time. There was something I was a little bit more curious about. It's only when I finished my master's degree and I realized that I actuallyLoved it. I loved studying the brain and I wanted to keep going and I decided to do a PhD that I started re-looking into topics that I wanted to dive deeper into. And so I'm currently working at the ADHD research lab at King's College London and I'm specifically looking at the intersection of curiosity and ADHD, which has nothing, almost nothing to do with my current, my first book, Tiny Experiments, althoughI've had lots of people email me and say, ⁓ wow, your book is so neurodiversity friendly, which is so interesting because I think even though I didn't really intend on making it so neurodiversity friendly because I was doing this academic research on the side while writing the book, it has somehow seeped through and there is a lot of the tools are useful for neurodivergent people.James Taylor (12:40)Now we had actually a guest on the show a little while ago who was a former director of ⁓ GCHQ, the British Signals Intelligence Service in... ⁓It's Cheltenham, I think, is where GCHQ is. And he was telling me that of the thousands and thousands of people that work there in the intelligence services, doing all kinds of signals intelligence, a third of them would be classed as neurodivergent. So they have ADHD, they have synesthesia, they have different versions of, and he said for them, it's a, an organization, they think of it now really as these kind of superpowers, but also at the same time, but as a manager, they're having to like figure out how they do this. But like that curiosity, and I guess this is the scientific thing.There's you see time and time again and people that do things very detailed for long periods of time. The sense is a curiosity and almost a little bit where it kind of veers into obsession.Anne-Laure Le Cunff (13:31)Yeah, absolutely. And I mean, this completely aligns with the research, which is really showing that we tend to call these conditions from a medical standpoint, because a lot of people who have ADHD or as you mentioned, synesthesia, tend to struggle. And so we, from a medical standpoint, we treat them as if something was wrong with their brain. When in reality, what we see is a mismatch between their brain and the environment.So you don't necessarily need to fix anything with their brain. You just need to make sure or help them or support them in finding the right kind of jobs of environments that feel rewarding because the kind of hyper-focus that someone with ADHD can have can be really helpful in some types of jobs. The kind of nonlinear thinking of connecting random ideas that you also see in neurodivergent people can be really helpful in creative jobs.Equally in some other kinds of jobs where you really need to execute things in order A then B then C and follow a very strict process Maybe that kind of thinking is not a good fit and that's okay, right? It's really more about finding an environment that fits your thinking styleJames Taylor (14:44)Now your book is called Tiny Experiments. So when was the first tiny experiment that you ran on yourself that could show you could shift away from this kind of goal obsession to something different? And what did it reveal to you?Anne-Laure Le Cunff (14:57)I ran my first tiny experiment when I went back to university to study neuroscience. And ⁓ as part of my classes, we studied something called the generation effect. The generation effect is a psychological phenomenon that shows that when you create your own version of something, you're going to both understand it and remember it better. And creating your own version of something can take many forms.it can be writing a note in your own words. That's why teachers tell you actually write notes in your own words. I can see that you're doing that while I'm talking to you right now, the generation effect. It can be a blog post, it can be a podcast, it can be having an actual conversation with a friend where you're kind of forced to use your own words. And I thought, that's pretty neat. I want to apply this. I want to apply the generation effect. And so I designed a tiny experiment where I said thatevery single day for the next 100 weekdays, I would write a short note and publish it online. And the note would be about something I learned, something I studied in university. And to create a bit of accountability around my tiny experiment, I said, I'm going to have a newsletter also. So every week, I'm going to send the five notes, the five articles that I wrote this week to my subscribers. And...To me, this was a tiny experiment in the sense that there was no goal. I didn't have a number of newsletter subscribers in mind. I didn't have any kind of metrics in mind. The only action I committed to was to show up every weekday, sit down, write something, publish it, and that's it. And trusting that I would learn through that process of showing up and iterating.So I completed that experiment and ⁓ at the end of it, I also wanted to keep going. And today I run a business, I have a community, my newsletter has more than a hundred thousand subscribers. I got this book deal for writing tiny experiments with Penguin and all of that came out of saying, hey, what would happen if I just did that one action for that specific duration?James Taylor (17:16)And what did you notice in yourself? You mentioned at the start where this often has an impact upon ⁓ memory, for example, we're more likely to memorize something if we've written it down, know, with notes and we all taught this at school, know, to kind of, you know, write down in our own kind of work way. What did it do to your recall? And also I'm also interested to know what did it do with your ability to connect sometimes what we think is random ideas?Anne-Laure Le Cunff (17:42)In terms of recall, it's absolutely amazing. It's incredibly powerful. I noticed that if I have written an article, even if it's very short, 200 words, 300 words, if I've written an article about a topic, and I'm talking about old school writing where I wrote it myself, not clicking, a chat GPT didn't exist at the time, right? So I actually wrote those articles myself. If I wrote an article about a topic, even if that was five years ago,I'm not saying that I remember exactly everything the researchers said about the topic, right? But I'll be able to talk about it fairly clearly. And I remember most of the important ideas. And so in terms of recall, absolutely amazing. It also means I can have much more interesting conversations with people because I can remember all of this research that I've actually studied. And I can't, it's so funny talking about recall, but what's the second part of the question?James Taylor (18:32)I'm, yeah.it's actually, no, it's not funny. Funny, as you were talking about recall, I remembered I bought a book once and I was in London on business and I was staying at one of those terrible hotels around the Edgeware Road. They're all probably nicer now, but they were all terrible back then. And I was staying at this hotel, I was at a conference or something, and I went away and I left, checked out the hotel and I suddenly realized a few hours later, I've left the book.in the hotel. So I called up the hotel sheepishly and said to them, I left a book in the room, could you just check if maybe the housekeeper has picked it up? And the receptionist said, yes certainly Mr Taylor, what was the book called? And it was How to Improve Your Memory by Tony Boozan.That's not a lie. So I'm in sympathy with you just now. So the second question I was just saying there was, so recall was one thing, but in terms of seeing connections, remote connections between different areas.Anne-Laure Le Cunff (19:33)So actually as part, just, I think your question is interesting because this is basically how the generation effect works in the first place. By forcing you to use your own words, it also forces you to tap into your long-term memory to go and choose those words. And so it helps you create connections with existing long-term memories. And so add this new knowledge to your long-term stores. If you don't do that, it's just stored in shorter memory and then you forget it as soon as you don't need it anymore.And so I also try to reproduce that when writing my articles. If you go on Nest Labs and you read my articles, you will see that within the text, I always link back to previous articles as well. So this is something I constantly ask myself when I write something new. How does that connect back to knowledge I already have? How can I add this new piece of knowledge to my kind of knowledge network rather than having it as an isolated node?that is going to be much harder to recall because I haven't formed a very clear connection with something that is already in my long-term memory. And so by forcing myself to do this, at first it's hard, right? You're looking at your text and you're like, please, I just need to find one connection. But when you write every day and when you do that every day, it's almost like a muscle. It becomes much easier. And now when I write my articles, I almost see it.in the middle of a sentence, in the middle of a paragraph where I just see the connection with something I wrote three weeks before, six months before, sometimes two years prior to this article. And I'm like, yes, that connects to that. So it takes a little bit of practice. It's not easy at the beginning, but I think it's worth it. And it really helps you create this knowledge network that is unique to you.James Taylor (21:27)something you said there when you write every day or when you publish every day. So I'm a recovering goal setter and so I am obsessed with setting goals. In if you probably look at my journal just now, there's a whole bunch of goals. There's goals for today, there's goals for this week, there's goals for this month and then there's goals for the whole year and different segments. And I remember reading an article, I think it was Scott Adams, the writer a few years ago, wrote an article about⁓ Systems not goals. And I remember thinking about this idea that, okay, rather than obsessing about, say, writing a book...He said, no, you should just think about the process. So the process of rather than get obsessed with the outcome, you should focus instead on, okay, I'm gonna just go and write a thousand words a day. So it's just the process rather than the actual outcome. But I kept finding myself continuing wanting to steer back to the comfort of having those kind of fixed goals. So what advice would you give for someone like myself to embrace a little bit uncertainty, to start perhaps with a little bit, without a little bit of clarity?and their goals, how do you coach someone who's deeply uncomfortable with not knowing to build tolerance for that space?Anne-Laure Le Cunff (22:40)I think that's why tiny experiments work so well for recovering goal setters. I love that, recovering goal setters. So what you described, the first kind of system that you described is more akin to a routine or habit in the sense that you're committing to this action forever. You're saying every day I'm going to do this or every week I'm going to do this. I'm going to write those thousand words. And I think...it's very difficult for people to commit to something that is forever. we change, our life circumstances change, our ambitions change, a lot of things change around us. And so it almost doesn't make sense to commit to something forever. A tiny experiment doesn't have an end goal in the sense that if you say, I'm going to write a newsletter, you don't have the end goal of saying, I'm going to have 25,000 subscribers by the end of the year. But...a tiny experiment has a specific duration you commit to. So you say, I will write one weekly newsletter until the end of the year. And you can almost think of that as a goal. Your goal is just to show up. Your goal is just to write the weekly newsletter until the end of the year. And if you're someone who does like feeling like you have a bit of control, you have a little bit of visibility, I always tell people,Do you need a spreadsheet? Go ahead, create a spreadsheet. You can have a spreadsheet and for every week, you have the date, you have the number of words that you wrote that week, and you have your observations. Just like a scientist, how did that feel? Do you like what you wrote this week? How did people react to it? So again, really thinking about the internal and external signals, what you liked about it, but also what other people liked about it. So you can find that nice Venn diagram where you enjoy your work.but people benefit from it. And you track that for the six weeks or 12 weeks or however long the duration of your experiment. So it's a nice in-between where it's not about, people think sometimes when I talk about developing an experimental mindset that is just about doing whatever and just la-da-da without any structure, but scientists have protocols. There is a little bit of structure. So it's a nice in-between. If you're someone who needs a little bit of certainty,but you still want to benefit from the openness of trying something without clinging to an end goal, a tiny experiment can be really good framework.James Taylor (25:07)Something I tried recently was, of what you're talking about there was thinking in terms of seasons, so winter, spring, summer, fall, ⁓ and saying, okay, I'm just gonna focus, this is gonna be my winter project or my summer project. And then, and that was kind of going well for a little while, until I actually moved to a completely different country. I moved from Europe where I am just now.to Dubai, and I was like, okay, I'm gonna do my deep project, my deep work project in the winter. And I tried to do that in Dubai, and their winter is basically our summer, winter is when you kind of do everything, summer is when you go inside and you don't go out. So, ⁓ okay, I've got my seasons all wrong. So I had to kind of recalibrate a little bit. When you were kind of working through all this yourself as well,and working with clients, what mental scripts or cultural expectations perhaps push back hardest when someone tries to live a little bit more experimentally and how do you overcome them?Anne-Laure Le Cunff (26:09)Mostly it's our definition of success in general. We tend to tie success to a very binary definition where we set a goal and if we reach that goal, this is success. And if we don't, this is failure. What I need when I work with companies, when I help them implement those frameworks, I need to...encourage them to reset their definition of success to success is not reaching a specific destination, success is learning something new. So just like scientists don't conduct experiments when they already know the outcome, there would be no point experimenting if you know exactly what's going to happen. In real life too, we never exactly know what the outcome is going to be, but it looksnicer on PowerPoint presentations when we have those KPIs and those OKRs. What then happens, and we've all experienced that, is that we very rarely hit those targets. And then we spend a lot of time and energy as a team trying to craft a nice narrative that explains why we didn't hit those targets. We would save a lot of resources if instead we said, here's a hypothesis.We're not sure it's going to work, but that's the hypothesis we have. We think this is going to be helpful. Let's give it a try for this duration and let's regroup at the end. Just like you have those scientific debriefing meetings and say, here's what the data is saying. And maybe the data says we were completely wrong, but now we know. And this is great because we can use that data to run our next experiment. But again, for that, you really need to let go of that binary definition of success.upon which a lot of the way we conduct business and live our lives in general is designed.James Taylor (28:10)Often when I think that you see this word like a business plan and as if it's like a focused thing or a forecast or, and often I just think it's guesses really. It's maybe good guesses, not so good guesses because you work also, I guess with your background, you have a lot of clients that are in that.they're in the tech space, for example, where something like, I know Google, like John Doerr, like OKRs, objectives and key results becomes a very key framework, is what you teach around this idea of tiny experiments, is it the very antithesis of this kind of OKR space, or can actually be layered onto it and work together?Anne-Laure Le Cunff (28:53)they actually work great together. The problem I have is when we use OKRs and KPIs for everything without questioning it. And OKRs and KPIs can actually work really well in situations where you have a really good idea of what you want to achieve and how to do it. So there are situations where maybe you have a sales pipeline that is very solid and it is really just a matter of picking up the phone, reading your script.and calling as many people as possible. And then we know that we have an X percent conversion rate and this is great. And in that case, you know what, just do it. Maybe experimenting in this case is going to take more energy than needed when you have something that already works really well. And even then, you could argue that maybe a little bit of experimentation for a small percentage of your clients, of your prospects could be helpful.The problem is we're treating every single project as if we knew exactly what we wanted to achieve and how to do it. And that's not the case. We know that in today's world, things are changing way too fast for us to have that kind of certainty. And so that certainty we have is just an illusion. So that's what I'm encouraging people to do is to at any given point to have at least one tiny experiment running. That's it forProjects where you have already a really good system things are working you have that kind of clarity Go ahead use the OKR as use your KPS, but I really challenge you to You know, they're saying that that's the case for everything you're working on I'm sure there are areas of uncertainty and those areas of uncertainty are areas where there's potential for growth You just need to experiment to try and figure out what might work what might not work and againIn those cases, let go of the binary definition of success, accept failure as an opportunity for learning.James Taylor (30:53)I'm guessing your book would also resonate with a lot of people who come from maybe a Buddhist background as well, this idea of letting go, not being attached to the outcome, still doing it and giving yourself and being passionate about it, but not getting overly attached. I mean, I think this in the West, this is quite a, I feel it's quite a hard concept.to get a sense of like this attachment and non-attachment. I remember asking a monk once, a monastery, said, I can't get my head around this idea. And he said, well, it's a bit like when you're driving where, you know, if you hold the steering wheel too tight, you're gonna crash. But also if you hold it too loose, you're gonna crash. So he it's finding that balance. I'm wondering like, as you're in the book, there stories there where you share maybe someone that was maybe a little bitabout this idea, this tiny experiment idea could work for them, but a change happened and what was the shift that happened for them?Anne-Laure Le Cunff (31:57)A lot of the people I work with are initially a little bit skeptical, actually. And I understand why, especially for people where having this more... So I have a little visual in the book that's very popular. It gets shared a lot on social media and it shows what the experimental mindset is. And this is very aligned with what you were saying. So...I have those two, it's like a matrix and it's like curiosity versus ambition. And what I explained is that if you have low curiosity, low ambition, that's just cynicism, right? It's just, don't care about anything. You don't even want to try. If you have high curiosity, you want to explore, you want to try new things. You're pretty adventurous, but you don't want to put in the necessary efforts to fulfill your potential.that is escapism. If you're high ambition and low curiosity, so you're okay working really, really hard, but you almost see curiosity as a distraction from your goals. That's perfectionism. And then an experimental mindset is high ambition, high curiosity. That means that yes, you're very happy to work hard and to really invest the necessary effort to do interesting things, but also you see curiosity.as part of the equation. And when things don't work out, instead of clinging to control like a perfectionist, you're curious. You ask, ⁓ what's going on here? What can we learn from this? And so what I've seen from people that I work with is that I tend to work with a lot of perfectionists. They're already high ambition. That's rarely the issue. But in their quest for ambition, they have let go of curiosity. They don't allow themselves to explore.So this is what a lot of people I've worked with finally managed to do with a tiny experiment. It's just re-injecting a little bit of curiosity. An example that I've seen several times is especially startup founders, which is a very interesting type of person because when I start working with them, they will tell me, I'm very experimental. I'm very happy to try new things. But when you start...poking a little bit at how they experiment, you see that they only do it within very specific frameworks that they've been taught in terms of how to run a startup, the kind of A-B testing or whatever way of experimenting. And so tiny experiments is really a way for them to inject that experimental mindset in areas that they wouldn't have thought to experiment with. The way they communicate with people, the way they show up, the way they ask questions, the way they run meetings, for example.James Taylor (34:48)I like that, know, the curiosity and ambition. I've certainly been at lots of dinner parties where you're with people that are highly ambitious, whether that's law or consulting or technology. And they're some of the most boring people, like, uncurious people I've ever met. And actually makes them, for part of their job, actually very successful in what they do, because they're very tunnel visioned in what they're doing. They...maybe their curiosity is extremely limited to their particular thing, but they have, if you want to have a conversation with them that was outside of that thing, they're just, they're not going to go there as well. And sometimes I look at, and there's this, sometimes I find there's a sadness there as well, that they're losing some of the joy, the juice from life.Anne-Laure Le Cunff (35:32)Yeah, absolutely. This is also why I have an entire chapter in the book about the tyranny of purpose, which I think is so dangerous. This narrative that we have as a society that you're supposed to find your one true thing in life, the thing you're passionate about that really kind of, you know, devours all of your attention to the point where you can't really think about anything else.And this is such a dangerous narrative for so many reasons. One of them is what you've just described. It doesn't make for a very rich life in terms of texture. If you only have that so-called only one true passion. The second danger is that a lot of people then end up putting all of their eggs in the same basket. And then they end up having what psychologists call low self complexity, which means thattheir entire sense of identity is based on one area of their lives. And when that thing doesn't work out, which is the case for startups, for example, which is typically the kind of industry where we ask people to have that one true passion, when the startup fails, we see a very high rate of depression in those former startup founders because they have nothing else in terms of their identity. And the last danger is how then people who haven't found that one thing,think that something's wrong with them. And so they feel like, does my life have any meaning if I haven't found my purpose yet? And to me, that's probably the saddest part about it.James Taylor (37:11)Just as you're talking about that, I'm reminded of a video I just saw a few nights ago with Brian Cox, the cosmologist, and Ricky Gervais, the comedian, and they're talking about purpose and Brian Cox, Professor Brian Cox was saying, you know, really, if you think on a big scale, purpose is, doesn't make any sense. There's like a trillion galaxies within each of these, there's a billion stars, and so this idea that your purpose has some greater meaning in the cosmos, it doesn't make any sense. He said, but...there's something that we're hardwired for and I think the term is cognitive closure. We like things to have a nice little bow at the end, and he said often when you look at people who are fundamentalists.maybe religious or fundamentalist in one area, whatever the area is, often they display this idea of cognitive closure, I think is the right term for it, where this one purpose becomes all-encompassing. I mean, if you've ever had the joy of having to spend any time around these kind of people, they're really quite boring. They're not really genuinely very curious about other people's views, they don't really have much empathy for other people.Anne-Laure Le Cunff (38:01)It is,Yeah, no, absolutely. I've actually had personal experience with some people in my family, like, kind of like becoming trapped in that kind of thinking. And the good news, though, is that we also know that cognitive closure is not a fixed trait. And so it's actually something where you can literally reopen your mind again. And you see a pattern here, given the right environment, given the right kind of stimuli.And so it is really a matter of exposing people to as many diverse perspectives as possible where they realize that although we do have that tendency, you don't need to have this very big bow at the end that closes everything off and ends the story, right? You can just have a nice sense of narrative, which I think a lot of human beings need, but that doesn't mean that you need to have that one big purpose.James Taylor (39:12)The one I heard once, which I still often, I sometimes think about is Victor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, where he says, we're talking about purpose, he said, ⁓ it's a bit like a movie, you you have these individual chapters in your life, these scenes, and as long as each of those have integrity, in a sense, you might not know what the whole purpose of the film is until right at the very end, at the very closing scene, but as long as that individual chapter or scene makes sense, then...you're kind of living, I guess, I guess, in purpose. If people could start with one tiny experiment today, it could be something low risk, high signal, what would your recommendation be?Anne-Laure Le Cunff (39:54)I always recommend starting with something personal rather than professional because you can just do it. You don't need to ask anyone's permission. Something really small, for example, could be, I will not bring my phone in my bedroom for the next seven days, or I will go for a daily walk for the next two weeks. So I would start with something really, really, really tiny.And remember that what you want to pay attention to is the signals that you get back. How does that make you feel? Pretend that you're a scientist, that you're collecting your own data, and based on that data, you can decide whether you want to keep going, whether you want to tweak it, or whether you want to stop.James Taylor (40:37)And is there a ritual or a habit or even a tool that you use daily in your life that you find very useful for your own creative life?Anne-Laure Le Cunff (40:47)I don't use this one daily, but I use it weekly. And it's my template for conducting a weekly review. It's called plus minus next. And it's very, very, very simple. It has three columns. In the first column plus, I write everything that went well this week. In the second column, everything that didn't go so well. And in the last column, next with a little arrow, I list everything I want to try next, what I want to focus on the next week.And it's been incredibly helpful for me in terms of focus of creativity, productivity, and even in terms of mental health in the sense that it really allows me to celebrate the wins and also to acknowledge any potential areas for growth. And it's not just a static snapshot. The fact that there's this next column at the end really allows me to learn from what happened and decide how I'm going to implement those lessons in terms of moving forward.James Taylor (41:46)Plus, minus, next. Wonderful, I love that idea. Which book, not your own, would you recommend that perhaps you've maybe gifted more often to other people or a book you're reading just now that's really kind of got you thinking differently about the world?Anne-Laure Le Cunff (42:03)One of my favorite, ⁓ I'm just seeing a different one here on my desk. But I would not gift it to a lot of people, it's hard to read. So no, another one would be. ⁓ A book I really enjoyed is called How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan. And ⁓ on the surface, it's about psychedelics. But what I really like about it is just the way it's written where the author starts from zero knowledge about the topic.James Taylor (42:11)YouAnne-Laure Le Cunff (42:32)And instead of writing from a place of expertise, I'm an authority, listen to me. He takes you on a journey from not knowing anything to exploring what it means and ⁓ kind of like, you know, his own experience, his own knowledge. I learned a lot about the topic from this book, but I learned a lot about how you can teach and communicate also from this book. So that's why I would recommend it to, and I've already recommended to a lot of people, but I think your listeners will enjoy it as well.James Taylor (43:03)I love books, so rather than being that kind of sage on the stage, he's the guide on the side and he's kind of walking you through his journey as well and you're reflecting on it. If people want to learn more about Tiny Experiments, your book and all the other work you're doing, the other kind of experiments, the other research you're doing, where is the best place for to go and do that?Anne-Laure Le Cunff (43:21)So people can go to nestlabs.com and they can subscribe to my newsletter that I send every weekend where I talk about a lot of the topics we discussed together today. And for the book, just look up Tiny Experiments either online or go to your local bookstore. It's available anywhere books are sold.James Taylor (43:39)Well, Anne-Laure Le Cunff thank you for being a guest on the SuperCreativity The post How Curiosity Beats Goals with Anne-Laure Le Cunff #360 appeared first on James Taylor.

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The Untapped Science of Less: Why Subtraction Unlocks Better Ideas with Dr. Leidy Klotz #359In this episode of the SuperCreativity Podcast, James Taylor speaks with Dr. Leidy Klotz, engineer, designer, behavioral scientist, and author of Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less. Klotz reveals why our brains are biased toward adding complexity—and why the smartest solution is often to remove, reduce, or simplify.

From Lego bridges and Jenga-inspired problem solving to organizational strategy and sustainability, Klotz shows how subtraction can fuel innovation, improve decision-making, and create more meaningful lives. Learn why leaders struggle to showcase competence by doing less, how subtraction improves team morale, and why sustainability, education, and design sectors are embracing the power of removal.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by too many meetings, endless features, or bloated systems, this conversation will inspire you to see less as progress, not sacrifice.
Soundbytes:

“Our first instinct is to add—but the real breakthrough often comes when we subtract.”

“Subtraction isn’t about less for the sake of less—it’s about clearing space for what really matters.”

“Innovation isn’t always building more. Sometimes, it’s about removing the unnecessary.”

“Great design, great strategy, and even great lives are defined not by what we add, but by what we choose to take away.”

“Subtraction feels counterintuitive, but it’s the hidden lever for creativity and progress.”

Apple PodcastSpotify PodcastTakeaways Our brains default to adding, not subtracting — but subtractive thinking can create elegant and effective solutions. * Visible subtraction matters — leaders must model it for teams to feel empowered to simplify. * Sustainability thrives on subtraction — less packaging, less waste, less complexity equals more progress. * Subtraction boosts morale — removing tasks or meetings frees up mental energy and creativity. * Simple rituals help — swap to-do lists for stop-doing lists, or remove one recurring meeting to reclaim focus. In his upcoming book, James Taylor delves into the transformative concept of SuperCreativity™—the art of amplifying your creative potential through collaboration with both humans and machines. Drawing from his experiences speaking in over 30 countries, James combines compelling stories, case studies, and practical strategies to help readers unlock innovation and harness the power of AI-driven tools. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to elevate their creativity and thrive in the modern age of human-machine collaboration*.

James Taylor is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, often booked months or even years in advance due to his exceptional expertise. Given his limited availability, it’s crucial to contact him early if you’re interested in securing a date or learning how he can enhance your event. Reach out to James Taylor now for an opportunity to bring his unique insights to your conference or team.

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In this first FREE video series, award-winning keynote speaker James Taylor reveals how to become a 7-figure speaker.

CHAPTERS1. 00:00 – Introduction to Dr. Leidy Klotz and Subtract 2. 01:49 – Why addition isn’t always the answer 3. 04:08 – The Lego bridge story: A child’s insight into subtraction 4. 07:00 – Why subtraction feels harder than addition 5. 09:54 – The visibility problem: How leaders can model subtraction 6. 13:39 – Subtraction in leadership: examples from Steve Jobs and Capital One 7. 16:14 – Maya Lin’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial as a powerful subtractive design 8. 19:56 – Marie Kondo, “omit needless words,” and joyful subtractions 9. 21:47 – Innovation vs. exnovation: why patents rarely focus on subtraction 10. 23:30 – Sustainability as subtraction: packaging, waste, and planetary limits 11. 26:30 – Rituals: stop-doing lists, subtractive AI prompts, and meeting-free time 12. 28:15 – How subtraction improves morale and team performance 13. 31:59 – From marginal gains to subtractive culture in organizations 14. 34:20 – Airlines, hotels, and small subtractions that save costs and resources 15. 36:22 – Quotes, notebooks, and tools for creativity 16. 38:22 – Book recommendations: Soccer in Sun and Shadow & The Extended Mind 17. 39:45 – Where to learn more about Leidy Klotz and his upcoming work TRANSCRIPTJames Taylor (00:09)

Today I'm joined by Dr. Lydie Klotz, an engineer, designer, and behavioral scientist whose work challenges a deep-seated bias in how we think and act. His book, Subtract, the untapped science of less, flips our default impulse to add onto its head, showing how sometimes the smartest move is actually to remove. I mean, that's a weird way of writing that. Sorry, let me just go again. I'll re-start that. Smartest.Leidy Klotz (00:36)I it was good. TheJames Taylor (00:38)It's my move is to remove that's yeah. Yeah, okay. I've got I've got I've got the hit they re on the remove. That's fine. Let me just go againLeidy Klotz (00:38)smartest move is actually to... to re-move. You gotta hit the... Well, I don't know, I mean, or you can leave it settle. I thought it was good. Anyway.James Taylor (00:50)That's fine. I'll go again.Don't worry.Okay. Today I'm joined by Dr. Lydie Klotz, an engineer, designer, and behavioral scientist whose work challenges a deep-seated bias in how we think and act. His book, Subtract, the Untapped Science of Less, flips our default impulse to add onto its head, showing how sometimes the smartest move is to remove. He supports this with experiments from Lego models to freeway demolitions and interventions from Jenga-inspired thinking to stop doing lists.Subtract is a rare blend of science, strategy, and design perfect for listeners wondering how to simplify systems, sharpen decisions, and lead more intentionally. Lydie Klotz, welcome to the Super Creativity Podcast.Leidy Klotz (01:40)Thanks for having me, James. That was great. I love the smartest move is to remove. That's like one I haven't thought of it, but that's, it's very memorable. mean, I caught it. So that's great.James Taylor (01:49)a bitof little bit of alliteration there. Now you've come from these different, these worlds of engineering, architecture, behavioral science. tell us what professional or personal moment first made you suspicious that addition wasn't always the answer.Leidy Klotz (01:52)Yeah.And I mean, one of the stories I tell in the book is, mean, I remember my summer job was mowing grass and I would do it. I did it for my parents and then I eventually did it for this guy who owned all the property in town. And I remember that gives you a lot of time to think, right. And about all these deep questions. And one of the questions I had was like, why am Iwhy is there all this grass here that seems to only exist for the purpose of me mowing it, right? And ⁓ so it's just something that I've always noticed as a ⁓ person interested in trying to change things from how they are to how we want them to be, right? ⁓ And whether that's through engineering or design or education, that's as professionals, all of us are engaged in that in some way. And you kind of see that there'sI didn't conceptualize it as subtracting at first, but I did notice these opportunities where, ⁓ things are actually better because there's less. ⁓ Whether it's the not having to mow grass or whether it's a really neat modernist building that has clean lines and all these examples.James Taylor (03:18)you were just talking about that and I'm looking out as I'm recording this just now I'm looking at the grass that I have to go and mow probably after this call but we had a guest on Dr. Joseph Gibelli who was talking about, we had this conversation about boredom and the benefits of boredom sometimes because we live in this know 24-7 like base switched on world and he said you know sometimes we just have to like disconnect and be a bit bored and that's where some of those ideas startLeidy Klotz (03:34)Okay, Yeah.Mm-hmm.James Taylor (03:46)bubbling to the surface as well. So in this world that we're in just now, which often has more features, more complexity, more choices, you chose to explore in your work kind of subtle removal. So was there a project or an industrial trend that convinced you that subtraction was actually something that urgently needed to be attended to?Leidy Klotz (04:08)I I was seeing these trends the same way you are. And I love how you connected, like, you know, went from the physical world of lawn mowing to the mental world of boredom, right? And, or just, you know, idleness or, you know, I'm sure the people who are listening to this are familiar with the idea that, you know, you get away from your screen and stop trying to do work and you go for a run and that's when the idea comes, right? And, you know, so there are all these examples. I think if, if anything helped me,crystallized the idea that then became the research in the book. It was just playing Legos with my son. And we played a lot of Legos. ⁓ But one particular time we werebuilding a bridge and he was three. And ⁓ the basic problem we had was that the bridge wasn't level and the bridge. So one of the support columns was shorter than the other support column. So I'm the dad and I have my engineering background. It's going to come in handy here, right? I reached behind me to grab a block to add to the shorter column. But by the time I had turned back around with the block, my son had removed a block from the, from the longer column and made the level bridge by taking away. And soWhereas all these other examples, I was kind of like focusing on the end state of like ⁓ streamlined building or boredom. This was like, okay, there's ⁓ a step here. There's an action that has to happen, which is to take away from what's already there. ⁓ And that's subtracting. And, you the Legger bridge has proven such a useful example, because we've we've since done a ton of research to kind of see how our brain thinks about this andit does is very similar to what happened to me in that moment, which is, okay, we've got this thing that we want to make better, which is in this case, it's a unlevel bridge. In other cases, it's like we want to have innovation. We want to come up with an idea. We want to make our organization work more smoothly. ⁓ And our first thought is what can we add to it, right? To make it better. And then we add and move on without even considering this whole otherclass of options and that's why sometimes the the smartest move is to remove. yeah.James Taylor (06:17)It's funny because as you were talking about that I was just thinking there was a video I saw a little while ago of the actor Michael Caine and he was talking about the first time he got into ⁓ film making, being a movie star from being a theatre actor and so he would go on he did his first thing and the actor, the director said cut and he just the actor came the director came up to Michael Caine said less, little bit less and he goes next take a gain, try again, stop!Leidy Klotz (06:24)Okay.Yeah.James Taylor (06:46)The director comes out, no, less, less. And he does it a third time, no, no, less, less, I want you to do less. And Michael Caine said, listen, if I do any less, I won't be doing anything. And the director said, exactly. So why does it sometimes feel that subtraction is almost kind of harder? it a cultural thing, we glorify accumulation, or is it?Leidy Klotz (07:00)That's it, yeah.James Taylor (07:14)economic or is it just the way that our brain works we all always want toLeidy Klotz (07:18)a little bit of both all and I think so the first part is that yeah that is how our brain works right that our brain immediately thinks to add and that's the default so you know you're we're we have these biases and these mental shortcuts that make it so that you know it generally serves us well to think of adding first and then move on and that just relieves cognitive load to not have to think about subtracting.Of course, we can think about it. I mean, we're talking about it right now and you can remind yourself to think about it. And then you have this world where it's, really hard to show kind of competence through subtracting, right? It's, it's very often hard to show that you're doing a good job if you take something away. ⁓ and that, you know, that hasroots in just like what we value in society. And, you know, sometimes people will be like, well, this is just an American thing, right? But it's, it's actually very like animal thing. ⁓ Where, ⁓ what my favorite example for this is the bowerbirds. And these are the birds that build ceremonial nests. So the male bowerbird builds a ceremonial nest. ⁓ And then the female bowerbirds go around looking at the nests and decide to mate.decide which male to mate with based on which nest they like the best, ⁓ which kind of makes sense so far. But then the female bowerbird goes and builds a nest to raise and shelter the young. So the whole point of the first male-billed nest is just to show that this this bird can move sticks around in the world, that they can effectively interact with the world around them. And it's one of the most robust ideas in psychology. I mean fromFrom male bowerbirds, also applies to female bowerbirds. applies to male and female humans that like we want to show that we can effectively interact with our world. And it's not just in physical ways, but also task completion, just, you know, checking something off your to-do list or sending an email to your boss that is showing you're, you're still there and doing things that that gives us this jolt of.hey, I'm effectively interacting with the world. ⁓ I mean, of course we can subtract to effectively interact with the world, but when we do so, there's not really evidence most of the time, right? When you take away a meeting or when you take away or when you're sitting bored, I mean, it doesn't look like you're doing things. And so we kind of have to work against that by making subtractions visible.James Taylor (09:54)So as you were saying that, I'm thinking in my head of a lot of conferences you go to and you have the, if I'm speaking at a conference, it's maybe there's a CEO up on the stage and he's kind of puffing at his chest like that male power bird, just saying like, we want to add these new features, we're do this new feature and this new feature as well. If you were be able to sit him to the side and say, and trying to convince him of the benefits of maybe,Leidy Klotz (10:08)Yeah!Exactly, yeah.James Taylor (10:20)doing less, of stripping back features, of subtraction, of simplification, what is that key argument you would make to that alpha male in the room?Leidy Klotz (10:32)⁓ It's interesting. actually, just went to, I did a conference and I mean, that was the keynote. So they were talking about subtracting, ⁓ but they, they totally flipped it around. mean, the, the, you know, alpha male in quotes, they were the ones advocating for this. And I actually think when we're talking about visibility,those are the people with the opportunity, right? Because if you imagine yourself as a new employee coming in, you're not going to say, look, here's this radical subtraction I'm going to do. It's very critical to show competence. And the safe way to do that is to just kind of keep going with the routine. as the leader, I guess my pitch would be is like, you have this opportunity for this untapped way to make your organization better. And surely there are things that you realize could be subtracted tothe organization better. If you exemplify that then it's going to trickle down into all dimensions of your you know that gives the the people working for you the the freedom or the the inspiration that they can also look for ways to subtract to make things better. So that would be my ⁓ you know kind of logical one. Maybe the more emotional appeal would be you know Steve Jobs right? I mean his wholething. said Steve Jobs couldn't think of buttons to add to the iPhone. He made his subtraction very visible. You could see that there was competence behind the subtractions. I think maybe that's another key distinction here. This isn't just about like, we're going to get rid of 35 % of the employees just because I feel like doing it. It's no, here's a way to make the business better.that's subtraction and I'm going to do it. And it's actually more work, right? We have to design the whole iPhone and then we have to decide which buttons are redundant and we're gonna keep going even beyond that and strip down even more. And that's gonna be our competitive advantage. yeah, you can kind of exemplify that and show, make it visible and lead by example. I have one more small story. I mean, that's like the kind of in the...You painted a very great picture of the standing in front of the organization. But one of my favorite.a leader who exemplifies subtraction is Melanie Frank. She's a vice president at Capital One and a friend. ⁓ And ⁓ she just makes it a point every time she goes to her teams and they work on technology projects and she gives them like really ambitious things to do. And when she says, when she assigns something, she says, hey, I'm asking you to do something really big that only you can do and that is going to take a lot of work. What can I take off your plate? Right? ⁓ And so that's...the puff the chest out leader but it's still kind of leading by example and showing that this is something that can be done in this organization to make it better subtracting that is.James Taylor (13:39)Yeah, it's funny, like sometimes all those kind of simple things, there was an event I was doing recently in San Diego, and there was a speaker on the day before me. And I'm always interested, I wasn't at the day before, but I was asking the attendees, like what was the most interesting thing you learned yesterday or the speaker that you heard from? And there was a gentleman who was a former US Navy SEAL, but there was this other speaker that was speaking and...she got everyone, and these were all very senior people within the FinTech industry, to take their phones out, which is normally a thing the speaker doesn't want the audience to do, but take their phones out and go through their calendar and look at that, maybe that recurring meeting or that thing they have in their calendar that they can delete, they can remove. And then she said, then I want you to take that time and I want you to do like 30 minutes of...Leidy Klotz (14:13)Alright, yeah.that's amazing. Yeah.James Taylor (14:29)de-work or go out for a walk or and she gave different things to do and it was interesting speaking to the attendees at that event, that was one of the most simple yet most powerful things that came from that event, from people just saying I'm just, I've got that 30 minutes back in my week that I didn't have before and that was all about what your book is about which is about subtraction.Leidy Klotz (14:43)Mm-hmm.That's a brilliant speaking act. I might have to steal it if it's not copyrighted. I think the, yeah. Well, as you know, it works. mean, because so often the thing there is like, how do you get the idea to action, right? And if you can make the action right in the event and then you're remembering the idea because you took the action. The other brilliant thing about that, it sounds like they left, ⁓ when.James Taylor (14:58)⁓ I'm definitely stealing that. think there's no shame in stealing another speaker's idea.Leidy Klotz (15:20)when you take something off of your calendar, if you then put like, okay, this deep work time brought to you by the fact that you subtracted is a way to keep that idea front and center and remember that you can use it for future. Whereas if you just kind of free it up and then it's an open spot on your calendar, you might just fill it up with something equally useless later. So I love that.James Taylor (15:43)Yeah.Now, ⁓ when you wrote the book, who in the book, were there any kind of mentors or allies you had and you talked about in the book who became really great exemplars of this idea of subtraction? You mentioned the CEO of Capital One. Were there any other ones that you thought, this is a really good example maybe of a CEO or a leader or civic leader perhaps, or someone from the world of design and obviously architecture as well, that really exemplifies this idea of subtract?Leidy Klotz (16:14)I, one of my favorites that comes to mind is Maya Lin. ⁓ And so she's the designer who designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. And if you've never been, it's, mean, it's just, it does everything a monument is supposed to do. ⁓ basically it's on the mall in Washington, DC. It's among all these huge.James Taylor (16:28)Yeah.Leidy Klotz (16:39)big monuments to very important things that have happened, but the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is like it's cut into the ground. ⁓ So it's beneath the earth instead of on top of it. It's also very minimalist design. It's just slabs of, I'm gonna say, I forget what, I think it's just granite, but it's some very simple stone. ⁓ And it just creates this stunning ⁓ effect.⁓ So it's what I like about that example is, you we're talking about how it's hard to show competence through subtracting or it's hard to kind of make a statement through subtracting. But I think it's that shows that even in this arena where it's like everybody's going bigger and bigger and bigger and trying to make the boldest statement possible. And sometimes the boldest statement can be made by kind of bucking that trend. ⁓ So I love that example. And there's ⁓I also like it because there's some, know, she, Maya's written about her thinking about that and she was, it's very intentional that she wanted to subtract and she kept kind of stripping things away that could be on that design, but weren't gonna serve this kind of larger vision that she had for it. ⁓ Also, I mean, the last thing I would say about that is because it's such a simple design, she was able to put everybody's name on the memorial who,died in the conflict and ⁓ I don't know it just seems like a really powerful you know kind of addition and subtraction working together. ⁓ So that's ⁓ that's one from the phys-James Taylor (18:15)Yeah,it's a powerful physical thing. And I often think I was there recently and because on the other side of the mall, on the end you've obviously the Lincoln Memorial, know, the Martin Luther King Jr. And you think I was thinking about it in terms of the storytelling, you know, how you take an idea and project it forward. ⁓Leidy Klotz (18:28)Yes. Yeah.Yeah.Yes.James Taylor (18:41)or memory as well. I just, I thought it was an interesting juxtaposition of, because that Lincoln Memorial is very big and posing on one end. And then you've got obviously the Vietnam Memorial as well.Leidy Klotz (18:47)Mm-hmm.And I think, I mean, this is something that I try to make sure to bring up in all the times I talk to people. it's, you it's obvious after you say it, but the it's not that these are opposites, right? It's like, it's not that adding is bad and some adding can be a way to make a very powerful statement and so can subtracting, right? And so it's a, you know, the King Memorial makes a statement in one way and theVietnam Memorial makes a statement in another way. And so as we're thinking about our innovation and creativity, whatever form that is, to think about these two tools as adding and subtracting as options at our disposal is helpful for me at least. ⁓ I'll give one more example. ⁓ Like Marie Kondo, ⁓ so I...Every time I told people about this research, they kept saying, well, Marie Kondo. And so then I eventually had to like go learn what she was about. And I mean, you know, the idea on its surface is very simple, right? It's like tidy and get rid of things.James Taylor (19:47)HahahaLeidy Klotz (19:56)in a very extreme fashion, but I read her book and I mean, she has this like relentless focus on sparking joy, which I think is really great because, you know, one of the things with subtraction is it's really easy to put it into this mindset of sacrifice. And there are certainly subtractions that are a sacrifice, like, okay, we have to cut 25 % of the employees because we didn't, we need to for the budget. But there are also subtractions that are.joyful and that can make things better and that's the kind of class that that we're talking about. So I really respect how Kondo kind of helped people realize that, at least in the decluttering arena. And then I'll give one more example because I love how at the beginning you kind of went immediately from physical to theto the mental world with boredom. mean, omit needless words, right? That's Strunk and White's classic writing advice. And there are all these writers who have different versions of that. I mean, there's Stephen King's Kill Your Darlings. There's Mark Twain and whoever he cribbed it from talking about, you know, I would have written a longer, or would have written a shorter letter, but I didn't have enough time. So I love all those examples too.James Taylor (21:10)Yeah, it's like often when we talk about innovation and everyone wants to talk about innovation, but no one wants to talk about exnovation, about things you remove. It's like the, it's the unsexy part of innovation. Like, but actually, you know, often when I work with organizations and sometimes what they, you know, they immediately go for the adding the features part. And it's sometimes a bit of a, sometimes a little bit of a struggle to like...Leidy Klotz (21:16)Yeah.Yeah.James Taylor (21:38)Okay, just before you go there, because you're actually going to want to go there anyway, what can we strip it back first before we think to add things?Leidy Klotz (21:47)Yeah, we did some research on. ⁓on patents and just it was very kind of surface level, but looking at synonyms for adding and subtracting in the patent applications and, ⁓ you know, subtracting way underused as a way to get a patent. ⁓ Suggesting what you said, right? The default way of kind of innovating is to add. And I know that there are like many forces in the patent system where you need to show ⁓show novelty, right? And it might be easier to show a novelty through adding, but it does, you know, the data that we have suggests that, you know, the same thing that happens in everywhere else in our lives is also happening in that innovation process. Is ex-innovation a term that is that term used a lot in the US? I've seen it a bunch, like in kind of European writing, but ⁓ yeah, I don't know.James Taylor (22:44)Yeah,actually, I did an article about it recently in a video, which was, I actually got a little bit of hate mail. Not that we get very much hate mail in this, but I was actually talking to it in relation, because I mentioned Elon Musk, because obviously in the US there's a doge thing that's going on. And I was talking about exnovation, which is like removing things.Leidy Klotz (22:55)It's... ⁓Uh-huh.Yeah, yeah.Right.James Taylor (23:06)Andmy goodness, I won't do that again. That was kind of pretty full on the messages I got after that one. But I still feel very strongly, I think it was felt... Yeah, yeah. And I think obviously in Europe... ⁓Leidy Klotz (23:15)just because they felt, they just felt that it was aligned with his kind of design philosophy. Yeah.James Taylor (23:25)you know, he's actually in lots of places, he's quite a controversial character. But the main point was, you know, rather like him or not, that's not the point. It was about the extent of that pulling things away. And actually, I'd be interested to get your take on this, but one area where I do see this idea of what you're talking about subtracting being really thought of very deeply is around sustainability.Leidy Klotz (23:30)yeah, yeah, 100%.Yeah.James Taylor (23:54)especiallylike food companies, packaging companies, I was talking to companies involved in plastics the other day about this, and when you're now putting this book out into the world, I'm interested like which industries are you getting a sense of resonating with the ideas in the book?Leidy Klotz (24:11)Yeah, it's interesting. I mean, the whole chapter, I think it's chapter seven in the book is basically devoted to sustainability because there's this kind of always been this long standing debate in sustainability about progress and growth, right? And the sustainability people will say growth is the problem. then, of course, that's also growth is.done a lot of amazing things, right? But subtracting is a way where you can kind of keep innovating, keep making progress, and also not push up against planetary limits, just at a very big, ⁓ big level as you're thinking about sustainability. And then, of course, as you bring it down to the level of like businesses trying to be more sustainable, well, if you can get rid of half your packaging, that's a pretty surefire win, right? It's like making it's more sustainable and it's saving you money. ⁓ So I think that there's that.angle with sustainability. I wish there'd been more, I mean I've talked to some groups about the sustainability implications. I think definitely medicine, education. I guess most of the groups that I'm talking to are interested in this because they feel like their system is bloated and they want help trying to fix the bloated system as opposed toYeah, but then there's, you know, a sprinkling of the sustainability people and then, you know, kind of the people who design slash creativity, you know, see this as an angle for it too. It's been, I mean, it's as you know, it's really interesting going to talk to these groups and learn about their, their little worlds and, how things work in them. And that, you know, informs my ideas. ⁓But yeah, I would say education, medicine, sustainability, and design are maybe the three or four kind of main criteria, main areas.James Taylor (26:08)So let's help our listeners now. They're listening to this, kind of on board with this idea. They're ready. Tell us, there a ritual that's really powerful for this idea of subtraction in terms of how someone could just start to implement it in their own daily work that they're doing?Leidy Klotz (26:11)Yeah, yeah. They're ready?Yeah, well, so get their phone out and subtract that recurring meeting, which, yeah. No, think, know, step one, they've already done, right? And it's like just having this.James Taylor (26:30)That beating.Leidy Klotz (26:36)I think there is great value in this just as a construct and as an idea and as a thing that you say, okay, subtracting is a thing. I heard it on James's podcast and then now it's more likely to be an option in the ways that you innovate. So you've done that part of it, ⁓ but that's just kind of a reminder and the more that you can practice it, the better. I would say thinking about ways to build it intoyour standard operating procedures. So a very simple example is just, know, a lot of us have a to-do list, right? And you say, okay, what am I going to do next week? Maybe you sit down on Monday to do that. When you're doing your to-do lists,which is a very additive thing, can you also think about some stop doings, right? And I'm not saying you need to do that specific thing, but that's an example of building this into your process. AI, think, I know you do a lot of interesting things there, ⁓ is actually a really helpful tool with this, right? Are you giving any like subtractive AI prompts? AI is really good at taking information that's there and getting, know, stripping it down. So ⁓ can you, you know,James Taylor (27:38)Yeah.Leidy Klotz (27:46)when you ask it to plan your vacation, then can you say, can you plan my vacation and actually give me some free time in my vacation and have it subtract things? can ⁓ you make this email 50 % as long and look at the results? So building it into your standard processes ⁓ is the next thing to do after listening to this podcast.James Taylor (28:00)Yeah.when you've started to see teams implement the ideas in the book as well, what kind of transformations have you seen with the team? Is it been things like obviously around performance or morale or what changes have you seen happen?Leidy Klotz (28:15)Mm-hmm.I'm usually there for the morale part. And I'm glad you brought that up because it goes back to your ⁓ CEO on the stage depiction, right? And if you can empower people to do this and they can see that they can like take a measure of control over how they feel overwhelmed, I mean, that's the most immediate benefit is just.on the morale right away. And then the performance things come later after you're kind of operating in that environment for a longer time. But the morale is a huge one. ⁓ I'd also say that you need to, know, adding is our default, right? If we don't change anything, that's what we're going to do. And our research showed, and know, common sense just suggests that the more overwhelmed we are,the way we tend to solve that problem is by adding more things, right? So if you can help teams relieve this initial overwhelm, then they have more time to think, which makes them more likely to think about all their options, which makes them more likely to implement subtraction. So when they start to relieve their overwhelm, then things get progressively better. And also, ⁓James Taylor (29:38)What about,I'm just wondering in there on, as I'm thinking about that, kind going back to this idea of this leaders and the team side as well, you know, when a, let's say, often you see leaders and organizations, they get really fixated around one particular book.Leidy Klotz (29:45)Mm-hmm.Mm-hmm. Yeah.James Taylor (29:55)checklist manifesto, for example, is, okay, we need to focus totally on checklists ormeasure what matters, know, get completely into OKRs. We're going to get obsessed with OKRs. I saw something the other day where it was, you know, delight, delighting the customer, giving every employee the ability to send two and a half thousand dollars on a customer without having to seek manager approval. So there's all these different kind of ways. So as you start to see, let's say if I am a leader and I'm buying into the idea of the book, this is what we should be doing.Leidy Klotz (30:10)really?James Taylor (30:25)we've got things that have got too complicated, we're kind of losing sight of really what we're trying to do here. How would they start to waterfall or filter the ideas from the book down into the team to make it not just an idea, but actually a culture within the organization?Leidy Klotz (30:45)Yeah, I mean, think leading by example, right, like the Melanie Frank example of asking people what you can take off their plate. I mean, that's the cultural thing. I'd say, I mean, I know there's, it's doing big things, right? Being like aggressive with the subtractions and, you know, so things.When I talk to groups, I challenge them to say, hey, maybe this is something you don't even think we should get rid of, but just bring it up. I mean, we had a group that we were working with and they brought up getting rid of a whole, essentially like one of their five main business lines. it just led to a useful discussion about why you would want to do that and how that would look if you did do that. ⁓ So I think having...having bold examples kind of makes it more likely that people are going to ⁓ engage in their own little worlds and again leads by example. I don't know, you probably have ideas too, yeah.James Taylor (31:50)⁓As I was thinking about the ideas in the book, one thing immediately came to mind, I know you have a background as a sports person as well, being a soccer ⁓ player, think, initially in your life. one thing that, I mean, a professional soccer player, you are now probably the first former professional soccer player we've ever had on this show. But it did remind me of...Leidy Klotz (31:59)Yeah, yeah.Yeah, yeah, I was a professional player. Now I'm a go ahead. Now I'm a U11 coach under 11.James Taylor (32:19)A story I sometimes tell about the Team Sky Cycling Team, which is about this idea of the aggregation of marginal gains, which James Clear, I think, spoke about in Atomic Habits in his book as well, where ⁓ basically if you just break down every component that goes into, in this case, competing on a bike, for example, and you just look to improve every element by just 1%, which sounds like a really small number, it compounds. It's like compounding with investing, for example. ⁓Leidy Klotz (32:30)Okay.Mm-hmm.Mm-hmm.James Taylor (32:49)And one thing I thought would be a nice way you could layer this into an organization is every opportunity, getting everyone that sense of psychological safety, everyone that feels empowered to be looking for opportunities to make these 1 % marginal gains through subtraction. So not adding new things as well. And I would say this especially on larger companies where a lot of the time they're thinking about how to make things more efficient.Leidy Klotz (33:07)Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.James Taylor (33:19)for example, and AI is obviously amazing and they're thinking about the big, you know, big gains from there as well, but there's so much within that, like just making things more efficient by those 1 % marginal gains. I thought that subtraction could be a perfect thing to sit within that.Leidy Klotz (33:34)Yeah, think if you can, again, that's where you're kind of building it into your processes and then it's all of a sudden it's an option in all of these decision points that you may have otherwise been overlooking. So, you know.Yeah, I think that's another example of that is ⁓ like building it into annual reviews, for example, right? So every annual review you talk about, here are the three amazing things I'm going to do next year. It's like, well, what are the things that you're going to stop doing? And again, by putting it in the process, it's helping people think of it, but it's also helping make it OK and make it part of the culture and make it part of what this group does that then hopefully spills over into all these other things that they're doing.James Taylor (34:20)Yeah, I saw it happen recently with an airline. It was a little bit controversial. Some people didn't like this and some people did like this where normally on the airline, everyone gets a bottle of water on the flight. But now what they do is they go around and they fill it from the steward or what fills it from like a large bottle of water. Everyone gets a little cup, I guess.Leidy Klotz (34:33)Uh-huh.Yeah,yeah.James Taylor (34:41)but you have to ask. And they were saying about what that saved in terms of not just plastic, but in terms of the weight. And we think about weight equals fuel, equals cost. And there was like some ridiculously huge number by just making that one little small subtraction. And a lot of passengers were very unhappy about it, I would say as well. So you have to like from a customer perspective as well. But I just thought that was an interesting little subtraction piece.Leidy Klotz (34:49)Mm-hmm.Yeah.Yeah.Yeah, and think if you can find the ones that the customers don't care about, I don't know if, I think this is a Rory Sutherland example. If it's not, it should be. ⁓ He wrote a piece after looking at our research and then was talking about how.he then he contended that you don't nobody wants a bellhop at the hotel that if you you could get rid of them and people would be perfectly fine and actually happier and it would be less awkward just carrying your your bag in most of the time and but again i don't know if that's the right or wrong thing but there are these services that we're providing that don't actually make people happier and if you can get rid of those then ⁓ that's a win for everybodyJames Taylor (35:47)Yeah.Yeah,I think that example, that was a hotel, think it was a Moxie was the chain of hotels. think certainly when I saw you was talking about getting rid of, they were subtracting a lot of things, but what they did is they put more attention into the communal experience, creating that third place for people to get together because also generational changes, often we're using hotels now to meet people in, to work in.Leidy Klotz (36:05)Okay, interesting.Mm-hmm.James Taylor (36:14)it's just kind of bit more interestingLeidy Klotz (36:14)That's true, yeah.James Taylor (36:16)with to be working from a different type of space than working in a room where you're looking at the four walls of that rather drab hotel room. So let's start to finish up here as well, ⁓ just quick fire questions, is there a quote that kind of guides you or quote you often think about?Leidy Klotz (36:22)You⁓ I mean, it's not related to this, but more to the effect just, you know, life is 10 % what happens to you and 90 % how you react to it. I find that helpful. Is it? Yeah. Yeah.James Taylor (36:48)It's very stoic, that's a very stoic kind of line there as well. Yeah, yeah, that's like that, that's great.And what about tools or, we haven't really kind of spoken so much about, know, tool apps and things, but is there a tool or an app that you find particularly useful for like the creative work that you do? Obviously you're a writer, you're a researcher as well.Leidy Klotz (37:08)⁓ It's less about a tool. I mean, it's kind of a lack of a tool or app. I mean, obviously I use word processing. I use AI to help. I mean, all these things, but I also find it really helpful to just force myself to have notebook time every day. ⁓ And again, it's not that I could do everything on a notebook, like a piece of paper and a pen, but that kind of shifting different ways of working often.reveals different ideas. And we spend so much of our time now, obviously staring at a screen. Yeah, sorry.James Taylor (37:40)And are youone of these people that's really into one of the very fancy notebooks? Are you like a Luchterm or a Moleskine?Leidy Klotz (37:49)No, it's likewhatever the free thing is that I got at the hotel. I got a bullet notebook once and then I was like, how do you use this thing? I just used it as a normal notebook. But as long as it really it's about the physical act of moving the thing and the ability to just be outside and do it. And then probably transcribing it back and forth is really helpful and just getting away from the screen basically.James Taylor (38:06)Yeah.And is there one book by another author that you've maybe gifted more often or you recommended more often?Leidy Klotz (38:22)⁓ I've got two. I love books, so you're going to have to indulge me. So one is ⁓ Eduardo Galeano. He's just this brilliant Uruguayan author. And he wrote this book called Soccer and Sun and Shadow. And it's basically how soccer explains the world. But it's very poetic, and ⁓ it's really a fun read. ⁓ I don't know that it has much to do with creativity and innovation other than the fact that he's super creative and innovative. ⁓ And then the one that ⁓ is just right up the alley of your audience is the extentmind by Annie Murphy-Paul. So she's a journalist, I mean the way she wrote it, it seems like she's a professor as she just like went into depth of all the ways that we think outside of our brain. ⁓And what I tell students, what I tell, I give this to PhD students after they graduate. And I'm like, you don't even, if you, if you have time to read this, it'll be super helpful. If you don't have time to read it, just put it on your desk and use it as an excuse every time you want to go for a walk or go work out because it's like all this evidence that, you know, doing that is so helpful to, to your thinking. ⁓ and so I love that book, The Extended Mind.James Taylor (39:34)Great, that's great, and I haven't heard of that book before, anyone's recommended that, so I'm going to go and check that out, and also the one on soccer, I have a friend that's about to go and travel around ⁓ Italian soccer games to go and experience soccer in Italy as well, so I'm going to recommend that book to him, he'll be very thankful of that book before his trip. If people want to learn more about your work and your research, where's the best place for to go and do that?Leidy Klotz (39:45)okay.Okay.Well, subtract the book has most of the information, you know, all the things we talked about. My parents gave me a good Google name. So L E I D Y K L O T Z. mean, I have a website. I've got another book coming out in April about our relationship with our physical surroundings. Um, and you know, how, how the mind relates to our physical surroundings. Um, and so, um, that's something to look out for too, but you can, you can find out what I'm doing just by just with Google and with my website. Yeah.James Taylor (40:28)but we'll definitely have to have you back on the show again talking about that, that new book as well. I think that would resonate a lot with our audience. Dr. Lydie Klotz, thank you so much for being a guest on the Super Creativity Podcast. The post Why Subtraction Unlocks Better Ideas with Dr. Leidy Klotz #359? appeared first on James Taylor.

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The Creativity Advantage: How Creativity Shapes Our Lives with Dr. James C. Kaufman #358In this episode of the SuperCreativity Podcast, James Taylor sits down with Dr. James C. Kaufman, one of the world’s leading creativity researchers and a professor of educational psychology at the University of Connecticut. Known for groundbreaking concepts like the 4C Model of Creativity and the Sylvia Plath Effect, Kaufman’s latest book, The Creativity Advantage, explores how creativity impacts our lives far beyond innovation—enhancing our emotional well-being, self-insight, relationships, and sense of meaning.

Together, they explore:

1. The science-backed benefits of creativity and how they apply to everyone.
2. Why process matters more than outcomes in creative work.
3. How AI is reshaping creativity—both its opportunities and risks.
4. Practical steps to unlock your creative potential and cultivate openness in everyday life.

Whether you’re an artist, leader, educator, or someone just beginning your creative journey, this conversation will inspire you to see creativity as a powerful tool for growth, connection, and resilience.

Apple PodcastSpotify PodcastTakeaways Creativity benefits everyone — You don’t have to be a professional artist or innovator to gain its emotional and cognitive rewards. * Process over product — The act of creating often matters more than the final outcome. * Openness is key — Trying one new thing a week can significantly expand your creative mindset. * AI is a collaborator, not a replacement — Use it to augment, not replace, your creative processes. * Creativity fosters well-being — From journaling to micro-creative habits, small practices can have profound effects on mental health and self-awareness. In his upcoming book, James Taylor delves into the transformative concept of SuperCreativity™—the art of amplifying your creative potential through collaboration with both humans and machines. Drawing from his experiences speaking in over 30 countries, James combines compelling stories, case studies, and practical strategies to help readers unlock innovation and harness the power of AI-driven tools. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to elevate their creativity and thrive in the modern age of human-machine collaboration*.

James Taylor is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, often booked months or even years in advance due to his exceptional expertise. Given his limited availability, it’s crucial to contact him early if you’re interested in securing a date or learning how he can enhance your event. Reach out to James Taylor now for an opportunity to bring his unique insights to your conference or team.

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CHAPTERSTimestamps1. 00:00 – Introduction to Dr. James C. Kaufman and his work 2. 01:08 – How a personal family experience inspired his research on meaning and creativity 3. 02:58 – Why focusing on process over outcomes changes everything 4. 05:49 – Writing as a tool for self-insight and healing 5. 06:43 – Balancing solo and collaborative creative work 6. 08:47 – The power of creative partnerships 7. 10:34 – Discovering a passion for creativity research at Yale 8. 13:15 – The origins of the Sylvia Plath Effect and its widespread misinterpretation 9. 18:04 – Creativity, neurodivergence, and misunderstood narratives 10. 20:34 – Audience responses to The Creativity Advantage 11. 22:22 – AI, creativity, and the importance of human engagement 12. 23:05 – The next generation of creativity researchers 13. 25:50 – How attitudes toward creativity have shifted in business and education 14. 28:14 – Creativity’s role in healing and well-being in an “always-on” world 15. 30:42 – The risks and opportunities of AI as a creative collaborator 16. 35:41 – Simple habits to nurture creativity: Openness and trying new things 17. 37:25 – A personal mantra for staying grounded 18. 38:03 – Finding your optimal time of day for creative flow 19. 38:57 – Recommended reads for exploring creativity 20. 39:54 – Closing thoughts TRANSCRIPTJames Taylor (00:08) Today's guest is Dr. James Kaufman, a psychologist, author, creativity researcher, and professor of educational psychology at the University of Connecticut. James is known for shaping how we think about creativity, from his 4C model to the Sylvia Plath effect. His powerful new book, The Creativity Advantage, asks, beyond being creative, what does creativity actually do for us?If you're hungry to understand why creativity matters emotionally, socially, spiritually, you're about to hear why it's not just useful, it's essential. James, welcome to the Super Creativity Podcast.James (00:48)Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.James Taylor (00:50)Now, I know your past research has mapped creativity very widely, from cognition to culture. I'm interested, what has guided this kind of recent work, which is really about why creativity matters rather than just how it works?James (01:08)something I first got interested in with this late to meaning. And my father had been diagnosed with stage four bladder cancer. And I kind of had spent the summer with my parents in Athens to say goodbye and had been reading things like man's search for meaning. And in the evenings when I was more in my own time, I began working on this piece on creativity and meaning. And the nice thing is thatmy father actually recovered. Usually he was given 10 % and he ended up beating it. He's still around and cancer free. But my interest in creativity and meaning and kind of the bigger picture of life has continued. And it went from meaning to kind of general positive aspects. So how it helps heal you, how it can connect you to other people, the whole idea of legacy, self-insight.wide variety of different benefits.James Taylor (02:11)redefine creativity across these different dimensions as talked about in the book. Which one surprised you the most? ⁓ And obviously I know you from your work, this is a fantastic book I highly recommend anyone who's interested in creativity or theory of creativity called the Cambridge Handbook of Creativity. I remember reading a few years ago in its absolute Bible.in world of creativity research and it really helped shape my own thinking about creativity, the importance of creativity and how it works. But as you wrote this latest book, has your thinking about creativity shifted? And of those five dimensions that you mentioned, which one has maybe changed the most in terms of how you think about it?James (02:58)would say a lot of the way my thinking in general has changed has been to focus in a process instead of the outcome or product. but not often when you say you're interested in the creative process, people kind of assume, okay, well, how can I be more creative? So how can I think of more ideas or how can I make sure I select the best one? And I'm certainly interested in that, but...More about the fact that almost all the benefits, it doesn't matter how creative you are. So it's not like this helps people who are super creative and the people who are only kind of so-so don't benefit. Pretty much everybody benefits, whether or not they're incredibly creative or whether or not they're just kind of trying it out. A lot of the stuff...I found out more about but wasn't necessarily shocked. Probably the thing that I knew the least about was the part about stealth insight and understanding yourself. And I'd remembered when I was writing the book, like 15 years ago, I'd heard about the writing cure, where if you write on a regular basis, kind of in this expressive, emotional way, that it leads to positive outcomes. But ever since...The last 15 years, so much stuff has turned out to not replicate, not really turn out. And when I did my kind of just seeing what's been done, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it absolutely is still true and there's been even more work on it. And it's something that I myself try to do is to as much as I can journal, kind of write down my thoughts. CauseThat's something that really does help and any of us can do, whether it's a blog or a diary. I mean, a lot of times I also do this in my own writing. So the book I'm writing right now, which is I'm maybe three quarters through is it's kind of a fun book. It's on creativity in the movies where I'm writing about all this stuff on creativity, but every single example in case study is about a movie.And so they're not just movies about creativity, but how they were illustrating a concept. So I write on a regular basis, things that are, you know, both nonfiction, but also a little bit personal. And so not everybody will be writing like a book, but it doesn't matter. All sorts of regular writing helps and is beneficial.James Taylor (05:49)And so that immediately makes me think of, you know, we hear that Julia Cameron's, the morning pages, I a lot of people have found that very useful in their process as well. Talking about this idea of moviemaking, and I guess there's an interesting analogy or link there with, when we think about movies, ⁓ so much of moviemaking and the creativity as a team.efforts, it's not an individual, you might have an individual that's had an initial idea for a concept, but if you think about a writer's room, whether it's a Saturday Night Live or a movie, there's lots of people that are involved in making that final thing happen. So I'm interested, like as you're thinking about that, ⁓ where did you start seeing that shift come from the kind of personal side of creativity to more the collective or the team side of creativity?James (06:43)I very much think it can be both. So, I mean, just to give my own self as an example, almost all the work I do is collaborative. So any empirical study is me and usually at least one, if not two or three other people. And a lot of that is that I love the collaborative aspect of research. love talking around ideas and discussions and brainstorming together, but then also figuring out the problems and theobstacles in the last minute together. And the older I get, the more I only collaborate with people I really like because life is short. If you're going spend time with people, you should like them. But, and yet there's also the personal because I always like having one book that I'm working on that's just me. So,I like the mix. most of my work is collaborative. And certainly even when I'm writing a solo authored book, I'm drawing on conversations and research with so many other people. And even in this one, ⁓ I'm reaching out to a lot of friends when I talk about their work to get their favorite movie to kind of keep them in the conversation, so to speak. And here's what I love about creativity is that there's so many different aspects and angles thatstill have some things that are just you, but then an awful lot that are actively collaborative, really almost regardless of domain.James Taylor (08:16)On the collaboration piece, in terms of your own work, we often hear this idea of creative pairs, two different but complementary individuals helping support each other's work and stress testing each other's work as well. your own ⁓ work as a researcher and a writer, is there a key kind of creative pair, another person that you kind of go to that's like that first, you have a concept, an initial idea, you want to stress test something with, who is that person for you in your own work?James (08:47)That's an interesting question. ⁓Certainly, if it's just, if I have an idea and I'm curious about it, I'll often bounce it off first, usually either my wife or my father, so not necessarily a creativity researcher, even though both have actually collaborated with me. ⁓Probably my most regular collaboration right now, although again, I have many, but certainly the one that I'm also enjoying among the most is every Wednesday I have a ⁓ Zoom with a composer named Dana Rowe, who actually composed one of my very favorite musicals of all time, The Fix, but he's done so many other things. And we published a book on lessons in creativity from musical theater characters.And what we're doing right now is we're working on a book called So You Have a Theater Kid, which is advice for people whose kids love theater. And it's a mix of life experience, research about creativity, and then we've just been interviewing all these people who are theater professionals. So well-known composers, actors, and so on. And in this case, it's one of those, I don't want to say opposite to track.But I'm the academic, Dana's the creative, and that's been wonderful. ⁓ But I also have many, many collaborations with pure creativity researchers where they may have much more similar backgrounds, but we often will not be thinking the same, and we will bandy about and discuss different ideas.James Taylor (10:32)I guess that's what's so fascinating about this field. I creativity is a very, quite a broad term and it means different things to different people and across cultures and countries as well. You can kind of go in many different directions with the research. Was there a sense like when you first started getting involved in the work of creativity, was an area of this kind of creativity research pulling you, know, felt like it was a stronger pull than perhaps another?James (10:34)ThankSo I wanted to be a creative writer growing up. That was my dream. My major was creative writing and I added psychology at the last minute. My parents are both psychologists.I went to apply to MFA programs and I still remember I got one response, like when you, ⁓ this is back before the internet made everything right there. ⁓ But it said, if you can do anything else but this, do that. And I, and it was probably supposed to be encouraging, like, yes, you must love it. But I thought, well, I thought I could do something else. And I kind of just.James Taylor (11:38)YouJames (11:46)applied almost scattershot to a whole bunch of PhD programs in psychology. I didn't know what I was doing. And I was very lucky. I ended up at Yale with Robert Sternberg. And even though he studied creativity, it never entered my mind that I could do that. So the first two years I was doing just not very good work and figuring out what I wanted. And I rememberFinally, I was almost debating, maybe I shouldn't be a graduate student, maybe this isn't for me. And I thought, my passion is creative writing. What if I were to try to study that? And I spent the summer in my parents' basement, almost locked in the basement, just reading this whole stack of books that Sternberg gave me. And that was the first time I ever actually cared about anything that I was really reading. Like, psychology was fine, but in the same way that...you know, I like watching baseball, whereas all of a sudden this was relevant and it was very personal to me. And that was a turning point. That was when, this is not just what I can study, but this is what I want to, this is what I care about and I'm curious about. And I finally got it because so many of my classmates would say stuff like, ⁓ I like just daydreaming about studies I could do. And I thought, my God, like I don't.And all of a sudden I got it, which was.James Taylor (13:15)I guess where these these two parts come together creativity, research, psychology as well is something I think probably one of the first times I heard your name being discussed was this the Sylvia Plath effect ⁓ and I believe you term this this idea as well and and it's just it speaks to a lot of especially I would say musicians having conversations andthis idea, they might not term it as this, but this idea often comes up in terms of the link between psychology and creativity and the challenges that this comes, we had a guest on recently, he talking about, he worked in the intelligence services and he said a third of the people that work in his department in the intelligence services, ⁓ you know, they're neurodiverse, they, ADHD, ⁓they have synesthesia, they have all this kind of thing and they look at it as this is a great advantage for us to have these people because they think in a different way. So I'd love to know first of all the origins of how this kind of the Sylvia Plath effect, first of all tell us what that is, how you kind of got into your kind of aha moment I guess of like how you kind of came upon this as well.And what have been the ripples? Now you put a few many years have gone since you kind of first came out with this concept. What have been the ripples? How have people responded to this idea?James (14:41)It's kind of funny. In some ways, it's going be a very unsatisfying answer. ⁓ I was in my fourth year of graduate school, and I was at the Strand Bookstore in New York. And I saw big books saying modern ⁓ creative writers. It was like an encyclopedia. And I had discovered the work of Gene Simonson, who did what's called historiometrics.where you enter information. And at the time, ⁓ I didn't have any real easy way to collect data. And I thought, well, maybe I'll try that. And I just began entering as much information as I could think of from these little biographies. And then when I went to play with it, I found this little hiccup, which was that female poets were much more likely to show some signs of mental illness than any other type of writer.And I did another study that found that among eminent women, the same thing. So compared to fiction writers or politicians or actresses or artists, it was the poets who were much more likely to show signs of mental illness. And I actually didn't think it was terribly interesting. Like I published it, it was fine. ⁓ But at my first professor job, they had hired a PR person to try to gettheir name out there and the person went through my stuff and he's like, well, this could be interesting. I told him about it. And two weeks later, the New York Times is calling me and it was very strange. I was blib, which now I would never be. And it kind of took off and I realized, A, a lot of people didn't, they kind of misinterpreted it.where it was a very specific, not particularly interesting finding. And they took it to mean all creative people have mental illness, which isn't really true. And I guess I also realized.It affected people and sometimes they felt, thank God, but sometimes they were very sad or hurt. And to be honest, that was another reason behind the creativity advantage is that I felt that, you know, yes, I do think that there's probably some type of connection between some types of creativity and mental health. But I don't think it's as simple as they're just linked. I also think.that perhaps one reason there's this connection is that creativity has so many amazing properties. It makes you feel better. It enhances your mood. It connects you with people that if somebody's struggling, they may turn to creativity to make them feel better. And certainly there's no evidence to suggest that creativity makes your mental health worse. ⁓ So the Sylvia Plath effect is kind of lingered.And it's not that I don't think it's true. It's just I think it's often misinterpreted. It's overemphasized. And I don't know if it's a terribly good legacy to have, to be honest. I'm.James Taylor (18:04)Yeah, Imean, it's because when I've had discussions with, especially artists and musicians, I would say, about this, some of them feel very strongly on either side of this topic, because, you know, some of them feel, well, of course, that's the case, because we are open more to emotions, we have to invest ourselves emotionally with the work, and that's going to maybe create that as well. And others feel felt very strongly that no, this is, this is just feeding into abigger media narrative of this kind of lone creative genius myth of putting something up on a pedestal and it's painting out the contribution of the people that's, were speaking earlier about teams and having people around you, it kind of paints out that picture. So I can completely understand why you're a bit conflicted, mean part of your research is great because it's been, it's other people have seen it but it's often been taken out of context.James (19:03)Yes, and I've come to be closer to the second group of people in terms of.On one hand...I do think that there probably is notably more neurodivergence in people who are creative, but not because there's no reason. I, I just think.I don't know, most people I know who are neurodivergent are just more interesting ⁓ and perhaps open to ideas or willing to entertain kind of weirder thoughts and stuff. I don't think there's deep or profound necessarily about it. I don't, and certainly I think...If it makes people think that they have to have some type of mental health struggle to be creative, then that would be very bad because you don't, you know. And if anything, I think people who have very severe mental health struggles, that can hurt creativity because it makes it so you may not actually produce things if you're struggling. ⁓And as you mentioned, sorry, as you mentioned other people mentioned, you know, that creativity is so nuanced and rich and involving teams and all these different parts that it's hard to paint it with just one brush.James Taylor (20:34)Obviously, with the creativity advantage, you've kind of taken, you've kind of zoomed out and talking about this sense of ⁓ meaning, which so many people were looking, they want the sense of meaning in the life and the link that creativity has to that. As the book has been, as people have been reading the book now as well and giving you thoughts on their feelings from the book and observations of the book,What have been the things you've been hearing multiple times that have affected people or they found, you know, this is the thing I got the most from reading the book?James (21:12)The thing that I love hearing the most is people who've decided to try being creative, sometimes with their kids. So not necessarily in response to any particular thing, but more of a general gestalt. I've also heard from several researchers who've begun wanting to study this. Just again, just positive things in creativity. And that is to me very exciting because I feel like we so often...focus on the negative or even if we don't focus on the negative, we focus on, how can you be more creative and focus on this outcome and product and not, well, why would you want to in the big picture? mean, creativity is effort. Nowadays we have AI, which is kind of threatening to take over everything. mean, if AI can do creativity better than we can, and I'm not saying it can, but like, why bother doing it unless you're getting something from the process?So I'm excited to see more work and just more thought and more people trying to be creative based on.James Taylor (22:22)There's the link between AI and creativity and AI is obviously something I speak about a lot. That's kind of really mine how these tools can both augment and actually we're seeing more studies coming just now potentially damage or cause problems with ⁓ people's ability to be creative in their work or teams ability to be creative in their work. ⁓ As you look around, obviously, as I mentioned earlier, the Cambridge Handbook of Creativity, go and get your copy, but I know you're kind of working on the next version of this book. And as you look out there,in terms of some of the latest research that's being done on creativity and the researchers out there, who's really inspiring you? Whose work has kind of just kind of lit you up in terms of what they're doing?James (23:05)there is a whole younger generation that I think is just doing amazing work. Everything from people who are assistant or just associate professors to even just some postdocs and graduate students. And what's great is they're all over the world. you have Magic Krawowski who is not early career, but a lot of his lab like Ola Zelinsky who just got her PhD.You have Matthias Benedict, who again, he's not really career, but then his post-docs and graduate students such as Simon C. They're just doing this work. You got Roger Beatty. Again, he's the more senior person and Simone Luchini. And they're doing some creativity stuff. And it's this team of these leaders and then their graduate students who are going to be picking up the torch. And I can't even know the 30 people, but.people who are so much better than I was when I was in my late 20s, people who are better with methods and stats, who are better with just thinking of interesting things and like looking, well, how about YouTube and Twitter and things like that. So many of the people who I get to work with, I mean, some of these people plus, know, Hansika Kapoor, Krista Taylor, Alex McKay, so many of these people, so many of my former students, Sarah Luria, Molly Hollinger, so many of these.folks and just getting to see them carving new territory. And a lot of it sometimes in the creativity advantage area, but sometimes doing stuff, creativity AI, it's just, it's exciting. I think we're in really good hands.James Taylor (24:53)it feels also there's quite a strong generational shift that's going on as well, this word creativity which I mean I've even noticed as a speaker speaking to, I primarily speak to corporate clients around the world and even when I started speaking on this topic 2017 there was, you could sense the resistance aroundcreativity as a term in a business context. And so I had to spend a little bit of time at the start, just talking about what that is and how it relates to innovation and the benefits and kind of the ROI, I guess, of the creativity from that perspective. But now with this younger generation that's coming into the workforce, it feels, and I don't know what exactly the data is to support this, but it feels like those younger leaders, those Gen X, those millennials,are much more comfortable in using that term creativity in a business context. And I'm wondering if what you're seeing is a little bit of that going on as well.James (25:50)Certainly, when I first entered the field.As an academic, there weren't very many people studying this. really weren't. Nobody was looking for a creativity person. When I got my PhD, I sent out 40 job applications and I got nothing. ⁓ Luckily, I ended up getting a position at educational testing service. ⁓ And similarly,I always consult here and there and there was just a lot less with both education and business. ⁓ Even if somebody was interested, their superior would often be like, well, who cares? Why do we want this? There's less of that now. There's still sometimes that, but I feel like there's more of a general understanding that yes, a creative workforce is better. And I think some of that is, mean,You need to be willing to think longer term to see real ROI and creativity. Because if you put a whole bunch of resources into helping train and nurture and support creativity, you probably won't make that back the first year. But over a couple of years, I believe you will see the dividends. It's just most people aren't willing to wait that long even now, but at least now it's not a dirty word.the way it was 25 years.James Taylor (27:24)I know we had a recent guest on the podcast, Professor Joseph Gibelli, who wrote a book called The Brain at Rest, talking about the brain on creativity. the basic these neuroscientists talking about the how our brain what we often think we were talking about the brain needs to have these periods of rest.in order to do creative work and many of the things in our society are always on our hustle culture, our mobile devices that we have with the social media is kind of working against that and is not necessarily as useful for that. So in this world that we're in just now, which of the creative advantages that you talk about in the book do you potentially see as most under siege from this kind of always on culture and how can we begin to reclaim it?James (28:14)question. ⁓of the benefits come from the actual process of being creative. Probably the one that comes most to mind is anything involved with healing or improving your mood or your mental health. So much of this stuff, it happens when you are creative. And I mean, it's my worry with AI that... ⁓If you have an idea for a story and you plug it into chat, then for a lot of folks, the output may end up being a better story than if they'd written themselves. But most of us aren't going to be publishing that story anyway, or even if we do, it won't be in the New Yorker. What happens is that if we were to actually write that story or draw that picture. We get these benefits. puts us in a better mood.It just, it does all of these different things from self insight to our own feelings of legacy. If we're not engaged in that process, we don't get those benefits. And.How do we take that back? I I feel like with AI, the horse is out of the barn. You're not gonna be able to change that. mean, I know a lot of professors that have no idea how to deal with AI out there. Not like I have any great wisdom on that. I think to a certain degree, it's just to try to convince people at the very least if you're gonna use AI to use it as a collaborator and not as a cheat code.And it's hard because...people don't like effort. And I mean, I'm not saying this condescendingly. I don't like effort. I mean, there are many things in my life. If I could press a button and have done, I would do it. And now with AI, we have this and I understand why people are using it. I I generally don't, but some of that is I just, really enjoy writing. And so I don't necessarily want to give that up, but it's hard to tell people don't do this easy thing that is everywhere.and will probably end up being a little better than what you would have done by yourself.James Taylor (30:42)Yeah, kind going back to what you spoke about earlier with Dana talking about how she's your kind of creative pair. That's something the way that I think about creativity, I kind of use it as I know what my blind spots are, my weak points from a creative standpoint. And so I tend to use it as a way to help me see those or strengthen those as well. You mentioned the editing and you're a skilled editor. So.me having someone like that that I can put it into the mind of a great, you know, New Yorker editor or whoever and just say, pretend you are that person. Now, review this. what I'm finding interesting about that is making me ask different kind of questions I perhaps wouldn't have asked if I just can just go on a more straight line and just having on my own. And so the thing I'm quite excited about ismany people that maybe live in parts of the world or don't have a community or those collaborators maybe around them, this is that potential type of collaborator that they can use if they can put in the guardrails. That's one of the challenges.James (31:52)Certainly, I do see how it could be helpful. I mean...I feel like most creativity researchers either are gung-ho excited or a little terrified. And I'm very much in the latter camp, but I respect the people who I know who are gung-ho to acknowledge that there absolutely are these possibilities. the fact that, I mean, it's an interesting question because on one hand, what AIcould be for a lot of people who may not have access to other creative types or to.just the opportunities. It absolutely could be this thing. On the other hand, if we're thinkingI would feel better if there wasn't already so much capitalism inherent in it, where the best versions are pay and the versions you can get for free are notably worse. One thing that excites me about creativity is there's tremendous capacity for equity there. Because if you look atthings like intelligence or academic achievement, find differences by socioeconomic status and other things for a variety of reasons. But creativity, you really don't see them. Almost everybody has the same capacity to potentially be creative. And...I just worry about that going away. I worry that AI could make us value creativity more because now everybody can work on it or could make us value creativity less because we can outsource it. And so what does it matter if you could do it yourself? I don't know what's going to happen, you know, but I can see these parts.James Taylor (33:58)I'm probably,I'm guessing maybe I'm in the bit more, I think we'll go through this period where there will be, you know, the hacks and the cheat code versions of these things as well. Where I hope we eventually get to is, you've done a lot of work in terms of talking about this idea of small C creativity and big C creativity. For me, I feel it just, if it helps the general public just push forward towards that bigger C creativity that you talk about.that's fantastic. And I just see it from the sciences where I look at ⁓ researchers, scientists that working on protein folding and things like that, where this is unlocking huge potential.for them to discover new drug discovery, antibiotics and other things as well. So I see it there. We're probably a little bit more challenges when we look at maybe marketing and other fields where there's a slightly different usage that's going on as well. So we definitely live in interesting times as well. So if you could, you've got such a breadth and depth of knowledge on creativity. Someone that's listening to this, maybe this is their very first episode that listensthis show and they're interested in creativity and unlocking their potential, their creative potential as well. What is one act or ritual or habit that you've seen people do which has had maybe quite a simple thing for them to do but it's had the most profound impact on enhancing their creativity? Maybe it's kind of going back to some of the things that obviously you talk about in the creativity advantage as well.James (35:41)The personality trait that's most associated with creativity is openness. And that can be openness to experiences, openness to ideas. the simplest thing that people can do is just try to do one new thing a week. And I don't mean something new that is shockingly new that will make you terrified, although that would be great. But like, if you have a favorite restaurant,order something you've never ordered. Or if you have a favorite meal that you cook, tweak it a bit. Try finding a new way home from work or school. mean, maybe not if you're walking, maybe don't get too lost if you're a kid. Try watching something, reading something you haven't done before. that pushing yourself a little bit with trying something new, thinking something new, because that's the first step. And that's something everybody can do.No matter where you are, you know, that that's.James Taylor (36:42)Yeah, wife,I think very much along those lines, which frustrates my wife no ends because we'll often be in a restaurant and I'll want to try the one thing on the menu that we haven't tried before. And even though she's, that's going to be a terrible decision if you make that decision, we just go for the tried and tested thing. But I said, well, let's go. And she is usually right. I must give a credit for that. But I just feel it's kind of using that part of my brain as well.James (36:53)Mm-hmm.James Taylor (37:08)As we start to finish up here as well, just kind of quick fire questions for you. Is there one quote that you kind of tend to live by or you find yourself returning to this one quote perhaps more than others?James (37:25)If I'm honest, the quote that probably comes back to you the most is from a movie called House of Games, which is, we'll deal with that thing then. And it keeps me from worrying about most things in terms of could this bad thing happen? Maybe we'll deal with that thing then. I have no idea if that's the healthy coping mechanism or not, but it's the one that I actually do.James Taylor (37:47)HahahaAnd is there ⁓ a tool or a habit or ritual that you find is very important for your own creative work?James (38:03)I think learning what works best for your headspace based on time of day. So like when I wake up, I usually will either do calls or emails. And I find that it's usually around one to 4 PM when I'm at my most creative. And so I try to time it. So that's my time that I can do my writing. If it, to the extent possible, not everybody has the luxury of doing this, but if you know there's certain times thatYour brain is just firing at all cylinders and this is when you should, you can be the most creative. Try as much as possible to allow yourself that time to be creative as opposed to have that time be when you're stuck in need.James Taylor (38:48)And if there was one book you would recommend to our listeners, not one of your own books, but a book by another author, what would that book be?James (38:57)that's a good question.Something that's excited me is that.A lot of the layperson books on creativity are not by researchers, but recently there have been a number of them. And there's books by Scott Barry Kaufman, books by Zorana Idsivic. ⁓ There's a book on curiosity and on kind of defying the system by Todd Kashtan. The fact that we're seeing layperson books by people who are actually experts and any of those ⁓ among others.Because when I was first entering this field, there were layperson books by like the Holly Chick sent me high and Bob Sternberg and Howard Gardner and they were all legit. And at a certain point, it just got harder and harder for there to be these layperson books by the experts. And now they're kind of, coming back to that. And so that would be what I would.James Taylor (39:54)That's great. I I think it's that thing we're seeing in terms of the academics being, know, learning, relearning storytelling in this form as well, which is, you know, kind of going back to, were talking about Man's Search for Meaning, I was thinking about Joseph Campbell as well, some of those key things that often kind of come back to us as well. Well, Dr. James Kaufman, thank you so much for being a guest on the Super Creativity Podcast. The post The Creativity Advantage: How Creativity Shapes Our Lives with Dr. James C. Kaufman #358 appeared first on James Taylor.

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How Rest Unlocks Creativity: The Neuroscience of Your Brain - Dr. Joseph Jebelli #357In this episode of the SuperCreativity Podcast, James Taylor interviews Dr. Joseph Jebelli, neuroscientist and author of The Brain at Rest and In Pursuit of Memory. Together, they explore how rest isn’t laziness but a neural necessity that unlocks creativity, productivity, and mental clarity.

Discover the neuroscience behind the brain’s default mode network (DMN), why overwork accelerates aging and burnout, and practical strategies for harnessing rest to spark creative insights. Dr. Jebelli also shares actionable tips on micro-rest practices, the surprising cognitive power of nature, and why doing “nothing” could be the most productive thing you do today.

Perfect for entrepreneurs, creatives, leaders, and anyone looking to work smarter—not harder.

🎙️ Top 5 Soundbites:

“People often succeed in life not despite their inactivity but because of it.” – Dr. Joseph Jebelli

“Rest isn’t powering down; it’s your brain switching states and forming new connections.” – Dr. Joseph Jebelli

“Nature is full of what psychologists call soft fascinations—things that hold your attention effortlessly and calm the brain.” – Dr. Joseph Jebelli

“The more you rest, the sharper and more creative your brain becomes.” – Dr. Joseph Jebelli

Resources and Links

1. Dr. Joseph Jebelli’s Website: drjosephjebelli.com
2. Book: The Brain at Rest
3. Book: In Pursuit of Memory
4. Recommended Read: The Expectation Effect by David Robson

Apple PodcastSpotify PodcastTakeaways Rest is a productivity tool: Rest activates the brain’s default mode network, boosting intelligence, memory, and creativity. * Burnout rewires the brain: Chronic overwork shrinks the hippocampus, enlarges the amygdala, and accelerates cognitive aging. * Micro-rest techniques work: Short breaks, naps, and even just staring into space can enhance problem-solving and creative thinking. * Nature fuels creativity: Spending as little as 20 minutes in green or blue spaces significantly improves creativity, memory, and immune health. * Cultural mindset shift needed: From hustle culture to embracing rest as a key driver of performance and well-being. In his upcoming book, James Taylor delves into the transformative concept of SuperCreativity™—the art of amplifying your creative potential through collaboration with both humans and machines. Drawing from his experiences speaking in over 30 countries, James combines compelling stories, case studies, and practical strategies to help readers unlock innovation and harness the power of AI-driven tools. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to elevate their creativity and thrive in the modern age of human-machine collaboration*.

James Taylor is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, often booked months or even years in advance due to his exceptional expertise. Given his limited availability, it’s crucial to contact him early if you’re interested in securing a date or learning how he can enhance your event. Reach out to James Taylor now for an opportunity to bring his unique insights to your conference or team.

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CHAPTERSTimestamps1. 00:00 – Introduction to Dr. Joseph Jebelli and his work 2. 01:32 – Personal story: How overwork led to insights about rest 3. 05:07 – The statistics behind burnout and its neurological effects 4. 08:29 – The cultural roots of overwork and the Protestant work ethic 5. 13:36 – The brain’s default mode network explained 6. 17:31 – Why naps grow your brain (literally) 7. 20:27 – Creativity, the shower effect, and hypnopompic states 8. 24:26 – The importance of green and blue spaces for brain health 9. 28:49 – Micro-rest practices for everyday life 10. 33:22 – The connection between place, nature, and creativity 11. 41:24 – Favorite quotes and reflections on solitude 12. 44:09 – Why boredom sparks creativity 13. 45:46 – Rituals vs. apps for better rest and productivity 14. 47:27 – Book recommendation: The Expectation Effect by David Robson 15. 49:00 – How to connect with Dr. Jebelli TRANSCRIPTJames Taylor (00:09)

Today I’m thrilled to welcome Dr. Joseph Gibelli to the Super Creativity Podcast. Joseph is a neuroscientist with a PhD from University College London, postdoctoral experience at the University of Washington, and a writer who brings scientific depth to real human dilemmas. His first book, In Pursuit of Memory, was shortlisted for the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize and longlisted for the Welcome Book Prize.

His latest, The Brain at Rest, is a thoughtful, counter-cultural manifesto. Rest isn’t slacking. It activates our brain’s default mode network, lighting up creativity, memory, insight, and emotional clarity. He reveals how burnout doesn’t just drain us, it ages our brain, thins critical regions, and fuels a silent global health crisis. Whether you’re feeling stuck,

burnout or just sinking into your smartphone at night, Joseph’s message is resoundingly clear. What if stepping back is the most creative move you could make? Joseph, welcome to the Super Creativity Podcast.

Joseph Jebelli (01:16)

Hi James, thanks for having me.

James Taylor (01:19)

Now, in parts you’ve written deeply about memory, the evolution of the human brain, and now rest, was there a moment, professionally or personally, when you realised that rest wasn’t laziness, but a neural necessity?

Joseph Jebelli (01:32)

Yeah, so I had quite an interesting journey discovering the neuroscience of rest. So the first reason was really personal. So I witnessed both my mother and father massively overwork and reached the point of burnout to the point of really ⁓ ill health consequences. So my father now lives with major depressive disorder as a result of overwork. My mother has a blood pressure that’s so high that her GP texts almost daily asking for blood pressure.

readings. And so I sort of grew up with parents who were incredibly hard workers to the point of burnout. And so it took me a long time to really actually appreciate the importance of rest. And so I myself went through that phase of overwork. So when I was a postdoc at the University of Washington, I’d basically spend all day in the lab doing experiments and mentoring students. And then I would

you know, I would finish around six or seven and go straight to a coffee shop and then just sit and work on grants and my first book until like 10 or 11 o’clock at night. And, you know, like, needless to say, it was it was exhausting. And I always felt, you know, I often felt totally wiped out. And it was interesting because I realized I couldn’t sustain that pace indefinitely. And so I started to ease off from my work. And when I started to ease off from my work, these

something really astonishing happened. So not only did I feel better, not only did I sleep better, but other, I noticed other cognitive improvements. So like my memory got better, my ability to think clearly improved, my ability to write more fluidly got better. And I actually ended up being more productive than I was when I was just grinding it out all day long. So even though I was doing fewer hours of work every day, I was achieving more. And so I just thought this is really interesting.

And then I, so I decided to look into the neuroscience of rest, you know, driven largely by that. And what I discovered is really extraordinary. You know, there is this resting brain network, which as you say, is called the default network. And that network only becomes active when we rest, when we do things that are restful to our brains. And we now know just in the last few years that when you activate your default network with rest, you improve your intelligence.

creativity, memory, problem solving abilities, ability to predict the future. It even lowers your risk of developing neurological illnesses like depression and dementia. And so, you know, the message I’m trying to get across in the book is that we have our understanding of work and rest completely upside down. It’s rest, not work, that is the secret to sustained productivity. It’s rest that is the driving force behind all of our cognitive abilities. And as I say in the book, what this new neuroscience is teaching us is that

People often succeed in life not despite their inactivity but because of it.

James Taylor (04:31)

So that almost feels like it’s obviously the opposite end of the hustle culture that we’re living in today as well. It’s saying, you know, just hustle, just kind of keep cranking through there as well. As you were looking into the research of this and you were kind of doing your own research for it.

and obviously you’d had the example with your parents, you could see firsthand, but as you kind of looked for the data to kind of support your hypothesis, was there any key stat or data or research that you discovered in that process that made you end, actually, I think I’m onto something here. There’s something that can, it’s not just a gut feeling, it’s actually something that’s really supported by evidence.

Joseph Jebelli (05:07)

Yeah, absolutely. So in terms of work and overwork, even though working conditions are better today than they were in the past, there’s no doubt about that. When you look at the statistics and you look at the data, we are in a dramatic regression in terms of burnout and overwork. So just to give you a few stats off the top of my head. globally, overwork now kills 745,000 people a year. That’s a 29 % increase since the year 2000.

three in five employees now report a lack of interest, motivation and energy. That’s a 38 % increase since 2019. So, you know, we are in a huge regression in terms of burnout and overwork. And when you look at the brain, what this is doing to the brain, it actually thins the frontal cortex in the same way that aging does. It literally makes your brain older than it is. It enlarges a region called the amygdala, which was responsible for our fight or flight.

reflex, that’s why overworked people often feel very anxious. It also shrinks the hippocampus, a region really important for learning and memory. And, you the really interesting thing is that when you actually look at what overwork is doing to us psychologically and neurologically, it actually falls into a pattern of really interesting phases. So it starts off with basically dissatisfaction, like you’re not happy with your job.

You feel dissatisfied, but it’s kind of a manageable feeling. So you just ignore it. That then moves into cynicism where you just no longer care about your job. It’s just something you’ve got to do. You’ve got to do it to pay the bills. So you just get on with it. That then moves into dehumanization. And that’s the kind of emotional hardening that many people have around their job. That’s what leads to things, a sense of sort of incompetence and productivity guilt. And that then leads to anxiety and depression.

And that’s then when many of the neurological symptoms like a thinning frontal cortex and a shrinking hippocampus start to set in. But the really interesting thing about this science is that some incredible longitudinal studies in Sweden have shown that once the symptoms of overwork set in, it takes your brain up to three years to recover. It takes it three years just to get back to that baseline of good cognitive ability. And so, you know,

All of the data and the statistics bear this out, that things are getting much worse in terms of our work culture. you alluded to it earlier when you talked about the hustle mindset. We do still have this widespread rampant and increasing problem of a hustle mentality, that it’s somehow an aspirational way to live, that the harder you work, the faster you run, the more you’re going to achieve and the quicker you’re going to get to where you want to get. And it’s just not true.

It’s the complete opposite is true. know, rest is the driving force behind sustained long-term productivity and all of your higher cognitive abilities. ⁓ And so, you know, all of the data now bears this out, whether you’re, you know, ⁓ a doctor, a train driver, a student, it doesn’t matter what you’re doing, what task you’re doing, you will always perform better on that task if you rest beforehand, precisely because you’re activating.

your brain’s default network, your brain’s resting network.

James Taylor (08:29)

wondering as well, has there been any, I guess it’s probably the span is too short in terms of where this is starting to be studied, but is there anything in terms of the evolutionary side of this? Because we think about 100 years ago, I was watching a video just a few days ago, it was set in the 19th, was from 1930s or 1940s, and it was talking about the average day of work for someone in management. And I looked at it I thought,

if that person had to deal with the same level of stress and the same pace that they have to deal with today, it’s a different thing. I wonder, as it being my research, obviously I realized for the people that living in it now, that having to deal with this kind of change in terms of what we have to do every day, but are we starting to see anything from an evolutionary standpoint that maybe over four or five decades, the human brain starts to adapt and we kind of get used to working at this higher pace?

Joseph Jebelli (09:25)

Hmm so Sorry

So when you look at the history, I think a lot of the overwork mindset that we have, that we’ve basically inherited from the past, a lot of it comes from 16th century Protestant work ethic of just, you know, keep calm, carry on, get on with it. You know, ⁓ this idea that rest is an indulgence, it’s a luxury. It’s something that’s kind of unprincipled, even a bit irresponsible. And that mindset,

has carried on right up to the present. We still think of rest as an unprincipled and even irresponsible indulgence, essentially, not as the driving force of our higher cognitive abilities. And I think that’s what’s basically led us into this culture of what I call in the book untrammeled capitalism. So just capitalism with not enough guardrails, not enough regulations. And we have made some progress. There’s the five-day workday.

there’s the five day work week instead of the seven day work week. There’s progress like, we no longer have asbestos in hospitals and people have to wear their seat belts and you can’t smoke in hospitals. There are cultural landmarks, but the fact is when you look at the science, we haven’t gone anywhere near enough, far enough when it comes to work and overwork. And as I said, all the data shows were actually going in the wrong direction.

you when you just have to look at like the four day work week, for instance, where they did a huge trial of that in Iceland, and they found that productivity either stayed the same or actually improved. And I think, you know, as a result of that large trial, they’re now about to try one, a four day work week in Japan as well. Japan’s really interesting. They actually have a word for working to death in Japan. They call it Kuroshi. And they estimate it’s responsible for 20,000 deaths a year. So, you know, to come back to your question, you know,

You know, there’s there have been some some areas of progress, but we are we are completely moving backwards when it comes to overwork. And I think a lot of that has to do with, again, mainly the cultural mindset of thinking of rest as an indulgence. But more than anything, just a complete lack of understanding about the science of rest. You know, we don’t understand until relatively recently, like what actually is rest for your brain? Like, what is it? Are you just powering down?

Because I think that’s how basically people have thought of it. They thought of rest for the brain in the same way that we think of rest for a muscle, that it’s just powering down. But it’s not, it’s switching states, it’s moving into a different network, it’s activating the default network. Because the really interesting thing about the default network is that it works in competition with another network that we call the executive network, and that’s the work network. That’s the network that’s active when there’s a task to be done. So whenever you’re at your desk and you’re leaning into a cognitively demanding task,

You can feel when the executive network is activated because it’s tiring, it’s exhausting. You start to mind wander and drift away because you’re not really that interested in what you’re doing because it’s so mentally exhausting. When that network is activated, your default network is very quiet because they work in competition with each other. But interestingly, the executive network only occupies about 5 % of your brain, whereas the default network occupies 20 % of the brain.

We need to understand that when you rest, this network, this 20 % of your brain large resting network is not only firing up, but that’s the thing that’s improving your memory and creativity and giving you all of these insights. There’s a reason why you have your best thoughts when you’re just alone in the shower, not really thinking about much, or when you just go for a walk in a park and you just let your mind drift. It’s because your default network is busily

working on all of these problems. And so I think that’s, that’s that to me, that’s the biggest reason that we misunderstand rest. We haven’t understood what the actual underlying neuroscience of rest is and what it’s doing to our brains.

James Taylor (13:36)

So taking from a kind of the neural network standpoint and from a chemical standpoint, you speak about this idea of the default mode network and it kind of lights up essentially when you’re doing nothing. So for listeners that maybe unfamiliar, what’s actually going on in the brain? Like if I was to be looking at a scan of the brain or the chemistry of the brain, what is actually happening when that default mode network is going on?

Joseph Jebelli (14:06)

So a couple of things. The first thing that happens is that blood flow increases, like to a huge extent, to the default network and also to the frontal lobe, which is the seat of your higher faculties. So whenever you think of things like human attention and decision making, our personalities, ⁓ many of our higher faculties are found as a result of ⁓ activity in the frontal lobe. And a lot of the default network is actually found in the frontal lobe.

even though it actually spans out across the brain. So the first thing that happens is that blood flow increases and that delivers more oxygen to your nerve cells. And as a result, they basically become a lot more active. So these are electrical cells that fire electrical impulses. And when they become more active, that’s basically, that’s what underlies your ability to think, to think clearly. And at the same time, they form new connections as well. neurons are covered in

what we call synapses. I’m sure everyone is familiar with what synapses are, but when you activate your default network with REST, you can actually increase the number of synapses on neurons, increase the number of synaptic contacts with other neurons. So it’s quite literally forming new connections, which is then underpinning your ability to come up with new creative insights. it’s a neurophysiological, but also a neurochemical and a neuroelectrical phenomena that…

is allowing you to come up with all of these new thoughts. suppose that’s really what’s happening. I suppose that’s really what we’re happening when you look at the brain scans. it’s worth noting as well that even though the default network, it was discovered in 2001, but it’s only the last few years that we’ve really started to understand it. But the really interesting thing about studying the default network is for many years, neuroscientists ignored it because they thought it was just meaningless background noise.

So what they would often do is they would put someone into a brain scanner and they would say, okay, we’re interested in finding out what certain regions of the brain are doing when you perform a certain task. So they would say, we want you to memorize a long list of words. We want you to, or we want you to name as many words beginning with the letter K. So it would be any type of sort of cognitively demanding task. And then they would look for the brain regions that light up.

And at the time there was this, you when they were just, when the people were just lying down in the brain scanners before the experiment started, so before they had to perform the work orientated task, when they were just relaxing and chilling out, the default network resting brain signal was screaming with activity. And it was, it was so powerful that neuroscientists would actually delete that signal just in order to see more closely what the brain was doing when we perform a task.

And again, I think that comes back to this cultural attitude of like, well, you know, there’s work and then there’s, and then there’s nothing. There’s nothing else. And so they ignored it. They exactly, the void exactly. So, but it’s only recently they’ve actually decided, okay, we really need to figure out what this background signal is. So yeah, I mean, essentially your neurons are becoming much more active, forming new connections. And also I should say as well, getting physically bigger.

James Taylor (17:11)

The void.

Joseph Jebelli (17:31)

in terms of your actual brain. So we know for instance that when you take a 30 minute nap every day, and this was a discovery made only a few years ago by an incredible neuroscientist at University College London called Victoria Garfield. People who take 30 minute naps every day literally have bigger brains than people who don’t. And the difference is really significant. We’re talking about 15 cubic centimeters and to put that into context, that’s the volume of a small plum. And so when you just pause and think about

You know, the millions of neurons and synapses and connections and cognitive abilities that are contained within the volume of a small plum, it’s huge. you know, rest, it’s not just activating your default network. It’s actually growing the network. It’s growing the size of your brain itself. It’s making your brain chunkier and healthier and more resilient to a whole host of things, including neurodegenerative diseases and age-related cognitive decline. ⁓ So there’s all of these…

sort of concrete neurobiological things happening, know, without us even being aware really that they’re happening until you start resting more and then you realize, I feel a lot better and sharper.

James Taylor (18:45)

I mean, what you were saying also about those studies that were done where the scientists would almost, the researcher would kind of disregard the void, let’s say, or whatever the space was, kind of makes me think a little bit of, in jazz music, where I think it was Louis Armstrong, or maybe it was Miles Davis, was saying, actually, the thing is the space, that is the thing. And, you know, we think of the notes, but actually, we don’t think of the space, or we think of…

the stars for example, we think space or we think a table, actually most of this table is the gaps, is the space between the materials as well, so it’s interesting like your book is really kind of focused on that space. One, you’ll be able to correct me on this because I know for years when I’ve been on stages and I’ve spoken about this move that happens,

from what we call the incubation stage in creativity to the insight, the aha moment, the light bulb moment. And I often talk about…

that shower moment, I ask audiences how many of you get your best ideas in the shower and there’s a large number or sometimes it’s in the late evening when people are more relaxed for example and I’ve always had this line that I talk about for the shower thing in the morning and now that I’m actually getting to speak to a proper neuroscientist I can find out if I’m actually saying this right or if this is complete bunk what I’ve been saying up to this point which is I was always led to believe that

In the morning, your brain is fuzzy and it’s unwound, so you’re open to unconventional thoughts. Alpha waves are rippling through your brain, directing your attention inwards to remote associations that emanate from the right hemisphere. Is that correct or have I been talking bunk for a few years in terms of actually what’s going on in the brain here?

Joseph Jebelli (20:27)

No, no, that’s ⁓ can you say can you say that last bit again?

James Taylor (20:30)

So ⁓

the line I’ve often used is, brain is fuzzy, it’s unwound, we’re open to unconventional thoughts, alpha waves are rippling through our brain, directing our attention inwards to remote associations that emanate from the right hemisphere.

Joseph Jebelli (20:45)

Yeah, no that, yeah, that doesn’t, that sounds fairly accurate to me. No, no, no.

James Taylor (20:49)

It’s not completely wrong. But

the reason I mention that as well is I know that West Point Military Academy, one of the techniques that they teach there is a technique called preloading, where they tell people about two hours before you go to sleep at night, let’s say if you’re thinking about a problem at work or if you’re in the military, for example, and a challenge you’re trying to figure out, they say ask yourself a question two hours before you go to sleep at night and then just forget about it.

And your brain overnight when you’re relaxed and just sleeping, it of works and that’s often the reason we get these aha moments in the morning as well. So that kind of relaxation, just kind of letting it go, know, letting it move and just let your brain do some of those, because we think the brain’s not actually doing anything at night when we’re sleeping and I guess that’s not correct.

Joseph Jebelli (21:25)

Hmm.

Mmm.

No, yeah, exactly. Yeah, well, it’s, really like the way you put it as well when you described it as unwound because, you know, when you wake up, your brain is in a phase that we call the hypnopompic phase. So that’s the phase basically between sleep and full wakefulness. You also have a term that people are probably a bit more familiar with, which is the hypnagogic phase.

And that’s the phase just before you go to sleep, just before like, you know, the phase between wakefulness and actually falling asleep. And interestingly, we now know that both those phases, just before you go to sleep and just when you wake up, are periods of really strong default network activity. Like sleep itself is a period of high default network activity, but those phases as well are really important for it. And that’s why I say in the book, you know, before you go to bed,

Don’t please, please for the love of God, don’t just sit doom scrolling on your phone before you go to bed, because that’s not going to activate your default network. The artificial light from the phone is really bad for you. Just as a quick aside, we now think one of the main reasons that cancer is going up so much among young people is because of the artificial light just before people go to bed, because it’s blocking melatonin, the sleep hormone. And we now know that melatonin has a really powerful anti-cancer effect.

It essentially acts as a tumor suppressor. ⁓ So don’t look at your phone because, you know, that’s, it feels restful because it’s a distraction from what you were just doing, but it’s not, it’s a trick. It’s masquerading as rest. All looking at your phone does is it trains your distraction. It doesn’t, it doesn’t allow your brain, you know, the thing that allows your brain rest is the things that allow ⁓ deep inner self-reflective self, self, crucially self-generated thought.

So instead of doing that, know, just stare into space for a few minutes and let your mind wander. you know, even just reading a few pages of like a fiction book that you really enjoy, let’s say something that isn’t cognitively taxing, something that isn’t going to activate your executive network. ⁓ You know, those are the sorts of things you should do, really restful things before you go to sleep. And again, in the morning, don’t just hop on your phone, actually spend a few minutes just staring into space, stare out of the window.

you know, stare at a mark, you know, on your ceiling. You’re like a little, you know, it doesn’t matter what it is. Just let your brain actually decompress. Let it do seemingly nothing. Just stare into space. It feels like you’re doing nothing, but your default network is really active and it’s doing so much. But yeah, unwound is, yeah, I like that. That’s a very good way of saying it.

James Taylor (24:26)

I think there

was another way I use on when there was another a few years ago I was doing an event in Stockholm in Sweden and I was staying at this fantastic hotel which is you might know it called the Grand Hotel it’s where the Nobel Prize winners stay the night before they’re going to collect their prizes and so I’m having

breakfast there in the morning and having coffee and who should walk past me but John Cleese, the British famous comedian. So I actually went up to him, he’s obviously a big fan of his work and ⁓ we got talking, we actually talked about creativity because he did a talk a few years ago where he talked about how, and he was talking about in relation to comedy and writing comedy, he said, you know, our brain is like a camera lens.

Joseph Jebelli (24:53)

⁓ wow.

James Taylor (25:12)

and sometimes you need it to be really focused in focus but often when you have to do more creative expansive work you actually want to purposely defocus the lens you know that kind of relaxation or defocusing of the lens and one of the things you mentioned these two foot the hip I probably got this wrong hypnopompic and hypnogolic face that probably got these wrong but yeah and it reminded me there was a was a study done a few years ago I think it was a professor at Harvard where he

Joseph Jebelli (25:30)

Hypnopompic, yeah. Yeah, hypnopompic and hypnagogic.

James Taylor (25:41)

took comedians and jazz musicians under brain scans and he looked at the bit of the brain that they were able to switch off and it’s the bit that I’m gonna probably massacre the way I’m saying this but it’s basically the bit that all of us have which says don’t say that you shouldn’t really say that you know it’s a little bit of the pause that almost but comedians and jazz musicians are actually able to switch

this part off and it’s a train, it’s something that they’ve been trained to do and if you know a lot of jazz musicians, my wife’s a jazz musician and they said to do what they do well they actually have to feel relaxed.

in the moment to get that sense of flow in what they’re doing to kind of, so it doesn’t feel, they don’t feel that tenseness in that executive part you were just talking about. They have that sense even though they’re in front of people, there’s a confidence and that allows parts of their brain to maybe switch off and to switch on as well.

Joseph Jebelli (26:39)

Yeah, absolutely. mean, overthinking, you know, is not good for the default network, obviously. And as you said, it leads to feelings of anxiety and apprehension. And, you know, all of those things block your cognitive abilities. ⁓ And so, you know, it is basically about, ⁓ you know, seemingly switching the brain off. I mean, I I I often think of one really interesting study where

they found that they got a group of people to perform like a repetitive task, like a really boring work orientated repetitive task. And they found that the people who were allowed to just, you know, feel like they’re switching off and let their minds wander, they always performed better on that task. But interestingly, even when they did that to the point where their mind wandering actually like hindered their performance on the task.

So they had their heads in the clouds for just a little bit too long. It had actually affected the performance on the task itself. Even then, it still ramped up their creativity. Their scores of creativity were much higher in all of the cognitive tests for the time being and in the long run. So that’s the interesting thing. Even if you feel a bit guilty about letting you.

letting your mind rest and doing nothing and you feel like, it’s actually going to hamper my ability maybe in the here and now. It’s not, it’s still going to be much better for your brain in the long run. And so there’s, know, there’s, it’s very sort of counterintuitive and I think it’s something that the more we learn about it, the more counterintuitive and like fascinating it becomes.

James Taylor (28:23)

Now in the book you obviously, you’re not a proponent of doom scrolling and you say there is better ways to rest that brain. In the book you talk about walks, naps, baths, other things as well. ⁓ What have you found has been maybe in your own life, in your own creative work that you do as a research and a writer, what do you find really works for you that allows that brain to really go to rest?

Joseph Jebelli (28:49)

So I think one of the most important things and it’s a small easy thing to ⁓ start as well. It’s just to take ⁓ many more breaks throughout the day. I now, know, every hour I take a 10 minute break. And I often also practice the Pomodoro technique where you have 25 minutes of work and then five minutes breaks, five minutes of rest. And it’s really important in that time to do nothing, just to go for a walk, to sit by a window and let your mind wander.

Or even you can listen to an audio book if you find it restful, you can read something that you find restful. But I think just bringing in many more breaks throughout the day is a really good way to activate the default network and to get it activated throughout the day because we’re so used to just sitting down in this deep focus mode and working for such extensive periods of time that we ignore the resting brain. So I incorporate…

many more breaks throughout my day. I spend a lot more time sort of just, yeah, just like gazing out of the window, going on walks in, you know, in green spaces. That’s really important. There was a huge study done recently on 20,000 people by a research called Matthew White. I think it was at Exeter University where he basically found that, you know, about 20 minutes a day.

of being in a green space is the sweet spot for improved psychological and neurological health. And we know now that when you spend time in green spaces, your brain waves actually shift. They shift from very busy and anxious beta waves into much more calming and even meditative theta waves. And that happens because nature is basically full of what psychologists call soft fascinations.

So these are things that hold your attention in a really effortless way. There’s a reason why when you’re in a forest and you’re listening to the rustling of the leaves or you’re on a beach and you’re just staring at the lapping blue waves, there’s a reason that holds your attention in a very effortless way. And especially when you contrast that to what psychologists call hard fascinations, that’s things like your smartphone, like LED billboards, train announcements, overbearing bosses and…

deadlines and all these things and these things are draining your attentional resources and causing cognitive fatigue. But more than that, when you’re in a green space, we now know that plants actually release this chemical called phytoncides and these are basically oils that protect trees from bacteria. But when you’re in a green space, you breathe phytoncides in and it has an incredible effect on your immune system. can actually, it can raise your immune systems.

ability to fight off infections by 40%. Even just being in a green space has been shown to increase creativity by 50 % and memory recall by 20%. Incredibly, if you’re in a brain scanner as well, and you’re literally just shown a picture of a green space versus a city, your default network will come online and you’ll start to get some of the cognitive benefits of that. you know, our brains are craving nature in a far more profound way than we’ve previously recognized.

And so what else do do? Well, you I spend time exercising as well because active rest is also really beneficial for the brain. Even gentle exercise. So we now know that only four minutes of gentle exercise a day is enough to grow a bigger brain and a healthier default network. Also finding micro moments of play throughout your day is really good for the brain. Because when you think about play, I mean, what is play? It’s unstructured, it’s imaginative.

Crucially, it’s task off rather than task on. And these are all things that the default network thrives on. So, find those moments of play throughout your day where you don’t take things so seriously and you can have fun. And I suppose just leaving work at work as well, like I’ve tried to get better at doing that. We all take work with us now. all, I mean, many people respond to work emails on the weekends and it’s about.

creating a clearer demarcation between work and rest because they’re not in opposition with each other. Rest is the thing that is the fuel for your work and it’s the thing that’s going to lead to much better long-term productivity. So yeah, there’s lots of tools and techniques and different ways to rest.

James Taylor (33:22)

These are great.

And as you’re saying, obviously with the color green, I remember a few years ago, was studies at the University of Berlin and the University of British Columbia, they looked at which colors kind of really are best for creativity. And that color green was the one that both those kind of studies found.

And ⁓ I was speaking at event recently for one of the tribal nations in the US and we were talking about this idea of how the place in which you create has an effect upon what you create as well and David Byrne, the musician’s done a very famous TED talk about that as well in terms of music, how different spaces affect your ability to create. And I was saying ⁓ to these tribal leaders at the time, I said, we know

In Europe, we have this idea of the genius loci. The Romans came up with the places themselves have their own creative genius. This idea that the individual is the creative genius is quite a modern notion. You know, it’s a Renaissance idea, basically. But up until that point, it was always felt that we were vessels for creative ideas, inspiration, it can literally flowed through us. And as I’m talking to these tribal leaders, they’re saying, yeah, we’ve known this for

like centuries, you know, we, when we talk about a lake or a ⁓ mountain range, we talk about it having that effect, it has this kind of genius loci as well and

Joseph Jebelli (34:35)

Hahaha

James Taylor (34:47)

And so, and I know that maybe it’s just the sciences, we’re just finally kind of catching up to something that’s been like the Japanese, I they have forest bathing, which has happened for a long time where they kind of go into the spaces. maybe we’re just finally catching up. One thing I am interested to know though, as someone who spends a lot of time in the Middle East, when I’ve spoken about this idea of like the green spaces, it hasn’t quite ⁓ connected in the same way with some of the audiences there.

something I’m interested to know, this is studies I’ve seen have always been focused on the Western countries and Europe and America. I would be interested to know if those societies are from drier climates, whether that green thing also does the same to their brains. I don’t know if I don’t know if any of those kind of studies have been done if it has a there’s differences maybe it’s blue the ocean and the water is a bigger thing for them.

Joseph Jebelli (35:33)

Hmm

Yeah, that’s really interesting. Because we know that obviously different cultures, you know, practice rest in different ways and certain cultures, some cultures take rest more seriously than others. Like we know, for instance, that rest is thankfully taken more seriously in Europe than it is in America. So there’s no doubt about that. But in terms of, and you know, at the same time, you know, Japan, I think sadly has a bit more of the American corporate

overwork kind of mentality. So there are differences, you know, in terms of culture, in terms of the underlying biology. Even people from like a drier climate will respond in the same way to fight inside exposure from trees and, you know, from being in green spaces. at the same time,

you know, the nature thing is interesting because it doesn’t necessarily, you don’t necessarily have to be in a forest. So the soft fascinations and the things that help change your brain waves and your brain chemistry, you know, it can be from being in a beautiful canyon or on a desert. It’s, you know, there are still soft fascinations there. There are still things that are going to change your brain, your brain’s neurochemistry. know, even though, though, as you said, the colour green and being around greenery is really important.

We know for instance that there’s also what we call blue prescriptions now as well, as well as green prescriptions, because the colour blue has actually been found to change the neurochemistry of your brain as well. That also shifts your brain waves and changes your brain’s chemistry in a really positive, beneficial way. And so there are even researchers now looking at the neurological health of people who live on the beach or live on the coast compared to people that live more inland.

James Taylor (37:17)

The scraping, yeah.

Joseph Jebelli (37:38)

So I think the main message is that it’s nature, like, you overall, that is really beneficial for our brains. It’s precisely because it allows us, it allows true rest for the brain. And, you know, because what we’re getting when we don’t embrace nature in that way is, as I said, things that masqueraders rest, like your smartphone, like binge watching your favorite series on Netflix, you know,

being in this sort chronic urban existence where everything is very, very fast paced and very hustle and bustle. And you you can still find restful things to do in that environment, obviously, but it’s, you know, I think it goes without question. It’s harder basically. So no, I mean, yeah, it would, think that there needs to be more research done on like the geographical differences and like cultural differences. But I have no doubt that

James Taylor (38:25)

Yeah.

Joseph Jebelli (38:38)

The neurophysiological effects of things like fight insides and exposure to greenery ⁓ and blue spaces, it’s so profound, the effect it has on your brain that it doesn’t matter if you live in the Middle East in a very dry ⁓ landscape, it’s still gonna help your brain.

James Taylor (38:57)

funny because when often when I’m speaking to more to corporate audiences and I’ll mention something like this you just took which sounds like a very soft kind of woo type of topic about having this relationship with nature and and

the number of people that come up to me afterwards saying, I’m so glad you mentioned this because, know, this is, and they’ll tell you their personal relationship with nature and how they’ve maybe done something in their office or their work day as well. So I think it’s maybe this is a topic that’s in the same way that maybe we talked about emotional intelligence a few years ago that became more of a thing or resilience and maybe this is now we’re kind of moving into this space our relationship with nature. So your previous books have also covered memory.

Joseph Jebelli (39:35)

Hmm.

James Taylor (39:38)

This book is really covering the brain at rest and what that does for us in terms of our clarity, our creativity, our resilience as well. Where’s your research going next? I’m wondering, is the next book gonna be on how to optimize our brain chemistry to do the like hustle work? Like are you gonna go completely in the opposite direction? Where are you going next?

Joseph Jebelli (39:51)

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, that really would be a sea change, wouldn’t it? ⁓ Well, I can definitely say a firm categorical no to that. ⁓ I’m very anti-overwork and very pro-rest for all the reasons that we’ve discussed. The next book, you know, I haven’t given too much thought about the next book. So this one’s just come out, talking about it.

⁓ far and wide wherever I can. ⁓ Yeah, I think as well, know, ⁓ having a bit of a rest myself, I suppose, because there was always a kind of interesting sort of irony and paradox to ⁓ trying to be more restful whilst writing a book. But I still managed it by basically just being more intentional about my rest. And as I said, having more breaks throughout the day and practicing all of the tools and techniques that I talk about in the book.

James Taylor (40:39)

⁓

Joseph Jebelli (40:59)

But yeah, at the moment I’m promoting the book, but at the same time thoroughly trying to enact the message of the book with more rest. At least for the time being, we’ve just had a baby boy as well, so I’m taking some paternity leave as well. But yeah, when I know what the next book is, I’ll certainly let you know.

James Taylor (41:24)

Right, so just kind of final quick fire questions as we start to finish up here as well. ⁓ Is there a quote that maybe you reflect on a little bit more often, or something that maybe you keep kind of returning to thinking about this quote?

Joseph Jebelli (41:38)

A quote from something that I’ve written in the book. Yeah.

James Taylor (41:41)

Maybe not to say something,

but maybe a quote from another writer, another thinker, or a scientist that something maybe you often kind of return to, you’re thinking a lot about just now perhaps.

Joseph Jebelli (41:56)

Yeah, that’s-

often think of the ⁓

I’m a fan of the Henry David Thoreau, I love to be alone, I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude. I do quite like that and I think about that often because I have a chapter in my book about solitude and all of the cognitive benefits that can come from actually having some alone time. You know, crucially when it’s chosen, when it’s voluntary alone time. Because that’s a period of

not only great default network activity, but a period when you can have a true self-generated inner thought. ⁓ And I think that’s something that we’re sort of slowly losing. ⁓ You know, there’s kind of a heritage to rest that we’re losing. You know, I remember speaking to, ⁓ I was speaking to this really interesting psychologist, Charles Ferniehoe, for the book. He’s written some really interesting books. And he was saying how his daughter,

you know, she’s in the garden, but she’s often on a screen and he has to take it away. And he was saying, you know, he was like, you know, he’s saying, you know, when we grew up, you would just sit in the garden and stare at the trees. And I, know, that’s certainly how it was with me as well. think smartphones and all of that, it was, came around really when I was in my twenties. So, and I think, I just think, you know, there’s that quote on solitude, that idea of just enjoying your own company and your own thoughts and just being alone in nature.

to have that inner self-reflection. That’s something I think about more and more because I think with the rise of digital distractions and social media and the kind of digital culture that we’re in and seems to just be amplifying, I think we are losing that more and more. that’s, you know, that heritage of rest, that ability just to sit in the garden, sit in the park and just let your mind wander and stare at the trees.

It’s something that we need to return to more now than ever before.

James Taylor (44:09)

Yeah, this idea of, I know, I remember a few years ago going to Walden Pond, you know, I think with it, Rhea Thurow wrote that book as well. you can, and the first thing immediately came to mind was, God, this must have been really boring at the time. You know, you were just, there’s nothing to do. They were just kind of going, you know, just going there and sitting. And I think, you know, we think about this word boredom in a negative context, but actually I think it’s quite a powerful thing to do because, know,

Joseph Jebelli (44:17)

Hmm.

You

James Taylor (44:38)

having that space where you don’t have the distractions just to let the mind wander that you were talking about earlier, to think and to perhaps come up with original thoughts as well, something that isn’t coming in from other places, social media, the media, other places as well as, yes, maybe that’s a boredom.

Joseph Jebelli (44:56)

Yeah, well, if

boredom is really interesting, should chat to Dr. Anna Lemke. She’s, she’s written some really interesting things about boredom and how it is a catalyst for creativity and how you should, you should embrace boredom because again, they’ve done studies showing that when you’re bored, it not only makes you more creative, interestingly, it makes you more charitable as well, which, was, which was a big surprise. Cause you look for more meaningful things to do afterwards. And part of that

more meaningful search is also to be more charitable. So yeah, there’s a lot to be said for boredom.

James Taylor (45:31)

Amazing, amazing.

What is one, ⁓ we talk about being anti-tech, but I mean not completely anti-tech here, but is there a tool or an app that you find particularly useful in the work you do as a researcher and as a writer?

Joseph Jebelli (45:46)

⁓ Not an app. ⁓ I’m quite anti the apps. So I, I mean, I think I sort of, I mentioned some of the apps in my book that are supposed to help with productivity, like one called Forest, where you’re supposed to be more productive by growing virtual trees, which I just think is completely nuts.

⁓ And all of these apps that’s, you know, supposedly streamline your work and make you more productive when in actual fact, they just make you end up doing more work and spending more time on your phone. It’s like more screen time, essentially. ⁓ So there’s not really an app. I sort of I try and spend as little time. I only spend time on on my smartphone when I really need to now just because of how bad it is for our brains.

and our resting brain in particular. So not a nap. think I’m more a fan of like the techniques side of things like the Pomodoro technique, your 25 minutes work, five minutes rest or practicing things like taking an extra 10 minutes every hour, know, having a 30 minute nap every day, getting 20 minutes in a green space every day, you know, spending like…

upwards of five minutes when you’re in the hypnopompic and hypnagogic phase of sleep, mind wandering. So it’s more about knowing when to… rituals, yes, that’s what I’m looking for, rituals, more about rituals.

James Taylor (47:11)

rituals. Yeah, yeah.

And if there was one book you would recommend, you’re going to have links to your own book here, but if there’s one book by another author that you often gifted more often than others or you kind of go back to more than others, what would that book be?

Joseph Jebelli (47:27)

That’s a really good question. There are so many. There are so many. It’s really tricky. One of my favorite books recently has been David Robson’s The Expectation Effect. Really, really interesting guy who ⁓ talks all about how, you know, often when you expect things to happen, that expectation in itself leads to the cognitive ability to actually achieve what you want to achieve. It’s a kind of cognitive… ⁓

like the cognitive side of the placebo effect in many ways. But it’s really interesting because the brain is essentially a prediction machine. know, we’re always basically, the brain is constantly scanning its environment for patterns and to figure out what maybe I’m going to say at the end of this sentence. And so expectations come into that so much, even when students, when teachers expect,

⁓ great things from their students. When they have higher expectations of them, they perform better. So it’s a really interesting neurocognitive phenomenon that hasn’t really been explored before and he explores it beautifully in that book.

James Taylor (48:40)

almost sounds like the science of people talk about manifestation or you know going into the mirror every day and saying imagining like these are the five things I’m gonna achieve in my life so great so we’ll put a link to that book as well. ⁓ If people want to learn more about you and you’re writing your books, you have multiple books now, where’s the best place to go and do that?

Joseph Jebelli (49:00)

The best place is to go to my website actually, just drjosephjubely.com. ⁓ You can see my books, you can see any upcoming like speaking events. You can also contact me directly there as well. I try my best to reply to everyone who contacts me. That’s the best place. I’m not on social media. I might eventually go on social media. I’m very, very hesitant. But for the time being, the website is the best place.

James Taylor (49:30)

Well,

Joseph Gibelli, thank you for being a guest on the Super Creativity Podcast.

Joseph Jebelli (49:35)

Thank you, James.

SThe post How Rest Unlocks Creativity: The Neuroscience of Your Brain – Dr. Joseph Jebelli #357 appeared first on James Taylor.

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Asking Better Questions for Leadership SuccessIn business and in life, the smartest people aren’t always the ones with the best answers, they’re the ones who know how to ask better questions. Curiosity is more than just a trait, it’s a superpower that builds trust, reveals hidden insights, and sparks innovation. Yet in today’s fast paced world, many leaders skip over curiosity in favor of speed, ego, or fear of looking unprepared.

In this episode, James Taylor shares how a simple game called Only Questions sharpened his listening skills and transformed casual conversations into powerful breakthroughs. From uncovering industry secrets on long haul flights to learning strategies that shaped global keynotes, he reveals how to use the curiosity gap to your advantage. If you’ve ever wondered how to shift conversations, open new opportunities, and lead with impact, it all starts with the questions you ask.

🎙️ Top 5 Soundbites:

1. “The smartest leaders aren’t the ones with the best answers — they’re the ones who ask better questions.”
2. “Curiosity is a superpower that builds trust and unlocks hidden insights.”
3. “The curiosity gap makes our brains restless — and great communicators know how to use it.”
4. “Most breakthroughs don’t come from answers, they come from asking the right questions.”
5. “A single powerful question can change the direction of an entire conversation.”

Apple PodcastSpotify PodcastTakeaways Curiosity is a superpower that builds trust, reveals insights, and sparks innovation. * Playing the Only Questions game sharpens listening skills and strengthens conversations. * The curiosity gap: The space between what we know and want to know — drives engagement and attention. * Ego, speed, and fear are the main barriers that stop leaders from asking better questions. * Breakthroughs often come from questions, not answers, as they change conversations and uncover hidden opportunities. * Sharpen curiosity by asking follow ups, listening for surprises, and keeping a running list of great questions. In his upcoming book, James Taylor delves into the transformative concept of SuperCreativity™—the art of amplifying your creative potential through collaboration with both humans and machines. Drawing from his experiences speaking in over 30 countries, James combines compelling stories, case studies, and practical strategies to help readers unlock innovation and harness the power of AI-driven tools. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to elevate their creativity and thrive in the modern age of human-machine collaboration*.

James Taylor is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, often booked months or even years in advance due to his exceptional expertise. Given his limited availability, it’s crucial to contact him early if you’re interested in securing a date or learning how he can enhance your event. Reach out to James Taylor now for an opportunity to bring his unique insights to your conference or team.

Enquire NowThe Creativity BlueprintFree 3-Part Video Training Series On How To Unlock Your Creative Potential, Break Down Creative Blocks, and Unleash Your Creative Genius
FREE training video shows you how to unlock your creative potential in 5 simple steps. The world’s top creative individuals and organizations use these exact strategies.

The 7-Figure Speaker BlueprintFREE training video shows you the ten ways to make $1,000,000 from your speaking. The world’s top professional speakers use these exact strategies.

In this first FREE video series, award-winning keynote speaker James Taylor reveals how to become a 7-figure speaker.

CHAPTERSTimestamps: 00:00 – Opening Hook
Why attention spans matter and the 8-second rule. * 00:45 – The Goldfish Myth
Microsoft’s study and what it says about modern focus. * 02:00 – Research on Attention
Gloria Mark’s findings and the drop from 2.5 minutes to 47 seconds. * 03:30 – Real-World Impact
King’s College survey and what shorter attention spans mean for communication. * 05:00 – Capturing the First Eight Seconds
Stories, questions, and unexpected openings that grab attention. * 07:00 – Attention Resets
How to re-engage audiences with tone shifts, visuals, and surprises. * 09:00 – Competing Against Distractions
Why speakers must be intentional in the digital age. * 11:00 – The 4-Step Framework
Practical strategies: script your opening, chunk content, add resets, deliver value. * 13:00 – The Gift of Attention*
How to respect focus and earn deeper engagement from your audience. TRANSCRIPTJames Taylor (00:08) 8 seconds. That’s how long you have to capture someone’s attention before it drifts. You probably heard the goldfish comparison from Microsoft’s 2015 study. They claimed their attention spans have dropped from 12 seconds in 2000 to just 8 seconds in 2013. Supposedly that makes us less focused than a goldfish. Now, whether that’s literally true or just a catchly headline, the point’s stuck. Our focus is under siege. Gloria Mark, a professor at UC Irvine, has tracked human attention for decades. Her team found that the average time that we spend focused on a single screen has dropped from 2.5 minutes in the early 2000s to just 47 seconds today. That’s less than a minute before our minds wander off or our fingers swipe to something else. And it’s not just the data. A 2023 survey by King’s College London found that nearly half of UK adults feel their attention spans have shortened in the past decade. And many believe that eight seconds is now the norm. So if you’re a speaker, a leader, a teacher, or anyone who needs to hold attention, you can’t ignore this. Eight seconds is your runway. If you use it well, you earn the next eight seconds and the next eight seconds. And before you know it, you’ve got them with you for the whole ride. When I walk onto a stage, those first few seconds are where I’m testing the waters. Did that opening line make someone look up? Did I see the phone go face down on the table? Did the body language in the front row shift from, I’m here because I have to, to, okay, you got my attention? Those cues tell me I passed the first test. Sometimes I’ll open with a story, like the time I was halfway through a talk in Manila and the power went out. It’s unexpected, it’s human, and it makes people wonder what happened next. Sometimes it’s a question. What do jazz musicians and AI engineers have in common? It’s unusual enough that people want to stick around to hear the answer. more images ⁓ than all human photographers have. in history. That one usually gets a raised eyebrow or two. Whatever the hook, my goal is the same. Break autopilot. But here’s the thing. Grabbing attention is the easy part. Keeping it now, that’s the craft. I use what I call attention resets. Every few minutes I change something. I might shift from telling a personal story to showing a powerful image. I might move from the center of the stage to the edge or lower my voice so the room has to lean in. Sometimes I’ll throw in a surprising statistic or ask a question that makes people stop and think. These resets are intentional. They’re the moments that pull people back from the brink of distraction. Think of it like driving on long road. If it’s a straight highway with nothing to look at, your mind starts to wander. But if the road curves or you pass through a town, or a song you love comes on the radio, your attention snaps back. Those changes keep you present. In a talk, I tried to create those curves and scenery changes on purpose. The reality is, we are competing against the most addictive attention machines ever built. Social media feeds, news apps, streaming platforms, they’re designed by teams and teams of engineers and behavioral scientists whose sole job is to keep you scrolling. If you’re communicating in that environment, you need to be just as intentional. That doesn’t mean dumbing things down. It means structuring your message in a way that works with human attention rather than against it. here’s my framework for thriving in the eight second world. Step one, script your opening eight seconds. Don’t wing it. Know exactly what you’re gonna say, show or do. Step two, break your content into short, high impact chunks. If it’s a 30 minute talk, think in three to five minute segments. Step three, build in attention resets. These can be changes in tone, visuals, pace, or even when you’re actually in the room. Step four, deliver value quickly. Give your audience a reason to keep investing their attention in you. One of my favorite moments on stage is where I spot that shift in the room. The phones go down, the notes taking starts, the heads nod in rhythm. That’s when I know we’re not just passing time together, we’re in it. And it all started with those first eight seconds. So the next time you’re in front of an audience, whether it’s a keynote, a team meeting, or even a one-on-one conversation, ask yourself, what am I going to do in my first eight seconds to earn the next eight? Because in this distracted world, attention isn’t guaranteed, it’s a gift. And if you respect it, people will give you more of it than you think.

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Why Your Team Isn't Creative? How to Build Innovation #356Are you trying to foster innovation, but your team meetings end up being repetitive and uninspired? It’s a common challenge for leaders: you have a room full of smart people, but unlocking their collective creative genius feels just out of reach. If you’re ready to move beyond stagnant brainstorming sessions and drive real results, you’re in the right place.

We’ve distilled the key insights from a powerful conversation with Dr. Amy Climer, a leading expert on team creativity and author of Deliberate Creative Teams. Drawing from her appearance on the Super Creativity Podcast, this guide breaks down her proven framework for building highly innovative teams. You’ll discover the three critical elements every team needs—Purpose, Dynamics, and Process—and learn actionable strategies, like using “creative abrasion,” to transform your team’s culture and output.

Get ready to learn not just why innovation matters, but how to deliberately cultivate it.

🎙️ Top 5 Soundbites:

• On Intentionality: “If you want to be creative, if you want to be innovative, you have to be intentional about it. I say it all the time: Be deliberate to be creative. It will not happen by accident.”
• On Productive Conflict: “We need what’s called ‘creative abrasion’—the ability to disagree about the work. If everyone in the meeting says ‘that looks fine’ but complains in the hallway, that’s not helping anybody.”
• On Problem-Solving: “Many teams jump to solutions without deeply understanding the problem. Research shows that if you just spend five minutes clarifying the issue, you can get dramatically better results.”
• On a Common Misconception: “I’ve had CEOs say, ‘I don’t want my team to be creative, I just want them to be innovative.’ They see creativity as frivolous, but true creativity is about generating novelty that is valuable.”
• On Making Time for Innovation: “Teams always say ‘time’ is their biggest barrier. But are you still doing things you no longer need to? We all have ‘antiquated bureaucratic remnants’—like a report no one reads—that we can let go of to create space for new ideas.” Apple PodcastSpotify PodcastTakeaways Innovation Requires a Three-Part Alignment.* Successful creative teams don't happen by accident. They require the deliberate alignment of three key elements: a clear Team Purpose (the 'why'), healthy Team Dynamics (the 'who' and 'how' of interaction), and an effective Creative Process (the 'what' and 'when' of doing the work). When one of these is missing, innovation falters.
• Embrace 'Creative Abrasion,' Not Relationship Conflict. Productive teams need to engage in task-based conflict, which Dr. Climer calls "creative abrasion." This is the healthy debate and disagreement about the work itself. It's crucial to foster an environment where ideas can be challenged without it becoming personal, as relationship conflict is always destructive to creativity.
• Don't Solve the Wrong Problem: Clarify First. Teams often rush to generate solutions before they fully understand the problem. Dr. Climer highlights that even spending just five minutes clarifying the challenge, asking questions, and digging deeper can significantly improve the quality and relevance of the final outcome.
• Psychological Safety is Non-Negotiable. For creative abrasion and honest feedback to occur, a foundation of psychological safety is essential. Team members must feel safe enough to speak up, challenge ideas, and take risks without fear of punishment or humiliation. It's the bedrock upon which all healthy team dynamics are built.
• Make Time for Innovation by 'Exnovating' the Unnecessary. The most common barrier to creativity is a perceived lack of time. Dr. Climer advises teams to actively look for "antiquated bureaucratic remnants"—outdated processes, reports, or meetings that no longer add value. By strategically removing this old work (exnovation), you create the space needed for new, innovative thinking.
• Creativity is a Skill, Not Just an Artistic Talent. A major misconception leaders have is confusing creativity with artistic ability. Creativity in a business context is the skill of generating novel and valuable ideas. It is a practical, learnable process that can be applied to any field, from mechanical engineering to marketing. In his upcoming book, James Taylor delves into the transformative concept of SuperCreativity™—the art of amplifying your creative potential through collaboration with both humans and machines. Drawing from his experiences speaking in over 30 countries, James combines compelling stories, case studies, and practical strategies to help readers unlock innovation and harness the power of AI-driven tools. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to elevate their creativity and thrive in the modern age of human-machine collaboration.

James Taylor is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, often booked months or even years in advance due to his exceptional expertise. Given his limited availability, it’s crucial to contact him early if you’re interested in securing a date or learning how he can enhance your event. Reach out to James Taylor now for an opportunity to bring his unique insights to your conference or team.

Enquire NowThe Creativity BlueprintFree 3-Part Video Training Series On How To Unlock Your Creative Potential, Break Down Creative Blocks, and Unleash Your Creative Genius
FREE training video shows you how to unlock your creative potential in 5 simple steps. The world’s top creative individuals and organizations use these exact strategies.

The 7-Figure Speaker BlueprintFREE training video shows you the ten ways to make $1,000,000 from your speaking. The world’s top professional speakers use these exact strategies.

In this first FREE video series, award-winning keynote speaker James Taylor reveals how to become a 7-figure speaker.

CHAPTERSPodcast Episode Timestamps: Dr. Amy Climer on Building Innovative Teams (00:08) Introduction to Dr. Amy Climer and her work. * (01:16) Dr. Climer’s personal journey into creativity research, starting in high school. * (03:23) The purpose behind her “Deliberate Creative Team Scale” – measuring team behaviours, not just personality. * (04:22) Introduction to the Deliberate Creative Team model: the three essential elements of Purpose, Dynamics, and Process. * (06:17) A deep dive into Team Purpose and the need for enough space within a goal to innovate. * (08:21) Explaining Team Dynamics, including trust, psychological safety, and the role of conflict. * (08:52) Breaking down the Team Creative Process, using Creative Problem Solving as an example. * (11:41) The power of clarifying the problem first, even for just five minutes. * (14:55) Discussing productive conflict and the concept of “Creative Abrasion” from the work of Jerry Hirschberg at Nissan. * (23:02) The most common barrier to creativity that teams report: a lack of time. * (23:51) How to overcome the time barrier by removing “antiquated bureaucratic remnants” (or ‘exnovating’ old tasks). * (29:47) Dr. Climer’s personal story of letting go of her podcast to create space for new innovation. * (30:30) A teacher who personally influenced her approach to creativity. * (34:02) The biggest misunderstanding leaders have: separating “fluffy” creativity from “serious” innovation. * (35:30) The myth that creativity will just happen by accident, and her core message: “Be deliberate to be creative.” * (39:37) The single most impactful action leaders can take: rethinking and redesigning their team meetings. * (41:03) A creative tool Dr. Climer developed: “Climer Cards” to facilitate deeper conversations. * (44:30) Dr. Climer’s book recommendation for personal creativity: The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. * (45:34)* How to connect with Dr. Amy Climer online. TRANSCRIPTJames Taylor (00:08) Dr. Amy Climer teaches teams and organizations how to increase their creativity so they can maximize innovation. She works with forward thinking organizations such as the Mayo Clinic, Stanford University, and the US Department of Homeland Security. Amy is the author of the bestselling book, Deliberate Creative Teams, How to Lead for Innovative Results. She is also the host of another fantastic website which you've got to check out called the Deliberate Creative Podcast.where she shares practical advice and strategies to help leaders build innovative teams. Amy has a PhD in leadership and change and is a certified speaking professional, CSP. Please welcome to the Super Creativity Podcast, Dr. Amy ClimerAmy Climer, Ph.D. (00:57)Thank you, it's so good to be here, James.James Taylor (01:00)So I love, obviously, there's a huge amount of synergy with the work that you do and the listeners for this show as well. But I want to know, just take us right back to the start, what first drew you to creativity research and was there a kind of personal moment that set you on this path?Amy Climer, Ph.D. (01:16)been very curious about creativity, honestly, probably since high school. I remember I was the friend who if one of my friends said, no, I'm not creative. I can't draw. And I would just be like, yes, you can. It's just about practice. And you just have to apply yourself. And I would get all emphatic and try to build them up. And I think I just intuitively had a sense that creativity was more than drawing, which of course, as you know, is a misnomer.get confused about. ⁓ And then right after college, I stumbled upon the book The Artist's Way, which I'm sure you're familiar with and many listeners are, a classic book that really helped me see creativity in a new light. And then later I started teaching workshops, helping other people understand how creativity works. And all the while professionally, I was building skills and facilitation and team building and team development. And so eventually,Probably not until my 30s, I got really serious about integrating these two things, the creativity and the team development. And then I really geeked out about it and decided to go get a PhD and study this deeply. And I finished that about 10 years ago. But now I have a consulting practice where I help teams and organizations understand how creativity really works.James Taylor (02:39)So let's imagine you're on that flight, you're traveling out to maybe facilitate a workshop or give a keynote speech. The person sitting next to you said, so what do you do? How do you normally respond? Because you are a multi-hyphenate type of person. ⁓ How do you describe what you do?Amy Climer, Ph.D. (02:55)I usually say I teach teams and organizations how to be more creative and innovative. And then they are like, really? You can do that? Which obviously, you know you can, but yes.James Taylor (03:04)YouNow you went on this journey, obviously there's the strong academic side to what you do. ⁓ You developed the creative synergy scale based on surveys and real teams. What question or problem were you setting out to solve in the process of kind of working and finding the scale?Amy Climer, Ph.D. (03:23)Yeah, so just to clarify, the scale is actually called the Deliberate Creative Team Scale now. But the purpose of that assessment is to measure teams behaviors around creativity. And I think that there are some other measures out there that measures how creative someone might be, or there's other measures that are looking at kind of our personality in relation to our creativity and our creative output.But I really wanted to look at, what are we actually doing? What are those behaviors? And so the scale is actually where I also developed this model called the Deliberate Creative Team model. And it measures these three areas that teams need if they're going to be creative together. And we can get into those if you'd like, but I think what I love about this scale is it's looking at the behaviors and what are people actually doing, which can be really interesting and really eye-opening.James Taylor (04:22)So take us there then, tell us about this. You say that creativity comes when teams have purpose, dynamics, and process, and all this aligns as well. So is this a kind of Venn diagram? Do these things overlap? How do they all work together?Amy Climer, Ph.D. (04:36)Yeah, absolutely. Here, I'll throw up a visual for those of you who are watching this ⁓ video of it, but very basic Venn diagram with that. These are the three elements that I discovered in the research that are critical for teams to be creative together. So there's the team purpose, team dynamics and team creative process. And I know you've talked about these on your podcast before and it was actually through development of the scale that these evolved.then we're getting all into the statistics and how do you develop these things. But ⁓ what's interesting is, you know, I think that sometimes teams think they're doing certain things really well. Like they think they have a creative process, but when I ask them what it is, they have no idea and they can't actually describe it. ⁓ Or they describe something that just feels kind of convoluted and not very clear.or they think they have a clear team purpose, but then when you ask them what their team purpose is, they can't actually answer the question. ⁓ And so this scale helps them and this model helps them understand, yeah, here's what we need to develop further.James Taylor (05:44)So let's imagine a perfect scenario, which never really exists, but we have a company, we have a team. Let's choose an industry. They're in engineering, mechanical engineering. My wife's a mechanical engineer originally. So let's choose that as a, they're in a mechanical engineering making really super advanced kind of parts. Break down those kind of three elements and how, what is the perfect situation for that team?Amy Climer, Ph.D. (05:47)Sure.James Taylor (06:09)what do they mean to be doing in each of those areas, purpose, dynamics, purpose, and process, sorry, in order for those things to fully align.Amy Climer, Ph.D. (06:17)Okay, I love this. All right, and I actually love working with engineering teams. Yeah, I've worked with a number of them. Okay, so first off, I think the team needs to get clarity on what's their purpose, and there's different layers to understanding purpose. So first, there's the purpose of the entire organization or company. That might be the mission statement or something along, mission, whatever. But then, what's the purpose of this specific team?both in the big picture, how does it fit into that organization, but then even more specifically the purpose for this project. Now the challenge with ⁓ understanding purpose in relation to innovation is the purpose has to be, there has to be enough space within that purpose for you to actually innovate. And so if the purpose is super narrow, then you're not gonna have that wiggle room to come up with new ideas and go in different directions.⁓ In fact, there's some interesting research ⁓ that looked at that purpose sometimes comes later, that sometimes a team is working on their project, whatever they're trying to do, and they don't really know the purpose of it. And it would be for more like emergent innovation, probably not going to apply as much for a team like this, because often they might be working together like, we have this very specific problem that we're looking at and we're trying to solve this problem.So that's part of their purpose right there and getting clarity on that. Okay, so team purpose. Team dynamics are our ability to trust each other, to feel safe. I know you've talked about psychological safety on the podcast before. That's really important for teams to be more innovative together. So trust, ⁓ psychological safety, put those together. Also our ability to engage in conflict. And there's certain types of conflict that areparticularly useful and some that are not. And then of course our ability to communicate with each other. And this is the one that's overly obvious, but sometimes we gloss over it a bit too much. ⁓ But that trust conflict communication is all a part of the team dynamics. And so then the third piece is that process. And what's the process a team is using to actually innovate together? So.I think about what happens when the team sits down at a table together or jumps on a Zoom call together. What are their meetings like? How do they start? Are they just a report out where everybody's sharing updates? Because that's not gonna necessarily lead to innovation. In fact, people are probably gonna get a little glassy eyed and zone out a bit. ⁓ But what is that collaboration? And so there are many processes you can use, many strategies and techniques. The process that I teach my clientsmost often is called creative problem solving. And it's a very basic process. It's designed based on how we as humans naturally solve problems. And I'm sure if you haven't talked about this process on your podcast, you've talked about other ones. I've heard a couple of your episodes where you're going through like the ideation process. ⁓ But when we have a process, we can be clear about where are we?What are we doing right now? Like for instance, we start off, let's clarify what the problem is. We need to really deeply understand that problem, which is a spot many teams skip over and then generate some ideas and what are the best ideas to solve that particular problem. And then I often say, you know, when we come up with an idea, it'll like fit on a post-it note. There's nothing to it. It's just a sentence. And so it needs to be developed further. And then once that's developed, we can...implement it, maybe test it out and see like, right, would this work? Let's try it at a really small scale or, you know, for a mechanical engineering team, maybe like try, you know, let's develop this with a 3D printer first or cardboard or like how basic can we get before we're spending millions of dollars to produce some something big. Anyway, that's a bit of yeah, go ahead.James Taylor (10:21)So let's go through,it's interesting going through some of those, like on the purpose one, you have a team, sometimes people know each other well, sometimes they don't, they're coming together. Do you ever find that initially people kind of think they're coming into that team meeting to ideate, work on, maybe it's gonna be problem, solving a problem, and find that the purpose, when they leave the room after an hour,they've actually decided that the purpose that they're about is not the purpose that they initially thought when they went into the room.Amy Climer, Ph.D. (10:53)Yes. And I think that's actually, you just spoke to the value of that conversation. It's like, you think the problem is here, you know, the problem is X, but actually start digging into it it's actually Y or Z or A or B or whatever. It's something different. If you didn't spend time clarifying, then you would have solved for the wrong problem. And I see this happen all the times in Teams. And there's some interesting research by this guy,Roger Firestein, where he found that if you just spend five minutes clarifying, sometimes that's enough. So it doesn't have to be this long drawn out thing, although sometimes you do need more than five minutes, but even five minutes makes a difference and can get better results.James Taylor (11:41)It's interesting, I always try and start those kind of meetings with just asking a whole bunch of series of questions. think MIT, they call it kind of question bursts. use different, we've had a guest on, Gregason, Professor Gregson, that came on the show talking about MIT question bursts. And he said, often when you kind of get it at the start of the meeting and you're asking a series of questions, before you get into thinking about, even thinking about solutions.He said, you often find out the problem you thought was a problem isn't the main problem at all. There's something that sits behind it that if you just didn't spend those first few minutes just getting all those different stakeholders in the room on the same page as to like, this is really why we're here. He said, you end up wasting a lot of time.Amy Climer, Ph.D. (12:25)It's, I totally agree with that. Yeah. It's like just let's dig into a little bit. And sometimes one of the techniques that I use, I don't know if you've talked about on this year show, but are you familiar with ethnographic interviews? This technique? Okay. It's very simple. And it's actually a, there's a whole research arm, research methodology called ethnographic interviews, but this is a very light version of it where basically you're just going and talking to the people who have the problem you're trying to solve.James Taylor (12:38)I've of this, yes, yes.Amy Climer, Ph.D. (12:55)It doesn't mean you have to bring them all in the meeting. mean, sometimes that's not appropriate or realistic, but it might be picking up the phone or walking down the street or wherever people who have this problem are, go talk to them and you're asking them questions for anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour, depending on the situation. But even asking them questions for 10 minutes, you might get...a completely different perspective of what's actually going on and realize, ⁓ okay, now we understand it better from their perspective and that's gonna change how we idea.James Taylor (13:24)Yeah.You'vejust given a very academic fancy label to something I'm thinking I often do where, what's that thing is this expression in America is like a $10 word or there's something like this is kind of that kind of thing. It's like a 10 cent or a $10 word. Anyway, I often think about it when clients come to me and maybe you find this the same when clients book you in for keynotes is the person that comes to you is maybe the HR leader.Amy Climer, Ph.D. (13:37)you⁓ like a 10 cent word? I don't know.James Taylor (13:59)or the C-suite in the organization or a VP. And I always ask that before we do the event, can I speak to two or three of your team members are gonna be at this event in advance? And I'm always fascinated because sometimes I'm having to triangulate between, well, the CEO thinks this is the problem, the people on the grand floor who are dealing with everything, they see this is the problem, HR sees it from this kind of different problem. And until you kind of start by just putting all that.Amy Climer, Ph.D. (14:09)Right.James Taylor (14:26)out there you don't really find, which kind of brings me to that second point, the dynamics piece. So I'm here in Scotland today and we have ⁓ Edinburgh, which is the home of the Enlightenment period, and they had a phrase they used to have there which was called, flighting. So flighting is the ritual abuse of your opponent by means of verbal violence. That's basically what it is. So we would think of that as, know, sometimes if someone comes from outside and they seeAmy Climer, Ph.D. (14:30)Yeah.gosh.James Taylor (14:55)two Scottish people or Italians can be a little bit like this as well, having a really deep discussion about something. It looks like they're fighting, but they're not fighting. They're actually just, they're really passionate. Now, in that dynamics part, you talk about the requirements, things that you required to ensure that you're gonna get the best from that team. So can you talk about the dynamics piece?Amy Climer, Ph.D. (15:16)Yeah, well, since you brought up this idea of flighting or fighting and what looks like fighting maybe, ⁓ one of the pieces is around conflict. And there's a type of conflict and I love this phrase called creative abrasion. so, okay, let me back up first, but I wanna explain what creative abrasion is, but let me back up and say, so there's two main types of conflict. There's that relationship conflict where,I just don't like you. And for whatever reason, it's like, here goes James again. And I just like check out, right? Like that is never helpful in a team. Or I don't know if it's ever helpful in any context. ⁓ But relationship conflict is not helpful. But then there's task conflict where we're going to disagree about the work or how we approach it or the result, you know, all of that. And in the 1980s, this guy, Jerry Hirschberg,he was hired by Nissan. And at that point, Nissan was trying to bring meld together the ⁓ Japanese engineering with the American innovation, and they were building Nissan plants in the US to make new cars. So they hired Jerry Hirschberg to like lead this process. And so he gets these teams together of the Japanese and Americans, and they're in Tennessee in the United States.there was so much conflict. They couldn't even agree on what radio station to listen to in the office, which, you in the 1980s, that's what you might argue about. And eventually he kind of realized this is really good, and maybe not the radio station debate, but these different perspectives coming together were really important. And there were times where the team was so polite with each other that they weren't getting anywhere. And so he started to push themAnd he called this creative abrasion that we need to disagree about the work and, you in this case, how they design the cars. And if what happens if the team, like in the team meeting, everyone's like, yeah, yeah, that looks fine. Yeah, the headlight looks great. And then out in the hallway, there's a conversation like, ⁓ my gosh, I can't believe we're going to go with that headlight design. It looks hideous. That's not helping anybody.And actually, what would be better is like, let's bring that conversation into the team meetings, into the, you know, and you can have a time and a place for it. It's not like you're always in debate, because that's also not helpful. But being able to engage in that creative abrasion can be really valuable. And I would say that's really hard without a level of psychological safety and a level of trust.James Taylor (18:05)It reminds me a little bit of there was a few years ago, there was a series of airline incidents, crashes, ⁓ one airline, Korean airlines, I think I seem to remember was the airline. And they played back the tapes, the black box tapes, and they would hear something along the lines of often the way that they had the pilots, that the pilot was very senior, much older, and the co-pilot was usually much younger, much more junior. That was kind of, they had quite a big dynamic there.And you would hear things like the co-pilot, the junior saying to the pilot, ah Captain, I can see that mountain is getting very close just now. And in a few seconds we go by, Captain, yes, that mountain is definitely getting closer. And so, and it was a cultural thing in terms of seniority and what they had to do when they went through it on the safety side, they actually sent all the pilots to the United States.do and train again, to teach them, I guess, assertiveness or, you know, just kind of knock some of that stuff out. Now, you know, actually, I quite like that there is something very nice about, you know, parts of Asia where there's a little bit more mellow with things. But yeah, so I love this idea of this creative abrasion. And I think I see this sometimes, I was in a kind of co-working innovation incubation.Amy Climer, Ph.D. (19:17)Yeah, the saving face is important. Yeah.James Taylor (19:31)district of a city. I wouldn't say what the city was. And it had looked like it had been designed by an architecture firm. And it was perfect. It was beautiful. had all the things, know, tick, tick, tick. had in terms of the kind of spaces and that kind of design there. And I just turned to the person I was walking around with it and I said, something, this is not right. It lacks the kind of, that kind of brazen you're talking about of a Berlin or, you know,Amy Climer, Ph.D. (19:40)⁓James Taylor (20:01)parts of London or parts, if you go to San Francisco, know, Tenderloin or bits, you know, it's a little, there's something that you need a little bit of that rubbing up against each other, I guess.Amy Climer, Ph.D. (20:11)Yeah, oh my gosh, I love both these examples. Yeah, I do remember reading about the airline pilots and Yeah, I do feel like yeah We need to like bump up against each other and if we're too polite whether it's because of hierarchy or you know culture or whatever it is That can also be a problem now I'm not suggesting that everyone needs to be rude to each other because that's obviously the other end of the spectrum but Your example about you know the cityIt totally fits. actually live in a place, I live in Asheville, North Carolina, which is more on that kind of grungier end, you know, like the San Francisco, the Berlin. I mean, we're a small city, only a hundred thousand people or so, but we're known for being a artistic, creative place. And I love that about living here is that, you know, there's sections of town that have a lot of graffiti and murals and...You know, somebody just like gets an idea and they just go do it. I mean, to a degree, right? And I feel like it's almost like a little bit different than going through this formal process. But sometimes there needs to be space there for just these ideas to evolve. Like, yeah, let's try that. That sounds interesting. Let's see what happens. And maybe it's good, maybe it's not. But you figure that out in the process.James Taylor (21:38)Yeah, I think you often see in places with ⁓ high immigration coming in from other places. mean, obviously America has benefited very much from that over the centuries. I was just recently ⁓ in Vienna speaking at an engine, kind of manufacturing conference. And you look at the history of that place and they had these two great golden ages in Vienna. And they both came at the same time where they had massive, actually immigration coming in from different places. One was because one empire was collapsing and then all these people were kind of coming in.Amy Climer, Ph.D. (21:38)Yeah.James Taylor (22:08)And there was tension within that. There was that kind of abrasiveness because you had people with very different perspectives, they different food, they liked different things. But from that, it kind of created this combustion of ideas. And actually America benefited from that because many of those people that ended up moving to, in 1930s and 20s and 30s and 40s, they ended up moving to United States and all those things that we think of as...American today like a shopping malls, know, they all came from, or kitchens like fitted kitchens, they were all Viennese ideas or modern advertising, scientific based advertising, these were all Viennese ideas that came from that as well. So you've got this team, you know, they're starting to get aligned, but when you're working with different organizations, what are the most common blocks that you see in their people or the way that things are, these teams are kind of formed in different ways, are holding them from back fromAmy Climer, Ph.D. (22:39)interesting.James Taylor (22:58)really unleashing their creative potential.Amy Climer, Ph.D. (23:02)Okay, so.I think one of the big blocks, well, when I ask clients, say, what are your big blocks? What are your barriers to creativity? One of the things they always say is time. And I get it, right? We live in this world right now that's just really busy and fast paced and people have this really high expectations and they think if I order something online, I should be able to get it in two hours or at most two days.So I believe that is true on some level that we do struggle with fitting all the things in in a given day. But I also try to push back a little bit and say, well, are there things that you're doing that you don't need to be doing anymore? Or are there processes in your business that could be changed because they're outdated or, I was talking to one client and turned out there was a...One of the employees produced a particular report every month. This was just something that they had been doing. They were told to do, know, years ago, they'd been producing this report every month. It took them several hours to do. No one was looking at it. And so in the middle of the meeting, they said, wait, so can I stop creating this report? And everyone was like, yeah, don't do that anymore. And so, and this just had, this conversation just happened to come up.It wasn't like we went around and all, like, what reports are you producing that you don't need to produce? But I feel like there are things like that that every organization does, every individual does that, ⁓ fact, in my book, I call it ⁓ antiquated bureaucratic remnants, that we all have these things that have just stayed in the company that no longer need to be done. So I think that's one thing is... ⁓time, but then more specifically is maybe really doing an analysis of how you're spending your time. ⁓ I think another thing which kind of is similar, but taking a look at the processes you're using and how that affects team dynamics, how that affects your innovation. So an example, I'm leading a retreat later this month for a client for their leadership team and they were telling me that one of the challenges they've had is just some respect.between people in the organization where, for instance, the marketing team will put together a document and send it out to a handful of people, say, hey, can I get your input on this? I just want to make sure this aligns with the work you're doing. And the response back often is really snarky. Like, wait, you need me to look at this? Don't you know how to do your own job? And it's like, whoa, whoa, okay, hold on a second. But when...when they were describing this to me, I thought, I wonder how that process, that communication process from one employee to the next could be changed and might that change the communication and the conversation? And so like, what's the question that's being asked? Is this being sent via email? Is this being sent with enough time? Is it like, hey, can you read this four page article? I need your response by tomorrow. Yeah, that's gonna probably create a little.frustration. But it, I don't know, does that make sense where it's just like, if you change the process, we might change the conversation.James Taylor (26:31)Yeah.I remind you as you're saying it, something like that Amazon, the Amazon memo, where, I mean, often we get emails from people asking us to review, to look at things, to review things, not with any, it's either they want us to be included in that loop, or sometimes it's because they want to be able to show off, and they feel really proud about what they've created, and it's a way of just getting some validation for what they've created.I'm talking to you marketers here, if any of you are listening to marketing. But I always liked what Amazon did, they would, start of the meeting, they would be coming in to discuss something as a team. They would just spend those first few minutes, everyone was given the document, maybe it's a four-page document or six-page document, to read with the thing or the thing that the problem or the something that the marketing team would...know, created to think about how to solve this problem or the numbers or the report, whatever the thing was. So everyone was literally on the same page. And then they discussed it at the same time. And I think that's actually, I think that's quite a respectful way of using people's time because we're all busy, you we're always getting bombarded with things. But just to say, and I'm constantly amazed getting on conference calls sometimes where there's 15 people on the call. And I have to ask the question, you know,why is there 15 people on this call? And sometimes it's because of presenteeism, which is not good as well. But I really like what you said about the time piece. And it reminds me, think we had either we had a guest on the show talking about this, or I filmed a podcast episode, solo podcast episode about it, was everyone talks about innovation, but no one really wants to talk about exnovation, removing things. And actually that's often the most difficult thing to do because we...Amy Climer, Ph.D. (28:21)Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.James Taylor (28:28)We're, yeah, we've always done this, so we've always done it this way. And so what you're talking about is kind of ex-novation there. It's like, why do we need, why are we still doing this report? This is no longer serving us.Amy Climer, Ph.D. (28:39)Yeah, 100%. I totally agree with you. Like, what do we need to let go of? And yeah, I just had a personal experience with that a few years ago. Well, I have a podcast called The Deliberate Creative. And when COVID hit, my work, it kind of happened organically, but I started shifting. for a couple of years, I was just teaching people how to be more engaging and interactive on Zoom because that's like, kept asking me how to do this.So I kind of shifted a little bit and what happened is my podcast, like I just didn't have the time and energy for it. So it was kind of almost accidentally put on hiatus. But it actually served me really well and it served my clients really well because I now had the energy to do this other work that they were very specifically asking me to do. And I was able to create some online courses and whatnot. the podcast is coming back now, but I'm...And there was a period where I'll admit I was sort of beating myself up about that. Like, ⁓ gosh, I haven't recorded a podcast episode in so long. And then I realized, wait a minute, this actually was perfect. I needed to let go of that in order to innovate in this new way.James Taylor (29:47)Yeah,create that space. And I've certainly done it before with projects we've had, which have been like a weekly thing that goes out. It could be a newsletter or type of show we've done. And actually one day I've just said, you know what, let's just stop it and see if anyone writes in and complains and said, I really miss. And if we don't get enough of those, then we're not going to restart it anyway. So you've gone this really interesting journey, the academic side, the writing, obviously the workshop, working with your clients and the keynotes as well.Amy Climer, Ph.D. (29:56)Yeah.Yeah.James Taylor (30:17)Who has personally influenced you the most when it comes to creativity? So a teacher or a particular client you worked with or a mentor?Amy Climer, Ph.D. (30:30)Mmm, so many people Okay, I'm gonna go back to when I was quite young I had a teacher who I was fortunate to have three different years in fifth sixth and eighth grade and Her name was mrs. Shar Mrs. Elliott Shar and actually speaking of immigrants. She was an immigrant to the US from Cuba amazing human and II just, she was someone who really encouraged all of us to be creative in a way that was aligned with who we were. ⁓ Which meaning, know, she was very good at helping you kind of identify your strengths and what you liked and what you were good at and encouraging those. And I think that gave me some self-confidence because this field...It's not that not a lot of people who have decided I'm gonna dedicate my life to teaching people how to be creative I mean a little bit more now in the last maybe few years, but You know and and I didn't even know think about this as a possibility until I was at least 30 But I look back and that was quite profound of just watching how she Supported us how she facilitated the whole class and createdreally a very psychologically safe space before I knew anything about that, before that was even really being talked about. ⁓ And I feel reallyJames Taylor (32:01)power of teachers. I just posted something on LinkedIn the other day about a game I sometimes play on flights, which is, I see how long I can go in the flight, or if I can get through the entire flight, without the person I'm sitting next to knowing anything about me, and me knowing as much as possible about them. ⁓ it's questions, basically, I'm just using my brain to ask questions, listening, trying to develop my listening skills. And ⁓Amy Climer, Ph.D. (32:28)the way you're having a conversationwith them or you're just, okay.James Taylor (32:30)Yeah, I literally, Imean, I was on a flight the other day that I wouldn't say which country I was going to, but, and it was actually across the aisle, sending across the aisle for me, there was a lady and we had a conversation back and forth probably for 10 hours on this flight. And I know by the end of that flight, she knew really nothing about me. ⁓ But I knew loads about her, I knew her company, I knew some of the problems that company was going for. And one of my tricks for doing that is when they ask you what is your profession,If I want to stop the conversation there, or I don't want them to be interested, I'll usually say something like, oh, I work in internal audit. That's a really good one to use. Because no one wants to, oh, that's the way. But the opposite of that, if you want to get someone to engage in a conversation with you on a flight or somewhere, tell them you're a teacher. Because every single person has a teacher that made an impact upon their life in some way. know, in grade school, wherever it was, at university, college.People will be glowing often about the teachers that they've had, the good teachers they've had in life. There's maybe only been one. So I love that story. So yeah, all power to the teachers, all the power to the teachers here as well. That word creativity is a little bit of a loaded term, especially when we're talking from a business and a commercial standpoint as well. What is the biggest misunderstanding that you think trips up leaders and teams when it comes to this idea of creativity?Amy Climer, Ph.D. (33:33)Yeah. Sure. Great. I love that.YouJames Taylor (33:59)and its relationship to the work that they do.Amy Climer, Ph.D. (34:02)Hmm. You know, I've had a couple of CEOs say to me, well, I don't want my team to be creative. I just want them to be innovative. And I kind of look at them funny like, wait, what? What do you mean? Because to me, I use those words interchangeably all the time. ⁓ But they think of creativity, you know, when the people that have made this comment think about creativity as being this like fluffyIt's about making art or it's about doing things that are frivolous and don't have any long-term impact and are just a waste of time. And that's not at all how I see creativity. The definition I use is that creativity is novelty that is valuable. And you could define valuable however you wanted, financially increases efficiency, aesthetically valuable, whatever it is. ⁓ And when I dig in and talk about that,they get it, they definitely get it. ⁓ But I think that, yeah, there can be lot of misnomers around what creativity is, where they think that creativity is about drawing. And it's like, okay, well, drawing is a skill, creativity is a skill. There maybe is a little bit of overlap, but it doesn't have to be, right? ⁓ Yeah, so I do think there's a lot of, that's one misnomer. I think another myth that I see a lot around creativity is people.not even a myth, I think it's just a misconception is they think it will just happen. And they don't realize that in order to be creative, you have to be intentional. In fact, I have this phrase I say all the time, which is be deliberate to be creative. It will not happen by accident. when, know, if you look at probably any innovation you can think of, there was some intention around it. It didn't just happen.And yeah, anyway, we perpetuate some stories that, yeah.James Taylor (36:02)I'm wondering, I I see that as well in terms of different parts of the world where, you if you ask them to raise their hand, if they consider themselves to be creative, usually if I'm in South Korea or Japan or China, for example, India, it'd be a lower score. Whereas if I'm speaking in Europe or definitely in America, it'll be a higher percentage who will consider themselves to be creative. But I've noticed something more recently, which kind of goes across cultures and continents.which is the demographic piece. And I don't know, cause you're very close to, cause you're working with students all the day as well as working with companies as well. Are you noticing a difference in terms of that younger demographic, now the Gen Z, definitely the millennials, feeling more comfortable about using this phrase word creativity as it relates specifically to business and understanding that link between creativity and innovation?Amy Climer, Ph.D. (36:56)I think so. And I don't work with Gen Z a whole lot. But one thing I've noticed, because I've been asking that same question of raise your hand if you think you're creative, I've been asking that for about probably 20 years. And I've noticed a change over time. And I'm mostly just working in the US. But 20 years ago, I'd ask that question and not even half the room would raise their hand. And now it depends on the audience, of course, and the group.many more people raise their hand. And I think the reason that's happening is because of the national conversation around creativity and innovation has changed. And I think in part because of podcasts like yours. And we're talking about it in a different way. There's so many more books out about it. And there was this pivotal moment in our history. I don't know if you know this story, but in 1950, the president of the American Psychological Association attheir annual meeting, he stood up and he, as part of his speech, his rally cry for the psychologist, he said, we need to study creativity. And so what happened is from 1950 on, there's this like exponential increase of ⁓ research and understanding around creativity. And there's always a lag from when research is done to whenthe world actually hears about it, and sometimes it's even a 20-year lag. But I think we're more in tuned now with what creativity really means than we were 20 years ago. And I think Gen Z is really benefiting from that, for sure.James Taylor (38:41)That's great.I remember Edward de Bono writing in a book once, he got really annoyed because there was a big, I think it was in the US, one of the big creative, creativity, universities taught creative thinking as a skill. And they put this panel together of the world's top thinkers in creativity, and he didn't get invited to it. And the reason he didn't get invited to it was because he was seen as being too commercial with his work.He wasn't almost academic, even though he taught Oxford actually, but he was not seen in terms of, he was using it with big oil and gas companies, and they were seeing, no, no, that's just, that's too commercial as well. So for those, I'm now going talk to those commercial corporate, as listening just now, those leaders that listening today, if they could implement just one principle from your book, or one idea from that book, what would it be?Amy Climer, Ph.D. (39:37)I think if you could implement one thing, would be look at the process and really take a deep dive. are your meetings like? If you were just even more narrow, look at your team meetings. Are your team meetings really a place where you're fostering innovation? And because there's incredible potential there, you got, you know, say 10 people on a team, super smart brains in the room.And if you were just spending the meeting doing these like very boring report outs where people are half listening, I think you're just missing some amazing brain power. So yeah, taking a look at, and I have some ideas in the book, but taking a look at how to really adjust your team meetings would be awesome.James Taylor (40:20)So quick fire question just to finish up here. Is there a quote that you live by? Is it one quote that inspires you or guides your life and your work?Amy Climer, Ph.D. (40:32)You know, I think it would be what I said a few minutes ago. In fact, I even have this on a sticker. I'll hold this up. Be deliberate to be creative. And this is, you know, when people buy the book from me, I send them a sticker as well. this is, if you want to be creative, if you want to be innovative, you have to be intentional about it. And I think when you are, really amazing things can happen.James Taylor (40:56)And do you have an online resource or a tool or an app that you find very useful in your own creative work?Amy Climer, Ph.D. (41:03)⁓ Yeah, there's a number of tools that I use. There's a couple that I've created that I use personally. ⁓ So I have this deck of cards that I created called Climber Cards. There's actually two versions of it, but basically these are cards that are designed to really look at that, that help with the creative process, particularly ideation, but they also really help with the team dynamics.And what they are is they're very basic, very simple. ⁓ They're like the size of a deck of playing cards, about 50 images. And they're all these images that I, drawings or paintings that I did. And so there's things like a light bulb and a bag of groceries and a spool of thread. There's a giraffe, you all these different images and you lay these down on the table. And then let's say you're starting a meeting and you really want to look at ⁓say it's about your budget. You're going to have a whole meeting about your budget. So you lay these cards down on the table and then you ask everybody to pick a card that representsWhat's your hope for our budget for the next year? like, basically the point here is any question you can think of, any topic you wanna talk about, you can frame it so that they answer with a card. So for instance, ⁓ they, you you ask that question, select a card that represents one hope you have for our budget for the next year, and somebody might pick the giraffe, and they might talk about how they really want.the team to stretch and think about how they can be innovative with the budget or more creative. I mean, I don't mean creative accounting, like turning a three into an eight, but how might we be more creative and how we bring in our, raise money or bring in more income. And what happens is when you use these cards to ask the question, it shifts the answers and people get more specific, they get more focused, they say things that they wouldn't have said.if you just ask the question without the images. And it's kind of remarkable. It's actually really cool.James Taylor (43:13)I love that idea, creative cards. we had a guest on recently, he was talking about emotional granularity. Where often when we respond to something, how are feeling? How are you doing today? Fine, okay. And we're sitting in a very narrow emotional range. And she said, if you expand your language, expand the way of thinking about things, it just expands your life as well. So what you're kind of doing there with those tools is you're developing people's creative range.as well in terms of the ability to express ideas, express emotions, express feelings as well. So I love that. we'll put links to that so people can get their copy of the pack of cards as well. If you could only recommend one book to our listeners, not one of your own because we're going to have the link to your new book, but if it was one book by another author, what book would it be and why?Amy Climer, Ph.D. (43:42)Yes.boy, there's so many. ⁓ I feel like I've got to turn around and look at my bookshelf around here. ⁓ my ⁓ gosh, this is such a hard question. I feel like when I think about the books that really influenced me, if you're interested in personal creativity, I think the artist's way is just a great classic. ⁓James Taylor (44:08)The library!Yes, sir.Amy Climer, Ph.D. (44:30)I will say it can be for some a little woo woo, you know, it can be, but if you can look past that, there's some really good stuff in there. And it's been around for, I think about 30 years. So it's a classic.James Taylor (44:47)Yes, early eighties, yeah, I Julia Cameron just,and ⁓ I'm always, I think it's a particularly good book for people who are a little bit into their life, into their career. And they just, they feel like they need a restart. They need to reconnect with something deeper in themselves. And I think what she talks about in the book in terms of her background and challenges that she went through, I remember like the artist date.you know, I remember one of the ones, which I thought was really lovely, just taking that time just to make a date for yourself, to go and do something just to kind of feed that creativity. Wonderful book. So we'll definitely put a link to Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way. And what is the best way for people to connect with you and to learn more about ⁓ your book and your work?Amy Climer, Ph.D. (45:12)Yes, yeah.You can find me online at my website is climberconsulting.com and climber is spelled C-L-I-M-E-R. And on my webpage, you can reach out to me via email. You'll find links to the book. You'll find links to the climber cards that I mentioned. And I'm also on LinkedIn. So you can find me there, Amy Climer.James Taylor (45:52)Well, Amy, Dr. Amy Climer thank you so much for being a guest on the Super Creativity Podcast.Amy Climer, Ph.D. (45:58)Thank you so much for having me, James. I appreciate it. The post Why Your Team Isn’t Creative? How to Build Innovation – Dr. Amy Climer #356 appeared first on James Taylor.

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How to Capture Audience Attention in 8 SecondsIn today’s world, you only have eight seconds to capture audience attention before they drift. That’s shorter than the blink of an eye in public speaking terms. Research shows our focus has dropped dramatically in the past two decades, down to less than a minute on a single task before distraction takes over. Whether you’re a keynote speaker, a leader in the boardroom, or simply sharing ideas in a meeting, learning how to hook your audience fast isn’t optional, it’s essential.

In this episode, we’ll explore practical strategies to grab attention in those first eight seconds and keep it, using stories, questions, surprising facts, and attention resets that pull people back in. If you’ve ever wondered how to stay engaging in a world of endless scrolling and constant distraction, this is your guide.

🎙️ Top 5 Soundbites:

• “You only have eight seconds to capture attention — use them wisely.”
• “Grabbing attention is easy. Keeping it is the real craft.”
• “Every eight seconds you win, earns you the next eight.”
• “Attention isn’t guaranteed, it’s a gift — and you have to respect it.”
• “The first eight seconds decide if your audience leans in or tunes out.”

Apple PodcastSpotify PodcastTakeaways You only have eight seconds to capture audience attention before distraction sets in. * Plan your opening: Never wing the first moments of a talk or presentation. * Break content into short chunks (3–5 minutes) to match modern attention spans. * Use attention resets: Change tone, pace, visuals, or movement to re-engage the audience. * Deliver value quickly so listeners feel rewarded for giving you their focus. * Respect attention as a gift: If you earn it, your audience will give you more than you expect In his upcoming book, James Taylor delves into the transformative concept of SuperCreativity™—the art of amplifying your creative potential through collaboration with both humans and machines. Drawing from his experiences speaking in over 30 countries, James combines compelling stories, case studies, and practical strategies to help readers unlock innovation and harness the power of AI-driven tools. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to elevate their creativity and thrive in the modern age of human-machine collaboration*.

James Taylor is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, often booked months or even years in advance due to his exceptional expertise. Given his limited availability, it’s crucial to contact him early if you’re interested in securing a date or learning how he can enhance your event. Reach out to James Taylor now for an opportunity to bring his unique insights to your conference or team.

Enquire NowThe Creativity BlueprintFree 3-Part Video Training Series On How To Unlock Your Creative Potential, Break Down Creative Blocks, and Unleash Your Creative Genius
FREE training video shows you how to unlock your creative potential in 5 simple steps. The world’s top creative individuals and organizations use these exact strategies.

The 7-Figure Speaker BlueprintFREE training video shows you the ten ways to make $1,000,000 from your speaking. The world’s top professional speakers use these exact strategies.

In this first FREE video series, award-winning keynote speaker James Taylor reveals how to become a 7-figure speaker.

CHAPTERSTimestamps: 00:00 – Opening Hook
Why attention spans matter and the 8-second rule. * 00:45 – The Goldfish Myth
Microsoft’s study and what it says about modern focus. * 02:00 – Research on Attention
Gloria Mark’s findings and the drop from 2.5 minutes to 47 seconds. * 03:30 – Real-World Impact
King’s College survey and what shorter attention spans mean for communication. * 05:00 – Capturing the First Eight Seconds
Stories, questions, and unexpected openings that grab attention. * 07:00 – Attention Resets
How to re-engage audiences with tone shifts, visuals, and surprises. * 09:00 – Competing Against Distractions
Why speakers must be intentional in the digital age. * 11:00 – The 4-Step Framework
Practical strategies: script your opening, chunk content, add resets, deliver value. * 13:00 – The Gift of Attention*
How to respect focus and earn deeper engagement from your audience. TRANSCRIPTJames Taylor (00:08) 8 seconds. That’s how long you have to capture someone’s attention before it drifts. You probably heard the goldfish comparison from Microsoft’s 2015 study. They claimed their attention spans have dropped from 12 seconds in 2000 to just 8 seconds in 2013. Supposedly that makes us less focused than a goldfish. Now, whether that’s literally true or just a catchly headline, the point’s stuck. Our focus is under siege. Gloria Mark, a professor at UC Irvine, has tracked human attention for decades. Her team found that the average time that we spend focused on a single screen has dropped from 2.5 minutes in the early 2000s to just 47 seconds today. That’s less than a minute before our minds wander off or our fingers swipe to something else. And it’s not just the data. A 2023 survey by King’s College London found that nearly half of UK adults feel their attention spans have shortened in the past decade. And many believe that eight seconds is now the norm. So if you’re a speaker, a leader, a teacher, or anyone who needs to hold attention, you can’t ignore this. Eight seconds is your runway. If you use it well, you earn the next eight seconds and the next eight seconds. And before you know it, you’ve got them with you for the whole ride. When I walk onto a stage, those first few seconds are where I’m testing the waters. Did that opening line make someone look up? Did I see the phone go face down on the table? Did the body language in the front row shift from, I’m here because I have to, to, okay, you got my attention? Those cues tell me I passed the first test. Sometimes I’ll open with a story, like the time I was halfway through a talk in Manila and the power went out. It’s unexpected, it’s human, and it makes people wonder what happened next. Sometimes it’s a question. What do jazz musicians and AI engineers have in common? It’s unusual enough that people want to stick around to hear the answer. more images ⁓ than all human photographers have. in history. That one usually gets a raised eyebrow or two. Whatever the hook, my goal is the same. Break autopilot. But here’s the thing. Grabbing attention is the easy part. Keeping it now, that’s the craft. I use what I call attention resets. Every few minutes I change something. I might shift from telling a personal story to showing a powerful image. I might move from the center of the stage to the edge or lower my voice so the room has to lean in. Sometimes I’ll throw in a surprising statistic or ask a question that makes people stop and think. These resets are intentional. They’re the moments that pull people back from the brink of distraction. Think of it like driving on long road. If it’s a straight highway with nothing to look at, your mind starts to wander. But if the road curves or you pass through a town, or a song you love comes on the radio, your attention snaps back. Those changes keep you present. In a talk, I tried to create those curves and scenery changes on purpose. The reality is, we are competing against the most addictive attention machines ever built. Social media feeds, news apps, streaming platforms, they’re designed by teams and teams of engineers and behavioral scientists whose sole job is to keep you scrolling. If you’re communicating in that environment, you need to be just as intentional. That doesn’t mean dumbing things down. It means structuring your message in a way that works with human attention rather than against it. here’s my framework for thriving in the eight second world. Step one, script your opening eight seconds. Don’t wing it. Know exactly what you’re gonna say, show or do. Step two, break your content into short, high impact chunks. If it’s a 30 minute talk, think in three to five minute segments. Step three, build in attention resets. These can be changes in tone, visuals, pace, or even when you’re actually in the room. Step four, deliver value quickly. Give your audience a reason to keep investing their attention in you. One of my favorite moments on stage is where I spot that shift in the room. The phones go down, the notes taking starts, the heads nod in rhythm. That’s when I know we’re not just passing time together, we’re in it. And it all started with those first eight seconds. So the next time you’re in front of an audience, whether it’s a keynote, a team meeting, or even a one-on-one conversation, ask yourself, what am I going to do in my first eight seconds to earn the next eight? Because in this distracted world, attention isn’t guaranteed, it’s a gift. And if you respect it, people will give you more of it than you think.

The post How to Capture Audience Attention in 8 Seconds appeared first on James Taylor.

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Creativity and Emotional Intelligence Explained: Dr. Zorana Ivcevic Pringle on Turning Ideas Into Action and Emotion Into Insight #355In this episode of the SuperCreativity Podcast, host James Taylor speaks with Dr. Zorana Ivcevic Pringle, senior research scientist at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and author of the new book The Creativity Choice: The Science of Making Decisions to Turn Ideas into Action.

Zorana reveals why the most creative people aren’t necessarily the most inspired—but the most committed to acting on their ideas. Drawing on cutting-edge research from the fields of psychology, creativity, and emotional intelligence, she explores how our emotions shape our creative process, how cultural norms influence our creative confidence, and why social conditions are key to sustaining creativity over time.

Whether you’re a designer, entrepreneur, educator, or innovator, this episode provides practical wisdom for transforming creative sparks into meaningful outcomes.

🎙️ Top 5 Soundbites:

“Emotions are data. Frustration doesn’t just feel bad—it tells you what you’re doing isn’t working.”

“Confidence doesn’t come before creativity. It’s built by doing.”

“In many cultures, creativity is not a trait—it’s an act. You become creative through action.”

“You don’t need to eliminate doubt to be creative. You just need to act anyway.”

“The creativity choice isn’t a one-time decision—it’s a decision we make again and again.”

Links & Resources:

📘 The Creativity Choice (available May 6, 2025) – Buy on Amazon

🌐 Zorana Ivcevic Pringle – zoranaivcevic.com

🧠 Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence – Visit site

🎙️ James Taylor’s SuperCreativity Podcast – All Episodes

Apple PodcastSpotify PodcastTakeaways Seeing is a skill: Art schools don’t just teach craft—they transform how students perceive and interpret the world. * Linear thinking limits creativity: Great artists don't execute ideas—they discover them through iterative exploration. * Problem-finding > problem-solving: True innovation emerges not from solving known problems but from identifying better ones. * Critique is conversation: Professors don’t tell students what to do—they help them see what they’ve created and guide reflection. * AI lacks creative dialogue: Current gen-AI tools can't replicate embodied creativity or guide personal transformation. * Structure creates freedom: Constraints (like musical forms or material limits) often spark greater creative breakthroughs. In his upcoming book, James Taylor delves into the transformative concept of SuperCreativity™—the art of amplifying your creative potential through collaboration with both humans and machines. Drawing from his experiences speaking in over 30 countries, James combines compelling stories, case studies, and practical strategies to help readers unlock innovation and harness the power of AI-driven tools. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to elevate their creativity and thrive in the modern age of human-machine collaboration*.

James Taylor is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, often booked months or even years in advance due to his exceptional expertise. Given his limited availability, it’s crucial to contact him early if you’re interested in securing a date or learning how he can enhance your event. Reach out to James Taylor now for an opportunity to bring his unique insights to your conference or team.

Enquire NowThe Creativity BlueprintFree 3-Part Video Training Series On How To Unlock Your Creative Potential, Break Down Creative Blocks, and Unleash Your Creative Genius
FREE training video shows you how to unlock your creative potential in 5 simple steps. The world’s top creative individuals and organizations use these exact strategies.

The 7-Figure Speaker BlueprintFREE training video shows you the ten ways to make $1,000,000 from your speaking. The world’s top professional speakers use these exact strategies.

In this first FREE video series, award-winning keynote speaker James Taylor reveals how to become a 7-figure speaker.

CHAPTERSTimestamps:1. 00:09 – Intro to Keith Sawyer and his new book Learning to See 2. 02:05 – Discovering creativity research through Csikszentmihalyi 3. 03:35 – Why he immersed himself in art and design schools 4. 05:05 – The surprising resistance to the word “creativity” 5. 07:00 – What professors are really teaching: “learning to see” 6. 08:30 – Why many see themselves as “accidental teachers” 7. 10:34 – Making as thinking: the fallacy of the “one big idea” 8. 13:45 – Malcolm McLaren vs. Vivienne Westwood creativity styles 9. 15:36 – Problem-finding vs. problem-solving creativity 10. 18:40 – How professors help students find their voice 11. 21:53 – Mismatches and self-discovery in student work 12. 22:25 – How the book evolved from research to storytelling 13. 25:15 – What business and tech leaders can learn from artists 14. 29:16 – Could AI become a creativity co-pilot? Not yet 15. 33:49 – Redefining failure and building resilience 16. 36:58 – The “deep water and canoe” metaphor for mentorship 17. 37:42 – Why constraints help unlock creativity 18. 39:10 – Jazz as a metaphor: structure enables improvisation 19. 40:43 – Where to find Keith’s work and podcast TRANSCRIPTJames Taylor (00:09) My guest today is Dr R Keith Sawyer, one of the world's leading experts on creativity and learning. Keith is the Morgan Distinguished Professor of Educational Innovation at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, beautiful part of America. He began his career as a video game designer for Atari, earned a PhD in psychology from the University of Chicago, and is also a lifelong jazz pianist and improviser. That unique blend of science, art and improvisation runs through everything he does.Keith has written over 19 books and more than 100 scientific articles exploring the science of creativity, collaboration and how people learn. You may know him from his early works like Group Genius and Zig Zag, which explore how creativity happens in teams and how individuals can build innovative lives. His new book, Learning to See Inside the World's Leading Art and Design Schools, takes us into the studios and classrooms of top BFA and MFA programs across the world.Based on 10 years of immersive research, Learning to See explores how students are transformed, not just in skill, but in perception, awareness, and the way they think. It's a book that challenges how we define creative education and offers powerful lessons for anyone in any profession looking to unlock deeper creative thinking. In today's conversation, we'll talk about what it really means to learn to see, the surprising ways that creativity is taught, and how these lessons applyfar beyond the arts to business, innovation, leadership, and everyday life. Keith, welcome to the Super Creativity Podcast.Keith (01:42)Well, thank you. Well, that's a great introduction.James Taylor (01:45)Now, you've had a very fascinating career. You've moved from game design, computer science, first of all, then pivoted jazz improvisation, and eventually in what we know you for today in creativity research. Was there a key moment that kind of pulled you into this kind of work that you do today?Keith (02:05)I decided I wanted to go to graduate school and get a PhD because I was interested in collaboration and human social dynamics. So I went to University of Chicago. I didn't know at that time that there was a field of research called creativity research. In my first semester in graduate school at University of Chicago, that's where Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi was a professor and he offered a course called psychology of creativity. So right at the beginning of my graduate study, I discovered this fascinatingarea of research that people could really use their psychology expertise to study creativity. And so I'm glad I learned about that in the first year of my PhD program because ⁓ I was hooked and that's where I spent the rest of my career and continuing in my current career to focus on studying creativity as a scientist to come up with rigorous findings and understandings that often are quite surprising.rising.James Taylor (03:06)Now in this book and over the past 10 years or so of your work, you've really immersed yourself in this, world of top art and design schools, ⁓ architecture, interior design, all different types of design as well. Was there a particular reason you kind of thought, okay, this is the area I'm gonna focus on initially for this book? Was there a key story or a key conversation that you had? thought, actually, this is worth investigating.Keith (03:35)I don't know anything or at least I didn't know anything about art and design. I don't have an art degree or an architecture degree. I'm a jazz pianist and that's why I got interested in creativity research. I wanted to study the improvisational dynamics of an ensemble. And you mentioned my book group, Genius, which is based on my studies of Chicago Improv Theater and jazz ensembles. I decided that I should ask some artists and designers, some visual artists,about their creative process to see how much of what I knew about performing creativity would generalize. So I went to the first place I went to, I've gone now to...over 10 art and design schools across the United States. The first place I went was Savannah College of Art and Design, which is known by its acronym SCAD. And the first couple of interviews I did there were with painters and with graphic designers. And I was really astonished at how compelling and how articulate these artists and designers who are professional creators, but who also teach in BFA and MFA programs.is to teach people to create at the highest professional level. And even though I was already a creativity research expert at that time, I still discovered a lot of new things about the creative process that I found very compelling and that's why I wrote the book.James Taylor (05:05)I heard one of the first interviews that you did when I think you spoke to one of the professors there and you talked about, know, tell us about your work teaching creativity. And I think she took a bit of umbrage at this. said, well, actually that's not really kind of what I do. So tell me about those kinds of first conversations and, you know, did you have to, did you have to kind of change your own perception, first of all, about what creativity means in the context of the work that these people are doing?Keith (05:35)Well, you're exactly right that these artists and designers that I talk to really reject the term creativity, ⁓ which when I first went into my interviews, had, like any researcher, I had a structured interview and I had a list of questions I was going to ask. The first question was, how do you teach students how to be creative? So in the first interview I did, the painter I was talking to was visibly uncomfortable.with the question, but also trying to be polite. ⁓ Was a very nice person, Sandra Reed, and very articulate about what she does and how she creates. But yeah, she said, I don't think I'm doing that. I don't think I'm teaching people how to be creative. ⁓ Which to me, like most of us, if painters aren't creative, then what are you teaching? So like a good researcher, I didn't insist on using my terminology. I pursued thatI said, well, what are you teaching then? And this went on. Actually, I kept asking that question in all of my interviews, even though after the first few, I knew people were going to say, no, I'm not doing that. But it turned out to be a really good way to get the conversation started, to use the term creativity. And everybody pushed back, graphic designers, architects, painters and sculptors.So yes, what are they teaching? And then, you know, I ended up writing a whole book about it. The main thing that they say they're teaching is how to see. They're teaching students a new way of seeing. And then think about that for a minute. Everybody can look, everybody can see. And students who enter these programs are already quite gifted creators. So you have to submit a portfolio of work to go into a painting program. You have to already have a lot of paintings.and you submit that with your application. So you're really quite skilled at what you do. So what is it that you still need to learn? And this is what these artists and designers tell me. They're quite experienced themselves and they know how to create visually. And they say, yes, the students are good at making things that look good on the campus, but they really don't know how to see yet. And that's very difficult to teach. And all these professors tell me it takesat least two years.James Taylor (08:03)So let's break that apart, learning to see. The learning piece, I heard one of other things that you found that some of these people, these professors, these wonderful schools, don't even, they kind of, they feel a little bit uncomfortable using that word teacher sometimes as well. the learning, so how do they often refer to themselves in terms of what is their role that they see or how would they describe themselves to others?Keith (08:28)They all say that primarily they are professional creatives. This is their identity. So the painters, to get a job at these top universities that I went to, you have to be a star. You have to have your paintings and collections. You have a dealer that you sell your works through. I talked to several people who have their paintings in the Museum of Modern Art.the graphic designers. interviewed a couple of typeface designers, one named Jeff Keady, whose typeface KeadySons is in Microsoft Word. So these are the types of people I interviewed. So they know what it means to create at the highest levels. But many of them, ⁓pretty much all of them did not start their careers as educators. They refer to themselves as accidental teachers. So they don't even join the faculty at one of these places until they're maybe 30 or in their 30s. So they already have established a career. And then they come in and that's kind of like a second identity for them.But when they're in the classroom, in the studio classroom, what they bring to it is their professional success and their expertise.James Taylor (09:45)So in the third part of that, the word of your book, Learning to See, is the C part. What are they trying to help them see? Is it literally the canvas, the work that they're creating? Or is it something more internal? Or is it taking, I mean, I have to think in terms of jazz music, you're jazz musician as well, there's that balance between craft and the art. Our art might be up there, what we...imagine we want to create this thing to sound like is up there but our craft is down there and so there's that kind of gap that bridge that has to happen and sometimes it takes a little bit longer than others so those professors you spoke to what were they teaching people to see? Was it internal or something more external?Keith (10:34)Well, you raised an interesting paradox for me because if you read my book You will not know how to see at the end So I can't teach you how to see and I guess the first thing I would say is you can't tell someone how to see Nobody lectures in a painting class and no one lectures in an advertising class ⁓ What what do you have to do? So really you're guiding someone through a personal transformation. It's like if you were in a therapy sessionand your therapist says, you're being too needy in all of your relationships, stop being needy. ⁓ That doesn't work. You can't just tell someone to stop doing something that's so fundamental to who they are as an individual and to their practice. So this is what happens to students who come into a painting program or a typeface design program. They have learnedover their entire lives, probably since the age they were 10. They've learned how to generate works that are quite good. But that ties them to an existing way of working that I call a linear insight model of creativity. And you see this in a lot of creativity research as well. This idea that creativity originates in a great idea at the beginning and then the creative process is a matter of executing or realizing the vision that you have at the beginning.And this tends to be what people who enter an art or design program do when they're creating. They have the idea at the beginning and then they execute it. But what these successful artists and designers tell me is a better way to be creative is to go through an exploratory iterative process where you don't get too attached to the idea that you have at the beginning because a better idea is going to emerge while you're engaged in the work.really you need to learn a different way of thinking about the creative process and a different way of engaging with the canvas or with the paints that you're learning. So you mentioned a sort of maybe more abstract level up here and then the level of working with materials and technique. What I hear when I talk to these individuals is that they're closely tied together. That a lot of people will say making is thinking. That you need the materials and you need to engage in the materialembodied process of working with those materials because it's that dialogue with the materials that results in the emergence of surprising new ideas that you couldn't have had at the beginning. So you need to teach people, I guess, teach them out of this instinct to have an idea at the beginning and then execute that idea. And it's difficult to do that because the students have been quite successful with the linear model. I mentioned that they have to submit a portfolio and the portfoliothe works are going to look pretty good. So how can you teach someone to stop doing something that's been very successful for them, but that ultimately is preventing them from attaining the next level of realizing their creativity?James Taylor (13:43)I was just reading on that on that point I was just reading an interview the other day with Vivian Westwood, ⁓ the fashion designer, and was talking about her relationship with Malcolm McLaren for the early punk, early versions of punk and all those kind of what we now think of as punk. ⁓ she said the difference in their creativity between the two of them was Malcolm was very, he had like one big idea.And like his idea, and it kind of came early in the work he was wanting to do. And it was all about execution of the idea. The skill bit was maybe less such of a thing. It was just like, the idea, the value of the idea. With Vivian Westwood, because she came at it really as a crafts person in terms of understanding crafts and material, as you were saying, she was, she just kept moving and kept adapting and kept evolving. And so it was creative. And she went through different stages in terms of her creative ⁓ mind and creative work as well.And there was always this little bit of a conflict between the two of them where Mark was like one big idea and she was constantly evolving as well. know at University of Chicago you mentioned we had a guest on the show a while ago, Professor Galinson, who talks about these two types of creativity, you those people that are just, they just kind of just come out of the gates like all firing, but they tend to burn out quite quickly. And then there's those others who are constantly evolving and refining and developing their work and they might have a...few key things, but they're kind of trying to develop it over time. When you worked with some of those professors and they told you about many of students that they had, were the majority of the students they tend to have really the kind of more Malcolm McLaren ⁓ side, they've got like one big idea and it's like that and that's the energy in that, or were they more open to being that more iterative way of working and developing and maybe moving into different materials and different art forms?Keith (15:36)successful way of working I often refer to it as the dialogue of creativity. It's an iterative process where you're engaged with work with materials in an exploratory fashion where you're open to ideas emerging from the process. So Galinson and I agree with this terminology. We talk about the difference between problem-solving creativity and problem-finding creativity. So the problem-solving creativity is that linear process. You pose a problem for yourself at the beginning of theprocess and then you solve the problem. But greater creativity comes from a process where you discover a problem while you're working or problem finding. In fact the term problem finding was coined by my doctoral advisor Mike Csikszentmihalyi and he did that came up with that term from his own study of MFA painting students at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, one of the places I went and interviewed. So the professors all tell me this is what they're teaching. They're teaching a problem findingprocess that's iterative and exploratory and then involves the dialogue with the materials. And you're exactly right that different creators have these two different processes, but I didn't see anybody teaching the problem-solving process. I didn't see anybody teaching this linear pathway. So, by the way, I went to people in 20 different disciplines from the design fields on one side to the fine art fields on the other side, and I didn't see anybody teaching this linearinsight problem solving view. So yeah absolutely people often create successful works in that process but you mentioned that it ⁓ limits you and I heard a lot of professors tell me this as well. They say yeah they might have some success at the beginning of their careers but it ultimately it's not going to nurture them it's not going to feed them over time because they're going to run out of the material that they have. It's that dialogue of creativity that keeps refreshingyou and keeps giving you ⁓ new opportunities and new vistas to explore.James Taylor (17:43)Did they, when you were talking to these different professors, did they give any kind of guidance in terms of how that individual is going through that four year program, how they can ensure that they keep something that's true to them and like who they are, their own voice or their own way of seeing the world, their own point of view, where they're often having to learn the works of lots of other creatives in their fields. I mean, I think you mentioned, we talked about Chicago there, but I'm always, the thing I love most about Chicago is the architecture.where it feels that the buildings are talking to each other. kind of style is that that style and that style is a different style, but it's kind of, they're kind of reflecting on each other. talking to each other as well. And I think there's, there's that, how do we kind of, how did the, professors, how do they think about how to balance that thing between saying something, your own point of view, your own way of looking at the world, but also developing craft and learning from others? How do we, how do we get that balance right?Keith (18:40)I like that question because I think you're right when I talk about teaching people how to see in a new way, you might perceive that as, I don't know, almost depressive. Like the way you're working is bad or the ideas that you're having, you know, stop thinking about those. ⁓ And it's maybe subtle for me to explain what's going on. What's going on is that people who haven't learned how to see yet, they actually don't really know how to articulate what it is that they want to say or what it is that they need tois say, a lot of students who are beginners come into a program thinking that, for example, they want to do work about the environment. So this comes up quite a bit. They come in, I want to do some paintings about the environment. Professor will say, absolutely, ⁓ go for it. And then the student, this is what often happens, is that they'll paint something, and then they bring it into class, and they're going through a critique where the professor and all the other students are looking at the painting.And in many cases,you don't see environment or environmental issues anywhere in the painting. It's just not in there. The student who's painted it thinks it's about the environment, but it's not on the canvas. So that's an example of not being able to see yet. You think what you've done, what you put on the canvas really has solved your intention, but when everybody else looks at it, they say, no, that's not what you've generated. That's very surprising for a beginning artist that other people don't see what they see.that's the learning opportunity is to guide that person who's put in on the canvas to see that what they think is there isn't there yet. There's not a unity between your intended message and what other people are going to get out of the work. Now what happens is professors in that case, I call it a mismatch, what they don't do is they don't tell the student go back and repaint it. Go back and repaint it so it looks more like the environment.That's not what they do in this exploratory process. What they do is they guide the student, look at what you've generated and value that and then see what it is that you've generated. You've generated something that you don't realize yet that you generated, but it came out of you and there's something powerful about that. And you might not realize yet what that message is. So really it's a kind of personal transformation where you're discovering something about yourself that you don't see yet. It really has to be abetween what you say the work means and what the work really does mean. So the fact that, and I hear painters say this all the time, it doesn't matter what the intention is. I don't even ask students what they were intending when they generated the work. We need to talk about the work that's on the wall and what's there.and I'm gonna help you see what it is that you generated. So when I talk about professors teaching students how to see, it's not about oppressing them away from what they want to do, it's about helping them discover themselves at a deeper level so that they actually better understand what it is that they want to do.James Taylor (21:53)I know with like improv comedy, one the things that makes jokes funny is you think you're going along in one direction and suddenly it just kind of veers off and it takes you to a different place. When you were doing all these interviews with these different professors as well, was there one in particular which made you kind of almost have to of veer off slightly in terms of where you thought the book was going and where your research was going and it opened up a new area of exploration, either for this book or maybe...future work, you're like, this is interesting. This is something I want to look at in the future.Keith (22:25)I thought it was going to be a much more academic book because I'm a learning scientist and I'm a psychology researcher. ⁓ A lot of what I saw is completely aligned with the research. So I already mentioned this concept of problem finding creativity and problem solving creativity. I only use those words in the book on one page. I don't use a whole lot of academic language or psychological terms because I think the words of these artists and designers are so articulate.What I really wanted to do was tell their stories. So that changed for me. When I started writing the book, it was going to be a very academic book. I was going to have a whole chapter about problem finding, creativity, research, and sight studies, and the people who had done problem finding research in science or wherever.And then, the more and more I started working with the transcripts of these interviews, and I also went into studio classes, and I made videotapes of what's going on.when professors interact with the students and you know, let's look at what's here on the wall and talk about what it is that you've generated. So I have a lot of videotapes of that dialogue as well. So that's how the book changed and emerged for me, is that it became a much more of a storytelling book that I wanted to represent the compelling aspects of these stories. And I ended up leaving out the science. I don't have very many citations. I have less than 10.citations at the end of the book and I don't have those parentheses, know, like academic journal articles have or so-and-so said this in 1974. I left all that out because I wanted to tell the stories. So for me, that's how it evolved. That was not the book I started out to write, but the book I ended up writing is a book that I think is a lot more accessible, especially to anyone who cares about art and design that ⁓This actually is what people are doing, but they don't always know how to articulate it themselves. Because a lot of exceptional creators, they just do what's right. They do what works for them. they've been, many people, they've been able to discover for themselves this exploratory iterative process. But maybe not when they were 16 years old or 17 years old. These students are coming in at 18 years old. This is the value of going to an art school or a design school is that it's going toaccelerate for you this ⁓ learning of how to do, how to engage in this kind of process instead of you know stumbling along until you're 30 or later and then realizing that you know this is ⁓ a better way to accomplish my intention.James Taylor (25:15)Now a lot of people listen to this show are in business, they're business executives, they're CEOs, CFOs, they're in finance, they're in engineering as well, things that we often don't get labeled with the creative label or something within the creative industries anyway. You mentioned this kind of problem finding and problem solving, so I'm just going to go back on that one as well because I think that's the interesting distinction. We're seeing lot of obviously work just now in artificial intelligence wherethe focus around increasing productivity of people, is kind of the, it feels like the problem solving bit, know, how can we make people work a bit faster? There seems to be less work going into the problem finding, which is like kind of creating entirely new ways of doing things, new industries, new types of products and services. For those people who are listening to this show who maybe don't come from the traditional arts world or the creative industries world.What can they learn about the way that artists and those working in those industries think about the problem finding bit, how they develop their eye to be able to help find those problems?Keith (26:26)I think the lessons are absolutely transferable. You mentioned in the introduction that I have a background as a management consultant. My undergraduate degree is in computer science and in fact, in the 1980s, I was doing custom software in artificial intelligence. The much older algorithms that were being used in the 1980s. And then I eventually wrote my first business book. It's called Group Genius, where I'm applying the lessons of improvisational theater and jazz ensembles toa more general model of collaboration when you want collaboration to drive creativity. So when you think about this contrast between problem solving and problem finding creativity, in a lot of cases in business you know what the problem is. So in that case problem solving creativity is absolutely what you need. I would certainly not dismiss problem solving creativity. But research shows that you get more surprising breakthrough creativity from aproblem finding. You have an opportunity to discover or to formulate a new problem that's different from what everybody else in the industry thinks the problem is. And it's that ability to see, honestly, it's that ability to see it when a new way of thinking about the problem presents itself to you. The finding of the new problem emerges from the process. You don't just sit in a room by yourself and think really hard about what kind of new problem is there. The new problems present themselves to you.from engaging in the process. This is why you hear entrepreneurs talking about pivoting and about minimum viable products and entrepreneurship classes. And absolutely, I would endorse this, that you need to put something out there in the world and then be very alert and aware to what's going on with the thing that you've generated. And often, what happens with that thing you've generated, whether you call it a minimum viable product or something else,it doesn't respond or the market doesn't respond in the way you thought it would. And then being aware to that and then being ready to go in a different direction, that's what people call the pivot. Or in my case, I talk about the zigzag process because I think when I look at the history of invention and innovation, I see more than one pivot. It's not just that you change direction one time, but people who are serial innovators who are really good at doing this, they continueare aware and looking for opportunities that again they emerge from the process. So that's what I see artists and designers learning how to do. It's that ability to work with the materials that they're generating, the work that's in process, and it's very much like ⁓ pivoting in entrepreneurship or in product development.James Taylor (29:16)Now with these professors, they're obviously giving human feedback to those students and giving them advice on helping them kind of learn to see, as we're speaking about here. I'm wondering, you know, I see a lot within journalism and writers where now with artificial intelligence, I can write a piece and say, okay, imagine you're an editor from the New Yorker, critique this, show me the weaknesses, show me how I can improve on it, show me the weaknesses in a particular argument, for example.So within text-based, it's art that's already happening. We have seen copilots. I'm wondering with the more visual arts, those who are in sculpture or painting, for example, are there any kind of AI tools or things that are coming across in terms of almost having that copilot or somewhat critique that can sit there at the side, kind of watching as you're working and maybe helping you see things that you can't necessarily see in what you're trying to do.Keith (30:15)I haven't seen it yet.No, I haven't seen and I use Gen.ai all the time and I've experimented with it in many different ways. But first of all, the problem finding process is something that chat GPT and other generative AI, it's ⁓ ineffective or it just doesn't happen. You don't find this problem finding process because it's disembodied. It's in the computer. So there's no dialogue with materials. There's no generation of something and then interacting with it. And it's a dialogue that drivesthe creative process for a human artist or designer. at least at the moment, AIs just cannot do that. They're not designed to do that. It's not a flaw, but it just is not possible with the current understanding of it being in a computer. Maybe someday when it's a robot and it's embodied in the world, maybe then there would be this opportunity. So that's number one, is that I don't think today's gen i create that way and I don't thinkthey ever will. They will not create in a problem-finding fashion. And number two, you asked about professors teaching students how to engage in this kind of process that I call the dialogue of creativity. And what they do is they talk to students in a classroom by engaging with the work that the student has generated. So the dialogue is between the professor and the students work. And they are modeling their own way of thinking about engaging in the process for the student. It's very custom.It's very customized. It's very one-on-one. It's different for every single student. So there's not a formula because every student's different and every student's mindset and the path of personal transformation is uniquely for them.So that is an incredible gift for a teacher to be able to do that. The people I interviewed have an average of almost 20 years of experience as teaching. And that's on top of the years they were a professional creator before they first stepped in a university classroom. It's not easy to do. So there's two things I don't see Gen.I.I. doing any time in the near future, and probably never with the current designs of neural networks or machine learning.are not gonna be able to engage in problem finding creativity, number one. And number two, they are not going to be able to guide you in learning how to engage in a problem finding process. So yes, you can use them to help you solve problems, but you're not gonna get problem finding from today's AI.James Taylor (32:51)What about the those those teachers that you saw as they working with students? you go talk about that path piece? They're kind of softer side, the more like a psychological side where that student has self doubt or burnout in the work that they're doing as well. Did you notice anything in terms of those great teachers that they were doing in? Because obviously this is something that can not just within the visual arts, for example, but lots of industries see this way you have new members in the organization whojust they're kind of going through that process of learning their craft or whatever their thing is. And they have doubt, they have a lot of self doubt there. They have that crisis of confidence perhaps at a certain point in their career. Or they just get burnt out, they're just producing at such a rate, they kind of feel that they lose it. Was there anything you saw from some of those great teachers that they would provide their students in terms of way of looking at their creativity or way of just having a practice of some sort to of keep them soul and body and mind?Keith (33:49)I'm glad you asked that because it's almost a truism in creativity research that you have to fail or that failure is essential for creativity. So and I think that's true, but I think what I see from these artists and designers is a different way of thinking about failure. It's not a failure. At least that's not the way they think about it. And they say this happens to me all the time in my own professional practice. But what most people think of as a failure really is a mismatch between what you intendedand what actually has happened. And in many cases that mismatch is productive, which is what people mean when they say you need to fail to be successful. The failure is what leads to the pivot, or the failure is what leads to a turn in the zigzag. So it's a different way of thinking about it when there's a mismatch between what you've done and what you wanted to happen, is to see that mismatch as an opportunity to shift in direction, as opposed to seeing the mismatch as a failure to do whatyou intended to do and then you said I didn't do what I intended to do I'm gonna throw it away and start over again. No that's not the way to be a successful creative or super creative the way to do that is to look at what you actually have done and then use that as an opportunity. So now you you mentioned self-doubt.Students don't, at least according to these professors, they haven't learned the ability to successfully manage failure. And they haven't learned the ability to see the opportunity and the failures, the mismatches that they've generated. So they do get very discouraged. I mean, you're there in a top university. You've got a professional painter at the front of the room who's 20 years older than you, who has a work in the Museum of Modern Art, and you feel like you failed in front of that person. That's very intimidating and discouraging.So these professors the ones who are very skilled they have learned to manage Failure to guide the students to not get discouraged and to see what they've done in a different kind of way It's part of learning to see and yes, absolutely. I heard this metaphor from three different professors saying I Here's what they say. They say I put the student in deep water and then Once they start to play around flail aroundin the water, then I'm there in a canoe and I hand them an oar. But they say it's essential for the student to be in the deep water and to start flailing. You have to let the student do that because otherwise there's no learning. But you also have to be there to help them get past that discouragement and that depression. mean, you know, imagine you're 18 or you're 19 years old. So you're still learning how to...use those mismatches of those failures to be productive. So effective teachers really do create a supportive learning environment and they really are just so gifted at helping students get through that discouragement and learn how to use what they might perceive as failures to drive the process forward.James Taylor (36:58)And was the one practice that you noticed in terms of those teachers were teaching their students in terms of helping them learn to see, as this book's been about, that you think could be applied to that executives, perhaps listening to this show just now, the engineer, the AI engineer that's listening to this show. We often talk about things, we have our guests on the show that we talk about something as simple as a morning pages, Julia Cameron, which is just this very simple way of just helping reflect and spend a little bit time in the morning, kind of reflecting.giving them a sense of who their voice was. Is there kind simple little practice like that you notice time and time again that many of these teachers were teaching in terms of helping their people learn to see that could be applied outside of the traditional creative industries?Keith (37:42)I can think of two and one is the importance of constraints or guiding parameters that if you don't have any guidance whatsoever, you often will flail around. You can't just tell someone go be creative or go generate a painting. It's not gonna realize ⁓ their potential to generate good work. So having some sort of guidance or constraints on the process and it's difficult to do that for yourself. This is one reason why there's a value in going to art school because you have thesewho know how to design carefully constrained assignments that are going to channel you through the optimum learning pathway. But successful artists and designers and graphic designers, they tell me that they have learned how to present to themselves structure, the guiding structures or parameters, especially when you're stuck and you don't know what to do next. That can really help.to give yourself some constraints on the process. Like, for example, ⁓ pick a certain material. Let's say you always draw with a pencil. So you say, okay, I'm stuck. Today, I'm going to, ⁓ I don'tI don't know, use a crayon. And instead of doing it on paper, I'm going to find an old piece of wood, and I'm going to use a crayon on a piece of wood. So changing your tools or changing your materials can be a form of constraint. I don't know if that makes sense, but that's the sort of thing.James Taylor (39:10)No, it's like a jazzmusician, have a form within which to play, but then within that, there's lots of different ways they can take that.Keith (39:21)Oh yeah, exactly right. And so there's the standard mid-century jazz where you play off of these 16 or 32 bar song forms from Broadway musicals. And many of them are similar. They're kind of predictable with the cycle of fifths. And there's a certain 251.So you get very good at doing that, but talented jazz musicians, really do seek out these 16 bar song forms that have an unusual chord progression, where it's a challenge now to fit a melody line into what's going on, because it's different from all the other ones. Now, if you're sitting at home without the 16 bar song form, and you're just blowing in your horn,just for practice. Sure, you can be very creative that way, but the reason why jazz musicians seek out these 16-bar standards is because that structure actually can lead them to discover new melodic shapes that they wouldn't have without that harmonic structure.James Taylor (40:20)Now for those listening that aren't jazz fans, is structure within the chaos, believe us, believe us. It's wonderful having on the show, if someone wants to take one step towards becoming more creative perceptually, and you wanna learn more about your work, the book, where should they go? Where's the best place to come and have more of an engagement with you?Keith (40:43)I'd recommend my podcast, which is called the Science of Creativity and my sub-stack newsletter is also called the Science of Creativity. So there, like you, I have some fascinating creatives who are articulate about how to do this. And of course, there's always my book, Learning to See, if you're particularly interested in what goes on at the highest professional level of art and design. And I'm just astonished that no one has written this book already. If you want to find out what goes on in the world'sart and design schools.What book are you going to buy? There's no book. I still can't believe it that my book in 2025 is the first book where someone went into art and design schools and found out what's going on in those studio classrooms. It's so fascinating and compelling. And I spent over 10 years doing it. And the whole 10 years I was working on it, I thought someone else is going to publish this book. I need to write this, but someone else is going to publish this book. But I kept interviewing new artists and designers because they're just so fascinating.James Taylor (41:38)HahahaKeith (41:45)and that's why it took me so long to write the book and no one else ever wrote the book. So yeah, if you wanna know how to teach people how to learn to see, then yeah, my book Learning to See, that's the one.James Taylor (42:00)learning to see Inside the World's leading art and design schools is out now. Dr. Arki Soyer, thank you so much for coming on the Super Creativity The post Creativity and Emotional Intelligence Explained: Dr. Zorana Ivcevic Pringle on Turning Ideas Into Action and Emotion Into Insight #355 appeared first on James Taylor.

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3AM Ideas: How Diffuse Thinking Sparks CreativityHave you ever had a brilliant thought strike in the middle of the night? Those 3AM ideas often feel random, but they’re actually a powerful spark of creativity. In this episode of the SuperCreativity Podcast, keynote speaker James Taylor shares how a quiet flight over the Indian Ocean turned into a lesson on innovation, cultural exchange, and what neuroscientists call diffuse mode thinking. From late-night reflections to remixing influences like a DJ, discover how to capture those unexpected bursts of insight and turn them into your next big idea.

🎙️ Top 5 Soundbites:

• “Great innovators are cultural DJs—remixing influences to create something entirely new.”
• “3AM ideas remind us that creativity often arrives when the mind is free to wander.”
• “Diffuse thinking is where the magic happens—your brain quietly connecting the dots in the background.”
• “The best ideas don’t always knock during office hours; they slip in between yesterday and tomorrow at 35,000 feet.”
• “Expand your playlist, protect your downtime, and remix on purpose—that’s the path to SuperCreativity.”

Apple PodcastSpotify PodcastTakeaways 3AM ideas are valuable – unexpected insights often emerge when the mind is relaxed and not under pressure. * Diffuse mode thinking fuels innovation – giving your brain downtime allows hidden connections to surface. * Great innovators act like DJs – they remix influences from diverse fields to spark fresh ideas. * Cultural exchange accelerates creativity – music, science, and ideas now travel across the globe instantly, shaping breakthroughs everywhere. * Protect your “off hours” – creativity thrives when you step away from screens and let your mind wander. * Not every idea needs to make sense – even the wild or confusing ones can lead to surprising innovations later. In his upcoming book, James Taylor delves into the transformative concept of SuperCreativity™—the art of amplifying your creative potential through collaboration with both humans and machines. Drawing from his experiences speaking in over 30 countries, James combines compelling stories, case studies, and practical strategies to help readers unlock innovation and harness the power of AI-driven tools. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to elevate their creativity and thrive in the modern age of human-machine collaboration*.

James Taylor is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, often booked months or even years in advance due to his exceptional expertise. Given his limited availability, it’s crucial to contact him early if you’re interested in securing a date or learning how he can enhance your event. Reach out to James Taylor now for an opportunity to bring his unique insights to your conference or team.

Enquire NowThe Creativity BlueprintFree 3-Part Video Training Series On How To Unlock Your Creative Potential, Break Down Creative Blocks, and Unleash Your Creative Genius
FREE training video shows you how to unlock your creative potential in 5 simple steps. The world’s top creative individuals and organizations use these exact strategies.

The 7-Figure Speaker BlueprintFREE training video shows you the ten ways to make $1,000,000 from your speaking. The world’s top professional speakers use these exact strategies.

In this first FREE video series, award-winning keynote speaker James Taylor reveals how to become a 7-figure speaker.

CHAPTERSTimestamps:00:09 – Setting the Scene
James shares a late-night flight story after delivering a keynote in Chennai, India.

01:12 – Discovering New Music
Listening to Bano Maria by Catriel and Paco Amoroso, blending diverse genres seamlessly.

02:30 – The Speed of Ideas
How cultural exchange allows sounds, science, and breakthroughs to travel worldwide instantly.

03:18 – Diffuse Mode Thinking
Explaining how the brain connects ideas during downtime, away from pressure and distractions.

04:20 – Innovators as Cultural DJs
Why great creators remix influences from different fields to spark originality.

05:05 – James’ Challenge to Listeners
Practical steps: expand your playlist, protect your downtime, and remix on purpose.

06:10 – Final Reflections
The best ideas don’t always arrive in office hours—they often come at 3AM, 35,000 feet in the air.

TRANSCRIPTJames Taylor (00:09) Somewhere, over the Indian Ocean, I found myself wide awake. I was flying home from Chennai, India, where I’d just delivered a keynote and workshop for senior leaders from a pharmaceutical company. It’d be one those energizing days where the conversations backstage are just as interesting as the ones that actually happen on the stage. But now, it was the early hours of the morning. The cabin lights were dim. The only sounds were from the gentle hum of the engines and the occasional clink of a coffee cup from the galley. I had my notebook nearby but in that moment I wasn’t writing, I was listening. In my headphones was Bano Maria, the debut album from Catriel and Paco Amoroso, an Argentinian duo I discovered a few months before on NPR’s Tiny Desk Show. Their live performance had blown me away. Their music is an alchemy of influences. Experimental trap music from Latin America, hip hop from the USA, European EDM, London drum and bass, jazz and pop. It’s chaotic on paper, but in their hands, it’s seamless, alive. As I sat there at 3 a.m. on that plane, I thought about how quickly ideas travel today. A sound born in Buenos Aires can influence a beat in Berlin on the same day. A breakthrough in a Bangalore lab can shape a product in Boston before the week is out. The speed of cultural exchange is unprecedented. But here’s the thing. You only notice those patterns when you give your brain the space to connect them. At 3 a.m., on a flight, you’re not rushing between meetings or staring at your inbox. You’re untethered. Your mind becomes a DJ booth, sampling from the influences that you’ve been collecting, books, conversations, mistakes, even music you didn’t understand the first time that you heard it. This is what neuroscientists call diffuse mode thinking. When your brain isn’t under pressure to solve a problem, but it’s still working, quietly making connections in the background. The truth is, great innovators are cultural DJs. They’re fluent in multiple creative languages, and they’re willing to combine them in ways that might look reckless to someone else. But that’s where the magic happens, in those combinations. So here’s my challenge for you this week. First, Expand your playlist, fill it with ideas, sounds, and perspectives far outside your normal reach. Second, protect your offer hours. Don’t fill every gap with your phone. Let your mind wander. And third, when you create, remix on purpose. Combine those influences until you’ve made something that surprises even you. By the time the cabin lights came up for breakfast, I’d filled my pages in my notebook. Some ideas were ready to use. others needed time to marinate. A few made no sense at all. And those are often my favourites. The best ideas don’t always knock on the door during office hours. Sometimes they arrive quietly, half way between yesterday and tomorrow at 35,000 feet. So, when’s the last time that you had your own 3am idea?

The post 3AM Ideas: How Diffuse Thinking Sparks Creativity appeared first on James Taylor.

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Explore key insights on intelligence and decision-making from Professor Sir David Omand's book, focusing on critical thinking and creativity.

The post Teaching Creativity in a World of AI and Uncertainty: Keith Sawyer’s Art School Insights #354 appeared first on James Taylor.

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Explore key insights on intelligence and decision-making from Professor Sir David Omand's book, focusing on critical thinking and creativity.

The post AI and Creativity: Is AI Stealing Our Creative Muscle? appeared first on James Taylor.

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Explore key insights on intelligence and decision-making from Professor Sir David Omand's book, focusing on critical thinking and creativity.

The post AI Decision-Making & The Future of Leadership | Kate O’Neill #353 appeared first on James Taylor.

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Explore key insights on intelligence and decision-making from Professor Sir David Omand's book, focusing on critical thinking and creativity.

The post AI in Leadership: Marissa Afton on Awareness, Wisdom & Compassion in the Age of Machines #352 appeared first on James Taylor.

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Explore key insights on intelligence and decision-making from Professor Sir David Omand's book, focusing on critical thinking and creativity.

The post The Barbell Guide to Mentorship — A Game-Changing Strategy for Creative Leaders & Innovators #351 appeared first on James Taylor.

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Most leaders have mentors. But are they missing the other side of the barbell?

In this episode of the SuperCreativity Podcast, James Taylor introduces a simple but powerful concept that could transform how you approach mentorship, leadership, and innovation.

You'll discover:

• Why traditional mentorship alone isn’t enough in today’s fast-changing world
• The surprising power of reverse mentorship
• A 30-minute challenge that can shift your thinking and unlock new creative insights

Whether you're a CEO, team leader, or emerging professional, this episode will show you how to balance your barbell—and why doing so could lead to your next breakthrough.

Listen now and start rethinking how you learn, lead, and grow.

#Mentorship #ReverseMentoring #Leadership #Innovation #JamesTaylor #SuperCreativity #CreativeThinking #GrowthMindset #FutureOfWork

Timestamps: 00:00 – Introduction: From Dubai Keynote to Mentorship Insight 01:30 – The Barbell Metaphor for Balanced Mentoring 03:00 – Traditional Mentors: Wisdom from Experience 04:25 – The Power of Reverse Mentors 06:40 – How Younger Minds Can Challenge and Inspire You 08:20 – The Reverse Mentor Challenge: Try This Today 10:15 – Final Reflection: Balancing Both Sides of the Barbell 11:30 – Call to Action: What Insight Will You Discover?

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In 1986, a single technological failure at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant changed the world. Today, AI is advancing at an unprecedented pace—but could it be heading toward a catastrophic failure of its own?

In this episode, I explore: ⚠️ The real risks of AI—autonomous warfare, financial collapse, deepfake-driven misinformation 🧠 The incredible opportunities AI offers in medicine, sustainability, and creativity ✅ The critical steps we must take to prevent an AI disaster

From AI replacing millions of jobs to deepfake propaganda making truth almost impossible to verify, we are on the edge of something huge. Will AI revolutionize the world for the better, or are we sleepwalking into its Chernobyl moment?

Listen now and decide: Will AI lead us to disaster, or can we harness it for a better future?

🎧 Subscribe & Share if this episode made you think!

📌 Let’s continue the conversation: What do you think? Will AI be our greatest tool or our biggest threat?

🔗 https://www.jamestaylor.me/

#Podcast #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #AIEthics #ChernobylMoment #TechDisaster #FutureOfAI #Innovation #AIRegulation

Timestamps: 00:00 - The Chernobyl Disaster & AI’s Parallels 02:15 - How AI Is Already Transforming the World 04:40 - The Dark Side of AI: Risks We Can’t Ignore 07:20 - AI Catastrophes: Autonomous Warfare, Financial Crashes & Deepfakes 10:30 - The Ethics Problem: AI Doesn’t Ask “Should We?” 13:15 - AI’s Potential for Good: Healthcare, Sustainability & Creativity 16:40 - Preventing an AI Disaster: Transparency, Ethics & Oversight 19:55 - AI’s Future: The Biggest Question We Must Ask

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Episode Description: What makes a keynote speech truly unforgettable? Just like a hit song needs the singer, performance, and song, a hit keynote speech requires three essential elements:

1️⃣ The Voice – Your unique perspective and authenticity. 2️⃣ The Performance – How you deliver and engage your audience. 3️⃣ The Content – The message that sticks and transforms lives.

In this episode, James Taylor breaks down what makes a speech compelling, memorable, and impactful. Whether you’re a professional speaker or someone who wants to improve your communication skills, this episode will help you craft a keynote that inspires and educates.

👉 Which of these three is your biggest challenge? Drop a comment below!

🔔 Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more insights on creativity, innovation, and the business of speaking.

🎯 Key Takeaways: ✔ A great keynote speech is like a hit song—it needs voice, performance, and content. ✔ Your voice isn’t just how you sound—it’s your unique perspective that makes you stand out. ✔ Performance matters! If you have great content but poor delivery, your message won’t land. ✔ Content must be relevant, memorable, and actionable—otherwise, it’s just entertainment, not transformation. ✔ The best speeches inspire AND educate.

💬 Notable Quotes: 🎤 "If you sound like everyone else, your speech is completely forgettable." 🎤 "Great keynote speeches don’t just inspire; they transform." 🎤 "Energy, storytelling, and emotional connection are what separate good speakers from great ones." 🎤 "When you nail all three—voice, performance, and content—you don’t just give a speech, you create an experience."

📋 Show Notes: ⏱ [00:09] – What David Foster teaches us about great keynote speeches. ⏱ [01:20] – Why your voice (your unique perspective) matters. ⏱ [02:35] – The performance: How delivery affects impact. ⏱ [03:50] – Content: Why some speakers fail despite great delivery. ⏱ [05:15] – The formula for a hit keynote (and why you need all three!). ⏱ [06:30] – Key questions to ask yourself before your next speech.

📢 Call-to-Action (CTA): 💡 Which of these three elements do you struggle with the most? Let me know in the comments! 👇

📩 Want to learn how to craft a high-impact keynote speech? Subscribe to my newsletter for exclusive speaking tips!

🔔 Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more insights on creativity, innovation, and professional speaking.

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In this episode of SuperCreativity, James Taylor takes you behind the scenes of idea development—how a simple spark evolves into a fully formed concept ready for the world. He reveals the five levels of an idea, from the sacred space of initial inspiration to the big stage where it impacts audiences. If you've ever wondered why some ideas thrive while others fade, this framework will help you refine and stress-test your creative thinking.

Listen in as James shares personal insights, real-life examples, and actionable steps to help you nurture your best ideas before you share them with the world.

Show Notes * James Taylor shares the five levels of an idea and why great ideas don’t arrive fully formed. * The importance of the sacred space (Level 5) and why ideas need time before being shared. * How trusted conversations (Level 4) refine and strengthen a concept. * The dinner party test (Level 3) and why social settings are perfect for stress-testing ideas. * The power of public experimentation (Level 2) using short-form videos and posts. * Final stage (Level 1): Bringing the idea to the world through keynotes, books, and major content pieces. * Why most people share their ideas too early and how to avoid that mistake.

Key Takeaways 1. Great ideas evolve through levels—they don’t appear fully formed. 2. The best ideas start in solitude (sacred space) before they are shared. 3. Early conversations refine raw ideas before public testing. 4. Social settings provide real-time feedback to improve clarity and resonance. 5. Short-form content is a powerful testing ground before presenting an idea on stage. 6. Rushing an idea too soon can lead to wasted potential—let it go through its levels first.

Timestamps * 00:00 – Introduction: How ideas actually develop * 02:15 – The spark: Level 5 (Sacred Space) * 05:30 – Testing in private: Level 4 (Inner Circle) * 08:45 – The social test: Level 3 (Dinner Party Effect) * 12:20 – Public experimentation: Level 2 (Short-form content) * 15:10 – The big stage: Level 1 (Keynote, book, or full launch) * 18:00 – Why most ideas fail: Sharing them too early * 20:30 – How to apply this framework to your own ideas * 22:00 – Closing thoughts and next steps

Hashtags #SuperCreativity #IdeaDevelopment #Creativity #Innovation #PublicSpeaking #EntrepreneurMindset #CreativeThinking #AI #JamesTaylor #ThoughtLeadership #KeynoteSpeaker #GrowthMindset

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In this solo episode of the SuperCreativity Podcast, James Taylor explores a counterintuitive truth: creativity thrives on constraints. While we often associate innovation with limitless freedom, history, psychology, and business show that well-defined limitations often lead to the most groundbreaking ideas.

From Haiku poetry and jazz improvisation to AI advancements and low-cost prosthetics, James dives into how scarcity fuels innovation. He also shares practical ways to introduce constraints into your work to boost creativity, improve focus, and overcome choice paralysis.

Key Takeaways

✔ Constraints Fuel Creativity – Having too many choices can stifle innovation, while limitations force focus and problem-solving.

✔ Real-World Examples – From Haiku poetry to MIT’s low-cost prosthetics and DeepSeek AI’s efficiency breakthroughs.

✔ Choice Paralysis Is Real – Too much freedom can lead to overthinking; constraints help you move forward.

✔ Practical Creative Constraints – The One Take Rule, Limiting Your Tools, Setting Hard Deadlines, and Reducing Resources to supercharge creativity.

✔ Less Is More – Instead of asking what can I add?, ask what can I remove?

Timecodes

⏱ 00:00 – Why constraints drive creativity

⏱ 02:15 – Haiku, jazz, and literature: How artists use constraints

⏱ 06:40 – Business & tech: AI innovation and low-cost prosthetics

⏱ 11:00 – Psychology: Why the brain works better with limitations

⏱ 14:20 – Four ways to apply creative constraints in your work

⏱ 19:00 – Why removing options makes you more creative

Full show notes at https://www.jamestaylor.me/

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In this episode of the SuperCreativity Podcast, James Taylor explores the concept of Exnovation—the systematic removal of outdated practices, technologies, and business models to drive efficiency and innovation. While the world glorifies innovation, many businesses, governments, and individuals struggle to let go of redundant systems that slow them down. Using real-world examples from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Ford, GE, and retail and automotive industries, James highlights why exnovation is just as critical as innovation for staying competitive in a fast-changing world.

Tune in to discover why subtraction, not just addition, is the secret to breakthrough success and how you can apply exnovation to your business and personal life.

Key Takeaways * Innovation is Overrated – Without exnovation, businesses accumulate outdated processes, leading to inefficiency. * Elon Musk’s DOGE Initiative – A bold attempt at government exnovation, cutting bureaucracy for efficiency. * The Exnovation Mindset – Removing the old is just as important as creating the new. * Real-World Examples – How Ford, GE, and retailers are exnovating for future success. * How to Apply Exnovation – Audit, strategically eliminate, and embrace a growth mindset.

Timecodes ⏱ 00:00 – Why exnovation matters & Elon Musk’s DOGE initiative ⏱ 03:45 – The problem with innovation addiction and innovation theater ⏱ 07:30 – Business examples: Ford, GE, and exnovation in the automotive & retail industries ⏱ 12:15 – How to exnovate: auditing, strategic elimination, and a growth mindset ⏱ 15:30 – What should you stop doing today to create space for your next breakthrough?

#Exnovation #InnovationStrategy #ElonMusk #BusinessGrowth #Efficiency #Leadership #AI #DOGE #FutureOfWork

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In this episode, James Taylor discusses the World Economic Forum 'Future of Work' Report 2025 which highlights the significant job shifts driven by AI, the creative economy, green jobs, and the rise of digital and remote work. He emphasizes the importance of soft skills and outlines key skills needed to future-proof careers, including creative thinking, AI fluency, and resilience. takeaways * By 2030, 92 million jobs will be lost, but 170 million new ones will be created. * AI is transforming jobs rather than replacing them. * Creative thinking and innovation are the most sought-after skills. * Green jobs are on the rise due to climate change initiatives. * Digital skills are essential in a remote work environment. * Soft skills like empathy and leadership are becoming more valuable. * Resilience and adaptability are crucial in a rapidly changing job market. * Investing in creative thinking will help you thrive. * Understanding AI integration is key to future success. * Continuous learning and adaptation are vital for career longevity.

Sound Bites * "Green jobs should be on your radar." * "Soft skills take center stage." * "AI and digital fluency are crucial."

Chapters 00:00 The Future of Work: An Overview 02:47 The Booming Creative Economy 03:43 Green Jobs and Sustainability Careers 04:34 The Rise of Digital and Remote Work 05:29 The Importance of Soft Skills 06:26 Key Skills for Future-Proofing Your Career Learn more at https://www.jamestaylor.me/

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In this episode of the SuperCreativity Podcast, James Taylor explores the surprising impact of temperature on creativity. He discusses how environmental factors, particularly temperature, influence cognitive performance and creative output. The episode highlights the optimal temperature range for creativity, the differences between divergent and convergent thinking, and personal adaptations to different climates. Taylor also draws a parallel between temperature in AI algorithms and human creativity, emphasizing the importance of creating the right conditions for ideas to flourish. takeaways * The temperature around us significantly affects our creative thinking. * Extreme temperatures can impair cognitive functions like decision-making. * The ideal temperature for creativity is between 22-24 degrees Celsius. * Warmer environments promote divergent thinking, while cooler ones favor convergent thinking. * Adjusting workspace temperature can enhance creativity and productivity. * Personal preferences and cultural factors influence how temperature affects creativity. * AI's temperature concept can serve as a metaphor for human creativity. * Experimenting with temperature can optimize creative flow. * Small changes in the environment can lead to significant improvements in performance. * Creating the right conditions is essential for nurturing creativity.

Sound Bites * "Warmer environments encourage divergent thinking." * "Cooler spaces are better for convergent thinking." * "Tailoring your workspace temperature can boost creativity."

Chapters 00:00 The Science of Temperature and Creativity 02:29 Optimizing Workspaces for Creative Thinking 04:53 Personal Adaptation and AI Metaphors

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In this episode of the SuperCreativity Podcast, James Taylor shares exciting updates about the podcast’s new structure and his personal journey of writing a book on SuperCreativity. Discover how James is blending human and AI insights to enhance his creative process through a virtual advisory board. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, innovator, or creative professional, learn actionable steps to build your own virtual advisory board and supercharge your next big project.

Show Notes:

Introduction:

• James Taylor announces the relaunch of the SuperCreativity Podcast with a new structure.
• The podcast now features three episode types: solo insights, expert interviews, and industry insights.

James’s Book Writing Journey:

• James reveals his decision to write and self-publish a book on SuperCreativity.
• The book will consolidate stories, case studies, and strategies from his global speaking engagements.
• He highlights the importance of accountability and inspiration in creative projects.

The Concept of a Virtual Advisory Board:

• James introduces the idea of combining real and AI-generated advisors to guide creative work.
• Real advisors include industry experts Elaine Pofeldt and David Avrin.
• Virtual advisors, simulated via AI, include thought leaders like Ryan Holiday, Seth Godin, and Jay Papasan.
• Using AI tools allows James to receive diverse perspectives and actionable feedback.

Practical Takeaway:

• Listeners are encouraged to create their own virtual advisory boards:
  • Identify 5–6 advisors (real, fictional, alive, or deceased).
  • Use generative AI tools to simulate their advice on a creative project.
  • Use the feedback to strengthen and refine their ideas.

Sound Bites:

• “Accountability is a powerful motivator in any creative endeavor.”
• “AI tools make it possible to receive feedback from your dream advisors.”
• “Inspiration often comes from sharing your journey with others.”

Chapters: 00:00 – Revamping the SuperCreativity Podcast 01:51 – The Journey of Writing a Book 03:20 – Creating a Virtual Advisory Board 04:55 – Final Thoughts and Next Steps

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Robert Hannigan - The Power of Neurodiversity in Innovation, Cybersecurity, GCHQ and Counter-Intelligence #342In this episode of the Super Creativity Podcast, host James Taylor sits down with Robert Hannigan, former director of GCHQ, the UK’s largest technical and cyber security agency. Robert shares his journey from being the Prime Minister’s security advisor to establishing the UK National Cyber Security Centre and now serving as the international chairman of Blue Voyant. Tune in to learn about the lessons from counterintelligence that can be applied to problem-solving and creativity, the importance of neurodiversity in intelligence work, and the fascinating history of Bletchley Park.

Sound Bites:

1. “I was trying to answer the question of how was it that Bletchley Park… created the world’s first digital programmable computer.” – Robert Hannigan
2. “Tolerating that kind of eccentricity frankly is one of the interesting challenges for an organization, particularly a company, trying to engender creativity.” – Robert Hannigan
3. “It’s really important that people can express any ethical concerns and discuss them and have them addressed.” – Robert Hannigan
4. “The blend of these different types of thinking and ways of looking at the world is massively powerful in creativity.” – Robert Hannigan Apple PodcastSpotify PodcastTakeaways* Counterintelligence offers valuable lessons in problem-solving and creativity.
5. The innovative environment at Bletchley Park was driven by a diverse and young team.
6. Neurodiversity in intelligence work brings unique perspectives and solutions.
7. Open communication and ethical discussions are crucial in maintaining high standards in intelligence agencies.
8. Balancing optimism and pessimism helps assess risks and harness technological advances effectively.
9. Personal sources of inspiration, such as nature and casual interactions, play a significant role in fostering creativity. Robert Hannigan is the former director of GCHQ, the UK’s largest technical and cybersecurity agency. He established the UK National Cyber Security Centre in 2016 and was responsible for the UK’s first cyber strategy in 2009. Robert is now the international chairman of Blue Voyant, a global cybersecurity services company, and a senior advisor to McKinsey & Co. He is also a senior fellow at the Belfast Center at Harvard, a fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology in London, and an honorary fellow at Oxford University. He was honored by Queen Elizabeth for his services to national security and is one of the only non-US citizens to have received the US Intelligence Distinguished Public Service Medal. His new book, “Counterintelligence,” explores what the secret world can teach us about problem-solving and creativity.

Robert Hannigan

James Taylor is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, often booked months or even years in advance due to his exceptional expertise. Given his limited availability, it’s crucial to contact him early if you’re interested in securing a date or learning how he can enhance your event. Reach out to James Taylor now for an opportunity to bring his unique insights to your conference or team.

Enquire NowThe Creativity BlueprintFree 3-Part Video Training Series On How To Unlock Your Creative Potential, Break Down Creative Blocks, and Unleash Your Creative Genius
FREE training video shows you how to unlock your creative potential in 5 simple steps. The world’s top creative individuals and organizations use these exact strategies.

The 7-Figure Speaker BlueprintFREE training video shows you the ten ways to make $1,000,000 from your speaking. The world’s top professional speakers use these exact strategies.

In this first FREE video series, award-winning keynote speaker James Taylor reveals how to become a 7-figure speaker.

CHAPTERS​ 00:00 – Introduction to Robert Hannigan and GCHQ * 03:33 – Focus on Cybersecurity and Oxford University * 06:17 – Insights from “Counterintelligence” * 08:06 – The Lessons from Bletchley Park * 09:56 – Overcoming Challenges with Diverse Teams * 11:56 – The Role of Neurodiversity in Intelligence * 15:23 – Managing Diversity in Modern Organizations * 22:04 – The Importance of Open Communication * 24:52 – Balancing Optimism and Pessimism in Intelligence * 28:09 – Personal Sources of Creative Inspiration * 30:00 – Book Recommendations and Further Reading * 31:53 – How to Connect with Robert Hannigan* TRANSCRIPTJames Taylor (00:09)
What can the secret world of counterintelligence teach us about problem solving and creativity? That’s what my guest today and I will discuss. Robert Hannigan was director of GCHQ, the UK’s largest technical and cyber security agency. He established the UK National Cyber Security Centre in 2016 and was responsible for the UK’s first cyber strategy in 2009. He was previously

the Prime Minister’s security advisor at number 10 and worked closely with Tony Blair for a decade on the Northern Ireland peace process. Robert is now international chairman of Blue Voyant, a global cybersecurity services company, and was a senior advisor to McKinsey & Co. He is a senior fellow at the Belfast Center at Harvard. He is a fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology in London and an honorary fellow at Oxford University. He was honored by Queen Elizabeth for his services to national security.

and is one of the only non -US citizens to have received the US Intelligence Distinguished Public Service Medal. His new book, Counterintelligence, which is absolutely wonderful, is about what the secret world can teach us about problem solving and creativity. And he looks to answer a couple of questions. How do you hire smart people who can work together to prevent terrorist attacks and decode encrypted technology? How do you come up with creative, counterintuitive solutions to solve major global problems?

And how do you provide the right environment for these people to thrive and work at their best when under immense pleasure? And it’s my great pleasure to welcome Robert Hannigan on the Super Creativity Podcast today. Welcome Robert.

Robert Hannigan (01:41)
Hi James, well thanks very much, very good to be with you.

James Taylor (01:45)
So currently what has your focus? You’ve got the book is out now. What are you currently focused on?

Robert Hannigan (01:50)
Yeah, so the book is out and obviously I have a role in Oxford which takes a lot of time in term time and then my main focus is on cyber security obviously which is my day -to -day work and that’s changing very fast and every day we see new headlines which kind of emphasize how fast moving and how sophisticated the threat has got. So cyber security is where I spend most of my thinking time.

James Taylor (02:16)
Now in this book, I learned so many interesting things. I learned a lot about Bletchley Park that I didn’t know in the work that went on there and the history of GCHQ. But there was a quote that you have right towards, you mentioned something right at the beginning of the book, which I thought was interesting. The other day I was in Austin in Texas and I was speaking and this sounds very strange compared to what we’d probably be talking about, but…

I was speaking for a company that manufactures the ingredients for bread and pastries and chocolates. And while I was there, I met a gentleman who was the sourdough librarian for this company. His job is to keep the sourdoughs of all, he goes around the world collecting sourdoughs from these amazing places and he has a library of this. And in the book, earlier on, you see this, you talk about the work of…

of Bletchley Park and the GCHQ is less about mapping the DNA of Bletchley Park and more like identifying the ingredients of a digital sourdough starter, a messy blended fermentation that constantly changes, that is never entirely within the baker’s control, but nonetheless produces something entirely surprising. So my first question I had for you is, what are the good ingredients for someone that’s working in counterintelligence and has that changed over the years?

Robert Hannigan (03:35)
So I love the idea of a sourdough librarian, that sounds fantastic. And Austin, Texas is a great example actually of tech innovation at the moment, as I’m sure you saw when you were there. What I was trying to answer, and I didn’t want to write one of these prescriptive books that says do X, Y, and Z, and you will have creativity, because I just don’t think it works like that. I was trying to answer the question of how was it that Bletchley Park, which was this not particularly impressive.

country house in the English countryside where they gathered to break codes during the Second World War and to solve one big problem which was how do you decrypt and then use a massive amount of intercepted radio material that was coming into Bletchley and then get it out fast enough for commanders to use. So that was the problem they were trying to solve. But in solving it, they

created the world’s first digital programmable computer colossus. And so in that problem solving process, there was this immense creativity and everything we now have. So what we’re communicating on our laptops, our iPhones and so on, you trace their lineage back to Bletchley Park really. And so I wanted to explore, so how did that happen? And to come to your sourdough analogy,

Many people at the time described Bletchley as an asylum, as rudderless, as full of crazy people. It wasn’t, they thought, structured and hierarchical in the way it should have been. And so what were the ingredients? Well, the ingredients were, of course, the people. And it was this amazing mixture of people. Not just mathematicians, not just Alan Turing types, if he is a type, the famous people, but predominantly women. So 76 % of the staff of Bletchley were women.

Most were young, most were under 30. So you were quite old if you were over 30 and you were ancient if you were over 40 at Bletchley. But it wasn’t just mathematicians and academics, it was people from manufacturing, from banking, from department stores, from the telecoms world. And it was putting those people together both as disciplines and as individual ways of thinking. And we might come onto neurodiversity.

But that’s where the magic and the creativity came from. And I think that’s closer to a sourdough starter than it is to any kind of business book which tells you, do this, this, and this, and you’ll get creativity.

James Taylor (06:07)
The thing I found really interesting, and you talk about this towards more towards the end of the book, but it’s actually, it’s a bit of a thread that kind of goes through is what you mentioned, like neurodiversity. And we’ll kind of come back to that. But there were lots of, we’re talking about this building this kind of culture and there was lots of very interesting characters where the Bletchley Park and obviously now in GCHQ. One of the ones that made me laugh was early on you talked about Dilly Knox, I think was the name and Rym Forty at the old Admiralty.

he decided to do something a little bit unusual, something to help his creative process, which I actually, I do today as well. So can you share what that was?

Robert Hannigan (06:46)
Ha ha.

Yeah, and Billy Knox was an amazing character, but he did a lot of his thinking in the bath. So he had a bathtub put into the old Admiralty building in Whitehall. And then when he moved nearly 20 years later to Bletchley Park, he had a bathtub put into the cottage there and he was sitting in it for hours and hours at a time. So much so actually in Bletchley that one of his colleagues thought he had drowned and broke the door down. So…

It wasn’t just an affectation. He didn’t just occasionally go and have a bath. He would find it a good place to think. And we now know from neurological research quite a lot about the effects of warm water, water in general, on the brain. So he wasn’t wrong. He described it as, bathing helps me with the perception of analogies. So not exactly sure what that means, but we think it…

closest to a kind of lateral thinking, making connections in the brain that wouldn’t otherwise surface. And he was a very passionate, slightly irascible character. And so the calming environment of a bath probably helped as well, helped him focus his thinking. But it’s a nice example of something which no corporation would naturally think of doing. So.

tolerating that kind of eccentricity frankly is one of the interesting challenges for an organization, particularly a company, trying to engender creativity. You’ve got to be allowed, you’ve got to allow people to work in the way that they want to up to a point. And his is a kind of extreme example. He’s also a great example.

James Taylor (08:31)
I wonder if you got inspiration from that from, I was recently in a place called Ortesia, near Syracuse in Italy. And about two and a half thousand years ago, there was a king hero, his name, and he was trying to figure out a problem. And he did like what I guess many

business senior people do today as they bring in a management consultant. And the management consultant was Archimedes and we heard the story of like the bath and jumping at the bath, Eureka. So I wonder if he was, had a bit of an Archimedes thing kind of going on there as well.

Robert Hannigan (09:05)
Yeah, maybe, and he was a classicist himself, so he would have known the work of Archimedes well. And of course, that was a brilliant scientific breakthrough in itself, giving him the idea of the volume, measuring volume. But yeah, a good example of a non -mathematician, everything’s computing and is about mathematics, but in his case, he was a papirologist. So he spent much of his career trying to piece together these little fragments of

papyrus that have been found in the sands of Egypt around mid to late 19th century. And he tried to put these together to restore the poetry that was written on them. And I think the interesting thing about that is the puzzling theme that runs through the book. All these people loved puzzles. And for him, the puzzle actually wasn’t about, it wasn’t like a jigsaw, it wasn’t just finding little bits of papyrus and making them put together, though that helped. The real puzzle was that

The people writing the poems on these bits of papyrus weren’t the original authors. So they were copying them out two, three centuries later. And so the challenge for him was to work out the mistakes they’d made. So these were scribes who were often bored, didn’t really understand what they were copying, didn’t really care very much, made mistakes, human error. And there are big lessons in code breaking. So a lot of the progress that was made in Bletchley Park in breaking German codes was about understanding the people at the other end.

and the mistakes they were making, the human errors. Same is true now in cyber security. It’s trying to understand the human errors in cyber security, defense and offense. So he’s a good example around it.

James Taylor (10:41)
When you think of when people think of Bletchley Park, they often think of the movie kind of highlighting Alan Turing and I always kind of push against it and I sense that you kind of pushed against a little bit in the book, although it was amazing telling that story and it brought to attention the work of Bletchley Park to a wider group of people. But my bugbear, I guess, with that was always that it kind of does the whole lone creative genius.

thing. And in the book, you talk about really, that’s, that’s kind of not how it worked. So I mean, maybe you can give us some ideas in terms of what at that point, when they’re breaking these codes, what was around, for example, Alan Turing, who was he, who was he working with? How was the collaboration side working there?

Robert Hannigan (11:29)
So you’re absolutely right, James. I mean, the Imitation Game was great for the profile of Bletchley Park and actually big increase in visitor numbers in the years that followed. So I’m not knocking it, but it was very Hollywood. It was all about good and bad, goodies and baddies in Bletchley. And it was also all about this, as you say, this lone, solitary genius. Now, no question Turing was a genius by any measure, but he wasn’t a loner in his work. He very much worked as part of a team.

And in Breaking Enigma, he relied very heavily on the fantastic work of Polish mathematicians before the war, of French mathematicians, and he acknowledged all that. And then those around him in Bletchley were absolutely critical to him. So he wasn’t this sort of lone person who just crapped it. And the other thing I think that doesn’t quite come across in the film is Joan Clarke, who’s sometimes fiance for, wasn’t for very long, but…

who was a really talented codebreaker in her own right and mathematician. And after the war, she went on to work at GCHQ until the 1970s. And in fact, just as she was working on counter -UVOTE, counter -submarine work in Bletchley with Turing, she ended up working against Argentine submarines in the Falklands War in 1982. So she had a remarkable career in her own right. And she wasn’t just the fiance of Alan Turing. So the film gets lots of things wrong.

But overall, as you say, it was great for the profile.

James Taylor (12:58)
There was another type of, you mentioned the relationship with him and his fiancee wife at one point as well, was in the US, you have the National Security Agency, which I guess is the equivalent of our GCHQ in the UK. And you talk about Elizabeth and William Friedman there. I believe that William Friedman was the founder of America’s NSA. But you talked about how, I use this term creative pairs. They can operate it, they had very different.

ways of looking at problems and challenges, but they can lent something to each other. Can you talk about that relationship? I thought that was that was interesting when I’d like to maybe kind of learn a little bit, go and maybe read a little bit more about that couple.

Robert Hannigan (13:38)
Yeah, so there’s some wonderful books on them, actually. And there’s a wonderful parallel story going on in the US alongside what’s happening in the First World War in the UK and then Bletchley Park. And at the same time, these big characters emerge. So William and Elizabeth Friedman, as in a way, the founders of US code breaking, US cryptology. And they met in this weird

scientific research establishment in Chicago and outside Chicago just before the First World War and it was run by an incredible man who’s worth reading about but called George Fabian who had this obsession, had lots of obsessions, but one of his obsessions was that Shakespeare plays weren’t really written by Shakespeare. They were written by Francis Bacon and so he hired all these people to try to prove this and in trying to prove it, so William and Elizabeth.

met, spent the rest of their life together and they conclusively established that actually Francis Bacon hadn’t written these and it wasn’t in secret code, much to George Fabian’s disappointment. But they’re an amazing couple because I think you’re right, they complement each other. Elizabeth had her own career in the 30s against smuggling during the prohibition era and it’s only actually in this century that her contribution has been recognised by the

US government and by Congress in particular, she tended to get overshadowed by William. But actually, William himself would have been the first to say she was an amazing codebreaker in her own right. So these partnerships are important. And there’s an interesting story about the two of them in the First World War, trying to break up a particular machine that had been given them to test the British machine, actually. And William asks Elizabeth to close her eyes.

and say the first thing, clear her mind, say the first thing that comes into her head when he says a particular word. And she gets it right, of course. And they put that down to gender, actually. They said maybe there’s a different way of looking at this. Williams was very structured, hers was more creative and fluid. Yeah, it may or may not be right, but it’s certainly true, as you say, James, that partnerships sparking off each other, teamwork is absolutely essential to creativity.

it isn’t on the whole a solitary pursuit.

James Taylor (16:08)
And then towards maybe the last quarter of the book, you move into talking about kind of just picking up on that, about gender, but also talking about diversity of thought and also wider, like neurodiversity as well. There was one stat in it that really blew my mind that we find here one in four people that work at GCHQ are neurodivergent, which I thought was fascinating. And then as you’re kind of getting into this,

You were just talking about people obviously with autism. My father is a musician and he has synesthesia. So he sees musical notes as certain colors and you talk about that and the benefit of that for code breakers as well. You mentioned briefly, I think in Israel they have a, I think it’s called Unit 9900, which is made up of people with specific, the forms of neurodivergence. So tell us, as you were kind of researching and kind of learned,

learning about it. Was this just something you were kind of picking up on because you were just around different people at the time you were kind of noticing this pattern? Or was there something else that kind of led you down this path to want to investigate this area more?

Robert Hannigan (17:18)
I’m fascinated by this area and although if you look at Bletchley Park there were lots of people who were clearly neurodivergent. It wasn’t called that in those days, tended to be seen as eccentricity or just oddness. But when I got to GCHQ and I’d spent 15 years in and around it before I became director, I would just met more and more staff who had really interesting views of the world and perceptions of the world.

and I started to talk to them and then to research more about what neurodiversity was and just how diverse it is actually, as you say, the synesthesia is a fascinating example of how the brain works and shows how little we understand about it. But I give one example in the book where I was chatting to someone who was overlooking the car park and the building of GCHQ’s headquarters is a donut -shaped building. It’s very similar to what Apple have now done in Cupertino.

And round it is this massive car park. And looking out at this every day, he would say, he felt compelled to organize that and explain the distribution of cars. Whereas to the rest of us, we would probably just accept, well, people park and they get out and they go into work. He felt this compulsion to systematize that. And of course he was right. It wasn’t random. So this is about putting order into the world and finding patterns.

And he was absolutely right because not only was there a computer program booking system for the car park, which was complex, but all the trends of economics, of car sales, of where people lived, of their school runs, all those things influenced the organization of those cars around the building. And while the rest of us might just not even think about it, he felt a compulsion to explain it every day. And I think…

That is interesting in itself, but it’s also a massive advantage in a creative team to have people who think like that, who are systematizing brains, if you like, and all the other neurodivergent traits that are explored in the book, all of which blended with other people in a team can be massively powerful. And one of GCSQ’s of the secret world’s great strength has been able to value that and say, these people are not a problem.

they’re a huge advantage. They may need extra support, they may need understanding, they may need the right conditions in which to work, but actually they’re a fantastic asset. And you give the Israeli example, I mean, I think, I’m not sure I’d go as far as saying we need to employ certain types of neurodivergence in certain jobs, but for sure the blend of these different types of thinking and ways of looking at the world is massively powerful in creativity.

James Taylor (20:06)
What advice would you give if someone’s listening to this just now? Maybe they’re, I said they’re not in the world, most of us not in the world of the counter intelligence and code breaking and things like that. But we do have to manage people, often in large organizations, you’re managing a big mix. You have, you know, you make your diverse people within the organization. You also have generational differences. I know a lot of leaders I speak to, they said they really, they struggle with figuring out, you know,

everything from Baby Boomers to Gen Z to Gen X to millennials, like working with them. What can management more broadly learn from the way that organisations like GCHQ manage that diversity of employees?

Robert Hannigan (20:50)
That’s a great question, James, and it’s the one I get asked most often by board level people and managers. And I think three, just three quick examples. I mean, one is around recruitment. The way most companies recruit staff militates against those kinds of people because they’re very often very open questions designed to explore competence, competencies. That is the worst possible.

kind of interview for many people with neurodivergent conditions who need something much more structured. So thinking about and getting advice on how you recruit is really important. Once you’ve recruited people who are neurodivergent, you need to support them. So that might be very practical things like computer programs that help them, but it may also just be really good line management. You have to invest a lot of time.

And you have to accept that there’s going to be some disruption. And one of the interesting things about Bletchley is that the first leader of Bletchley, Alastair Denniston, spent a lot of his time protecting his staff from criticism from outside, particularly from senior military and Whitehall, who would say, you know, these people are scruffy, they’re too young, they’re arrogant, they’re telling me what to do, they don’t respect authority, you need to do something about it.

and he would push back and say, no, you’ve got to accept that if you want the amazing things they’re doing, you’ve got to accept some of the difficulties that come along the way in this unusual group of people, as he put it. That takes courage in a leadership management context. So yeah, there are definitely some lessons on how to do it, practical and cultural.

James Taylor (22:32)
One of the ones that I read, which I’d never seen before, where you talked about, you called it tea parties, where bletchily, because of the work of the shift system, they work in these shifts all the time, someone would come in and they would sit and they would write down, challenge an idea, something up on a, it could be an equation up on a board, a white board. And the next team that were coming in, can almost kind of look at that idea and pick it apart or figure it out, or that would maybe spark them as well.

Do you, without going into any confidence, what is the modern, is there a modern equivalent of that to ensure that you’re using this hive mind, this collective consciousness well?

Robert Hannigan (23:13)
Yeah, it’s an absolutely key part of the culture of lecture that’s been carried through GCHQ to the current moment actually. And there are two sides to it really. One is having those opportunities for people to discuss and feed in informally their thoughts about how to do things better. And the second key thing is to stop that being hierarchical. So there was always a principle in GCHQ that any member of staff, so getting on for 10 ,000 at some periods, could approach the director.

directly through email. Now that could be a burden at times, but actually it’s really important. And it goes back to the power of young people as well. But actually, most people, as I said, were under 30. And you have to accept that some of them will have absolutely brilliant groundbreaking ideas and be able to do things that all their senior distinguished colleagues haven’t thought of or haven’t been able to do. And to allow that to happen, you’ve got to have some…

parties as they were called at Bletchley, we would call them something different in modern GCSE but get different disciplines together to discuss problems. But you’ve also got to allow the most junior, youngest people to have their ideas and have their say because that’s often where the magic comes from and there’ve been some good examples post -Bletchley of exactly that happening with people straight out of university coming up with amazing, amazing cryptological solutions.

James Taylor (24:38)
Now you also said something in the book which I thought was interesting in light of what’s going on in many organizations today where, you know, the general thing is, you know, don’t talk about politics, don’t talk about religion, you know, there’s certain things in many organizations that they don’t talk about. But I thought it was quite interesting that in terms of like politics, talking about these ideas does seem to be quite open within the organization. I don’t know where that just came from.

a Bletchley thing or if that’s more recent, because I know that many organizations, they tend to stay, you know, let’s keep all that very separate, but you seem to embrace it in some ways.

Robert Hannigan (25:18)
Yeah, I think so. I mean, I wouldn’t go overboard on party politics, I think. So it’s important that these are apolitical organizations and it’s written into the law actually that those running these agencies must be apolitical and implement within the law, implement the wishes of the government of the day. But I think what’s different about the secret world is you are not allowed to take anything home.

So you can’t take your work home. You can’t discuss your work at home with your family and friends. And so there’s a kind of world inside which you’re working where you have to have an outlet for some things. And if you’re thinking of the ethics of intelligence gathering and intrusion into privacy that goes with intelligence agencies, it’s really important that people can express any ethical concerns and discuss them and have them addressed. You don’t want to have that kind of bubbling away.

It’s also important to make sure that we maintain the highest ethical standards and a huge amount of effort goes into adherence to the law, into legal advice, but also into ethical considerations. So giving staff an outlet to discuss that is really important. One of the parallels in the book is with the John Lewis partnership. So we’ll meet a lot of people in the UK and not so much outside, but it’s a mutual, a very successful

department store and grocers. And they had pioneered this in the early part of the last century for their staff and they have a gazette which still exists I think where people would express their views on all sorts of things. And one of the key people at Bletchley came from there and indeed there was a big interchange between the two organizations over the years. But one of them inherited a lot of these management processes and brought them into Bletchley, which is

probably part of why they were so successful, but who would have thought it would come from a department store.

James Taylor (27:15)
Yeah. And the other thing I think most of the time that I know you and I, we speak at different conferences, different public events, or for companies. And in my role, I’m usually the, I guess, the tech optimist. You talk about utopians. I’m usually painting a more utopian picture of, I kind of talk about the dangers, but probably 80 % of what I’m sharing is these are amazing things that are going to happen. You know, in

in GCH QAnon and those services is almost like that is flipped. And your job is to look at the dangers, the risks in these things, how these things will affect it. So is this an organization of pessimists or is it just clear eyed folks that are there?

Robert Hannigan (27:50)
Yeah.

That’s a really interesting question because obviously they’re mostly tech people themselves or interested and inspired by technology. So it’s an organisation of optimists who are enthused and excited about the technology as you are yourself, James. I guess that what makes a difference is that their job is to focus on the bad things that could happen. So what are bad people with bad intentions going to do with this technology in the future? Because technology itself is kind of ethically neutral on the whole.

It’s all about what people do with it and how will it be abused is a question which the big tech companies are never going to put front and center, partly because they’re utopians, they’re optimists, partly because it doesn’t make commercial sense. You don’t spend a lot of money developing a product, push it out and say, by the way, we’re worried that this might be, might have to do it. So take social media, for example. They’ve spent 30 years saying, this is great building communities, connecting people, all that fantastic stuff.

But they haven’t said, well, all the bad things that can be done with it from election interference through to the impact on teenagers. Those are things which have kind of been forced on them. And so I think getting the balance right, I mean, overall, I am an optimist too. And I think, primarily, I would say, technological advances are fantastic and they’re bringing human progress forward at an incredible rate, or as you know, better than anyone.

But to do that completely without looking at the downsides is a real risk. And so it’s quite useful to have some agencies whose job is to look at how things might be abused in the future.

James Taylor (29:47)
Now bringing it back to your own work, as I was reading it, I was thinking, you’re just touching on AI, you’re just touching on quantum computing. And I thought, is this where the next book’s perhaps gonna go for you? But where do you go to get creative inspiration? You mentioned in the book about the donut, GCHQ, has a garden in the middle, which I love the idea of that. We often get inspiration when we’re out in nature, or where that color green is around us.

but also you have these open plan offices which I know for some people can cause real stress, especially if you’re more quiet person. So you have what they call caves and marketplaces. But for you, where do you go to get inspired? Where do you go to think about these big ideas and ways of solving them and actually in your writing as well?

Robert Hannigan (30:33)
So I do go outside, I do like to be out in nature. I do find that inspiring. I also find talking to people, wandering around, just seeing what they’re doing inspiring, which is a very, literally, DTHQ thing to do, actually, just to kind of wander around and chat to people. I’m not sure that you can prescribe that, different people find different things good for their creativity, from baths, as you said earlier, to sitting in a garden.

if you’re lucky enough to have a garden that’s accessible, not everybody does. I mean, your point about mathematicians and what they need is something that’s kind of occupied a lot of my time, both at GCSQ and also now I’m in a university in Oxford and we think a lot about the architecture, how that helps or hinders academics to think. And there have been some wonderful examples of institutions for mathematicians which try to blend that.

time alone that they need, almost a kind of monastic cell to go and think. But the interchange of ideas, the sort of marketplaces you say, where they can be sociable and exchange ideas. If you get that wrong, you can significantly damage the potential for creativity by just limiting the environment in which it can happen. So it’s really important. I think the built environment, the natural environment are really important to creativity.

James Taylor (31:58)
Yeah. It’s like the genius loci, the places themselves have their own creed and they can inspire their own genius as well. Just a couple of quick, back to the classic, so quick fires, we just start to finish up now. Is there a book you’ve personally been reading just now that has just kind of got you thinking differently? And if anyone is interested in maybe creativity, innovation, technology, future trends, where the world may be going, is there one book you would recommend people check out just now?

Robert Hannigan (32:01)
Exactly.

Absolutely, it’s back and back to the classics.

If I’m absolutely honest, I tend not to read books about those kinds of technology developments. I prefer to talk to people, but I ought to read the tech press. There’s a lot going on in the tech press, which I find very inspiring. And I tend to read fiction. So I’m reading Long Island at the moment, which I think is great. But…

Yeah, I try not to read too many of the… There are some very good ones out there, but I try not to read too many of the kind of predictions of the future books. Partly because I think a lot is being written about AI that is not particularly helpful. There’s a lot of hype around AI. But of course, AI was actually a big part of AI.

James Taylor (33:10)
Yeah.

Yeah, it’s one of my things as I watch more like TV shows, they have a very dark view of where we’re going as a civilization in the future. And I hope that we have more interesting storytellers. There are some amazing things that we had, where we had Sir David Ormond on, we form a colleague of yours, we were talking about the three body problem and there is really interesting fiction going on just now.

Wonderful book, so Counterintelligence, What the Secret World Can Teach Us About Problem Solving and Creativity. Robert Hannigan, it’s been a pleasure speaking to you. If you want to learn more about you and your work, I know you’re heavily involved in different universities, I think you’re in the Bletchley Trust as well. Where can people go to learn more about you?

Robert Hannigan (34:02)
I’ve got a website, roberthanigan .com, or there are more details in the book. The proceeds of the book go to Bletchley. It’s been a real pleasure, James, and thank you very much. I think podcasts are a great way of exploring these things. It’s probably more dynamic than books, actually, so it’s great to be here.

James Taylor (34:20)
Well Robert Hagen, thank you so much for being a guest on the Super Creativity Podcast.

Robert Hannigan (34:23)
Thanks, James.

The post Robert Hannigan – The Power of Neurodiversity in Innovation, Cybersecurity, GCHQ and Counter-Intelligence #342 appeared first on James Taylor.

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In this enlightening episode of the Super Creativity Podcast, James Taylor interviews Robert Hannigan, former director of GCHQ and author of "Counter-intelligence - What The Secret World Can Teach Us About Problem-Solving and Creativity" Hannigan shares insights from his extensive career in cyber security and intelligence, discussing what the secret world of counterintelligence can teach us about problem solving and creativity. They delve into the history of Bletchley Park, the importance of neurodiversity in intelligence work, and how to foster a creative and effective work environment.

Full show notes and links at https://link.chtbl.com/scp

Key Takeaways:

Creative Problem Solving: Lessons from Bletchley Park on fostering creativity and innovation in high-pressure environments.

Neurodiversity: The critical role of neurodivergent individuals in intelligence and cybersecurity and how organizations can support them.

Team Dynamics: The importance of diverse teams and creative pairs in solving complex problems.

Ethical Discussions: The necessity of open discussions on ethics and politics within intelligence organizations.

Environmental Influence: The impact of the physical and cultural environment on fostering creativity and innovation.

Quotes:

"I was trying to answer the question of how was it that Bletchley Park... created the world's first digital programmable computer." - Robert Hannigan

"Tolerating that kind of eccentricity frankly is one of the interesting challenges for an organization, particularly a company, trying to engender creativity." - Robert Hannigan

"It's really important that people can express any ethical concerns and discuss them and have them addressed." - Robert Hannigan

"The blend of these different types of thinking and ways of looking at the world is massively powerful in creativity." - Robert Hannigan

Timestamps:

[00:09] Introduction to Robert Hannigan and his career highlights.

[01:41] Robert Hannigan discusses his current focus and the fast-changing landscape of cyber security.

[02:16] Insights from Bletchley Park and the ingredients for successful counterintelligence work.

[06:07] The role of neurodiversity and eccentricity in fostering creativity at Bletchley Park.

[10:41] The importance of teamwork and creative pairs in intelligence work.

[13:38] Discussion on the impact of Elizabeth and William Friedman on US codebreaking.

[17:18] The role of neurodiversity at GCHQ and the value of different perspectives.

[20:06] Advice for managing diverse teams in large organizations.

[23:13] Modern equivalents of Bletchley Park’s 'tea parties' and fostering collective problem-solving.

[24:38] Open discussions on ethics and politics within intelligence organizations.

[27:15] Balancing optimism and caution in technology advancements.

[30:33] Robert Hannigan's personal sources of creative inspiration and the importance of the environment.

[32:01] Recommended reading for those interested in creativity and innovation.

[34:02] Conclusion and where to learn more about Robert Hannigan and his work.

https://link.chtbl.com/scp

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Sam Dixon of Womble Bond Dickinson, The Evolving Role of Lawyers in the AI Era #341Summary

Sam Dixon, Chief Innovation Officer of law firm Womble Bond Dickinson, discusses the role of AI in the legal profession and the challenges of driving innovation in a traditional industry. He shares his journey from online retail to law and how he became involved in innovation. Dixon explains the different applications of AI in the legal sector, such as document automation and machine learning for document review. He also discusses the buy vs. build argument and the potential impact of AI on pricing and billing in law firms. Dixon emphasizes the importance of developing social intelligence and complex problem-solving skills to remain relevant in the evolving legal landscape.

Sound Bites

1. 1. “Generative AI is able to do a lot of that work without the need for lots and lots of examples.”
   2. “The key for me is creating that culture of innovation where it is part of the conversation and where people are enabled to suggest ideas and implement ideas.”
   3. “I don’t think lawyers need to be coders. I mean, query in the modern world of low and no code, how much coders need to be coders?” Apple PodcastSpotify PodcastTakeaways* Generative AI is a major focus in the legal profession, with applications in document automation and machine learning for document review.
2. Law firms need to strike a balance between buying and building AI tools, leveraging existing software and integrating different systems.
3. The role of lawyers is evolving, and skills such as social intelligence and complex problem-solving are becoming increasingly important.
4. The pricing and billing models in law firms may need to adapt to incorporate the use of AI tools and technologies.
5. Creating a culture of innovation is crucial in law firms, where traditional mindsets and billable hours can hinder progress. Sam is the Chief Innovation Officer of law firm Womble Bond Dickinson in the UK. He is also a practising lawyer in the firm’s restructuring team. His innovation journey started in online retail in the early 2000s and led him to law via a brief detour through the world of DJing.

Sam specializes in advising various stakeholders in relation to distressed businesses, charities and providers of public services; especially in scenarios with a continuity of supply requirement or which involve complex stakeholder management.

He is a qualified insolvency practitioner (non-practising) and has 18 months’ experience in a non-legal banking role within the business support team of a major clearing bank.

He has particular experience in the education, healthcare and charity sectors.

Sam Dixon

James Taylor is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, often booked months or even years in advance due to his exceptional expertise. Given his limited availability, it’s crucial to contact him early if you’re interested in securing a date or learning how he can enhance your event. Reach out to James Taylor now for an opportunity to bring his unique insights to your conference or team.

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CHAPTERS​00:00 Introduction to Sam Dixon and Womblebond Dickinson

03:33 Focus on Restructuring in Commercial Law

06:17 Applications of AI in the Legal Profession

08:06 Overcoming Resistance to Innovation in Law Firms

09:56 Two-Tier Approach to Innovation

11:56 Deciding Between Buy and Build in AI Adoption

15:23 Impact of AI on Pricing and Billing in Law Firms

22:04 Exploring the Potential of Data Licensing

24:52 Parallels Between AI in Law and Music

28:09 The Changing Role of Lawyers in the AI Era

30:00 Using Generative AI as a Sounding Board

31:53 Book Recommendation: Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom

TRANSCRIPTsam-dixon-the-supercreativity-podcast-with-james-taylor_scp341-sam-dixon-full-video.txt
James Taylor (00:08)
Sam Dixon is the chief innovation officer of law firm Womble Bond Dickinson in the United Kingdom. He is also a practicing lawyer in the firm’s restructuring team. His innovation journey started in online retail in the early 2000s and has led him to law via a brief detour through the world of DJing. And if you don’t know Womble Bond Dickinson, I’m gonna put my hand up here. They are a client of mine. I’ve spoken to them for a number of times before. I think they have about a thousand.

lawyers in the US and the UK and they cover lots of different areas of business as well. And we’re going to be taking a deep dive into the work that Sam and his team do around innovation, specifically in the legal profession. So Sam, welcome to the SuperCreativity Podcast.

Sam Dixon (00:50)
Good afternoon, James. Thank you for having me.

James Taylor (00:52)
So share with us just now what’s going on in your world, what currently has your focus at the moment?

Sam Dixon (00:57)
Well, I think it would be very difficult to give an answer other than generative AI, to be honest with you. It’s stormed onto the scene. We’re working our way through the hype cycle, of course. And it’s keeping us all very, very busy, both in terms of what we can do right now with it, but also what the future trajectory is going to be and where we might end up.

James Taylor (01:18)
And take, how did you get into this role? I mentioned that you’re obviously a practicing partner, you’re a solicitor, you do DJing as well. Tell us how this journey into the current role happened.

Sam Dixon (01:29)
Well, I’ve always had a bit of an interest in doing things differently and innovation and in the use of tech. Going back to, you mentioned the online retail at the start of my journey. And essentially for me, that was working in an outdoor equipment retailer in a shop and then ended up taking over their mail order business, turning that into an online retail business in the relatively early days of online retail and doing things like using AdWords and a computer.

a different way to how anyone has used them before. So we were targeting essentially a product comparison approach that no one else was using at the time. And fast forward in, sorry, go on James.

James Taylor (02:07)
I think, yeah, I was gonna say the move into the law. So you didn’t come initially from the legal profession then. You kind of, you were starting in e -commerce and retail first, and then you kind of, how did you find your way into the law?

Sam Dixon (02:22)
Well, in some respects, in a relatively conventional route, in the bit of online retail, and then I was doing a law degree. Now, being honest with you, whilst I was doing a law degree, I was doing quite a lot of DJing and event promotion, and I didn’t apply for a training contract two years ahead of time in the way that people normally do, because frankly, I thought I was going to be traveling the world DJing. And as I went into my final year, I had a number of offers to work in various parts of the world as a DJ.

But in my final year, we did real legal work. And I ended up dealing with a multiple conspiracy to murder case, so some gangland stuff. And it was fascinating. And at the same time, the firm I’m currently with, which at the time was called Dickinson Dees, prior to a number of mergers, they approached the university I was at and said, do you have anyone who might be interested in starting a training contract in a few months’ time? So I went in and had a chat. And one of the icebreaker questions was, do you know?

tell us something interesting about your week last week. So I explained that I’d DJed for an artist called Chesney Hawkes. It turned out the head of graduate recruitment was a massive Chesney Hawkes fan, and the rest, as they say, is history.

James Taylor (03:37)
So you went into, obviously, you started initially in the kind of legal side around criminal law. But my understanding is that one Bond Dickinson is known really for commercial law, and it’s that kind of world. And then you specifically, you focused on the restructuring side of things. So how did you get into that particular part of commercial law?

Sam Dixon (03:58)
Absolutely, well as you say it’s a commercial law firm so the criminal side of things was just part of my university experience. As soon as I joined what’s now Umubon Dickinson it was commercial law from the start and I started off as a trainee like all lawyers do and I rotated around a few different seats and being honest I didn’t know an awful lot about restructuring. I didn’t know what to expect but as I was going into my final seat it was in the height of the recession.

And there weren’t necessarily the opportunities in other areas that I would have perhaps liked to have done. And so someone gave me the chance to go and work in the restructuring team. And it turns out it was a really good fit for me. So I qualified into restructuring and insolvency and spent a number of years learning the ropes and really enjoying the restructuring sector, helping to try and save businesses and that kind of thing. But over time, I saw there were a number of things that we were doing in restructuring, which

I think it’s probably fair to describe as a bit boring at times. James form -filling, doing the same precedence again and again that he didn’t necessarily feel was the best way of doing it. There must have been a better way. And that got me to start looking at document automation. Originally using things which with hindsight look like quite archaic technology now and borderline kind of coding. Whereas,

things have evolved and it’s got easier and easier to do. But that first time that I saw a suite of documents that are automated, where in the past it would have taken hours to produce it, to then be able to just go out to answer a few questions and it’s going to tell me what documents I need. And it’s going to produce them all for me with all the associated paperwork. This is just amazing. And it was that that really was the trigger point for me gradually over time becoming more and more involved in our innovation.

efforts across the firm.

James Taylor (05:53)
I know with a lot of law firms I’ve worked with in the past, they initially got very excited about RPA, robotic process automation, taking some of those agreements, automating things to a certain extent. We’ve now moved from just doing that into obviously artificial intelligence and machine learning as well. When you’ve seen these technologies start to be applied in the work of law firms, where do you typically see it? Is it in document?

Is it being document management side? Is it looking at risk in relation to contracts? Is it helping lawyers draft agreements or something else?

Sam Dixon (06:31)
So I think it depends on the particular technology. But if you’re talking about that document automation side of things, that’s the production of documents very clearly. When you look at machine learning though, that’s usually around something like a document review. So that might be a due diligence exercise. It might be someone wanting to understand their range of contracts, whether it complies with their policies in a particular area. They might be trying to understand the lease portfolio and wanting to extract various bits of information across that portfolio because,

they’ve inherited it from someone else, it perhaps doesn’t have the level of detail and structure that they need. And that original transition machine learning tools worked to a degree to deliver that task. And there has been some success on that front. I think where it gets really interesting is that generative AI is able to do a lot of that work without the need for lots and lots of examples.

and the proactive work to train the particular machine learning tool to look for particular points of interest.

James Taylor (07:41)
Now your work obviously around innovation, a lot of law firms struggle around innovation because it’s traditionally the legal industry is one that’s focused on billable hours, your six minute increments or however long it is. And so everyone obviously partners associates very focused on those billable hours and to be able to take a step back and think actually, is there a better way of doing this or a smarter way, a more productive way of doing it? It’s often very difficult when people just focus on those billable hours. How did you…

to change the mindset within a firm, especially with those colleagues of yours who maybe said, we’ve been doing this for years, why do we have to change it?

Sam Dixon (08:20)
I think you chose a great word at the start of that, James, which is traditional. And law is a very traditional sector. People have a very traditional mindset. What we’ve tried to do to get people to think a bit more differently and to try out some of this new stuff is, first of all, just to get it on their radar. Because if they don’t know about it, then they haven’t even got the option of trying to do things differently.

So we do things like our International Innovation Week, where we work with our colleagues in the US and where you’ve spoken before, to just tell people stories about innovation, give them that inspiration. It’s about making them want to get involved. And are you going to get absolutely everyone to take a more innovative approach? No, you’re not. With the best will in the world, that’s never going to happen. But you don’t know exactly who is receptive to it and who isn’t.

So the key for me is creating that culture of innovation where it is part of the conversation and where people are enabled to suggest ideas and implement ideas. So, sorry James.

James Taylor (09:30)
No, I was just going to say, so take us through like an example of that. Let’s say you’re a partner in the restructuring part of the business and you’ve been doing something for a while and it works, it’s fine. But you’re thinking, listen, maybe I want to try using some of these AI tools and thinking about things in a more innovative way. What does that process look like? Is it lead often led by the partner? Is it led from the innovation lab within it? Is it led by an associate? Is it project managers?

How does it start to come together?

Sam Dixon (10:03)
So we take a two tier approach to innovation, James. And what I’m talking about there is our starting point and the first tier of that two tier approach is what we call our self -service toolkit. So we’ve been focusing on trying to sort of leverage that experience across the whole business. So rather than having a team of people centrally who are the ones who innovate, the others.

We try to stay away from that and empower everyone to do differently what they know best, what they’re dealing with day in, day out. So the self -service toolkit is a series of pieces of software with training materials made available in a way which minimizes the need for central approval, be that cost approval or whatever else so that people can pick things up.

take ideas forward with the appropriate approvals from within their own teams so that ideas aren’t being duplicated and so that time isn’t being wasted when it should be applied on something else. But really empowering everyone to be able to take that forward. We do recognize though that some of what people want to do might be a bit more ambitious. And it might require a little bit of coding skill. It might require some admin.

access rights from an IT perspective, which with the best rule in the world, we’re not going to expect our lawyers to have. In my view, I don’t think lawyers need to be coders. I mean, query in the modern world of low and no code, how much coders need to be coders? But lawyers for me certainly don’t need to be. And therefore, we have the second tier, which is the complex automations. And that’s where you’re looking at potentially an end -to -end process.

with a lot of heavy automation in there and probably integrations between multiple different systems.

James Taylor (12:01)
So let’s say on that then, let’s say you’re having all folks from different parts of the business say, we’ve got this problem, we think we could use, we would like to use AI to help us on this problem. Someone else sees an opportunity. How do you then kind of sort and sift all that, decide actually this is where we’re going to focus on? Is there strategic kind of pillars that you’re focused around? Will you only do projects where you think it could benefit across the whole firm rather than a particular department in the firm? How do you decide?

Sam Dixon (12:30)
Well, I think it depends on what support is needed, James. I mean, the idea of the self -service toolkit is we don’t need to decide. The individual teams, for example, restructuring can say, right, well, we’ve got a sale agreement here, which we think will benefit from being automated. There’s a self -service tool available to let us do that. And we, as a restructuring team, can assess whether or not we want to use our own team resource in order to progress that.

So that’s one side of it, obviously on the complex automation side. There is a need for prioritization. And that’s done on a business case basis, as you probably expect. And so we listen to what teams want. And sometimes teams don’t necessarily know what they want. This is as much about a conversation as it is about anything else. And I’m currently touring all of our UK offices just talking to people.

floorwalking, having conversations around, right, well, what are your pain points? What are you trying to achieve? What is the most boring thing you’re doing, the most frustrating thing you’re doing? And where have you got to work around? Because that’s always a great example of an innovation opportunity is where someone’s currently trying to work around existing systems and processes. So we have those conversations. We then review the business cases and we work out where the best ROI is, frankly. And sometimes,

That’s where there is really well structured workflows that are high volume and it makes a lot of sense to put a lot of structure around that. But other times there might be things which could benefit a very broad part of the firm. And actually someone in one particular team has come up with an idea which is of much, much broader application. And then it’s not around that really well structured work necessarily. It might be.

around a particular aspect of a task or just something that everyone’s doing. Like for example, reviewing agreements in Word. There are aspects of that. One of the tools that we’ve put in the self -service toolkit recently, which has been really, really popular, is, it sounds like the simplest thing in the world, but essentially it’s a sidebar in Word that scans your Word document and it allows you, rather than…

jumping around the document back to definition tables and clause 12 .5 that’s referenced down here, it allows you to just double click on the work, the defined term, or double click on the relevant clause, and it pops up alongside you. So you don’t have that constant context switching and loss of focus. And it turns out that is something that is applicable to a really large part of the work that we do. And it’s saved an awful lot of time and to be frank, has probably improved consistency as well because…

even the best lawyers in the world get tired and sometimes miss things.

James Taylor (15:27)
So how do you decide, and this is the thing I’m starting to see with some firms where they’re saying they’ve been using a lot of off the shelf products from different providers. Some that focus very much on the legal industry, others that are just more broad like the chat, GPTs of this world, for example. And then there’s those firms that say, actually, we are going to employ our own data scientists. We’re going to build our own models. We’re going to do that work as well, which is obviously more expensive and sometimes is not in the…

the usual field that a law firms would do. Have you made that, have you started coming up against that? Have you started thinking about that decision about, okay, when are we going to have to maybe think about starting to build our own things that will have basically be WombleBone Dickinson creative products?

Sam Dixon (16:12)
The buy v build argument is something that’s been going on in the legal sector for a long, long time. And I’m largely still of the mindset that firms that specialize in developing software, be that for legal tech or otherwise, are probably going to win and probably going to produce something better than we can. It’s the old adage of keeping the main thing the main thing, isn’t it? What we do is provide legal services. We don’t develop software.

Where we really have the advantage is in using that software, in integrating different pieces of software together using APIs where that might not have been done previously. And that’s where the edge is. However, I do think there’s a bit of a blurring of the line now between buy and build, because how you’re using some of these tools increasingly starts to look like building rather than buying. So.

I mean, you reference people building their own models. Personally, I think the idea of someone building their own large language model as a law firm is bonkers. The scale that is required and the broad capability that existing models have, it just doesn’t make sense to me for someone to build their own model. But you can go and use Microsoft Azure Studio, OpenAI Studio, to develop your own.

GenAI powered chatbots. And that’s something that we have done. Now is that buy, is that build? We’ve created the system messages, we’ve played around with the p -values, the k -values, the temperature, we’ve put the data set into it. I don’t know whether it’s buy or build in that situation where we bought in a tool and then we’ve used it to build a GenAI chatbot. And frankly, I guess it doesn’t really matter which side of the line that falls in.

And we’ve started relatively simple and there’s an ambition to build out from there. So what we’ve built so far, we’re calling iWomble. And iWomble currently looks over our 70 something policies and procedures and answers plain English questions about them. In line with our AI policy, people still need to verify the answers. They can’t completely rely on what’s provided, but we’ve found, passed over a relatively small data set, what we’ve

built, bought, is really quite accurate. And people are finding it far, far easier to get to the right answers, especially when some questions are answered across multiple policies. And it brings them all together, gives them an answer like if I asked you the question and you knew all of our policies, the kind of answer that you would give together with citations so that people can go and check them. And then that saved a lot of time. And due course, we’ll build that out on a modular basis to look at all sorts of other areas of the business as well.

James Taylor (19:12)
If I was a client, one question is going to be coming up in my head just now. Okay, when I get my bill and I have partner X, 20 hours, a junior associate X amount of hours, paralegal X amount of hours, where does the AI, where does AI Womble AI, AI Womble live in that? Are you going to bill that as a separate kind of product service within it, or are you just seeing this as something that just helps augment the…

the folks that actually already work in your firm.

Sam Dixon (19:45)
I think it’s still quite fluid at the moment, to be honest with you, James. I think the whole sector is trying to work out how generative AI is going to impact pricing. For me, currently, it’s a question of looking at things on a case -by -case basis. We are still, I believe, at a relatively early stage in gen AI being applied to law. So there are a number of major vendors who are building gen AI solutions onto existing products. And the roadmap for those is sort of

during the course of this year. So a lot of the legal specific benefit is still to be realized. When you look at something like iWamble, for example, those questions around policies and procedures, clients are benefiting there because some of those policy questions will be around how a particular process works. And we’re making sure that people get to the right answer quickly. Now, some of that probably wasn’t time that was.

was ever charged to clients in the first place because it’s our own internal policies. Some of it, depending on the nature, might well be. So there’s some savings and efficiencies there which would just be passed on. The more general potential for this around document review and things like that will be discussed on a case -by -case basis. So it might be that clients are given the option, for example. It might be, look, we’ve got this new tool.

We can do it this way, and we can agree a fixed price of x. Or if you prefer, we can do it a different way. And it’ll be charged based on time, but those rates might reflect, for example, the overhead cost of the AI. So there’s different ways of looking at it. Whether we’ll get to a place where there’s a technology charge.

that sits on files alongside time, for example. That might be one route that the industry goes. But I know that when other industries have tried that, there’s been some pushback there. So I think that could be challenging. One thing that could well happen, James, and as I say, this is all really fluid at the moment, it might well be that as with other overheads, essentially, chargeout rates are adjusted.

to reflect the fact that work is being done more efficiently, but there’s a big investment cost in these tools in the first place. So it could be that it’s offset that way, but time will tell.

James Taylor (22:08)
Yeah, I was I was thinking we had one of our other guests we’ve had on the the season is Sir David, Professor Sir David Allman, who was the formerly head of GCHQ. And so what with all the intelligence services, one stat he shared was of the public of publicly indexed information is out there, I when you’re on Google or Yahoo, wherever, that is only 0 .3 % of information exists, because most information exists on intranets or

dark web or places that the general public do not have access to as well. And one thing I was wondering there was, were some of these larger clients that you might have where you say, listen, we can maybe do a, almost a quick pro -crop because AI, we need data to train it on. And if there’s some way that we can obviously, it needs to data security and all the things and anonymize and all the things you would normally have, but there’s almost a bit of a competitive advantage there because some of your clients who have large data sets,

large amounts of information going back many, many years, that’s amazing information to train an AI on.

Sam Dixon (23:14)
It is, and I’m sure over time we will see more and more licensing style deals to get access to content that isn’t indexed, like the Financial Times announced last week or the week before. I think for a law firm, it’s really, really challenging because you’ve got that duty of confidentiality, you’ve got all the information security requirements, you’ve got all the data protection requirements, and…

Again, I guess it goes back to keeping the main thing, the main thing. To what extent do we want to be distracting from what we do best by having conversations with clients around potentially acquiring their data for a different purpose to how we normally use it, which is essentially what we will be talking about. And I don’t know.

Call me traditional James, call me someone who’s been trained as a lawyer, but it just makes me inherently nervous and I wonder if actually the way that that will progress is for the really big players to approach some of the big multinationals and do licensing deals with them in the same way as they have done with the FT rather than trying to partner with law firms who leverage it.

James Taylor (24:28)
Yeah, it’s almost a little bit like the within the UK with the NHS data that’s been anonymized. So and just different companies that have access to that so that they can run models and do, you know, use AI assay models and things to kind of test but individuals information is not necessarily known by that AI. I’m interested, you know, with your your other side of view, which is the DJ, which we’ve come to just now. I mean, the world of music is being

changed so fast just now because of AI, especially generative AI. I was playing with something for an event I’m doing in London later this week, a tool called Suno AI. I don’t know whether you’ve been playing with it at all where you can just write in some ideas for some lyrics, give it the kind of theme that you, the kind of style of music you want to do, and it will do you a track. And it sends this real sounding audio, real sounding vocals, real sounding everything. And it’s great. It’s good for getting a first idea. And some of them are quite funny as well.

Are there any things that you’ve seen within the music space and your background as a DJ where you’re kind of thinking, actually, I’m starting to see this now within the legal profession, perhaps in terms of how the job is changing or how we’re going to have to take a certain approach or a certain position in terms of how we work with AI?

Sam Dixon (25:47)
Well, I think there are going to be parallels across lots and lots of different sectors. And I think if you look at how DJing has evolved over time, I started in the CDJ era. So just after vinyl, the early days of CDs being the medium of choice, simply because you could carry more of them. But you were still actually mixing. You were still exercising a degree of skill over time.

And I suspect there’s lots of modern DJs who would be screaming the, their radios right now, but over time, technology and earlier forms of AI have increasingly been able to say, right, well, this is this many beats per minute. That’s that many beats per minute. and what we can do is marry that up and we can line up. So when you, when you drop the one track over the other, actually you’re slightly off in your timing and therefore I’m going to adjust it for you and make it play. So what that’s done over time is level the playing field a bit.

and allow people to, more people to access that particular profession and to perform at a standard that they weren’t previously able to perform. And I suspect that generative AI might have a similar levelling approach for certain bits of legal work going forwards. And the key will then be, well, what skills are the ones that really add the value?

when you get to that place. And for me, when you look at what’s going to be left as AI advances, and who knows when we’ll get to the end game on that. But it’s going to be things like the social intelligence and that complex problem solving in a complicated set of circumstances. And that’s where I think lawyers need to be really focused on developing those skills and making sure they remain relevant. And the other thing is you’ve got to accept

that the world will change and you can’t fight against that. It’s better to be part of that change and to embrace it and to accept that the skills that you needed before are different to the skills that are needed now. I mean, handwriting is a lot less relevant in the role of the modern lawyer than it used to be, James. I think many lawyers would argue with that. So it’s just another step in the evolution.

James Taylor (28:13)
guess also, you got a front row seat of this in terms of all those young trainees are coming in young and older trainees, you know, people are going to university later in life. But some of the younger trainees who have come up being that first generation who have been using chat GPT for in their exams, for example, in different ways, they’re now coming into your firm saying, Hey, I was able to use this when I was at university studying for my law degree, why can I not have access to these same tools in a firm? So you’re kind of you’re coming.

You’re going to be coming up against that as well. Quickfire questions as we start to finish up here as well. Is there a quote or a line or statement that you kind of live by that you often kind of is kind of your, is your kind of compass in life in some way?

Sam Dixon (29:06)
I’m not sure that there’s any one statement to be honest with you James.

I mean, I was once mocked roundly and I suspect I’m about to be again, but I will do it because it’s the answer to the question, I guess. I was once stopped and interviewed by someone from Radio Lancashire and asked exactly the same question, essentially. And as a 16 -year -old, I said, keep it smooth. That was my response. And I guess as cringe -worthy as that was and as much abuse as I received from…

James Taylor (29:34)
Keep it smooth. Keep it smooth.

Sam Dixon (29:43)
friends at the time for saying that. I think there is a certain truth in just staying calm and objectively assessing problems in order to properly work out what an innovative solution to that problem is, which is my attempt at a neat segue into your next question.

James Taylor (30:04)
And then, so on that, we’ve been talking about just having a sense of perspective on things and assessing in that way as well. Are there any tools that you use or apps that you use you find are very useful in the kind of work that you do? We’ve mentioned obviously the Chat GPT and different Microsoft tools and things. Are there any that you particularly think, I don’t think I can live without this now?

Sam Dixon (30:31)
Well, I think it’s probably more use case for one of the tools we’ve touched on rather than anything else. And that is generative AI for me has become a really useful sounding board. It’s essentially a coach for me. So I might draft a new idea, a new element of our strategy, and then say to it, right, act as our managing partner and ask.

what questions would you ask about this documentation? Critique this for me. And I use that on an iterative basis to try and anticipate some of the things that people might ask and some of the challenge that might be put back against a particular idea.

James Taylor (31:12)
I use a very similar thing I call virtual masterminds where I’ll put in an idea for a project or a business plan that we have, and then I’ll give it six people that I respect who have very different perspectives on business and things. And I’ll say, okay, find all the flaws on this. And it’s fascinating because you get to see from different perspectives and then we kind of do the human bit, which we kind of triangulate all of that and say, okay, that’s fine. Now that I know how Elon would approach it or how Warren Buffett would approach it.

now I need to think like, okay, how would Sam Dixon approach it? What would we do? What about books? Are there any books that you can recommend to our listeners, maybe around AI or the future in some way?

Sam Dixon (31:56)
Well, Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom, I’m sure you’re familiar with it, James, is a fascinating read about AI and about, well, I would guess the potential doomsday scenarios that we might all face. But in approaching those doomsday scenarios, you do get a reasonably good feel for the progression of AI over time and a good grounding in what AI is.

James Taylor (32:24)
And if people want to connect with you to learn more about Womble Bond Dickinson, more about the firm, what’s the best place for them to go and do that?

Sam Dixon (32:31)
Well, you can find me on LinkedIn or on X, I am at Innovation in Law.

James Taylor (32:38)
Sam Dixon, Chief Innovation Officer of Law firm 1 with Womble Bond Dickinson Thank you so much for being a guest on the SuperCreativity Podcast.

The post Sam Dixon of Womble Bond Dickinson, The Evolving Role of Lawyers in the AI Era #341 appeared first on James Taylor.

View Details

Sam Dixon, Chief Innovation Officer of law firm Womblebond Dickinson, discusses the role of AI in the legal profession and the challenges of driving innovation in a traditional industry. He shares his journey from online retail to law and how he became involved in innovation. Dixon explains the different applications of AI in the legal sector, such as document automation and machine learning for document review. He also discusses the buy vs. build argument and the potential impact of AI on pricing and billing in law firms. Dixon emphasizes the importance of developing social intelligence and complex problem-solving skills to remain relevant in the evolving legal landscape.

Takeaways

1. Generative AI is a major focus in the legal profession, with applications in document automation and machine learning for document review.
2. Law firms need to strike a balance between buying and building AI tools, leveraging existing software and integrating different systems.
3. The role of lawyers is evolving, and skills such as social intelligence and complex problem-solving are becoming increasingly important.
4. The pricing and billing models in law firms may need to adapt to incorporate the use of AI tools and technologies.
5. Creating a culture of innovation is crucial in law firms, where traditional mindsets and billable hours can hinder progress.

Sound Bites

1. "Generative AI is able to do a lot of that work without the need for lots and lots of examples."
2. "The key for me is creating that culture of innovation where it is part of the conversation and where people are enabled to suggest ideas and implement ideas."
3. "I don't think lawyers need to be coders. I mean, query in the modern world of low and no code, how much coders need to be coders?"

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Sam Dixon and Womblebond Dickinson

03:33 Focus on Restructuring in Commercial Law

06:17 Applications of AI in the Legal Profession

08:06 Overcoming Resistance to Innovation in Law Firms

09:56 Two-Tier Approach to Innovation

11:56 Deciding Between Buy and Build in AI Adoption

15:23 Impact of AI on Pricing and Billing in Law Firms

22:04 Exploring the Potential of Data Licensing

24:52 Parallels Between AI in Law and Music

28:09 The Changing Role of Lawyers in the AI Era

30:00 Using Generative AI as a Sounding Board

31:53 Book Recommendation: Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom

Bio

Sam is the Chief Innovation Officer of law firm Womble Bond Dickinson in the UK. He is also a practising lawyer in the firm's restructuring team. His innovation journey started in online retail in the early 2000s and led him to law via a brief detour through the world of DJing.

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John Craske of CMS, Collaboration between Humans and Machines in the Legal Industry #340Summary

John Craske, the director of innovation at CMS, discusses the firm’s AI strategy and the role of innovation in the legal industry. He emphasizes the importance of fostering a culture of curiosity and experimentation. The firm has implemented an innovation department and introduced innovation hours to encourage employees to pursue their ideas. Craske believes that AI can enhance the efficiency of legal work and sees opportunities for collaboration between humans and machines. He also highlights the need for foundational legal skills and human skills like empathy and creativity.

Sound Bites

1. “We’re using our computers more like electronic typewriters for many years.”
2. “Innovation hours are like seed funding for ideas.”
3. “AI has captured the imagination of people in a way that lots of other technology has never had.” Apple PodcastSpotify PodcastTakeaways* Fostering a culture of curiosity and experimentation is crucial for innovation in the legal industry.
4. Implementing an innovation department and introducing innovation hours can encourage employees to pursue their ideas.
5. AI can enhance the efficiency of legal work, but collaboration between humans and machines is essential.
6. Foundational legal skills and human skills like empathy and creativity are still valuable in the age of AI. John Craske is responsible for the innovation and knowledge functions at CMS, with the aim of helping their clients and business to work smarter: to find the right balance between client satisfaction, cost effectiveness, profitability and opportunities for our people. He leads their dynamic Legal Innovation, Legal Operations and Project Management, Legal Tech, Managed Legal Services and Knowledge teams. He’s passionate about fostering a culture of innovation and encouraging people to be curious, ask questions and experiment. John is currently leading our firmwide AI strategy as tjeu look to use AI to supercharge our digital transformation programme. He regularly works with clients (and others in the legal industry) to help design / implement practical (and innovative) solutions to their challenges.

CMS Legal

James Taylor is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, often booked months or even years in advance due to his exceptional expertise. Given his limited availability, it’s crucial to contact him early if you’re interested in securing a date or learning how he can enhance your event. Reach out to James Taylor now for an opportunity to bring his unique insights to your conference or team.

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CHAPTERS​00:00 Introduction to John Craske and his role at CMS

03:04 The Development of Innovation Departments in Law Firms

06:44 Overcoming the Tension between Billable Hours and Innovation

09:26 Building a Team and Aligning Innovation with Firm Strategy

12:08 The Opportunities and Challenges of AI in the Legal Industry

15:23 The Importance of Human Skills in the Age of AI

27:23 Final Quickfire Questions

TRANSCRIPTjames-taylors-studio-hj5fj_james-taylor-may-27-2024-001.txt
James Taylor (00:08)
John Craske is the director of innovation at CMS, an international law firm with offices in over 40 countries. He is responsible for innovation and knowledge functions at CMS with the aim of helping their clients and businesses to work smarter and to find the right balance between client satisfaction, cost effectiveness, profitability, and opportunities for their people. John leads CMS’s dynamic legal innovation, legal operations and project management, legal tech, managed legal services, and knowledge teams.

He’s passionate about fostering a culture of innovation and encouraging people to be curious, ask questions and experiment. Currently, he’s leading the firm -wide AI strategy at CMS as they look at AI to supercharge their digital transformation program. In his role, John regularly works with clients and others in the legal industry to help design, implement practical and innovative solutions to their challenges. He loves hearing about specific legal and business challenges.

that clients have and then trying to solve them. And John, welcome to the SuperCreativity Podcast.

John Craske (01:09)
Thanks James, lovely to be here.

James Taylor (01:11)
So share with us what’s going on in your world just now, what currently has your focus.

John Craske (01:15)
Well, thanks for the intro. Yeah. I think the focus at the moment is working hard on our AI strategy roadmap. But secretly, I think we’re using that to help kickstart the digital transformation innovation journey for all of our lawyers. That’s been quite hard in a law firm when I think probably if I’m being unkind, I would say we’ve been using our computers more like electronic typewriters for many years. So it’s great to sort of be secretly using that to help drive it.

James Taylor (01:45)
Well, we’re definitely gonna get into the AI piece, we’re gonna get into the genesis of AI piece as it affects the legal industry. Just let everyone know, my wife is a lawyer and a solicitor, so I’ve been getting a kind of a bit of a seat to see how that world is transforming with some of my legal clients as well. But let’s just take you back, how did you get into this work you do? Did you come from the legal profession before that or from the technology background?

John Craske (02:09)
Yes, so I’m a qualified lawyer. I’m actually a Scottish Solicitor, even though being English, so I live up in Scotland. I know you do too, James. And I’ve always been interested in that sort of junction between the practice of law and the business of law. But a long time ago, my wife told me I need to do something a bit more creative and she didn’t mean painting or music, although I do love music. And then I think it was a series of…

lucky accidents maybe that everyone’s careers a bit like that so you know I had a boss I didn’t get on with so well we did a merger with Anderson Legal and then a de -merger with Anderson Legal when the Enron Scramble happened and then another things like that and so I’ve just kind of taken the opportunities when there’s been moments of change to get into that why are we doing things the way we’re doing it and I’m also always been that person in the room who asks the stupid questions and

why are we doing it like this? And that’s kind of led me down the path that I’ve gone down.

James Taylor (03:10)
Now, a lot of my legal clients have innovation departments, innovation labs. I was speaking the other week for a law firm. They had an innovation week to help their partners and their associates and their administrators kind of focus around legal tech and innovation. Tell us about the development of the innovation department within your business. How did that get started? How did it start to develop over time?

John Craske (03:40)
Sure, so I think we started probably a good long time ago. I mean, we’ve always been interested in using technology to help us be as efficient as we can be, both for our clients benefit, but also because the more efficient we are, then obviously the more profitable we can be like every other business. So for both of those reasons. But…

think the lawyers find it quite difficult to get involved and think about how they can use technology themselves. It’s almost like they would want somebody else to do it for them or provide it for them or innovate to them and then maybe that’s something we can come back to a bit later. So we started off quite gently. We did lots of work around legal project management and helping people think about

how they might structure their work in a sort of more innovative way. But then we realized we had a sort of missing gap and we were talking to all of the practice groups about innovation and what does the future of their work look like and how they’re gonna develop in the future. And actually they almost universally then said, that’s great John, but what tech have we got? And…

and so we were like okay no we’re not really here to talk about technology that might well be a way that you can use you can use technology to help you innovate but that’s not what we’re here to talk about and they’re like yeah well we’ll get to that our clients are demanding to know what technology we use so what tech have we got so that’s when we built out our legal tech capabilities and built our portfolio of tools that we’ve got and then moved on from there and actually we’ve always whilst we’ve always been sort of nudging away at the

core innovation piece, it’s only relatively recently when we’ve been able to go back and say, okay, well we’re back to talk to you about innovation. And still they say often, well what tech have you got? And we’re like, okay, well we’ve got a good answer to that now, we’ve got a team that can help you and we’ve got lots of tools. We really want to help you think about what ideas you’ve got for the way you deliver your work, what services you deliver and stuff. So we’ve incrementally grown the team out and it’s been a bit like a guerrilla war as well. So.

messages from the top and infiltrating from the bottom as well.

James Taylor (05:58)
Now there’s this tension that often exists in legal firms and accountancy firms, audit firms, where as a lawyer, you’re often thought to, you think in billable hours or five, 10 minute chunks. You’re always having to do your, I know lawyers have to do their time sheets and they’re thinking about that and the files and everything as well. And innovation obviously doesn’t work in that way. It kind of works in a slightly different way where we sometimes have to step away from the problem, kind of think from different perspectives, do a lot of research.

That takes time, that takes resources to do that as well. So how have you worked with the people within the business in order to get them to think about really innovation and the value of innovation as a concept and something that they should do, rather than it’s like, well, this is a compliance thing or you think about innovation from that perspective.

John Craske (06:50)
Yeah, sure. It’s actually, funnily enough, it’s every six minutes. Well, most law firms, it’s every six minutes rather than five or 10 because it’s a neat divider for the hour because you get 10 of them in an hour, right? But you’re absolutely right. It’s one of the key drivers in the law firm is this sort of need to record every six minutes of your day. And actually, most lawyers, certainly in private practice, will have targets around the number of…

billable hours or billed hours that they have to achieve in a year and if they don’t achieve those targets then they don’t get their bonus. So you know, we all know you get what you measure and so that’s what the lawyers do of course is that’s why they were driving. So we’ve done a number of things. The first thing is we’ve started at the bottom and we’ve made sure that innovation is in everybody’s competencies and that the people understand it’s part of their job.

Now, that’s only a beginning. We also try and do some training around things like creativity. I actually heard somebody once say to me, I’m sure you’ll disagree with this, but I heard someone say to me that, you can’t train creativity. But I don’t think that’s true at all. I think you absolutely can. But probably the, you know, one of the most interesting thing we did was introduce this concept called innovation hours. And I managed to convince the management team that.

This would be a valuable way of demonstrating to both the firm and to our clients that we took innovation seriously. So the way they work is if someone’s got an idea, think of it like seed funding for ideas and if they’ve got an interesting idea that they want to pursue then they can say, hey I’ve got this idea, this is what it’s about and can I have a budget of hours? And so then they kind of get a budget for hours the same way they would get a budget of hours if they were working on a client job. So…

and then we would support them with either help accessing tech if they need to do that or with the creative process if they need that or connecting them with other people around the firm or externally to try and experiment with their idea. Importantly I guess that the hours aren’t contingent on whatever it is being successful, it doesn’t matter, it’s more about them getting into the zone of trying some things out. So over the years we’ve had an increasing number of

innovation hours projects. And as I said, it’s partly symbolic. Of course, it’s partly practical because it gives people hours that count towards their target, but it’s also partly symbolic because it shows the way that that’s important for the firm.

James Taylor (09:32)
And how do you link that in terms of the strategy of the firm as well? So let’s say you have a partner or associates or people within the marketing functions of a law firm and they want to, they have maybe an idea of a problem they want to try and solve or an opportunity you want to look at. So they need to think in an innovative way. How do you then basically maybe build a team around this? How do you ensure that it is in alignment with what you’re trying to do as a firm? So it’s maybe has wider.

applications across the firm, so it has maybe a bigger impact. And then how do you go to that next stage where maybe you’re going from say a prototype of an idea to actually it being reviewed and saying actually this is something that we can give more additional resources to.

John Craske (10:16)
I think we try and start early and just help and the short version is and then just iterate around it to try and improve it, make it better, improve it, make it better. Each of the practice groups, so the legal departments in the firm has got a partner who’s responsible for innovation and they tend to have a group around them of lawyers who are interested in it and so we try and cultivate that and often…

the ideas for innovation project will come out of those groups not exclusively sometimes they come from someone who just got you know and and and idea to help solve the real pain point for them or for their clients and but we really trying support each person as they come through but we don’t try and do it for them i think that’s been quite an interesting journey that we’ve been on in and it in as i said earlier we quite often get the lawyers wanting us to innovate for the more to them and actually

that may be a bit like parenting. You can’t do that for them. You have to kind of do enough to support them and help them along the way, but you can’t do it for them. They need to learn themselves. And then, depending on what the idea is, we will either extend the project or iterate again around it. And then there’s been a few of them which have ended up being sort of market -facing things that we’ve launched, or just as many which are internal things about efficiencies or improving things for teams.

James Taylor (11:42)
Now, whenever you start talking with lawyers about innovation, the first term that usually comes up is artificial intelligence. How are we going to implement AI and what we’re going to do? How is it going to make us more productive? Is that a threat? Are we going to get rid of all these paralegals that we have in our law firms just now? So tell me, in terms of your personal approach to artificial intelligence, where do you see the biggest opportunities in the short term for firms like yours? And then maybe what are you a bit more excited about?

in the medium to longer term around AI.

John Craske (12:14)
Yeah, so I mean, I think it’s captured the imagination of people in a way that lots of other technology has never had, has before, at least I’m starting to sound like a beer advert if I say it quite like that. But the, yeah, and I think that’s been brilliant because we’ve, for one of the first, which is why we’re using it as a lever to help drive the digital transformation, because for the first time people are coming to us and saying, hey, how could I use this? Or what can I do with this? Which is really exciting.

I think there’s loads of opportunities to work with the technology to improve the way that we work. I think it’s really, really actually fascinating because people do say, well, what’s going to happen with our particularly junior resource and whether that’s paralegals or junior lawyers. And actually, I think…

The key, and people at work who are bored of me hearing me say this now, I think the key is to think about this sort of human plus machine. And I know from watching some of your stuff, James, that this idea of working on the human bits is something that you’re passionate about as well. But I think what we need to be doing is we need to be thinking about the future. So right now we can be using AI in what we do. And that can improve the efficiency of what we do. And we’re doing lots of experiments with AI.

things and we’re trying out a bit of a portfolio approach on lots of tools. So we can do that now, but we need to be thinking also about the longer term, about how are people going to be working in the future and what skills will they need to work with the machine, so the plus bit, but also what are the human skills that they’re going to need to make the best, do the best job. There’s also a bit of a thing around foundational skills. And this is not just law, but if machines are going to be doing

what our junior people are going to be doing. We still need senior people. We still need senior doctors, chefs, lawyers, whatever it is that, you know, where some of the stuff might be being done by machines. But how do you get to be a senior person if you’ve not been the apprentice, if you’ve not learned the basic skills? So we’re still going to, so those people are still going to be needed in the system. So I’m not worried about, you know, major like losses of jobs in the legal industry.

I think there is going to be major change in the legal industry though in terms of the tasks that people do. But I think that people will, so we’re going to need to think very carefully about how we build those foundational skills, legal skills in our case, into people and all the way through from university through to when they’re training in a law firm and then getting experience on jobs. But I think we’re also going to have to think about those human skills. So human skills, things like empathy and emotional intelligence and creativity and curiosity.

and those things that make us fundamentally human. I think actually we’re going to paradoxically we’re going to need those things even more in the relatively medium to medium to longer term, maybe not immediately. And that’s going to be an interesting thing, as I think as a, you know, for law firms, for industry, for humans, I think it’s really fascinating.

James Taylor (15:30)
a few years ago in California, I used to live in California and there was a young gentleman called Robert Huang and Robert trained as a computer scientist first of all learning about AI and then he went and trained as a lawyer. I’m not quite sure why you would go from being a software engineer to a lawyer, it’s kind of unusual, I can see you maybe going the other way but so he went trained as a lawyer and his early years as an associate he realized how mind -numbingly boring a lot of legal

work is, especially if you’re doing due diligence and certain things, and he said there must be a better way of doing this. So what he would do is, during the day he would do his legal work, and at night he went home and he basically programmed and worked on AI programs to replace himself. That’s really what he was doing, and by the end of the year he’d essentially replaced himself by building out different tools and functions to do that, and then being entrepreneurial he went and started a new type of law firm called, I think it was called Robot, Robot and Huang.

and there were three partners. Two of the partners were AIs and one of the partner was him as the human. And one, I think Darya, she specializes in AI, but specialized in litigation. And the other one specialized in mergers and acquisitions, I seem to remember. And what I find interesting about that is what then the human, what he was doing in his role. And it was exactly what you were speaking about there. It was the, the creator work, the curious work, the strategizing, empathy, building, building that relationship with clients.

so much of the kind of softer things that we don’t think, while the machine was able to do what is better doing at a tactical level as well. And certainly a lot of my clients, that’s what I’m seeing a lot of them using that for the first level is amazing for discovery, amazing for being able to send an algorithm across all of your legal agreements to say, hey, there’s this new Brexit has just happened or something has just happened. What is the risk factors to all of our legal agreements that we have with our clients just now?

and it pulls up that. So there’s obviously great things there as well. And I don’t know whether you’re seeing this in some of my clients, I’m seeing what traditionally was, let’s say, a 30 page contract, because some of these firms are using AI now, and on both sides are using AI, we’re now seeing 100 page contracts, because the AIs are kind of adding things that maybe the human wouldn’t necessarily have thought about adding before.

John Craske (17:47)
Well, I think we’ve seen the trend of contracts getting longer and longer for a good while actually. And I’m not sure it’s AI that’s driving that. It’s a mix of the world just being more regulation, more uncertainty, more volatility, all sorts of things and complexity that’s going on in the world. But you’re right. And I do wonder whether actually they will go over a peak and then they’ll start getting shorter again because they’ll only put in the contract the things that you really need. Who knows? But yeah, absolutely. We’re…

when we’re seeing AI helpers, you know, summarize meetings and actions, coach you in your email with your drafting with your, you know, like your sidekick. But it is really interesting to think about the mode in which people are using it because actually quite a lot of lawyers are good at delegating. So delegating to a more junior lawyer to do that or paralegal to do a task, but not so good at sort of

co -creating and working with and a lot of the interesting challenges around AI especially around the sort of edge of where AI is capable today and of course that edge is moving out all the time. It’s not universally good at every task and one tool isn’t universally good at every task so but so when you’re on the edge of the capabilities you need to be working with it not delegating to it. So if something is very capable then you can delegate to it but if something you know and

and there’s a lot of noise in the world around hallucinations of generative AI but if you’re working with something then actually a lot of those risks around hallucinations go away because you’re using it, you’re working directly with it to help you in your work process, whatever that is. So yeah, I think that’s going to be really interesting to watch.

James Taylor (19:36)
I know within the world of management consulting, there was a study done the other day by Harvard University and Boston Consulting Group, where they gave a bunch of their consultants access to a generative AI. And it was interesting just seeing how, I think it increased productivity by 40%, the task was judged to be, I think, 12 % better in terms of quality. But what I thought was interesting about it was that you had these two groups in particular that really excelled, and they were called Cyborgs and Centaurs. So, yeah.

John Craske (19:44)
Yeah, that’s exactly it.

That’s right, exactly that, that’s what I’m referring to.

James Taylor (20:04)
Yeah, so the Centaurs were what you were kind of talking about a little bit there, where you would look at a project or a task and you would say, okay, these are the things that the AI, I’m going to give to this AI to do this particular task, and these are the things that I’m going to reserve as humans. Whereas the cyborgs, and they were almost intertwining everything that they were doing with AI. It became like a guitar player would have a guitar, or, you know, it just became an extension of themselves. And that is the kind of more that, that kind of co -pilot thing kind of going on. It’s more collaborative in nature.

John Craske (20:35)
i think that’s exactly right and that’s the same study of referring to them to read if any of the listeners are wanting to get that it’s called the navigating the jagged edge of a i a that’s a harvard business review article and within that they they collaborated with boston consulting group is worth reading the whole thing but actually that nothing cyborgs and sent or this is like almost like a a footnote in appendix seven or something is right at the very end and but i think it’s one of the most interesting nuggets in the whole thing and

James Taylor (20:58)
Ha ha.

John Craske (21:04)
If I’ve got time, my daughter, if she ever listens to this, will be embarrassed about me telling you this story. So I read that and I didn’t really absorb it. And then just over Christmas time, she was doing some homework, or before Christmas, she was doing some homework at the kitchen table and I was cooking. And she was writing an essay, a critical essay on a book they’d been reading in class, which is, it’s another twist in the tale. It’s a book about female empowerment, about…

Oliver Twist’s sister that you’ve never heard about before and and and she had chat GPT open and she had a word processor open and she was Working with it in the way you described like playing a guitar So she didn’t go chatgy page chatgy PT write me an essay about this book You know the way that we’re all worried about people cheating on exams or whatever with generative AI She just didn’t do that. She was like she’s the right route a bit and she went. I’m not sure about some words

Hey, can you give me some words that mean this or describe that? And then she wrote a bit more and then she said, not sure about that paragraph, copied that paragraph into chat. Can you help me rewrite this? And she was backwards and forwards all the way through. And so she produced something which was probably, she produced something quicker and probably better than had she written it herself, but she didn’t just delegate the task to the AI. And I think that was for me a real, a real light bulb moment about how we should be.

talking to our people about how they should be using AI at the moment, especially at that jagged edge of AI where it’s not universally capable at that thing. So forgive me for the story, James.

James Taylor (22:38)
No, but I think it’s great as well. I mean, obviously that generation is coming through now. A friend of mine, Mark Prensky coined the term digital natives and you know, very much. And actually her generation is way beyond that. They’re AI natives. You know, they’re using these tools in slightly different ways. My wife who’s been in law for a long time, she hadn’t really been using many of these tools. And I just kind of sat down with her one day and she was having to…

John Craske (22:46)
Yeah, totally.

James Taylor (23:05)
review a new piece of legislation that’s currently going through the courts, going through the Scottish Parliament around food. I think it’s called the Good Food Bill or something around food. And it was amazing because what she was able to do was to pull in all these different studies from different places, feed it in, and then it was about the quality of the questions that she was asking, in this case, to chat GBT, to help her think about how to term something, how to kind of use the language, in this case, of the…

the Scottish government to kind of refer back to what she was wanting to do, her target, her goal with this particular thing. And it was like that, I was saying, and you could see her, it was the first time I’d really seen her eyes kind of go sparkle because she’d, I didn’t realize I could use it in this way. I just thought, I didn’t realize I could use it as that type of collaborator. So it’s not too late for everyone. If you’re kind of coming to this a little bit later in life and you’re not a youngster, then there’s lots of opportunities here.

John Craske (24:03)
Yeah, totally. And that’s why I talk about human plus machine. Because so you’re now, that sort of prompting skills we’re talking about is that plus bit, right? So you have to work how to work with it as well. But you still need the human questions and things. So you need to be able to ask them. So yeah, I think it’s lovely when we start to see that, whether it’s at home or at work and people exploring it. I think it’s great.

James Taylor (24:30)
And then your own journey as a lawyer working within innovation as well, was there a key insight or a light bulb moment in your life and you work your own creative journey?

John Craske (24:43)
I think when I realized, I mean I’ve always been interested in this junction between the practice of law and business and law, but when you described doing due diligence as really boring, I was a real estate lawyer so I was just doing lots of occupational leases, which for those of you if you’re not a lawyer means…

if you ever get a shopping center and all of the units in their elect every one of those got a leak behind it and the whole framework documents of such a doing those all day and there’s only so many occupational leases i think i could could do and and so i’d and that my wife and saying to me that i needed to do something more creative is probably the real sparkle and what led me down this that this path i think this many light bulb moments all of the all the time though i think it’s

you know so i i’d wanted home just a couple weeks ago and i bought myself a new saxophone because i’ve never i’ve always wanted one i can’t play the saxophone it’s not very well yet but i have played the clarinet for ages and the guy in the music shop he was like olivander honestly matching instruments and things to people but i’ve been playing my clarinet with the same mouthpiece i’m fifty one now so it must have been for forty years with the same mouthpiece and he went

you’re on beginners mouthpiece what you want is one of these and so he sold me a new mouthpiece a bit of plastic only at you know 100 pounds or whatever it was and you think 100 pounds for a mouthpiece and I played it and it was like it was like the clouds parted and the sun came out so you know so that idea of having the right kit and knowing your as part of knowing your craft and things because you know people always say that it’s about the kit but of course it’s not it’s this join between the person the human and the

kit and knowing how to use it whatever you’re doing so yeah there’s a there’s a personal one and a work one.

James Taylor (26:36)
Yeah, that reminds me a little, we had a guest on the show a little while ago, Professor Roger Neybone, who’s the world’s leading expert on experts. He wrote a book all about experts and he’s a surgeon originally. And he talks about this idea of a mise en place in French, you know, if you’re a chef, you have certain tools closer by because these are the ones you’re using all the time. Well, you might have other ones a little bit kind of further out of reach because you’re not using those so often. It’s that distinction of being able to know which tool to use in the right way, in the right order for the right

right thing and that adds, you know, that adds a little bit of distinction from someone that’s just an amateur in what they’re doing to actually someone who’s a professional and more skilled and more expert at it as well. Let’s get into some final quickfire questions before we finish up here. First of all, is there a quote that you live by that kind of a guiding light for you in your life?

John Craske (27:29)
I don’t think I’m a big one for quotes or sound bites, but I do firmly believe that you get out what you put in. And I remind myself to try and lead with kindness.

James Taylor (27:38)
Beautiful. And is there an online resource? We’ve been talking a lot about tools and technology today, but is there an online resource or a tool, like Gmail or Evernote, that you find very useful in your work?

John Craske (27:50)
I like finding new tools and things, but I think I’m going to give you a bit of a different answer. I love Spotify. It’s always got something to listen to, whether that’s new music, trying to take you away or focus on something or podcasts or audiobooks. I consume new music all of the time, almost all genres, so I love Spotify.

James Taylor (28:08)
Great talk, great talk. And if you could only recommend one book to our listeners, what would that book be?

John Craske (28:14)
We’ve been talking about AI today, so I think everybody should listen to or read The Coming Wave by Mustafa Suleiman.

James Taylor (28:23)
Great, wonderful book. And as we finish up here, Sher, what is the best way if people want to connect with you? Maybe we’ve got a lot of lawyers that listen to the show. We’ve got a lot of people within legal profession, a lot of people within innovation labs as well. If we want to connect with you, learn more about the work you do, learn about your firm, what’s the best way for them to go and do that?

John Craske (28:41)
Probably just message me on LinkedIn, that’s the best way to get in touch.

James Taylor (28:45)
We’ll put all these links on the show notes. People go to the SuperCreativity Podcast, go to jamestaylor.me, just look for the SuperCreativity Podcast. We’ll have all the links for this particular episode and all the other things we’ll be talking about on the show today. John Craske, thank you so much for being a guest on the SuperCreativity Podcast.

The post John Craske of CMS, Collaboration between Humans and Machines in the Legal Industry #340 appeared first on James Taylor.

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John Craske, the director of innovation at CMS, discusses the firm's AI strategy and the role of innovation in the legal industry. He emphasizes the importance of fostering a culture of curiosity and experimentation. The firm has implemented an innovation department and introduced innovation hours to encourage employees to pursue their ideas. Craske believes that AI can enhance the efficiency of legal work and sees opportunities for collaboration between humans and machines. He also highlights the need for foundational legal skills and human skills like empathy and creativity.

Takeaways

1. Fostering a culture of curiosity and experimentation is crucial for innovation in the legal industry.
2. Implementing an innovation department and introducing innovation hours can encourage employees to pursue their ideas.
3. AI can enhance the efficiency of legal work, but collaboration between humans and machines is essential.
4. Foundational legal skills and human skills like empathy and creativity are still valuable in the age of AI.

Sound Bites

1. "We're using our computers more like electronic typewriters for many years."
2. "Innovation hours are like seed funding for ideas."
3. "AI has captured the imagination of people in a way that lots of other technology has never had."

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to John Craske and his role at CMS

03:04 The Development of Innovation Departments in Law Firms

06:44 Overcoming the Tension between Billable Hours and Innovation

09:26 Building a Team and Aligning Innovation with Firm Strategy

12:08 The Opportunities and Challenges of AI in the Legal Industry

15:23 The Importance of Human Skills in the Age of AI

27:23 Final Quickfire Questions

Bio

John Craske is responsible for the innovation and knowledge functions at CMS, with the aim of helping their clients and business to work smarter: to find the right balance between client satisfaction, cost effectiveness, profitability and opportunities for our people. He leads their dynamic Legal Innovation, Legal Operations and Project Management, Legal Tech, Managed Legal Services and Knowledge teams. He's passionate about fostering a culture of innovation and encouraging people to be curious, ask questions and experiment. John is currently leading our firmwide AI strategy as tjeu look to use AI to supercharge our digital transformation programme. He regularly works with clients (and others in the legal industry) to help design / implement practical (and innovative) solutions to their challenges.

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JD Meier of Microsoft, Productivity Strategies for Success #339Summary

JD Meier, high performance and innovation coach, discusses his focus on using AI to advance high performance and change how the world innovates. He emphasizes the power of one person businesses to impact and influence a billion minds. Meier shares his two-track transformation model for innovation, which involves sustaining innovation in the current business while also working on disruptive innovation for the future. He also highlights the importance of productivity and offers strategies such as setting three wins each day and reflecting on weekly achievements.

Sound Bites

1. “I’m all about trying to use AI to advance high performance”
2. “I call it billion dollar solopreneur, not because you’re going to make a billion dollars, but it’s about impacting and influencing a billion minds”
3. “You have your current business, which is your current business model… and then you have your future business model” Apple PodcastSpotify PodcastTakeaways* AI can be used to advance high performance and enhance senses
4. One person businesses have the power to impact and influence a billion minds
5. The two-track transformation model involves sustaining innovation in the current business while working on disruptive innovation for the future
6. Productivity strategies include setting three wins each day and reflecting on weekly achievements JD Meier is a High Performance & Innovation Coach who has 25 years of experience changing the world at Microsoft. JD was the former head coach for Satya Nadella’s innovation team at Microsoft and is also the author of the bestselling book Getting Results the Agile Way. His WHY is to advance human potential and to help people realise their potential in work and life while his specialty is to provide proven practices combined with information models to advance a space. People at Microsoft know JD for innovation, productivity, and changing the world because he always took on big challenges and moved the ball forward.

jdmeier.com
My story of transformation
Agile Results Productivity System

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CHAPTERS​00:00 Introduction

05:07 The Billion Dollar Solopreneur

08:58 The Two-Track Transformation Approach

15:03 Improving Productivity with Three Wins and Reflection

31:07 Conclusion

TRANSCRIPTjd-meier-the-supercreativity-podcast-with-james-taylor_copy-of-scp339-jd-meier-edit.txt
James Taylor (00:08)
Meyer is a high performance and innovation coach who has 25 years of experience changing the world at Microsoft. JD was the former head coach at Satya Nadella’s innovation team at Microsoft and is also the author of the bestselling book, Getting Results the Agile Way. His why is to advance human potential and to help people realize their potential in work and life, while his specialty is to provide program practices combined with information models to advance the space.

People at Microsoft know JD for innovation, productivity, and changing the world because he always took on big challenges and moved the ball forward. JD, welcome to the Super Creativity Podcast.

JD Meier (00:48)
Wow, that was a great intro. Thank you.

James Taylor (00:51)
So share with us what’s going on in your world just now. What currently has your focus?

JD Meier (00:56)
Okay. So that’s a great question. AI is definitely top of mind and specifically, I’m, I’m all about trying to use it to advance high performance. I think there’s a lot of tricks and hacks that people haven’t thought about yet specifically about enhancing your senses. And, the other big thing is really, I’m trying to change how the world innovates. I know that might sound audacious, but when I wake up in the morning, I actually ask myself how to want to change the world today. It actually guides a lot of what I do.

And with innovation, I think there’s an incredible, easy way to change how we innovate at the individual level, the team level and the org level. So that’s got my focus. The other big thing I would say is, I call it billion dollar solopreneur. I call it billion dollar solopreneur, not because you’re going to make a billion dollars. You might, but it’s about impacting and influencing a billion minds. I think that we’re in a perfect time and age where the one person business.

can actually share and scale their expertise with the world. And so I’ve been diving into that, looking at it from two perspectives on the, let’s say the left -hand side. The left -hand side is the tech arena. So what can we do with AI, of course? What can we do with social media? And what can we do with SEO? I know a lot of people think, SEO is dead, but not really. SEO, what I found, especially as an innovator, is the best way to figure out the language of your customers and your audience. There’s pains, needs, and outcomes, even if you don’t do SEO.

But so that’s on the tech side. There’s this other side though, this other side of scaling to the world. There’s tools that we have. So for example, there’s a massive transformative purpose. So for example, Nike, you know, just do it. Everybody fights their demons every day, but you get on board with Nike’s bigger mission. Microsoft empower every person in business to achieve more. Again, you know, it’s, it’s bigger than you. When you have something bigger than you, it’s easier to get on board. But there’s also these ideas of like,

simple, sticky slogans, the things that stick in your mind. And if you can create those idea viruses as the one person and then share and scale with the technology, you’re on fuego. So I think now is one of the greatest times ever to be able to change the world as one person. And even though I say one person, it doesn’t mean you’re just one person. You have your friends, your partners, your network, your family, you have your everybody, but it means that you don’t have to go and be part of a giant business to go change the world. I think that’s the key.

James Taylor (03:24)
Yeah, we had a guest on the show a little while ago, Elaine Pofeld, who wrote the million dollar one person business. And I interviewed her, actually, and I spoke to her recently, we were doing an event for the New York Public Library together. And she said, if she was to change anything about the book, she said, maybe the one million is too small, because you have people, especially with technology now, that are doing and you see, you look at a number of companies now, I think of especially in the AI space who have very few actual employees.

JD Meier (03:42)
It’s too small. Yep.

James Taylor (03:52)
but they are billing multi -billion dollar businesses. So maybe the one person billion dollar business is closer than we think just now as well. Yeah. So you’re obviously passionate about productivity, you’re passionate about innovation as well. I thought where we’d go first is, because we’ve had a number of guests on the show recently who have talked about the challenge in being able to do the main…

JD Meier (03:53)
Yeah.

Yeah.

It’s a reality. Yeah. And it’s exciting.

James Taylor (04:21)
of what that business is about, whether it’s a legal business or it’s a technology business or whatever the business is. And then at the same time, innovating in their industry, innovating in their businesses as well. How do you, you know, those are two wild horses. How do you deal with those horses?

JD Meier (04:37)
Yeah. Okay, so great question. It starts, believe it or not, it actually starts with your mental model. I asked an anthropologist long ago, I said, what are the best business leaders do that other business leaders don’t? And the surprise was she said, they share their mental model. I was like, for real? Like, is that really it? And it actually was, because when you don’t share your model as a leader, and you have tens of thousands of people reporting to you,

People guess and they make things up and they try to figure out how to do innovation. So they end up either doing innovation despite the organization rarely with the organization, because they don’t know what it’s supposed to be. So with that in mind, I kept going back through all my experiences, like where did people get stuck? Like why did I call it the innovator gets fired? I call it innovation gets a fired side -liner pushed out. And it’s because they don’t have a space in their mind where innovation goes. So recently I shared the model, but I call it two track transformation.

And the idea is to have a simpler, better metaphor for to do innovation in parallel. But here’s how it works. You have your current business, which is your current business model. It’s your current customers. It’s your current talent. It’s your current products and offers, and it’s your current KPIs. You know that track, but I’m, I’m letting leaders know like, look, that is your sustaining innovation track. That is your 10 % growth. Yes. Take care of it. Good. However, in parallel.

This is where we need to work future back. This is how we avoid getting disrupted. This is how we disrupt ourselves. This is your future business model. This is that second track. This is your disruptive innovation, possibly 70 % growth cumulative over time. This is your different set of talent, because it’s a different type of talent to actually focus on these kinds of things. But the reality is, is you’re stepping into the future. And this is where it’s going to be.

A lot of people get lost because they step in the future. They have no empathy for it. It’s like a stranger. You’re stepping into the future and you’re breaking it down into small business experiments to check value today. You validate value today. So what you’re really doing is you’re not suddenly wildly changing your business. What you’re doing is you’re setting up these two tracks and running them well. Because if you don’t do it like this, what happens is you use your current KPIs against the second track and you break everything. You don’t make space for innovation.

But with this, this two track mindset, with this two track mental model, you have space for both and you can do both well, especially when you recognize that, that first track that’s yeah, we’re doing innovation. Yes. You’re doing sustaining innovation, 10 % growth. Great. Do you want a piece of that 70 % growth? And do you want to have a chance to be able to survive in the future? And do you want to make sure that you’re not the one disrupted or that you disrupt yourself? Yes. Okay. So that model, it’s easy for me to whiteboard it. It lands well with people. People follow it very easily and it.

Usually it can easily get people out of the muck and the mess that they’ve been in going by all these other different, you know, models of innovation and trying to do even something as simple as like an innovation portfolio. As soon as you have those two tracks in your mind, now you know which KPI is to focus on. Now you know why they’re different. It’s intentional. And that basically makes space for the real, cause usually when people are thinking about innovation, they’re thinking about the disruptive stuff.

they’re already doing sustaining, they don’t realize that they’re innovating in their processes and their products. They’re doing that 10 % optimization, but the disruptive innovation is really where the big action is, especially in today’s world where change is so fast. And the other thing I told people do when you’re working backwards from that future to make it real, make your mock press releases, make your one page write -ups of those future scenarios that you want to bring to reality. That

lets everybody feel the future. When you can feel the future and start to create empathy, now you get more stakeholders and sponsorship in the game. And then that’s a good thing. But if we don’t, if we do not make space for this in the minds of the leaders, then there will be a lot of sabotage. Maybe not even on purpose, but it happens. But when you are very deliberate about carving out that space, you could protect and support it. Otherwise the current business.

is going to eat it up, is going to fight for the resources, is going to fight for the money, and it’s going to defeat it with the current KPIs. Does that make sense?

James Taylor (08:58)
So you’re building almost like your competitor, your category killer, alongside you’re building the existing business as well. I love the idea of creating those mock -up kind of press releases. I’ve heard authors do that before where they’ve actually written up the reviews of their book before they’ve written the book to give them a sense, what value do I want to have this book? What kind of impact do I want this book to create? So you’re doing that. So that’s really kind of talking about, I guess, imagination.

JD Meier (09:03)
Yeah, yeah, -huh.

Yeah.

James Taylor (09:26)
and having a depth of imagination. I’m a big critic at the moment for, I see loads of great stuff on Netflix and Apple and all these great TV shows just now. But it feels at the moment when we talk about the future, a lot of the future that we see on TV and in movies is like a post -apocalyptic future. TV shows like Fallout, which are great, which are really fun and everything. But it doesn’t feel like we have so much of that painting that picture of…

JD Meier (09:27)
Yes.

Yeah, right. Yep.

Yes.

James Taylor (09:56)
a more optimistic future, what that could be and how technology can actually help us get there.

JD Meier (10:00)
Yeah. Yep. I agree. And I think we have a deficit when it comes to the visionary leaders that can share that vision. That was actually the instigator of the billion dollar solarpreneur. I realized that people weren’t able to share the big visions. I’m like, you know, where’s the Disney’s? Where’s the Andrew Carnegie’s? Where’s the captains of the industry? And I was lucky to be surrounded by a lot of great people that were very good at articulating a future state. Like you could step into the future and they could connect the dots and they could light up these beautiful scenes of the future.

And it got people excited and inspired. And what I realized was, a lot of people don’t think about the future as this space of creativity and opportunity. They just project more of the past. So their past drives their present. And their present is driving the future, but all driven from the past. When you step out of that and you step into the future for real, but to do this, there’s also, I found that there’s another gap. So.

There’s a skill strategic foresight. It’s actually more popular in Europe than it is in the U S that kind of surprised me. But with strategic foresight, you’re learning about trends, you’re building vocabulary around the trends. So you have all of these little building blocks. So, I have a couple of frameworks that I use, but you know, one of my patterns is I call it the CEO pattern, customers, employees, and operations. You know, how do you transform the customers, the employees, the operations makes the people to realize where to focus their effort. But then the other thing I do.

Is then I would pull in, well, how does mixed reality or augmented reality change the scenario? How does AI change our customer experience? How does, and when you step into it that way, now you’re using these building blocks for innovation to create these scenes of the future. You become the choreographer, you become the director of the future. And if you decide deliberately that you’re going to work backwards from, you’re not going to accept bad scenarios in the future. You’re going to create great scenarios in the future.

you’re not going to try to predict the future. You’re actually going to create and shape it. When you come from that place, you have a lot of, it gives you a lot of empowerment. And especially if you stay on top of the trends, enough to know which ones to pay attention to enough to know which ones to ignore. And when I do that, I like to take a, a 10 year view. So if I look 10 years back, 10 years back was utility computing, your cloud companies, your Amazon, your Microsoft, your Google’s 10 years forward.

And the big mega pattern is ESG, environment, social and governance, or I think of it as good for people. I call it good for people, good for the planet. You know, think about it like that. Every business then has to reimagine itself, has to figure out how to be good for people, good for the planet. That means that you can actually go back to the basics of your business. And I like to use a business strategy pyramid. You can think of it like this at the top is your bold ambition. In the middle is your business model. And in the bottom.

is your operating model. The problem is too many people think, I’m transforming. And they’re focused on cloudifying or transforming or digitizing the operating model. And what they’re ignoring is that ambition part to start with the ambition. So if you were backwards from bold ambitions, it changes the strategies you choose. It changes the opportunities that you create. So you’re right. There’s a lot of a lack of imagination for the future because it’s focused on just doing more of the past. And it tends to be pretty pessimistic.

James Taylor (13:18)
Yeah.

We had on Professor Sir David Ormond on the show and we’ll put a link here as well to that. And we were talking about, so he is the former, basically he was the person that advised the prime ministers in the UK on the various security services. So in the UK we have MI5, MI6, GCHQ, in the US you have CIA, NSA, similar kind of roles. And he was talking, what you just mentioned about the strategic foresight in his book, he calls it strategic notice.

JD Meier (13:41)
Hmm.

Hmm.

James Taylor (13:53)
So he said, you know, part of the role that you’re trying to do as an intelligence analyst is the kind of work he would probably talk about is taking that 10 year view that you spoke about. And he said, that does require both critical thinking and creative thinking, like the imagination and like, well, what is the probabilities? And now we get into the mathematics of it. What do we believe is the probability? And when we look at risk, obviously just today, today, we see…

JD Meier (14:04)
Yeah.

Yep. Yes. Yeah.

Right.

James Taylor (14:19)
certain risks that we’re seeing like now it’s on CNN, it’s on Fox and those channels, but the environmental, the E of the ESG piece, feels a little bit further away. So we kind of push it out a little bit further and we don’t kind of bring it in a little bit. So you’ve spoken about vision, we’ve spoken about the big picture stuff and promoting that vision and helping people understand that mental models with the Charlie Munger, like the kind of mental models. What about when it comes to the rubber hits the road, the productivity?

JD Meier (14:23)
Hmm.

Yeah, right.

Hmm.

James Taylor (14:49)
You’ve worked with these leaders at Microsoft and you’ve really helped these leaders on their productivity, both as a leader individually and as a team. Where do we get to on that? What are some of the key things that you notice on those people and the teams that are really great at productivity?

JD Meier (15:02)
Yeah.

Yep, so it’s definitely a mind shift because usually what happens is people start to care about it when they’re in pain. They get a bad review in terms of their health score, their org score, their whatever score. Then now they start to care about it. And because I moved in so many different orgs in Microsoft, I had to learn how to change the culture fast. And I learned that I could change it through questions because smart people like to answer questions. And so one of the questions I would ask, I would…

You know, so we’d say, yeah, that productivity stuff. Why should we do this? I said, well, you spent a lot of time last month, right? You did, you spent a lot of energy. You probably did more than 40 hour work weeks, right? Everybody on the team did a lot of work, right? What were the three wins? I asked them for the three wins. And usually first I see a deer in headlights. Then I see them start to rattle off like meetings they went to and activities and all this stuff, but it doesn’t accrue to anything. And I go, you know, we can completely change the game.

by telling three stories of victories. We should be able to tell three stories of victories a day, three stories of victories for the week, three stories of victory for the month, three stories of victory for the quarter, three stories of victory for the year. And when I put it out like that, they said, well, we’re doing OKRs. I’m like, OK, show me your OKRs. And usually, it’s something abstract and disconnected that they don’t really have empathy for. And I go, look, if you’re trying to tell your manager that that was your impact,

Would that feel like a wow moment? Is that a press release? Where are the wows? And so I actually combine some of the practices I have in Azure results, where some of the practices that people do look like the OKRs, but thinking of three wins, it’s the simplest, easiest way to start to drive better outcomes because you’re working backwards now. Otherwise you fall into the trap of, and I fell into this trap too, where you hope that your process takes care of you. You hope that by doing the right things each day, it’ll lead to these awesome things.

But if you never put a line in the sand, if you’d never sketched out that model of the future, if you never thought about what that future scene of victory looked like, you’re not going to look your way there. Kind of like, you know, you’re not going to wander your way up the mountain, right? You’re not going to wake up one day and I’m on the top of Mount Everest like a zigzag. So the idea here is that you’re working backwards. At the same time, I’m a big fan that you do need to work your way forwards. And so the way I do it is I have the backbone of my book, I call it…

Monday Vision, Daily Wins, Friday Reflection. So on Monday, you step into your Friday and you look back on your week. What do you want those three victories to be? So that’s your Monday Vision. Now imagine that you’re looking forward to going through your week because you have three victories to pull you through. And it sounds simple, but now what you’ve done by identifying these three victories is you’ve prioritized. You’ve chosen what you’re going to do, what you’re not going to focus on. You’ve also created a way.

to channel your energy. So now you’re going to find your motivation. It’s meaningful. You can connect it to your values. Don’t call back a customer when a raving fan. Don’t go do a project, lead an epic adventure. Don’t go do a task. Turn your chores into chances to practice and master what your strengths and your special abilities are all about. So that’s really the key. That’s the Monday Vision on the Daily Winds through Winds for Today. So when you wake up, you’re going to have a day. You’re going to spend a bunch of time.

What are the three wins for today? You can do your, have your existing to -do list. It might be a laundry list, actually a lot of stuff, but just put the three wins at the top that you hope that you can achieve. So you can direct your energy and attention and you’ll get better at it. You will get better at that. And then Friday reflection. This is where personal development meets your productivity. This is where self awareness comes to life. You actually reflect on what were my three wins for this week? You know, what are three things going well, three things to improve.

And it’s that improvement piece that means that you’re going to get, but this is your chance to be honest with you and go, did you bite off more than you could actually chew? Did you get randomized? Like if you completed things that had nothing to do with your goals, did you get randomized or are you not good at learning in your system? Are you not good at understanding and predicting what’s going to be expected of you in the week? So you get better at that. And the surprise, this is, this to me is the biggest surprise is that, by practicing Friday reflection.

You know, I started by putting an appointment on my calendar for 20 minutes on Friday. I made space for it. I got so good at my basic productivity, like extreme, that I started to take on much bigger goals. And, one of the things that I started to do was I just started to add checkpoint questions about ways that I want to improve myself at the identity level. And I had read the book leadership challenge and in it.

One of the questions is around, you know, seeing around corners. How will DC around the corners? So I had this one little question in my Friday reflection. So each week I was just asking myself, yeah, how am I getting surprised? Am I seeing around the corners? Am I predicting what’s going to happen? That alone improved me to the point where I actually think if I trace it back, that led to me becoming an innovator that led to me becoming a futurist. That was the basic skills that helped me become the head coach for Satya’s innovation team.

So it surprised me in a lot of ways. But those are the basics. If you can do a day well, you can do a week well. If you could do a week well, it compounds. But you want to be working backwards from your big dreams, your ambitions, your future scenarios, your future state, and using that to drive why do you do what you do today? and then the.

James Taylor (20:36)
Those questions obviously, so please carry on.

JD Meier (20:41)
I was going to say this. There’s one more frame that really helped me a lot, like the light bulb went off. It was super productivity, as when you’re working on the right things at the right time, the right way. When you unpack that and you start to dive in, am I using my strengths? Am I driving from vision? Am I spending more time in my values so I can renew my energy? You’re on fire.

James Taylor (21:07)
thinking as you were talking about this and kind of bringing some of these ideas together, there was Marshall Goldsmith, the leadership coach for a lot of various executives. He has someone who calls him every day, I think at the same time, to basically ask him a series of questions. That’s their only job. And it’s an accountability, it’s a way of keeping him on track in terms of what he’s doing. Now, that’s wonderful, but not everyone can…

JD Meier (21:26)
Wow. Wow.

Hmmmm

James Taylor (21:36)
You can afford to have someone that that’s their job. So I was thinking obviously now with AI, not everyone can afford windy roads from billions on their team that’s asking those questions and making them think slightly differently about things, but everyone can pretty much afford an AI to be asking questions, asking better questions every time and asking questions that kind of nudge us out of our usual way of doing things.

JD Meier (21:37)
Right. Yeah.

Right.

Yes.

Big time. And so first and foremost, I would say structure your week. So for example, I have three recurring appointments on my calendar that ask me the question. So like my Monday vision, when it pops up, it asks me, what are your three wins for this week? And then each day it pops up, what are your three wins for today? And then Friday reflection, it pops up. So I made the space and the time for it. And then to use AI to take you to the next level.

You can actually pair up with AI. I think if it is pairing, you know, pairing up, you can pair up with AI to figure out a good personal, actually a great, a great personal development plan for the month. I think that when you do it at the month level, you get a different balcony view. And in that balcony view, you can ask higher order questions. Cause if you get too mired in the day to day, I think, and if you ask yourself too many questions in the day to day,

It’s kind of hard to see the forest for the trees, but I think when you do it at these timeframes, like, okay, what’s the, what’s the mindset of motivational questions for today that keep me growing and showing up strong. Like for example, one that I never expected to have is how do I want to change the world today? But there’s a little story there. Like, I kept for some reason it’s like deep in me. I think it’s because one of my early managers at Microsoft, every time he came by the office or in the break room.

He would say, did you change the world today? Like every day. And I’d be like, yeah, we changed it, but everybody wants us to change it back. And so, you know, it’s, it’s strong in me. And one of my early books, you know, went to like 800 ,000 people in six months. So when, when would you do that? You get used to changing the world. And so one day I found myself asking the question, how do you want to change the world? And I thought, you know, everybody’s stressed. They’re worried about the future. They’re worried about today. They’re,

James Taylor (23:32)
Yeah.

JD Meier (23:57)
overwhelmed, they’re overloaded and they’re in fear mode. I was like, that sucks. It’s like, what’s the best thing I can give people that would help them to start their day. So I ended up creating a, so that night I was like, okay, how do I change the world today? I want to change how the world wakes up. So that night I put together like 40 slides. I created a framework on the fly. I created 40 slides. I called it wake up great. I haven’t written. I don’t think I’ve even written about it yet, but it’s a, it’s wake up great. And it’s, I’ve been teaching it to different companies, but it’s a G is gratitude.

If you feel grateful, you can’t feel fear. So when you actually do gratitude, right, and you’re in that grateful mode, you can feel fear. So I thought, wow, what a great way for people to start, you know, gratitude. R is reflection. Reflect on your future self. People go, okay, reflection, but they don’t know what to reflect on. Reflect on your future self. Last week or even yesterday or even today, are you being that person that you want to be for the future? So R is reflection. E is of course, exercise, but people, I don’t have time and I don’t know what to do.

And so I put together a small set of things that people really can do, like Bruce Lee’s three minute workout. When he broke his back, he had to figure out how do I work out my full body? Well, he’s got a three minute workout. So when you learn these kinds of things, you, you open up these possibilities. So then there’s a affirmation, but most people do affirmations wrong. What do they do? They have a bunch of affirmation. I am smart. I am happy. I’m great. I’m strong. Choose one. You choose one. You picture it in your mind so your subconscious can see it.

So you know what you actually mean and you’re congruent. Otherwise, if you say like an apple, red apple, green apple, Steve jobs, you know what? So you picture it, but you have to feel it. So my affirmation, for example, for today, I am strong. When I say that, what do I look like when I’m strong? What do I feel like when I’m strong later in the day, when I don’t feel strong, I remember in the morning. So you say it, you feel it because you’re rewiring your nervous system. You’re changing your nervous system. That’s where this gets real.

So G -R -E -A and then T. It was funny when I was making the framework that night, I was like, what’s T? Three wins, you know, from my book. It was like, it was perfect. I was like, picture three scenes in your day, morning, noon and night, your three victory scenes. So you can have a compelling day that you’ve just envisioned on the fly in the morning, in your strength place, in a place of gratitude and greatness where you can be as strong as you could possibly be. And so, you know, that was like, you know, quick little framework, but it helps, it changes lives.

James Taylor (26:03)
you can have a compelling day to just envision on.

I love that.

But changing how the world works, I often think about when I go into the shower in the morning, I call the shower my ideas machine. Because different people have their ideas at different days and at times of day. For me in the morning, I actually ended up having longer showers because all these ideas start coming to me. Obviously, you’ve been ingesting them overnight. You’ve been kind of thinking through them overnight. For yourself, where do you go, where do new ideas generally come from for you? Where do you go to just…

JD Meier (26:31)
Yep.

Yeah.

James Taylor (26:50)
Maybe take a step back from your day to day to kind of reflect, to really think at that kind of higher level.

JD Meier (26:56)
Yep. So where do the ideas come from? God, they come from so many places, but of course, like you, the shower. So this morning I had a thought about thought maps or thought structures or thought scaffolding. I thought about a lot of times people give you a thought to think, but they don’t break it down. And I had a parallel thought around, and program management work, breakdown structures. I thought about what if we actually shared these thought challenge and responses for specific challenges that we have.

because people do have these thought patterns. There’s success patterns and there’s anti -patterns. But too often, I think we hit the tip of the iceberg, but we don’t drill in. And I bet that if we start to share examples of thought maps, like what should be my thought structure when I feel like nervous or anxious about presenting? What does that look like? Break it down, but like little example of thought structures. So showers is a place, of course, before bed is of course another perfect time. So I keep my handy little sticky pad, my yellow sticky pad and pen. It’s been my greatest advantage.

And I also use a practice I call Imagine If. Imagine If is how I channel my imagination, but in any situation that I’m in, I imagine how it could be better. And so it gives me a lot of flexibility around choreographing the future of like a restaurant or even in the movie theater, you know, traffic, you know, how would I redesign this? So playing with Imagine If and just playing out future possible scenarios completely changes the game. A quick example is…

You go to the grocery store and this is before we have all the things that we have now. But I remember I was supposed to design, you know, the future of, grocery stores for big company. And I thought, man, when I drove up parking sucked. What if I could just drive to the curb and the groceries come to me? And then another scenario was like, wow, I can’t find anything in the store. What if I could hold up my phone and like either play, find the vegetable or I could find the gluten free, whatever, you know, whatever I need to go look for. And, you know, as I’m going to fill these scenarios, I was like, well, what if.

groceries came to me. This was before they did. What if the groceries came to me? And to scare the leaders into the future, I gave them a competitive idea. I said, look, your house is the future store. If you don’t fill the shelves, then Amazon will. And so it’s those little ideas, but they come from everywhere. But what made that even possible was I read a book called Thinker Toys. And in it, Thomas Edison shared his idea quotas. And so that was the idea.

That first week, I took my little yellow sticky pad and I wrote one idea per note. By the end of the week, I had 10 notes. And I thought, wow, my God. But it wasn’t that. It was that as soon as I put the ideas down, and these were good ideas, these are 10 good ideas, when I put it down, my head was empty from those. I didn’t realize how much those were bouncing around. Once my head was empty from those, ideas wouldn’t stop coming. So the next week, I filled two of the notepads.

By the third week, it was getting silly. It was just absolutely ridiculous. So I think a lot of people don’t realize if you keep your ideas floating around in your head, see what happens when you put them somewhere. Have an idea catcher, a thought catcher, an idea portfolio, an idea catalog, put them somewhere. And then you’ll be amazed at how much space and room you have for ideas to come your way. And practice that imagine if habit. It’s a habit you can practice and share with your friends.

James Taylor (30:07)
That’s great. And while we’re talking about capturing ideas, is there a tool that you use or an app, some way that you find it very easy, because you’re getting all these ideas all the time, how do you ensure that you can capture them so you can then go through them at a later date?

JD Meier (30:17)
Yep.

Yeah, I know it sounds old school, but I use Evernote and I have more than 30 ,000 notes and the it I’ve been on a quest for probably, I guess, a couple of decades. I’ve been actually on a quest to find the world’s best insight and action. So I have principles, patterns, insights for mind, body, emotions, career, finance, relationships, fun. And so I have not just a big, deep library of profound knowledge, but then I have my catalog of my ideas where I have, I do two things. Actually, I have a.

a notebook for my best ideas where I capture those in different domains. And then I have a daily insights where it’s just, it’s, it’s a running note. I put today’s date and any like little idea that pops up, I put it in my journal. So basically the daily journaling combined with my catalog, my portfolio of my best ideas.

James Taylor (31:07)
Yeah, I love I’ve been like you, I’m a long time Evernote user. My only complaint, if anyone from Evernote is listening just now, please speed up the mobile app, because it’s by the time you have the app from the idea to capturing it, those six seconds or 10 seconds it takes to open the app and put it in can be really frustrating. Very, very simple thing there. What about if you were to recommend one book?

JD Meier (31:11)
Cool.

my god. my god. Yeah.

Yeah.

James Taylor (31:29)
to our listeners. You mentioned one that’s Thinker Toys, which I’m going to definitely check out that one. If you would recommend one other book to our listeners, not one of your own, but kind of links to your own, what would that book be?

JD Meier (31:30)
Mmm.

Hahaha, yeah.

It would be Unlimited Power by Tony Robbins. That’s my secret of how I read faster. But Unlimited Power is probably the deepest book that I’ve ever read that goes into the inner engineering. And what I’ve learned in life is that all things are created twice, first in the mind, then in the world. I think of it as inner world, outer results. But that book is probably the deepest that I know for modeling, learning, sharing, and scaling expertise of other experts. It’s a way to distill it because it’s the inner engineering.

You watch somebody shoot pool, you watch what they did with the cue. You don’t go through the thought process of wait, their neurology. What was their breathing? Where was their focus? Did they look at the, you know, the hole? Did they look past it? Did they focus on the cue ball? So that is probably the greatest book for profound performance, I would say.

James Taylor (32:24)
a huge, like you, massive, I think I’ve read that, I don’t know how many times I’ve read that book. I read it when I was probably 13 years old, changed my life. I think it was, there was a line in that you mentioned in questions. I think you said, Tony said something along like the quality of life is the quality of the questions that you ask. And it’s just that constant, wonderful book, absolute classic. Let’s, as we finish up now, what is the best way for people to connect with you JD, to learn more about your books, your writing, your other things you’ve got going on just now? Where should they go?

JD Meier (32:33)
my god.

Yes, yes, so true.

Probably the best starting point is JDMeier .com. So JDMeier .com. Yeah, that’s the best bait.

James Taylor (33:03)
Well, JD, thank you so much for being a guest on the show today. After listening to you, I’m gonna go and pick up my old battered copy of Unlimited Power and reread it again as well. Thank you so much for being a guest on the Super Creativity Podcast.

JD Meier (33:09)
Hahaha.

Thank you for having me. Awesome times. Take care.

The post JD Meier of Microsoft, Productivity Strategies for Success #339 appeared first on James Taylor.

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Sir David Omand, Author of How Spies Think 10 LESSONS IN CRITICAL THINKING #338Summary

Professor Sir David Omand, former UK security and intelligence coordinator, shares insights from his book ‘How Spies Think: 10 Lessons in Intelligence’. He discusses the importance of critical thinking, the SEES model used by intelligence analysts, and the role of creativity in decision-making. He also explores the impact of biases, the Bayesian approach to probability, and the challenges of decision-making in high-stress environments. Omand emphasizes the need for diversity of thought and expertise, especially in the face of emerging technologies like AI and biotechnology. He concludes with the importance of ethical decision-making and recommends the book ‘The Three-Body Problem’ by Cixin Liu.

Sound Bites

1. “We have a polluted information environment, which AI, I’m afraid, adds to with the ability to make deep fakes and to provide misleading information.”
2. “You can spot trends in technology, international affairs, domestic affairs and social attitudes, and then have the imagination to say, well, if that were to happen, what would it look like?”
3. “The Reverend Bayes was an 18th century cleric in Tunbridge Wells, and he amateur mathematician. And he came across this rule, which we call Bayes rule named after him, which essentially relates the likelihood of something happening to which you’ve worked out to how you should then recalculate that likelihood when new evidence arrives.” Apple PodcastSpotify PodcastTakeaways* Developing critical thinking skills is crucial for making better decisions and avoiding biases.
4. The SEES model (Situational Awareness, Explanation, Estimate, Strategic Notice) provides a framework for intelligence analysis.
5. Creativity plays a role in intelligence work, particularly in finding innovative ways to uncover secrets and address challenges.
6. Understanding biases and creating a safe space for diverse perspectives is essential for effective decision-making.
7. Emerging technologies like AI and biotechnology require careful consideration and preparedness for potential risks.
8. Ethical decision-making is important, and doing what is genuinely believed to be the right thing provides a solid defense. Biography:Professor Sir David Omand was the first UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator, responsible to the Prime Minister for the professional health of the intelligence community, national counter-terrorism strategy, and “homeland security.” He served for seven years on the Joint Intelligence Committee and was Permanent Secretary of the Home Office from 1997 to 2000, and before that Director of GCHQ (the UK Signals Intelligence Agency). Previously, in the Ministry of Defence as Deputy Under Secretary of State for Policy, he was particularly concerned with long term strategy, with the British military contribution in restoring peace in the former Yugoslavia and the recasting of British nuclear deterrence policy at the end of the Cold War. He was Principal Private Secretary to the Defence Secretary during the Falklands conflict, and served for three years in NATO Brussels as the UK Defence Counsellor. He has been a visiting Professor in the Department of War Studies at Kings College since 2005-2006. His latest book is called How Spies Think: Ten Lessons in Intelligence where he shares the methodology used by British intelligence agencies to reach judgements, establish the right level of confidence and act decisively.The British former Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary the Right Honorable Jack Straw calls ‘How Spies Think’, ‘A brilliant book, by one of the UK’s true polymaths – author, academic, administrator, mathematician – and former spy. But this isn’t just a book for those interested in the secret world of MI5, MI6 and GCHQ; it’s for anyone wanting to know how to make better decisions, and avoid the traps into which businesses and governments can, and do, fall, time after time’James Taylor is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, often booked months or even years in advance due to his exceptional expertise. Given his limited availability, it’s crucial to contact him early if you’re interested in securing a date or learning how he can enhance your event. Reach out to James Taylor now for an opportunity to bring his unique insights to your conference or team.

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Chapters00:00Introduction and Background of Sir David Omand

02:32The Polluted Information Environment and AI

06:18The Bayesian Approach to Probability

09:00The Importance of Explanation in Intelligence Analysis

11:34The Role of Creativity in Intelligence Work

15:34Navigating Biases and Creating a Safe Space for Decision-Making

23:29Teamwork and Decision-Making in High-Stress Environments

25:25The Importance of Expertise in Crisis Management

29:23Preparing for the Challenges of Emerging Technologies

32:09Ethical Decision-Making and Doing What Is Right

TRANSCRIPTJames Taylor (00:08)
Sir David Omand was the first UK security and intelligence coordinator responsible to the Prime Minister for the professional health of the intelligence community, national counter -terrorism strategy and homeland security. He served for seven years on the Joint Intelligence Committee and was permanent secretary of the Home Office from 1997 to 2000, and before that, director of GCHQ, the UK Signals Intelligence Agency. Previously in the Ministry of Defence as Deputy Under -Secretary of State for Policy,

He was particularly concerned with long -term strategy, with the British military contribution in restoring peace in the former Yugoslavia and the recasting of British nuclear deterrence policy at the end of the Cold War. He was principal private secretary to the defence secretary during the Falklands conflict and served for three years in NATO Brussels as the UK defence councillor. He’s been a visiting professor in the Department of War Studies at King’s College since 2005 to 2006 and his latest book is called

How Spies Think, 10 Lessons in Intelligence, where he shares the methodology used by British intelligence agencies to reach judgements, establish the right level of confidence, and act decisively. The British former Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary, the Right Honourable Jack Straw, calls How Spies Think a brilliant book by one of the UK’s true polymaths, author, academic, administrator, mathematician, and former spy. But this isn’t just a book for those interested in the secret world of MI5, MI6, and GCHQ, it’s for

anyone wanting to know how to make better decisions and avoid traps into which businesses and governments can and do fall time after time. Professor Sir David Orman, welcome to the SuperCreativity Podcast.

Sir David Omand (01:43)
Thanks, James. Delighted to be on the show.

James Taylor (01:46)
So this book was first published 2020, then you added a preface on the paperback edition in 2021. Since then we’ve seen the invasion of Ukraine, artificial intelligence enter very much the mainstream and increasing tensions with the West and China. If you were publishing this book today, as we’re filming today in 2024, any big changes that you’d be making to it do you think?

Sir David Omand (02:09)
Not to the guts of the book, which as you say is about critical thinking, I might emphasize even more than I did in the book that we have a polluted information environment, which AI, I’m afraid, adds to with the ability to make deep fakes and to provide misleading information. So my message, which is how do you think clearly and straight, even when?

some of the messages reaching you are not true or are designed to be deceptive. That still holds, I think.

James Taylor (02:46)
Now you give these 10 lessons towards the end of the book, but then you talk about the main framework, the way to think critically about situations, whether it’s in business or in other situations as well. And you call it the SEAS model, which is really how intelligence analysts think. First of all, maybe give us just a bit of a kind of top line, and then maybe we’ll get into some of those four parts of this particular model.

Sir David Omand (03:09)
Yeah, I put C’s S -E -E -S just to make it memorable. But the first S is situational awareness, which is answering questions about what is going on, where and when. Facture, questions which ought to be answerable if you’ve got a good grasp of the situation. But then the first E in C’s is about explanation. And that’s the bit we often get wrong.

because that usually involves getting inside somebody else’s mind, an adversary, a terrorist group, a dictator, and trying to work out why are we seeing what we are seeing, what’s behind it, what are the motivations? So those questions that have why in it or what for. And then if you’ve got enough situational awareness and you’ve got some decent explanations,

You can move on to what the British Intelligence Community, the Joint Intelligence Committee, I spent seven years on the committee, what they tried to do, which is to assess and provide an estimate based on assumptions, but trying to peer over the hill to give an estimate of how things might work out. Normally in the sort of short to medium term. So that’s why the final S.

I add into my acronym Cs is strategic notice. Can you actually spot some way away developments which could either provide big opportunities or perhaps more often could provide serious challenges? It’s not a prediction. I’m clear in the book that there are no crystal balls. Nobody can produce accurate.

predictions over any length of time. But you can spot trends in technology, international affairs, domestic affairs and social attitudes, and then have the imagination to say, well, if that were to happen, what would it look like? And are the things we perhaps should do now in order to try and make it

that future more bearable if it were to come about.

James Taylor (05:35)
One of the critical thinking tools you talk about in the book is the Bayesian approach. Hopefully I’ve got that right. What is this Bayesian approach and how can this be applied in the work that, maybe you’ll listen to this show in business when you’re thinking about probabilities, the chances of something happening or not?

Sir David Omand (05:55)
The Reverend Bayes was an 18th century cleric in Tunbridge Wells, and he amateur mathematician. And he came across this rule, which we call Bayes rule named after him, which essentially relates the likelihood of something happening to which you’ve worked out to how you should then recalculate that likelihood when new evidence arrives.

So you have the prior position, which you believe, you’ve read intelligence reports, you think you’ve got a grasp of it all. And then some new intelligence arrives and should alter your view of how likely your proposition is to be true. And of course, all these magical AI neural networks that we’ve got used to in the last year or so, they are all based.

on Bayesian thinking you train the model and every time you provide some new information to the model, it works out. Does that help me? How do I get closer to the accurate answer? It adjusts the weights in its neural network, depending on whether it got it right or wrong. And if you iterate that millions of times, you end up with a sort of trained.

AI program, which is rather better at recognising faces than a human being, which is what indeed has happened, all playing chess.

James Taylor (07:27)
And so this is often expressed in a kind of formula that we might see. I know you were involved in the creation of contests where we, in the UK, we had this thing, the Prevent Strategy, for example, where you expressed, I guess, risk using this type of formula.

Sir David Omand (07:32)
Yeah.

Yes, I mean, the basic approach when we put together the UK counter -terrorism strategy was to reduce the risk that terrorism posed to everyday life. So it was based on this idea of normality and can you take steps which helps maintain normality? And when you think about it, the risk is the product of the likelihood of bad things happening. Your vulnerability.

to those bad things, which is something you might be able to do something about. And then if they were to get through your defenses and something bad happens, what’s the reaction? What’s the impact of that? Both immediately, how well did the emergency services cope, but also in the longer term, how resilient are the systems? So after, say, a terrorist attack, next day, is the London Underground working?

Well, on 7 -7 it was.

James Taylor (08:45)
Now, one of the things you said as a common mistake you see organizations, governments make, policy makers make, is they immediately try to jump from situational awareness into the third part with the estimates, making estimates of what’s gonna happen. But there’s this kind of stage before that that you need to spend time on. Can you go into that?

Sir David Omand (09:06)
Yes, that’s the E that stands for explanation. Why are we seeing what we are seeing? It’s a truism in all statistics that correlation is not causality. Just because you’ve spotted two things happening together, does that mean they are necessarily related or that one is causing the other? You need an explanation. You need some sort of explanatory model.

And particularly when you’re dealing with human beings who may mean us harm. So take the period just before President Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine a couple of years back. All those tanks had been on an exercise, tens of thousands of soldiers. Was he going to invade or wasn’t he?

And that’s the point at which you don’t just jump from those tanks to assuming he’s going to it. You actually have to work out what’s the explanation. And in that particular case, UK and British and American intelligence, they had the intelligence to be able to say with near certainty, yes, we know what he is up to. We know he’s going to try and mount a false flag operation to provide a pretext for the invasion.

We know that the medical supplies and other logistics have been, which you wouldn’t see in an exercise, have actually been activated. This looks like the real thing. So that’s the explanatory bit. And it is difficult to do. It’s the bit we most often get wrong.

James Taylor (10:58)
Now, something I noticed in the book, I love the book, and it was just great how it took through in a very kind of systematic, very kind of logical way of thinking through things to think more clearly, as you say. But one thing you didn’t speak about so much in the book was the role of creativity in this. And I guess what you were talking about there in terms of the explanation is, is this is us as humans also using our imagination to understand, well, what is the role of this being? So I wonder, like, what is the role of creative thinking?

as opposed to critical thinking in the work of, let’s say, the analysts? And is that different perhaps from the people who are, let’s say, the agents in the field, that people are actually having to be a bit more improvisational in the work that they do?

Sir David Omand (11:40)
Yes, I mean, you don’t want your intelligence analysts to be too creative. It has to be grounded. And this is, of course, the great lesson of 2003 to 2003 intelligence leading up to the war in Iraq. So you want it to be grounded. You want critical thinking to be applied every step to be tested. But when you look further ahead,

you certainly do want imagination because you want to be able to see some of these trends, which may not be obvious, which could lead to significant problems in the future. If the Chinese were the first to develop a quantum computer that works at scale, which nobody has yet really done, then they would be able to read, get through the encryption.

that protects all our financial transactions, our military communications and so on. There’s no guarantee they’ll get there first and maybe we will or the United States. But if they did, and this is the point about strategic notice, if they did, it would create quite a difficult situation. Implication, very obvious. Let’s spend a bit more resource on building quantum resistant encryption.

which can be developed and persuade people to use it so that we’re not stuck with that position if one of our adversary nations were to get there first. And that’s simple example. Where creativity comes in is particularly in the work of the intelligence agencies to think about how are we going to get around the determined will of the adversary not to let us.

see his secrets. So this is what secret intelligence is about. It’s about getting better decisions made because you have uncovered the secrets of people who mean us harm. Dictators, autocrats, people smuggling gangs, terrorists, criminals, and so on. They have secrets. They desperately don’t want us and our allies.

to find out those secrets. So that’s where you have to be really creative in trying to think of ways they haven’t thought of, which will enable you to penetrate the secrets of the terrorist group or the narcotics smuggling gang or whatever it might be. That requires a diversity of mind. And that’s something I would certainly want to emphasize. It’s something that my old department, GCHQ, has…

James Taylor (14:18)
So,

Sir David Omand (14:29)
has really developed is to employ people who think differently. And that diversity of minds makes it more likely that somebody will make the creative breakthrough, which is new and helps.

James Taylor (14:47)
So with diversity of minds, when I often talk with organizations, we talk about, there’s different ways of doing this. I know we sometimes have things like, going back in history, like Edward de Bono, six thinking hats, a way of just looking at things from different perspectives. In the book, you talk about one of the biggest challenges for us as humans, humans and machine side, that the human part is biases that we all have and recognize that you talk about Dick, I think it’s Dick Huer of CIA.

Sir David Omand (15:15)
Hmm.

James Taylor (15:16)
and these six key biases that we have. What are the ones that you often in your career, you’ve often seen most coming up in these biases? And then second to that, how do you create a space, a safe space where these biases can be discussed, sometimes with colleagues, sometimes with other governments, for example?

Sir David Omand (15:37)
Yes, I once went on a training course with Edward de Bono himself. It was fascinating and we wore the hats, his thinking hats. It’s a little artificial. What I was trying to get people to recognize is we’re all subject to cognitive biases, as they’re called. And it’s a natural human instinct, confirmation bias. We interpret information in the way we…

kind of unconsciously feel that’s what we believe. That’s what we would like to see. The group think is very well established. So if you’ve got an analytic group and it’s coming up for closing time at the end of the day, and there’s a lot of pressure to reach an answer, that’s where you want the, perhaps the one analyst who doesn’t agree not to just quietly accept,

the group consensus, but to say, no, I think you’re missing something. It’s a great skill to be able to work a group. There are different techniques that are taught. One is empowering individuals to, well, for the next five minutes, tell me what we’re getting wrong here. What are we missing? So that an individual doesn’t feel that they’re, particularly junior, that they’re somehow challenging.

the authority, but actually they’ve been told to, it’s your job to take this information and then tell us what are we getting wrong? Or what would it, an interesting question, what would it take for us to reach a different conclusion? And when you apply that logic, you may well find that your thinking is all based on one report, which when you examine it closely, say, well, we don’t, we can’t be so certain.

Creating the safe space is one in which people work as a team and they’re not dominated by the most forceful personality in the room. Something that I touch on in the book and I’ve come to talk about even more is that when you think about any serious decision that any of us have to take, whether it’s in the family or whether it’s the prime minister or something,

major matter of state. There are two different kinds of thinking have to be integrated within the single mind of the person taking the decision. On the one hand, you’ve got the emotionally based thinking of this is what I want to achieve. This is what I must achieve. This is what the world I want to live in looks like. And on the other hand, you’ve got the analytical thinking that says,

These are the limits of the possible. This is what the spreadsheets show. And so both are necessary. So if you haven’t got the emotionally based thinking, then you won’t have the right kind of narrative to incentivize people. You know, Churchill in 1940 gave the British people the narrative. Zelensky has given his people the narrative to enable them to keep going despite the odds.

but neither of them neglected the analytic part, which is it’s not enough just to have bombast. You’ve got to have grounded analytical thinking about what armaments are we going to need? What steps do we need to take? Churchill brought in Beaverbrook to revolutionize Spitfire production. So you need to integrate both. If you just have the former, then…

Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, it’s emotional. It may sound very powerful, but it’s not backed up with solid analysis. If you just have somebody talking off a spreadsheet, who’s going to put themselves out to do extraordinary efforts on the basis of what a spreadsheet says? So you need both. And that, I think, is one of the secrets of getting this safe space where…

you have the analysis, but you also can bring out the narrative of why all this has to be taken seriously and developed into a public message.

James Taylor (20:21)
I’m wondering, as I was reading the book, and I was thinking, especially the story you start with in the book, which is about the beginning of the Falklands War, when there was a period of obviously high stress, you’re in a very intense period, time is contracted. I wonder what that does in terms of people’s biases, how that safe space is created. The other day I was doing an event and I was sitting in a dinner next to Willie Walsh, who’d been formerly the CEO of British Airways.

IAG. And we were having this discussion about stress, because I thought, you know, your job as CEO must be very stressful, things happening all the time. And he said, one of the things that you often find is that in high stress environments, people kind of revert to a version of themselves that is sometimes not the best. And he said, as a leader, your job is over time to try and nudge that and move that to a slightly better place as well. In your own working, I mean, is the

with these skills that you’re talking about, is this something you can be trained to become better at under more high stress environments where you’re maybe not sitting in the comfort of a nice ideation brainstorming room with cups of tea, for example?

Sir David Omand (21:34)
Yes, I mean, I’ve written another book. It’s the paperback comes out on the 6th of June from Penguin called How to Survive a Crisis. And this is very much at the heart of how we survive a crisis, because the point about a crisis is not we have emergencies all the time. So I distinguish between emergencies and crises. And when a real crisis arrives, the person in charge won’t know what to do.

If they did know what to do, it’s just one of those emergencies that companies have to deal with all the time. And British Airways, you know, sometimes the computers go down, people know how to sort it, you get on with it. But a crisis is when events are hitting you faster than your responses can cope with. I have what I call the rubber levers test. You pull the normal levers and nothing seems to happen on the ground.

If anything, it gets worse. And some of the steps that you may have taken early on actually seem to make things worse and you risk sliding into disaster. And that’s where it’s so important that the person at the top, and that’s the person who doesn’t know what to do by definition, gathers the team. And this takes you back to the safe space and says to the team, we’re in serious trouble. We’re mobilizing.

all the best people we can get our hands on. This is number one priority for survival of a company or the business, or indeed the nation. This is now the priority. And together we will work out what the solution is. And that takes you into teamwork. Surviving crisis is a team sport and it’s not something that the leader will.

James Taylor (23:20)
It seems so… yeah.

Sir David Omand (23:30)
instinctively know exactly what measures to take. That’s why you need the expertise, you need the team together. And it’s high stress. And it’s very well documented that in conditions of high stress, tempers fray, people, there are what I think are called the Ds. So the first is denial. This can’t really be happening to us. Let’s just wait a bit.

Prime Minister Johnson doesn’t turn up to the first five COBRA meetings on the COVID emergency. That’s a very well -known phenomenon. You have the disparagement of people bringing bad news, so you send them away to do more work. You have displacement activity, where people, you get the staff to focus on anything other than what they really have to focus on, which is the…

crisis which is looming. So you can trade, you know, just talking about this, having little exercises, being coached, there’s a lot of things can be done to improve the performance of those at the top when something unexpected happens. And as the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been saying this morning, we’re entering an era.

of more and deeper crises over the next five or 10 years. So we better prepare ourselves.

James Taylor (25:04)
And we had a guest on the show a little while ago, Professor Roger Nibran from UCL, I think, and also from Cambridge University, who wrote a wonderful book called Experts. He’s like the world’s leading expert on experts. So do you think we’re in a time now where maybe post -COVID experts are coming back into fashion? Because it certainly seemed in the UK for a little while, they were deeply unfashionable for a while.

Sir David Omand (25:26)
Indeed, and we would have been well and truly stuffed if we hadn’t had the expertise, for example, on the vaccines task force. And if those vaccines had not been developed and innovative ways found of getting them into people’s arms quickly, then we would still be in the depths of a very major pandemic. It’s still hanging over us and people are still suffering, but we’ve got over the worst of it. But there are…

more pandemics to come, undoubtedly, and new diseases will jump the species barrier. So we’ve got to be ready for that. Technology will turn much of our life upside down. We’ve already mentioned artificial intelligence, but quantum developments, bioengineering, we’re going to see some remarkable things happening with bioengineering. We’ve already got

DNA being used for genetic disease treatments, which are entirely novel. It’s very exciting. There are lots of opportunities, but, and it’s a big but, are those who mean us harm, our adversaries, will take advantage of some of these. And we’d better be ready for that.

James Taylor (26:52)
So you were talking about this idea of diversity of mind, having that diversity of mind, being able to hold emotional and analytical thinking at the same time. You’re obviously absorbing, taking in lots of inputs all the time. You’re obviously reading widely, you’re a polymath in the work you do. But where do you go for inspiration? How do you go to sort and sift this stuff in your head to take, you know, then to be able to take a step back and think about, well, what is it, AI or climate change or whatever the thing is, how do you…

Sir David Omand (27:05)
Hmm.

James Taylor (27:21)
set that self and yourself so you’ve got that time to yourself to be that kind of creative part of you to think in that way.

Sir David Omand (27:28)
Well, the best thoughts come to me when I’m out running early in the morning. And I think that’s quite a well -recognized phenomenon. You do have to give yourself time, but this is one of the difficulties that as technology advances so quickly, you actually got to put in the hard yards to understand what is actually happening.

So to have the first inkling of what is going on with generative AI and what the magical treatment is that has turned simply machine learning into something so much more. You’ve actually got to do the work and you’ve got to study it. But we have a wonderful way. If you think about going to any hospital or medical clinic and you’ll find lots of talk about, well, we’d better get an MRI scan.

done and people talk about MRI scans, but that stands for magnetic resonance imaging. And magnetic resonance is one of those extraordinary, to understand that is one of those extraordinary parts of the quantum world that we’re talking about the resonance of molecules and atoms in a way that the general public has no idea of what is driving the MRI scanner.

So all advanced technology, you know, it looks like magic when it first appears. And then we all get used to it. I have no idea what is under the bonnet or the hood of my car. I used to, 20 years ago, I’ve been able to say, well, that’s the carburetor. And there’s probably a fuel pump. You know, there’s a bit of dirt clogging the fuel pump. I’ve no idea whether my car even has a fuel pump. So…

A certain amount of work is needed as well as relaxation.

James Taylor (29:29)
And it’s interesting, you know, with obviously artificial intelligence, first coin, 1956 has been around for a long, long time, but obviously we more recently it’s, we’ve seen this drive primarily through big data, which the fuel for it as well. what’s for me is interesting is now seeing almost I can imagine a few hundred years ago, you know, invention of electricity being used where suddenly anyone has the ability, you don’t have to know how electricity works to be able to flip that switch or to.

Sir David Omand (29:35)
Hmm. Hmm.

Hmm.

James Taylor (29:58)
add electricity to your business in some way. Now you see people using it for good and for bad. Bad actors using generative AI to create deep fakes and all this stuff as well. So we’re certainly going into a pretty fascinating time in human history.

Sir David Omand (29:59)
Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, the parallel is probably with the invention of the printing press, which has produced world literature and made it available to everyone. And simultaneously, a lot of other stuff, which we ideally would not have had to suffer. So the printing press turned the world upside down. It led to decades and decades of religious war, AI and

the other technologies, particularly biotechnologies, are going to do the same to our world in the next five to 10 years. So, you know, buckle up. It could be a bumpy ride.

James Taylor (30:56)
So just to finish up, a couple of quick fire questions for you. There’s some wonderful quotes in the book, wonderful lines by different folks, Churchill and all kinds of different areas. Is there a quote that you live by you can have as a bit of a guiding star for yourself?

Sir David Omand (31:11)
that’s a difficult question. Perhaps there is one. And I owe it to my former boss, Jack Straw, who was Home Secretary and I was his senior official, I was his permanent secretary. And Jack always approached the difficulties by saying, when in doubt, do what you genuinely believe is the right thing. It will still go wrong. Most things go wrong. And you have a defense.

Well, knowing what I knew at the time, I took the decision to do what I believe was the right thing. That’s a defense and a solid one. But the moment you start to say, I’m not going to take the straightforward course, I’ll try some devious maneuver, I’ll blame someone else, or I won’t tell all the truth, and you try and shimmy your way through, spin your way through, as the spin doctors say.

when it all goes wrong, you have no defense. Yeah. So I think it’s not a bad principle in life.

James Taylor (32:14)
there’s no right way to do a wrong thing. It’s the ethical dimension.

And then what about, is there a book that you would recommend to our listeners? We’re going to have links to your books as well. Is there a book just now that you’ve been reading that’s really made you kind of rethink? We’ve been talking about AI, we’ve been talking about biotechnologies as well. Is there something that you think people should check out?

Sir David Omand (32:37)
Well, a lot of people have checked it out, but the three body problem, and there’s more than that’s the first volume of the trilogy by Fikin Liu, if my Chinese pronunciation is right, is mind -bending. And I thoroughly recommend it.

James Taylor (32:54)
Yeah.

Sir David Omand (33:04)
It’s you can watch it on Netflix, which is rather a shortened version and rather a sort of dumbed down version, but the original. And there’s also a Chinese series in 30 parts, which doesn’t spare the mathematics and the but it’s about the future and it’s about, in a sense, a plausible future. And it’s well, it raises some very deep questions.

as well as being great fun because it’s an entertaining story.

James Taylor (33:40)
Well, it’s been a pleasure being with you today. If people want to learn more about you, learn more about the books that you have coming out as well, where’s the best place to go and do that?

Sir David Omand (33:51)
The King’s College website, I’m a visiting professor at King’s College in the War Studies Department and they can find all about it or just Google me and you’ll find a lot of details about the, as I say, latest paperback out on the 6th of June, how to survive a crisis.

James Taylor (34:12)
Professor Sir David Omand, thank you for being a guest on the SuperCreativity Podcast.

Sir David Omand (34:17)
It’s been a pleasure.

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Innovation Keynote Speaker ? Hey there, it’s James Taylor here, keynote speaker on creativity, innovation, and future trends. Today, I’m in Chicago, Illinois. And I’m here because I’m keynoting a conference in a few hours’ time. NEWS & DEALS! Free Course! FULL TRANSCRIPT Chicago Innovation Keynote Speaker And it’s a law firm conference. Actually, it’s […]

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The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley With Jimmy Soni Tesla, Facebook, YouTube, SpaceX, Yelp, Palantir and LinkedIn. What do all of these companies have in common? They were all formed, funded, or advised by a small group of men who founded or worked at one company, PayPal. Members of the […]

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Many large companies today have begun to adopt the principles of Lean Startup, a methodology first adopted among Silicon Valley tech startups in order to become more innovative and agile in implementing new products, services and business models. However large corporations are not just bigger versions of startups. My guest today, Jim Euchner has […]

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Overcoming Resistance To Innovation with Jim Euchner – #330 Many large companies today have begun to adopt the principles of Lean Startup, a methodology first adopted among Silicon Valley tech startups in order to become more innovative and agile in implementing new products, services and business models. However large corporations are not just bigger versions of startups. My guest today, Jim Euchner has studied how the Lean Startup concept can be applied to innovation within established businesses and has shared his findings in a new book called 'Lean Startup In Large Organisations'. Jim was Vice President of Global Innovation at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, where he led the development of new businesses and incubated and launched five businesses on three continents. Prior to his work at Goodyear, Jim held positions as Vice President of Growth Strategy and Innovation at Pitney Bowes, Inc. and Vice President, Network Systems Advanced Technology at Bell Atlantic (now Verizon). Today his is Editor in Chief at the Research-Technology Management journal, Honorary Professor at Aston University in the UK, a member of the Scientific Advisory Council for the Nissan autonomous vehicle program and a co-founder of the MIT Innovation Laboratory, a consortium of companies interested in user and community innovation.

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Human Creativity in the Age of Analytics With Chris Jones #328 Chris Jones is a long-time journalist and short-time screenwriter. He has written extensively for Esquire, The Atlantic, WIRED, the New York Times Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal, and has won two National Magazine Awards for his feature writing. He was also a producer on Away, the Netflix series starring Hilary Swank. His latest book The Eye Test makes the case for human creativity in the age of analytics. The book seeks to serve as a reminder that if beauty is less of virtue in the age of analytics, a good eye still is. Welcome to the show Chris Jones.

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The Lean Startup Approach To say that Steve Blank has led an interesting life would be an understatement. He’s had three careers: First, in the U.S. Air Force for four years during the Vietnam War. Next, as a Silicon Valley entrepreneur in 8 startups in two decades (with four IPOs). Currently as an academic teacher […]

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Anh Dao Pham: Project Management And Leadership How many books have you read on project management? What about leadership? The problem is these topics don’t exist in silos. My guest today says we need to combine the practice of project management and leadership into one balanced approach – project leadership. Because as we emerge from […]

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Project Management And Leadership With Anh Dao Pham – #326 How many books have you read on project management? What about leadership? The problem is these topics don’t exist in silos. My guest today says we need to combine the practice of project management and leadership into one balanced approach – project leadership. Because as we emerge from the pandemic, organizations need leaders who can unlock creativity, get projects done, and engage their teams by building strong, personal emotional connections. In Glue: How Project Leaders Create Cohesive, Engaged, High-Performing Teams, Anh Dao Pham vividly brings compassionate, positive, nimble leadership to life, demonstrating with actionable guidance, the power of caring and connection to inspire outstanding results.

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How to Find What You Love With Marcus Buckingham Did you know that less than 16 percent of us are fully engaged at work, with the rest of us just selling our time and talent and getting compensated for our troubles? Meanwhile, many leaders' energy levels are depleted; employees are burning out at an alarming rate, and parents met their breaking point long ago. When it comes to work my guest today argues that we are getting something terribly wrong. He believes we've designed the love out of our workplaces so that they fail utterly to provide for or capitalize on, one of our most basic human needs: our need for love. Marcus Buckingham is a global researcher and the world’s authority on what the most effective leaders and highest-performing people do differently. He is the New York Times best-selling author of two of the most popular business books of all time, First, Break All the Rules, and Now, Discover Your Strengths. Marcus is the creator of the StandOut strengths assessment and the co-creator of StrengthsFinder - his strengths assessments have been completed by over 25 million people worldwide. Building on two decades of experience as a Senior Researcher at The Gallup Organization, he leveraged his data-based discoveries to build a $100 million tech company focused on helping people find and contribute their strengths at work. Beginning with First, Break All the Rules, and continuing through his latest book Love and Work he is known for using reliable psychometric data to get to the core of what drives engagement, resilience, and productivity. Welcome to the SuperCreativity Podcast Marcus Buckingham.

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David Schonthal: Overcoming The Resistance That Awaits New Ideas. David Schonthal is an award-winning Professor of Strategy, Innovation & Entrepreneurship at the Kellogg School of Management where he teaches courses on new venture creation, design thinking, healthcare innovation, and creativity. Along with his colleague Loran Nordgren, David is one of the originators of Friction Theory […]

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How To Achieve Your Worthy Goals Perhaps you’ve already achieved things in your career, but now feel it’s time to “climb that second mountain” and think about your legacy. Or maybe you’re unhappy with how the world is working out right now, and you want to change your part of it for the better. You […]

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The Future Of Office Work  As remote working becomes the norm rather than the exception for many office workers around the globe, my guest today proposes a radical new way of thinking about work both now and in the future. Julia Hobsbawm is an entrepreneur, writer, and consultant who addresses the challenges of the hyper-connected […]

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Fredrik Haren Dream-Inspired Creativity Fredrik Haren is The Creativity Explorer. He has spent the last 25 years traveling the world to learn as much as he can about human creativity. He is the author of ten books – including “the idea book” which was included in “the 100 best business books of all time” and […]

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Keynote Speaking In Dubai  Today, I’m in Dubai, I’m here speaking in a few hours’ time going to be on stage giving the keynote on the closing day of an of conferences for about 100 executives from one of the banks here in the region. NEWS & DEALS! Free Course! FULL TRANSCRIPT New Normal We’re […]

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Unleash Curiosity, Improvisation, and Intuition at Work   I’m James Taylor and you’re listening to the super creativity podcast a show dedicated to inspiring creative minds like yours. Natalie Nixon is a creativity strategist, global keynote speaker, and author of the award-winning The Creativity Leap: Unleash Curiosity, Improvisation, and Intuition at Work. As President of […]

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Natalie Nixon: The Creativity Leap - #314

Unleash Curiosity, Improvisation, and Intuition at Work   I'm James Taylor and you're listening to the super creativity podcast a show dedicated to inspiring creative minds like yours. Natalie Nixon is a creativity strategist, global keynote speaker, and author of the award-winning The Creativity Leap: Unleash Curiosity, Improvisation, and Intuition at Work. As President of figure8thinking, she advises leaders on transformation by applying wonder and rigor to amplify growth and business value. Her clients have included Comcast, Citrix, living cities, VaynerMedia, and Bloomberg, and as a hybrid thinker. Now to talk about what hybrid think is a hybrid thinker. Natalie consistently applies her background in cultural anthropology and fashion. Her Curiosity has also led her to live around the world and work as a professor. And as an early-stage investor to social impact ventures. It's my great pleasure to have Natalie Nixon on the show with us today.

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Fashion Industry’s Impact On Climate Change I’m James Taylor and you’re listening to the super creativity podcast a show dedicated to inspiring creative minds like yours. This month witness cop 26 in Glasgow a summit that brings the world together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, and the UN Framework Convention […]

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Maxine Bedat: Fashion Industry’s Impact On Climate Change- #313

I’m James Taylor and you’re listening to the super creativity podcast a show dedicated to inspiring creative minds like yours. This month witness cop 26 in Glasgow a summit that brings the world together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. To mark the occasion, we decided to record a special series of the super creativity podcast that will focus on sustainability and climate change. For this series, I’ll be joined by a co-host for the first time ethical futurist, lawyer, engineer, actor, jazz singer, and sustainability keynote speaker Allison burns. Together, we’ll be having conversations with leading thinkers on topics as diverse as sustainable food, fashion, and ESG. Those environmental, social, and governance issues affect business today. Our guest this week is Maxine Beda, the founder, and director of the new standard institute a think and do tank dedicated to turning the industry into a force for good. She is a former lawyer and the co-founder of the ethical fashion brand, ZD. She is also an ambassador at the Rainforest Alliance and has spoken at the World Economic Forum, the United Nations, and the Clinton Global Initiative. Her groundbreaking book unraveled chronicles the birth and death of a pair of jeans, and at the same time, exposes the fractures and global supply chains and our relationship to each other, ourselves. And the planet. Enjoy the show. So Maxine, fantastic to have you with us today. 

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Animal Ethics Tony Milligan is an author and academic whose main research area is ethics with a particular focus upon otherness are the humans are the creatures are the places, and how the shift between here and there alters our sense of what matters. In addition to his books on space ethics, including the ethics […]

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Animal Ethics Tony Milligan is an author and academic whose main research area is ethics with a particular focus upon otherness are the humans are the creatures are the places, and how the shift between here and there alters our sense of what matters. In addition to his books on space ethics, including the ethics of space exploration, and nobody owns the moon, his other writings have looked at the topic of animal ethics. He believes his work on space exploration is actually closely connected to an understanding of what it takes to be human, what it is like to see ourselves as part of a moral community, and the associated duties that we may have to humanity. He is currently a senior researcher in philosophy of ethics with the cosmological visionaries project at King’s College London. In addition to his own books, he has also been published in a number of academic and popular journals, including philosophy ratio, the Journal of Applied Ethics, think, and philosophy now, please welcome onto the show. Tony Milligan.

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How To Thrive At Work I’m James Taylor and you’re listening to the SuperCreativity podcast a show dedicated to inspiring creative minds like yours. You probably don’t realise this but every working day you replay and reenact complex dynamics and relationships from your past. Whether it’s confusing an authority figure with a parent, avoiding conflict […]

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Embracing Digital Disruption Now, we’re all told we need to embrace digital disruption to thrive in the 21st century. But how can legacy companies and new startups blend both digital and traditional business functions to achieve long-term competitive advantage? That’s the question my guest today set out to solve in his new book, The brains […]

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Embracing Digital Disruption Now, we’re all told we need to embrace digital disruption to thrive in the 21st century. But how can legacy companies and new startups blend both digital and traditional business functions to achieve long-term competitive advantage? That’s the question my guest today set out to solve in his new book, The brains and brawn company, venture capitalist and Stanford Graduate School of Business lecture, Robert Siegel shows that while important digital is only part of the answer, it’s not never the only part the only answer. In fact, many, many large companies are successfully countering young upstarts in new creative ways while startups are learning a thing or two from the legacy businesses, Robert Siegel has done extensive research on companies such as Google Schwab ABN Bev stripe, and Survey Monkey. It’s my great pleasure to have him on the show today. Welcome, Robert.

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Ethical Vegan This week sees the start of COP26 in Glasgow, a summit that brings the world together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. To mark the occasion we decided to record a special series of the SuperCreativity podcast that will focus on […]

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The Travel Writing Tribe Travel can be one of the greatest things you can do to spark your creativity and curiosity. I spent much of the Pandemic lockdown reading books about countries that I wanted to visit when the world opened up again. That’s how I discovered today’s guest. Tim Hannigan is a writer and […]

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Innovative Cities I’m James Taylor and you’re listening to the SuperCreativity Podcast, a show dedicated to inspiring creative minds like yours. Professor Dan Breznitz is known worldwide as an expert on rapid-innovation-based industries and their globalization, as well as for his pioneering research on the distributional impact of innovation policies. He is a University Professor […]

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Make Your Big Ideas Irresistible You have a terrific idea—an amazing product, an incomparable service, a bulletproof business model—and you know it is so powerful that it could change a life, a market, or even the world. There’s just one problem: others can’t or don’t see its power… yet. That’s what my guest on today’s […]

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You have a terrific idea—an amazing product, an incomparable service, a bulletproof business model—and you know it is so powerful that it could change a life, a market, or even the world.

There’s just one problem: others can’t or don’t see its power… yet. That's what my guest on today's show can help you with.

Tamsen Webster has spent the last twenty years helping experts drive action from their ideas. Part message strategist, part storyteller, part English-to-English translator, her work focuses on how to find and build the stories partners, investors, clients, and customers will tell themselves—and others.

Tamsen honed her expertise through work in and for major companies and organizations like Johnson & Johnson, Harvard Medical School, and Intel, as well as with startups that represent the next wave of innovation in life science, biotech, climate tech, fintech, and pharma. She’s a professional advisor at the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship and a mentor for the Harvard Innovation Labs. She’s also served for over eight years as executive producer and idea strategist for one of the oldest locally organized TED Talk events in the world (TEDxCambridge).

In our discussion, we talk about how to make your big ideas irresistible and storytelling for non-storytellers. Enjoy the show.

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Can Artificial Intelligence Be Creative? ? Today, I want to talk to you about whether machines can be creative. NEWS & DEALS! Free Course! FULL TRANSCRIPT Hi, it’s James Taylor, keynote speaker and founder of SuperCreativityU. Today, I want to talk to you about whether machines can be creative. Turing test Now have you heard […]

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The Rise Of Problem Solving Skills ? Hi, it’s James Taylor here to speak on creativity, innovation and artificial intelligence. And today, I want to talk to you about the rise of problem-solving skills. NEWS & DEALS! Free Course! FULL TRANSCRIPT Hi, it’s James Taylor, keynote speaker and founder of SuperCreativityU. Problem-Solving Skills It’s James […]

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Family Businesses To Take Advantage Of The New Roaring 2020s ? Today I want to talk to you about why I believe that family businesses are uniquely positioned to take advantage of the new roaring 2020s. NEWS & DEALS! Free Course! FULL TRANSCRIPT Hi, it’s James Taylor, keynote speaker and founder of SuperCreativityU. Golden Age […]

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Developing A Creative Mindset My guest today believes that it is time to rethink the way we make innovation happen. He argues that innovation doesn’t come from an algorithm; it comes from the personal creativity of individuals. And creativity is not a gift for the chosen few—it is a process that can be learned. Jeff […]

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Upskill Your Workforce: Building A Culture Of Curiosity ? Today I want to talk to you about how to upskill your workforce. NEWS & DEALS! Free Course! FULL TRANSCRIPT Hi, it’s James Taylor, keynote speaker and founder of SuperCreativityU. -How To Upskill Your Workforce Workforce  Now, I was having a conversation the other day with […]

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Making Good Decisions For Your Business Based On Intuition. Today I want to talk to you about why you should go with your gut feeling more often when making important decisions. NEWS & DEALS! Free Course! FULL TRANSCRIPT Hi, it’s James Taylor, keynote speaker and founder of SuperCreativityU. Heuristics And Decision Making The other day, […]

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Claiming Your Creative Power Through Entrepreneurship When Marcus Whitney moved to Nashville in 2000, he was a college dropout with a one-year-old and a baby on the way. He waited tables and lived in a week-to-week efficiency hotel. From the outside, Marcus looked like the furthest thing from a budding entrepreneur. But inside, he knew […]

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When Marcus Whitney moved to Nashville in 2000, he was a college dropout with a one-year-old and a baby on the way. He waited tables and lived in a week-to-week efficiency hotel. From the outside, Marcus looked like the furthest thing from a budding entrepreneur. But inside, he knew entrepreneurship was his path to a better life. Two decades later, Marcus has founded two innovative companies in the healthcare space, exited a tech marketing company, and co-owns Nashville’s new Major League Soccer team.

In his new book Create and Orchestrate, Marcus walks you through his unlikely journey from waiting tables to building companies. He demystifies much of what keeps people from pursuing entrepreneurship and explains why it’s the only vocation that allows you to control your time by using your creativity. When you control your time, you can claim your full power by matching up what you’re great at with the problems you see in the world.

In our discussion, we talk about Creative Power, entrepreneurship as a vehicle for your creativity, and the three values for being a successful creative entrepreneur.

Enjoy the show.

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A Creative Culture To Attract And Retain The Best Talent to Your Company ? Today, I want to talk to you about how to win the global competition for talent in your organization. NEWS & DEALS! Free Course! FULL TRANSCRIPT Attract And Retain The Best Talent to Your Company Hi, it’s James Taylor, keynote speaker […]

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Seeing Around Corners Paradigm shifts in business, known as inflection points, can either create new opportunities or present new threats. Those leaders who can “see around corners” and spot these inflection points before they happen, can position themselves for success. Columbia Business School professor and innovation keynote speaker Rita McGrath’s latest book ‘Seeing Around Corners” […]

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Where Do Good Ideas Come From ? Today, I want to talk to you about where do ideas come from. NEWS & DEALS! Free Course! FULL TRANSCRIPT Hi, it’s James Taylor, keynote speaker and founder of SuperCreativityU. Today, I want to talk to you about where do ideas come from. – Where Do Good Ideas […]

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Heuristics In Judgment And Decision-Making Numbers don’t lie – but they often mislead us. From health risk to financial decisions, it can be hard to understand statistics because they are often presented to us by ‘experts’ who misinterpret the data. In his book Risk Savvy, Professor Gerd Gigerenzer shows us all how we can make […]

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Increase Creativity Using “Mise En Place” ? I want to talk to you about how you can design your workplace in order to help you do your most creative work. NEWS & DEALS! Free Course! FULL TRANSCRIPT Hey there, it’s James Taylor here, keynote speaker on creativity and innovation and the founder of SuperCreativityU today, […]

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The Difference Between Creativity And Innovation   Instead of shooting for a $10 billion IPO or a Nobel Prize, the most prolific innovators focus instead on Big Little Breakthroughs – small creative acts that unlock massive rewards over time. By building a daily habit of creativity, organizations not only enjoy a high volume of small […]

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Brainstorming Technique Using Random Words ? I want to share with you a very simple yet powerful technique for improving your brainstorming sessions. NEWS & DEALS! Free Course! FULL TRANSCRIPT Hey there, it’s James Taylor here, keynote speaker on creativity and innovation and the founder of SuperCreativityU today, I want to share with you a […]

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Creativity And Peak Performance What does it take to accomplish the impossible? What does it take to shatter our limitations, exceed our expectations, and turn our biggest dreams into our most recent achievements? These are the questions that our guest today has sought to answer in his new book The Art of the Impossible: A […]

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The Future Of Hybrid Workplace And Collaboration Spaces ? Hi, James Taylor here keynote speaker on creativity, innovation on artificial intelligence, and the founder of SuperCreativityU. today, I want to talk to you about the future of the hybrid workplace, collaboration spaces, and what we call the third place for improving team creativity and innovation […]

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When in their lives do artists produce their greatest creative work? By examining the careers of great painters, poets, novelists, and movie directors my guest today offers a profound new understanding of creativity. Using a wide range of evidence, Professor David Galenson shows in his book ‘Old Masters and Young Geniuses’ that there are actually two fundamentally different approaches to innovation; experimental innovators and conceptual innovators.

David W. Galenson is Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago; Academic Director of the Center for Creativity Economics at the Universidad del CEMA, Buenos Aires; and a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

David and I discuss why some creative artists achieve success early in their lives while for others it requires decades of painstaking frustration and experimentation. We also learn how your most creative work may be ahead of you. Enjoy the show. - Old Masters and Young Geniuses: The Two Life Cycles of Artistic Creativity
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The Two Life Cycles of Artistic Creativity When in their lives do artists produce their greatest creative work? By examining the careers of great painters, poets, novelists, and movie directors my guest today offers a profound new understanding of creativity. Using a wide range of evidence, Professor David Galenson shows in his book ‘Old Masters […]

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How can we overcome creative blocks in our work? ? How can we overcome creative blocks in our work? How can we get unstuck? That’s what we’re gonna be talking about today. NEWS & DEALS! Free Course! FULL TRANSCRIPT Creative Blocks Now, have you ever had that experience of getting stuck in your creative work, […]

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The Power of Smart Collaboration – with Heidi K. Gardner  Studies show us that companies earn higher margins, inspire greater client loyalty, attract and retain the best talent, and gain a competitive edge when their people collaborate across functional boundaries. Yet most firms have carved up their highly specialized, professional experts into narrowly defined practice […]

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Building Team Collaboration Today, I want to talk to you about why a top creative team is like a top surgical team, and how you can use the techniques of surgeons to improve the creative work that you do. NEWS & DEALS! Free Course! FULL TRANSCRIPT Team Collaboration: High Performing Functional Unit. Hi, this James […]

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What does it mean to be creative? Is creativity uniquely human or artificial intelligence be considered creative? These are just some of the topics explored by Marcus du Sautoy in his new book The Creativity Code: Art and Innovation In The Age of Artificial Intelligence.

Marcus du Sautoy is the Charles Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the Oxford University, a chair he holds jointly at the Department of Continuing Education and the Mathematical Institute. He is also a Professor of Mathematics and a Fellow of New College. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2016 and Esquire Magazine chose him as one of the 100 most influential people under 40 in Britain. In 2009 he was awarded the Royal Society’s Faraday Prize, the UK’s premier award for excellence in communicating science, and in 2010 he received an OBE for services to science.

Technology has always allowed us to extend our understanding of being human. But will artificial intelligence actually enable us to create in different ways? And could recent developments in machine learning also mean that it is no longer just human beings who can create art? Marcus du Sautoy and I discuss this and more.

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The Creativity Code: Art and Innovation In The Age of Artificial Intelligence.  Technology has always allowed us to extend our understanding of being human. But will artificial intelligence actually enable us to create in different ways? And could recent developments in machine learning also mean that it is no longer just human beings who can […]

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How To Become More Creative ? Today, I want to talk to you about how to become more creative in the work you do. NEWS & DEALS! Free Course! FULL TRANSCRIPT How To Become More Creative In The Work You Do Now there are four stages that we see in the development of skills of […]

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The Power of Lifelong Learning Beginners: The Joy and Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning Intellectual Humility Becoming a Takumi Learning new skills   For More of SuperCreativity Podcast By James Taylor For many of us, the last time we learned a new skill was during childhood. Today we live in an age that looks up […]

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Finding Your Creative Voice: The Bridges Of Creativity ? The other day, I was having a conversation with Seth Godin. It was part of our SuperCreativity Podcast. And we were getting into a conversation about how you define and how you refine your creative voice.  NEWS & DEALS! Free Course! FULL TRANSCRIPT James Taylor   Modality […]

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Dr. Cyndi Burnett: The Science Of Creativity – #295 In this episode: The Science Of Creativity Julia Cameron’s ‘The Artist’s Way” The Torrance test The latest academic research on creativity.   For More of SuperCreativity Podcast By James Taylor What is the case for developing creative thinking skills? How can we teach creativity in schools? […]

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Brainstorming Using The Yes, And Technique. ? Today, I want to talk to you about how to improve the quality of your brainstorming session using the “yes, and” technique. NEWS & DEALS! Free Course! FULL TRANSCRIPT Brainstorming Session One of the reasons that clients bring me in is to work with them on improving their […]

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Expert: Understanding the Path to MasteryThe Qualities of Being An Expert In this episode: How anyone can become an expert. The future of work. Improvisation skills, thread management, innovation, ZPD theory. Why having expertise and being an expert isn’t necessarily the same thing.   For More of SuperCreativity Podcast By James Taylor What could a […]

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Creative Work In The Age Of Automation. Today, I want to talk to you about which type of creative work is going to survive this fourth industrial revolution and adapt to this age of automation. NEWS & DEALS! Free Course! FULL TRANSCRIPT Will My Job Survive? One of the questions I’m often asked, especially by […]

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Which Roles Will Be Most Affected By Automation And AI. In this episode:  Automation and AI: How it will affect the future of work. The difference between enabling and augmenting technologies. The impact of cities and alcohol prohibition on innovation.  Which skills we should all be developing in this new age.   For More of […]

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Welcome to Supercreativity TV Hi, my name is James Taylor, keynote speaker on creativity, innovation, and artificial intelligence and the founder of SuperCreativityU, you and your host here at SuperCreativity TV.  NEWS & DEALS! Free Course! FULL TRANSCRIPT SuperCreativityU So let me first tell you about how we got started here on SuperCreativity TV. Around […]

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The Practice: Shipping Creative Work by Seth Godin   For More of SuperCreativity Podcast By James Taylor My guest today is Seth Godin. Seth is an entrepreneur, best-selling author, and speaker. In addition to launching one of the most popular blogs in the world, he has written 19 best-selling books, including The Dip, Linchpin, Purple […]

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The NEW SuperCreativity Podcast Show SuperCreativity Podcast The Creative Life Podcast SuperCreativity New Things Coming Up For More of SuperCreativity Podcast By James Taylor The Creative Life Podcast So this show started as the creative life podcast over well, just under 300 episodes, or COVID. So 300 weeks, I’ve been recording a weekly episode on […]

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The Four Bestselling Book Structures Robin Colucci is an entrepreneur, author, and writing coach whose clients have been traditionally published by companies including Random House, Doubleday, John Wiley & Sons and Hay House. Robin has studied some of the best-selling books in the world, the ones that have sold hundreds of thousands and even millions […]

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In this episode we learn from Derek Murphy on Creating A Great Book Cover.

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For the past decade, Derek been devoted to helping authors build a huge platform quickly to crush their book launches. But he also knows more than is good for someone about guerrilla marketing, getting thousands of followers or email subscribers, and starting a profitable online business. Now that he's done with his Ph.D., he writes dark fantasy and runs writing retreats in castles. He also creates online courses to help indie authors publish better books with less time and money.
In this episode, we cover:

• Creating A Great Book Cover
• The role of the book cover
• Book design colors
• Writing to market

Resources:

• Recommended Book: Perennial Seller by Ryan Holiday
• Recommended Tools: AI Writer, iPad, Bluetooth Keyboard
• Official Website - https://www.creativindie.com/
• Free Guerilla Publishing Book - https://www.creativindie.com/gp/

If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on YouTube, iTunes or Stitcher and write a brief review. That would really help get the word out and raise the visibility of the Creative Life show.

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The three keys every author must have Sha Nacino is a trusted global speaker on gratitude, happiness, and productivity, a Jack Canfield Certified Trainer on Success Principles, and a prolific author of 12 books. She is recognized as a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM), the highest award given by Toastmasters International to its members worldwide. A student […]

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? LISTEN TO THE PODCAST Why Creative Geniuses Are Intellectual Nomads Intellectual Nomads This week I had the opportunity to ask a question of acclaimed Turkish-British writer Elif Shafak and learn about the link between creative genius and intellectual nomads. I’m fascinated by what makes SuperCreative people tick. What do the creative minds of the […]

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How To Get Book Reviews Stephanie Chandler is the author of several books including The Nonfiction Book Marketing Plan and The Nonfiction Publishing Plan. She is also founder and CEO of the Nonfiction Authors Association, a vibrant educational community for experienced and aspiring writers, and the Nonfiction Writers Conference, an annual event conducted entirely online. […]

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? LISTEN TO THE PODCAST Creative Geniuses After studying some of the most original and brilliant creatives of the last 2,500 years I’ve discovered that creative geniuses do this one thing. It’s not really about talent, or intelligence, or even ability. It’s actually something much simpler yet more powerful. NEWS & DEALS! Free Course! Enjoy […]

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How To Research Stories For Your Books David Burkus is a best-selling author, a sought-after speaker, and associate professor of leadership and innovation at Oral Roberts University. His latest book, Friend of a Friend, offers readers a new perspective on how to grow their networks and build key connections—one based on the science of human […]

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? LISTEN TO THE PODCAST Roaring 20’s What can we learn about human creativity and business resilience from the roaring twenties? Are you ready for the post-pandemic roaring 2020s?   The year was 1920. The previous five years had seen the deaths of over 70 million people due to the First World War and the Spanish […]

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How To Sell A Million Books Charlie Hoehn is an author, marketing strategist, speaker and head of video for Scribe Media. He’s studied under authors including Seth Godin, Ramit Seth, and Tucker Max and helped Tim Ferriss in the production and launch of the New York Times bestseller ‘The Four Hour Body’. Charlie’s own books […]

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Using Online Summits To Launch Your Book Jesse sits squarely at the intersection of publishing and promotion – having signed two publishing deals on two different continents and navigated the world of becoming a bestselling author twice. He has worked with 100+ authors to achieve their dreams of writing and publishing a book via his […]

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? LISTEN TO THE PODCAST The Rembrandt Technique For Selling Your Creative Work In Progress If you’ve ever worked on a big creative project you know they can take a while. For startups and creative teams and individuals, this can pose a challenge. A new product, service, book, film or creative work may take months […]

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Secrets Of A Seven Figure Author Joseph Alexander is an author, publisher, and guitarist although not necessarily in that order. As a prolific author, he has written over 40 guitar tuitional books which have sold in excess of 400,000 worldwide. Joseph also runs a publishing services company at Self-Published.co.uk and two independent book publishing imprints. […]

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?? LISTEN TO THE PODCAST How To Develop Creative Resilience In turbulent times it’s easy to feel a sense of despair or fear. We are living through a period of creative destruction where exponential technologies and global pandemics are changing how we live, work, and create. It can be a bit discombobulating! So what should […]

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Taking Your Book From Idea To Sold Annalisa Parent helps experts and business owners to write, publish and SELL client magnet books to MASSIVELY scale their brands and businesses. She is the founder of Date with the Muse and co-founder of Laurel Elite Books, the later offering full-service publishing. Annalisa writes for many local, national, […]

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? LISTEN TO THE PODCAST How To Avoid Overwhelm Ever feel overwhelmed by life? Are you overloaded with all the tasks on your to-do list? Do the waves of new projects and ideas sometimes engulf you? Let’s talk about how to avoid overwhelm. The writer Paulo Coelho once said that “Life has many ways of […]

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Self-Publishing Ebooks With Smashwords Mark Coker is the CEO of Smashwords, a free ebook publishing and distribution platform and the world’s largest distributor of indie ebooks. Smashwords makes it fast, free and easy for authors and publishers to distribute ebooks to the world’s largest ebook retailers and library ebook platforms. The Wall Street Journal named […]

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? LISTEN TO THE PODCAST Creative Thinking vs Critical Thinking What’s the difference between creative thinking vs critical thinking? You can think of them as complementary skills which you use as different stages when trying to solve a problem or forming a judgment about something. Critical thinking is the ability to clearly and logically consider […]

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How To Find Time To Write Your Book Lloyd Luna is a productivity humorist and one of Asia’s most popular motivational speakers as well as being the author of ten books covering business and personal development. He is also a serial entrepreneur in the Philippines has started and built businesses including a speakers bureau and […]

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LISTEN TO THE PODCAST The 4 Skills Shaping The Future Of Work (And How To Develop Them) Communication Critical Thinking Collaboration Creativity What skills should we be developing in order to survive and thrive this age of technological disruption? Which of our human abilities do we need to strengthen to best adapt to all the […]

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Top Marketing Tips For Book Launches Jane Anderson is an author and expert on Leadership and Communications. With over 20 years’ experience in Personal Branding, she has worked with over 50,000 people on building more trust and influence in their businesses and brands. Her clients include Virgin Australia, Lego, Ikea, Rio Tinto, and Origin Energy […]

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LISTEN TO THE PODCAST Does Creativity Decline With Age? How and why does the quality of someone’s creative work vary with their age? Peak Creativity and Age Different Approaches to Creativity ‘There are two fundamentally different approaches to creativity and innovation as it relates to your age.’ ‘If you are an experimenter then don’t overthink […]

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Marketing For Self-Published Authors Innovation expert and questionologist WARREN BERGER have studied hundreds of the world’s foremost innovators, entrepreneurs, and creative thinkers to learn how they ask questions, generate original ideas, and solve problems. He is the author of eleven books, including THE BOOK OF BEAUTIFUL QUESTIONS, the bestseller A MORE BEAUTIFUL QUESTION, and the […]

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How To Become A Kindlepreneur Dave Chesson is an author, Kindlepreneur and online marketing ninja. A Lieutenant Commander in the US Navy it was during his downtime there that he first got interested in online marketing and search engine optimization. But it wasn’t until he started publishing his own books that everything started to come […]

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The Productive Writer Elaine Pofeldt is an author and freelance journalist who specializes in small business, entrepreneurship, and careers. Her latest book The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business, looks at how entrepreneurs are hitting seven-figure revenue in businesses where they are the only employees. How do they do this? Well by tapping automation and other technologies to […]

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The Productive Writer Nina Amir is an Amazon bestselling author of works including How to Blog a Book, The Author Training Manual and Creative Visualization for Writers. She is known as the Inspiration to Creation Coach because she helps writers, bloggers and other creative people combine their passion and purpose so they become high performers […]

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Writing Your First Draft Cathy Fyock is The Business Book Strategist and works with thought leaders and professionals who want to write as a business or career development strategy. She is the author of eight books, including On Your Mark: From First Word to First Draft in Six Weeks, and Blog2Book. Since beginning her business […]

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Self-publishing vs Independent-publishing Joanna Penn is a speaker, entrepreneur and award-nominated New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Since becoming a writer she has authored 27 books and sold over 500,000 copies in 84 countries and 5 languages. She writes thrillers under the name of J.F.Penn and uses her full Joanna Penn name to […]

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How To Outline Your Book Using Mindmapping Michael is the world’s leading authority on the application of genius thinking to personal and organizational development. A pioneer in the fields of creative thinking, executive coaching, and innovative leadership, he is the author of 14 books including the international bestseller How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci: […]

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The Book As A Brochure For Your Business Ron is the world’s leading educator and motivator for uplifting customer service and Uplifting Service cultures. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller, Uplifting Service, and fourteen other books on service, business, and inspiration. In 2018, GlobalGurus rated Ron the #1 customer service guru […]

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How To Use Your Book As A Platform Lisa Bodell is an author, speaker and the founder and CEO of futurethink, a company which enables organizations to kill complexity, create space for innovation, and get to the work that matters. As a globally recognized innovation leader and futurist, she is the author of ‘Why Simple […]

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Using The One Thing To Write A Bestseller Jay Papasan is the co-author of The One Thing, a #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller with over 450 appearances on national bestseller lists and more than 30 translations around the world. Before Jay Papasan co-authored The ONE Thing and the bestselling Millionaire Real Estate series with Gary […]

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Why You Should Write A Book Honorée Corder is a strategic book coach and the author of more than 50 books, including You Must Write a Book, Vision to Reality, The Successful Single Mom book series, and The Divorced Phoenix. She is also Hal Elrod’s business partner in The Miracle Morning bestselling book series. Honorée […]

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How To Write A Book Proposal How To Write A Book Proposal Interview with David Allen The work of my guest today has had a profound impact on the lives of many authors, entrepreneurs and creatives, including myself. David Allen is Founder of the David Allen Company and author of Getting Things Done – […]

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Unlearning Anxiety And Depression Dr. Joe Luciani has been a practicing clinical psychologist for more than 40 years. He’s the internationally bestselling author of the Self-Coaching series of books, now published in 10 languages. His latest book is called Unlearning Anxiety & Depression: The 4-Step Self-Coaching Program to Reclaim Your Life. In this episode, we […]

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The Big Problem With Personality Tests James Taylor interviews Dr Benjamin Hardy and they talk about the big problem with personality tests. Dr. Benjamin Hardy is an organizational psychologist and bestselling author of Willpower Doesn’t Work. His blogs have been read by over 100 million people and are featured on Forbes, Fortune, CNBC, Big Think, […]

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How To Find Your Voice James Taylor Interviews Caroline Goyder and they talk about how to find your voice. Caroline Goyder is a leading voice and speaker coach. For a decade she worked at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, a leading drama school in London. Author of Find Your Voice (2020) Gravitas […]

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Intelligence In The Digital Age Lyn Lesch is the author of “Intelligence in the Digital Age: How the Search for Something Larger May Be Imperiled”. His book examines how our use of digital technologies may be affecting our mental capacities and emotional lives in ways that will make it increasingly difficult for people to explore […]

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How to Price your Services   Interview with Freshbooks CEO Mike McDerment on How To Price Your Services Mike McDerment is the Co-Founder and CEO of FreshBooks, the world’s #1 cloud accounting software for self-employed professionals. Built out of frustration after accidentally saving over an invoice, Mike spent 3.5 years growing FreshBooks from his parents’ […]

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How to Deal with Rejection James Taylor interviews Debra Wanger and they talk about How To Deal With Rejection. Debra Wanger is an award-winning actor, singer, and certified wellness coach who has performed in theaters, cabarets, and screens from New York to Los Angeles. She’s a sought-after public speaker leading workshops at university theater programs […]

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Why is Creativity Important Duncan Wardle is an innovation keynote speaker, workshop leader, consultant and the former Vice President of Innovation & Creativity at The Walt Disney Company. During his 25-year career at Disney he helped them develop some of their most innovative ideas and strategies. Ideas that would forever change the way the company […]

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What Is A Side Hustle? Over 433,000 ambitious entrepreneurs start up new businesses each year in the United States. Yet nearly just as many—roughly 400,000 annually—go belly up and close shop. And only one-third are still in existence when 10 years rolls around. In his latest book How To Launch Your Side Hustle, Silicon Valley […]

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Lead From The Future Mark Johnson is co-founder and Senior Partner of Innosight, a strategic innovation consulting and investing company with offices in Massachusetts, Singapore and Switzerland, which he co-founded with Harvard Business School professor Clayton M. Christensen. He has been a strategic advisor to both Global 1000 and start-up companies in a wide range […]

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Jeremy Gutsche Futurism, Innovation And Space Beer – Interview with Jeremy Gutsche Jeremy Gutsche, MBA, CFA, is a New York Times bestselling author, an award-winning innovation expert, sought-after keynote speaker, and the CEO of Trend Hunter, the world’s #1 innovation website with 200,000 idea hunters and 3 billion views from 150,000,000 visitors. Prior to Trend […]

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How to Brainstorm David Bates, who some call a high-functioning eccentric, thinks in stories, speaks in aphorisms, and wields a passion for storytelling that’s unorthodox, approaching idiosyncratic. Hired at Google as only 22-years old, David held an objectively unjustifiable amount of power. He built a content team at Google Maps and established a global production […]

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We Make our Stuff Jules Pieri is CEO and cofounder of The Grommet, a popular online product launch platform that discovers, supports and sells innovative makers. These products can range from problem-solving kitchen utensils to high tech innovations. In her new book How We Make Stuff Now, Jules shares advice and inspiration on how anyone […]

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Mindfulness For Creativity   Interview with Diane Gehart Mindfulness For Creativity. Diane R. Gehart, Ph.D., is an author, an award-winning professor of Counseling and Family Therapy at California State University, Northridge, as well as a practicing psychotherapist. Her new book combines wit, wisdom, and a touch of sweetness to help you uncover playful ways to […]

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How Fearless Innovation Helps Leaders Adapt To Change Alex Goryachev is managing director of Cisco’s global Co-Innovation Centers. He spearheads several award-winning international programs and initiatives to accelerate innovation – whether that impacts operations, businesses processes, or technology. An award-winning Silicon Valley veteran whose resume reads like a brief history of tech disruption, Alex is […]

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How To Be A Fearless Leader – Interview with Alan Weiss Alan Weiss is a consultant, speaker, and bestselling author. Described by the New York Post as “one of the most highly regarded independent consultants in America,” his consulting firm, Summit Consulting Group, Inc., has attracted clients such as Merck, Hewlett-Packard, GE, Mercedes-Benz, and more […]

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Never Lose a Customer Again by Joey Coleman Joey Coleman helps companies keep their customers. An award-winning speaker, he shares his First 100 Days® methodology for improving customer experience and retention with organizations around the world and his clients include Whirlpool, Volkswagen, and Zappos. Joey’s Wall Street Journal best selling book ‘Never Lose a Customer […]

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How To Lead An Extraordinary Life Interview with Darren Gold – How To Lead An Extraordinary Life Extraordinary Life to Changing how business leaders think with Darren Gold The author of the new book Master Your Code: The Art, Wisdom, and Science of Leading an Extraordinary Life. Darren Gold is a Managing Partner at The […]

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Bill Treasurer is the founder of Giant Leap Consulting and author of five books on courage and leadership, including the international bestseller Courage Goes to Work. Bill has led over 1,000 leadership programs across the world for clients that include NASA, Saks Fifth Avenue, UBS Bank, and eBay. His latest book, co-authored with former US […]

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In today’s episode of The Creative Life I talk with Ora Nadrich about mindfulness and the creative process. Ora Nadrich is founder and president of the Institute for Transformational Thinking, and author of Live True: A Mindfulness Guide to Authenticity and the groundbreaking book, Says Who? How One Simple Question Can Change the Way You […]

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Charlie Gilkey helps people start finishing the stuff that matters. He is an author, entrepreneur, philosopher, Army veteran, and renowned productivity expert. Founder of Productive Flourishing, Charlie helps professional creatives, leaders, and changemakers take meaningful action on work that matters. His new book is called “Start Finishing: How to Go from Idea to Done” and […]

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A passionate storyteller by nature who measures his success by helping people reach their potential, Steve Pacinelli serves as the Chief Marketing Officer of BombBomb. He is also the co-author of Rehumanize Your Business: How Personal Videos Accelerate Sales and Improve Customer Experience.   In this episode, we cover: 3:19 – How to close sales […]

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After a life as a consulting actuary to Fortune 100 companies on Park Avenue, David Wood built the world’s largest coaching business, becoming #1 on Google for life coaching and serving huge audiences worldwide. He now coaches high performing executives, entrepreneurs, teams, and even prison inmates, to create amazing results and deep connection. One tough […]

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By 2025, AI will power 95 percent of all customer interactions. But despite of this technological disruption my guest today argues that the most important part of a great ?customer experience is relationship building. John DiJulius is a sought-after authority on world-class customer experience, working with companies such as The Ritz-Carlton, Lexus, Starbucks, and Progressive […]

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The Future Of Jobs James Taylor interviews Rhonda Scharf and they talk about the future of jobs. Rhonda Scharf is a Professional Speaker, Trainer, Author, and Consultant specializing in People Power and Effectiveness. She has travelled the globe getting people “on the right track” with her unique perspective on life, work, and getting things done […]

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Nir Eyal writes, consults, and teaches about the intersection of psychology, technology, and business. The M.I.T. Technology Review dubbed him, “The Prophet of Habit-Forming Technology.” Nir founded two tech companies and has taught at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford. He is the author of the […]

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Eric Schultz is an author and lifelong entrepreneur. Most recently, he was CEO of Sensitech, a venture-backed global supply chain visibility company sold to United Technologies. He is co-author of “Food Foolish,” a book about food waste and climate change and his latest book is called “Innovation on Tap: Stories of Entrepreneurship From the Cotton […]

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Find The Business Within You James Taylor interviews Travis Rosser and they talk about how to find the business within you. Travis Rosser is an internet entrepreneur, author, speaker, and software designer. After a decade in the software industry, he co-founded and then sold Kajabi, a knowledge capital platform that has helped customers redefine themselves […]

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How To Unlock Success James Taylor interviews Robert Glazer and they talk about how to unlock success. Robert Glazer is the founder and CEO of Acceleration Partners, and the author of “Elevate: Push Beyond Your Limits and Unlock Success in Yourself and Others”. The book explains how to grow capacity as both an individual and […]

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The Perfect Elevator Pitch CL238: The Perfect Elevator Pitch – Interview with John Livesay John Livesay, aka The Pitch Whisperer, is a sales keynote speaker and shares the lessons learned from his award-winning sales career at Conde Nast. He teaches companies’ sales teams how to become irresistible so they are magnetic to their ideal clients. […]

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How To Increase Creativity How to design your home and office to increase creativity. Architect Donald Rattner is the principal of an award-winning architectural consultancy dedicated to maximizing occupant creativity in workplace, residential, wellness, hospitality and retail environments. An educator and author as well as a practitioner, his new book is called “My Creative Space: […]

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Justin is a multi-faceted, multi-pierced, multi-tattooed designer, author, and speaker. He wrote the celebrated book “Cultivating a Creative Culture” and is the Vice President of Human-Centered Design at bswift. With Josef Müller-Brockmann and user advocacy claiming equal parts of his creative heart, he’s immersed himself professionally in tangible and digital media over the past 20 […]

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William Ammerman is Executive Vice President of Digital Media at Engaged Media Inc. and has previously held leadership positions with Tribune Media, Hearst Television, and Capitol Broadcasting. Over his career, he has managed digital advertising for hundreds of television stations and their websites, mobile apps, and connected platforms. His latest book is called The Invisible […]

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After a lifetime in book publishing, Peter Guzzardi had edited a remarkable group of diverse authors, from Stephen Hawking to Deepak Chopra, from Carol Burnett to Douglas Adams.. Yet everything he’d learned from working with them felt oddly familiar. One day it suddenly became clear: all that wisdom had its roots in a film he’d […]

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Igor is the highest paid email marketer in the world. He specializes in helping people break the link between their time and their income using email marketing. 10 years ago he started building his first email list from his bedroom. Since then he has generated over 4,331,656 email opt in leads for himself and over […]

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Brian Dixon believes you are here for a purpose. As a podcaster, conference speaker, and business coach, he is passionate about helping high potential leaders and teams thrive in a world of overwhelming options. He has a doctoral degree from the University of San Diego and today spends him time helping people clarify their message, […]

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Tony Saldanha is president of Transformant, a consulting firm specializing in assisting organizations through digital transformations. During his twenty-seven-year career at Procter & Gamble, he ran both operations and digital transformation for P&G’s famed global business services and IT organization in every region of the world, ending up as Vice President of Global Business services, […]

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Camilita is a ‘Rock Star’ International Speaker, 7-Time Award Winning Corporate Sales & Business Growth Expert, Executive Business Coach, Entrepreneur, Author & Property Investor. Featured in FORBES & Quoted in Think & Grow Rich for Women, Camilita has appeared on SKY TV, BBC Business News, Pursuit Men’s Magazine and others. Dr. J B Hill, Napoleon […]

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The Power Of Great Storytelling James Taylor interviews Conor Brady and they talked about the power of great storytelling. Conor Brady is a passionate believer in the power of great storytelling and experience design, no matter the channel or medium. In his role as Chief Creative Officer at Critical Mass, he oversees the agency’s work […]

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Dr. Mark T Wade went from brick & mortar to multi-million dollar online business using a strategy called the One-Day Summit. Having created 6, 7 & Multi 7-figure businesses in the Brick & Mortar, Online Education, & Software As A Service space, Dr. Mark now helps entrepreneurs scale their online businesses with proven strategies such […]

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Michael G. Goldsby is the Chief Entrepreneurship Officer and Stoops Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship at Ball State University, USA. He teaches creativity, innovation, and design in the University’s nationally ranked undergraduate and graduate programs in entrepreneurship. Along with his co-author Rob Mathews they have written a new book called ‘Entrepreneurship the Disney Way.’   In […]

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Gordon brings a unique perspective to the world of innovation. He is a Partner and Director of Design and Strategy at Twisthink, where he specializes in unlocking exciting new business value for clients. How do they do this? Well by using human-centered design to uncover strategic insights and apply emerging design and technology trends and […]

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Founder of Why Millennials Matter, Joan Kuhl is an author, speaker, and champion of women in leadership. Through her international speaking engagements, research, and consulting, she has guided leaders from more than sixty countries with clients such as Goldman Sachs, Eli Lilly and Company, University of North Carolina, and the New York Mets. She is […]

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Jerry Colonna is CEO and cofounder of Reboot.io, an executive coaching and leadership development firm, and he is also the author of REBOOT: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up. Prior to his career as a coach, he was a partner with JPMorgan Partners, the private equity arm of JPMorgan Chase. He joined them from […]

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Dr. Mik Kersten started his career as a Research Scientist at Xerox PARC where he created the first aspect-oriented development environment. He then pioneered the integration of development tools with Agile and DevOps as part of his Computer Science PhD at the University of British Columbia. Founding Tasktop out of that research, Mik has written […]

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After a life as a consulting actuary to Fortune 100 companies on Park Avenue, David Wood built the world’s largest coaching business, becoming #1 on Google for life coaching and serving huge audiences worldwide. He now coaches high performing leaders to play the best game they possibly can, deepening connection and living a regret-free life. […]

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Heneka Watkis-Porter is a serial-entrepreneur, author, speaker, fashion designer and podcaster. She is the founder and CEO of Patwa Apparel an authentic Jamaica clothing brand. Heneka is also the creator of the Caribbean’s first Virtual Conference and Expo – The Entrepreneurial You Virtual SME Conference & Expo. She is also the Host of The Entrepreneurial […]

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Gary Pisano is one of the world’s leading researchers in the fields of innovation, strategy, manufacturing, and competitiveness. He is the Harry E. Figgie Professor of Business Administration and the Senior Associate Dean For Faculty Development at the Harvard Business School. His latest book Creative Construction shows how large companies can construct a strategy, system, […]

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Greg Kieser is the founder of Supersystemic.ly, a Brooklyn-based think-tank and angel investment firm dedicated to increasing humanity’s readiness for the emergence of superintelligent entities through the study and spread of “supersystemic” perspectives and innovations. Kieser previously oversaw a portfolio of technology initiatives at an NYC-based poverty-fighting foundation. His new book, Dear Machine: A Letter […]

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Christian Terwiesch is a professor in Wharton’s Operations and Information Management department and co-director of Penn’s Mack Institute for Innovation Management. He also holds a faculty appointment in Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine. Christian launched the first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in business on the Coursera platform and by now, well over half a […]

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Jamie Metzl is a technology futurist, geopolitical expert, novelist, entrepreneur, media commentator, and Senior Fellow of the Atlantic Council. In February 2019, he was appointed to the World Health Organization expert advisory committee on developing global standards for the governance and oversight of human genome editing. Jamie previously served in the U.S. National Security Council, […]

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Watch the Video Are we entering a new creative age? Chances are you’ve probably already heard about some of the different ways in which artificial intelligence, virtual reality and machine learning are changing how we live and work. Change can be both scary and exciting at the same time. Change brings both dangers and opportunities. Indeed […]

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Catherine Orer is an award-winning Business & PR Strategist and founder of The Artist Entrepreneur, where she counsels professional visual artists and creative entrepreneurs who want to build sustainable businesses and careers. After working as a PR professional for multinational corporations, and then for art galleries in Paris and North America, she decided to create […]

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Safi Bahcall is the author of Loonshots. After studying physics at Harvard and Stanford, he founded a biotech company specializing in cancer drugs, led its IPO, and served as its CEO for 13 years. He was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2008 and in 2011, he worked with President Obama’s […]

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Matt Ward is an angel investor, serial entrepreneur, speaker, futurist, growth hacker, and author focused on helping startups change the world. He now runs The Syndicate podcast where he interviews top angel investors and VCs like Jeff Clavier, Esther Dyson and Tim O’Reilly about early stage tech investing. If hosting one podcast wasn’t enough he […]

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Liston Witherill is an author, speaker, and advisor to agencies and consulting firms ready to move beyond the referral. Liston’s work is based on cutting edge psychology, behavioral economics, and his own sales experience. His mantra is “Serve, Don’t Sell,” and he believes selling should be an ethical, win-win arrangement 100% of the time. Prior […]

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Jennie Nash is the founder and chief creative officer of Author Accelerator, a strategic book coaching service that offers the sustained editorial support writers need to complete their projects and make a powerful impact on their target audience. For ten years, writers serious about reaching readers have trusted Jennie to coach their projects from inspiration […]

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Eric Termuende is the co-founder of NoW Innovations, a bestselling author, and an international speaker. Termuende was recognized as a Top 100 Emerging Innovators under 35 globally by American Express, is a TEDx speaker, and represented Canada at the G20 Summit. He speaks and writes around the world about the future of work and human-centricity […]

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Drew Ungvarsky is the CEO and Chief Creative Officer of Grow, one of the top digital agencies in the world. Under Drew’s leadership, Grow has created innovative digital experiences for leading brands like Google, adidas, Spotify, and EA Games. It’s no wonder then that Drew and his company have been recognized by The New York […]

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Stephanie Law creates watercolor paintings that are a mixture of mythological symbolism, the flowing movement of dance, and the beautiful motifs of growth and decay of nature. She is the author and creator of the Shadowscapes Tarot deck, the Dreamscapes series of technique books, as well as having her work featured in galleries across the […]

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Liat Siegel is a trailblazing entrepreneur, a fearless mother of 5, and the owner and founder of Hadar Interiors Inc.,. Liat and her team at Hadar Interiors work with businesses to brand their interiors and set themselves apart from the competition. She uses interior design to help her clients create a lasting impression so that […]

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Heather DeSantis is a Top Millennial publicist and CEO of Publicity for Good, a purpose driven public relations firm with offices in San Diego and Phoenix. Heather combines market foresight, strategic timing, and organic interviews to generate millions of earned media impressions from outlets like ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, BBC, iHeartMedia, Business Insider, Inc, […]

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Kendal Netmaker is an entrepreneur, author and speaker who has founded 5 businesses, winning over 25 business awards in the process. Kendal speaks to thousands of people every year about motivation, leadership and the power of telling your story. He is the author of “Driven to Succeed: From Poverty to Podium – A First-Nation Success […]

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Communication Speaker Jill Shiefelbein On How To Get Video Testimonials In this excerpt from International Speakers Summit, communication speaker Jill Shiefelbein shares with us how to get video testimonials at events. To watch the full interview get your Free Pass HERE. What we cover in the full interview: Why you should join a Speakers Association […]

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Sales Keynote Speaker Phil M. Jones on Speaker Fees In this excerpt from International Speakers Summit, sales keynote speaker Phil M. Jones shares with us exactly what to say when your speaking fee is requested. To watch the full interview get your Free Pass HERE. What we cover in the full interview: Building the base […]

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Tom Breeze is the founder and CEO of Viewability, a company specialising in YouTube Advertising, boasting an impressive client list of international personal and corporate brands. With a “Pay For Results” financial model, Viewability and partners are now one of the world’s leading performance-based YouTube Advertising company. Tom is also a speaker, author and consultant, […]

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Amy C. Edmondson is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School. She has written numerous articles for Harvard Business Review and four books including Teaming, which showed how leaders can make organizational learning happen. Her awards include the 2018 Sumantra Ghoshal Award for Rigor and Relevance in the Study of Management […]

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Matt Javit and his partner Nikki have been traveling the world full-time since leaving the USA in February 2017. During their travels they share with their audience different ways to keep travel costs down, ideas for volunteering in communities, and tips on networking with locals while having a great time. He also stars and produces […]

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Branding Keynote Speaker Sylvie di Giusto on the non-native English speaker advantage In this excerpt from International Speakers Summit, branding keynote speaker Sylvie di Giusto shares with us how to market your speaking. To watch the full interview get your Free Pass HERE. What we cover in the full interview: Common mistakes in crafting your […]

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Ajit Nawalkha is an entrepreneur, business coach, founder of Evercoach, author of The Book of Coaching and a co-founder of Mindvalley Teach. Having found his way from a middle-class family in India to top stages of personal development and business growth conferences, he learned it is possible to create the abundant reality we want. Today […]

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Thomas Zoëga Ramsøy is considered one of the leading scholars and practitioners in applied neuroscience. His main interest is in the how the brain makes decisions. Besides being a prolific writer of scientific articles and textbooks on the matter, he also consults Fortune 500 companies within industries such as retail, social media, technology, pharmaceuticals, and […]

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Marketing maverick Dan Kennedy says, “If you don’t know who Perry Marshall is — unforgivable. Perry’s an honest man in a field rife with charlatans.” Perry is the world’s most-quoted consultant on Google Advertising and according to Entrepreneur Magazine has helped over 100,000 advertisers save literally billions of dollars in AdWords stupidity tax. As one […]

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Hal Gregersen is the Executive Director of the MIT Leadership Center, a Senior Lecturer in Leadership and Innovation at the MIT Sloan School of Management, a prolific author and a motivational speaker. Ranked by Thinkers50 as one of the world’s fifty most innovative minds, he has authored or coauthored ten books, including the bestselling The […]

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Author of “Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World”, Melissa Agnes is a leading authority on crisis preparedness, reputation management, and brand protection. She is a coveted speaker, commentator, and advisor to some of today’s leading organizations faced with the greatest risks. As a strategic advisor and keynote speaker, Melissa has worked […]

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Ramon Vullings is a keynote speaker, author, cross-industry expert & ideaDJ. In his work Ramon speaks about how to bring the outside world in, as well as why remixing of ideas cross-sector is a smart strategy. Organizations including NASA, Rabobank, Nike and PwC bring him in to provide the kind of innovative strategies, tools & […]

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Ann Mei Chang is the author of Lean Impact: How to Innovate for Radically Greater Social Good. After leaving a longtime career as a Silicon Valley executive that included stints at Google, Apple, Intuit, and a number of startups, she served as the Chief Innovation Officer at both USAID (the US foreign aid agency) and […]

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Ronnie Tsunami, the Change the World Coach, is a keynote speaker who has been called the “MacGyver” of training because of his ability to quickly develop learning solutions that help market and sell new products and services. His programs have been implemented in over 10,000 academic institutions and organizations around the world.   In this […]

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Matt launched his first company, Commercial Fleet Financing, in 1995 with a phone, a folding table and the unyielding confidence of a single client, a trucker. Fast forward 23 years and CFF has funded over $1 billion in transportation equipment with annual business of $150,000,000+. As a speaker audiences resonate with his tough-minded and business […]

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In 2002 Matt started and built a successful website agency, before selling the business to focus on his passion for helping businesses get more word of mouth referrals! He’s a 40 Under 40 Recipient and Chamber Small Business Owner of the Year and Matt believes that the problem with Small Business is Bananas! His new […]

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Scott Belsky is an entrepreneur, investor and author of the new book ‘The Messy Middle: Finding Your Way Through the Hardest and Most Crucial Part of Any Bold Venture’. He is currently Chief Product Officer at Adobe, serves as a board member to several early stage companies, and is a Venture Partner at Benchmark, a […]

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Phillip Andrew is an Emmy-Nominated Los Angeles-based television producer who speaks around the USA educating and encouraging High School and College Students through high energy entertainment and unforgettable storytelling   In this episode, we cover: 5:41 – Media coaching in LA – YouTube Red series 22:01 – Josh Linkner and Detroit Reinvention 26:28 – Mindfield […]

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Stephen Wunker is a noted author, entrepreneur, and consultant whose new book Costovation solves the dilemma of how to spend less and innovate more. He led the team creating one of the first smartphones in the 1990s, teamed with Harvard’s Clayton Christensen to build out consulting practices, and since 2010 has led New Markets Advisors, […]

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Annalisa Parent helps writers to finish, publish and sell their novels. She owns and operates Date with the Muse, LLC, which helps storytellers to publish traditionally at the highest level possible. Her book “Storytelling for Pantsers: How to Outline and Revise your Novel without an Outline” has been lauded by New York Times bestselling author […]

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Amy E. Smith is a certified confidence coach, masterful speaker, and personal empowerment expert. Founder of TheJoyJunkie.com, Amy uses her roles as coach, writer, podcaster, and speaker to move individuals to a place of radical personal empowerment and self-love. With acute focus on helping people “find their voice”, she is highly sought after for her […]

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Mitch Resnick, Professor of Learning Research at the MIT Media Lab, develops new technologies and activities to engage children in creative learning experiences. He was centrally involved in the development of the Scratch programming language, the LEGO Mindstorms robotics kits, and the Computer Clubhouse network of after-school learning centers. He has been awarded with the […]

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Pete Williams is an entrepreneur, business advisor and marketer who Forbes recently called, “one entrepreneur today that every marketer should be modelling,” while Inc. describes him as, “a savvy marketing strategist.” A Southern Region Finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Program, a Small Business ICON (Best-in-Class) Recipient, and an Australian Business […]

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Publicity Photos For Speakers And Thought Leaders In this episode, you’ll learn about: Branded Publicity Photos John DeMato Four Types Of Publicity Photos You’ll Want Portrait Shots Lifestyle Shots Solid Background Shots Prop Shots Pia Silva ‘Badass Your Brand’ JohnDeMato.com [Listen in iTunes] [Listen in Spotify] [Listen on Stitcher] Enjoy this episode? If you enjoyed […]

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Jeffy Acuff is the Founder and CEO of Delta Point, a consulting firm that has worked with 15 of the top 100 companies in the world on selling and marketing excellence to drive revenue. Regarded as one of the top 15 Sales experts in the world he is the author of 4 business books including […]

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Jonathan Fesmire is an author who started out writing fantasy but today is best known for his steampunk novels like “Bodacious Creed: a Steampunk Zombie Western. Based in Southern California, Jonathan has been a fan of steampunk stories and art for years and has interviewed many members of the community for his The Wild Steampunk […]

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Called a “Millennial Motivator” by Fortune and “The Brené Brown of Wonder” by Mind Body Green, Amber Rae is an author, artist, and speaker whose work invites you to live your truth, befriend your emotions, and express your gifts. Her writing blends raw, personal storytelling with actionable aha! moments and has reached more than 5 […]

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Creative Thinking Skills Techniques – The Five Whys In this episode, you’ll learn: Creative thinking skills techniques Edward DeBono Lateral Thinking Augmented Creativity The Five Whys [Listen in iTunes] [Listen in Spotify] [Listen on Stitcher] Enjoy this episode? If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes or Stitcher and write a brief review. […]

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Steven Morris is a brand evolution strategist, speaker, author, painter and designer. He speaks and writes on evolved brands, curiosity, “beautiful business,” and humanized work forces. He’s the author of 2 books and has a new one in the works entitled “The Evolved Brand.” Steve has been honored to work with more than 250+ global […]

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Harley Davidson – Building A Tattooable Brand In this episode, you’ll learn: How do you create a powerful brand The Harley Davidson brand Standing out from the crowd Seth Godin’s Purple Cow Finding your tribe Inspiring lifetime loyalty [Listen in iTunes] [Listen in Spotify] [Listen on Stitcher] Enjoy this episode? If you enjoyed the show, […]

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Marina Barayeva is an international portrait photographer based in Beijing, China. In 2017 she started the Marketing for Creatives podcast, a show where she brings photographers and other creatives together to share their knowledge on marketing. Always busy with creative projects, she organized and hosted an online conference Lady-Photographer, a charity fashion show called ‘New […]

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Brandon Rochon has spent his life building some of the world’s most loved brands. He started his career on the hard streets of Madison Ave. where he worked on Hennessy, Lugz Shoes, and Sapporo Beer, then spent time in NYC before he picked up and moved to Europe where he joined the award-winning TBWA/Paris and […]

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How To Evaluate Your Ideas Using A Value Hierarchy [Listen in iTunes] [Listen in Spotify] [Listen on Stitcher] In this episode, you’ll learn: How do you evaluate which of your creative ideas or projects to pursue? The secret to making good creative decisions The Value Hierarchy Personal Values Organizational Values Enjoy this episode? If you […]

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Keynote: Artificial Intelligence B2B Marketing And Augmented Creativity [Listen in iTunes] [Listen in Spotify] [Listen on Stitcher] In this episode, you’ll learn: Reclaiming Your Creativity Becoming An Unconventional Creative Why Creativity Is A Team Sport Hacking Creativity By Drinking Wine The 4 Types of Creative Collaboration Artificial Intelligence As Creative Collaborators The Centaur Creative and […]

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Rachel Brenke is the founder of the Business Bites podcast, and several successful legal niche brands including TheLawTog®, FitLegally, and BlogLegally. She is also a mother of five, wife to an Army Veteran, practicing lawyer, author, photographer, cancer survivor, and Team USA Athlete. Through her podcast, brands, and 1-on-1 services, Rachel helps creative entrepreneurs with […]

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Daniel Elizalde helps Product teams to become highly successful at managing Internet of Things or IoT products. He is the author of the leading blog on IoT Product Management, as well as the host of the IoT Product Leadership podcast. He is also the creator of the IoT Decision Framework, which he teaches as part […]

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How To Increase Productivity – Attention Pays by Neen James [Listen in iTunes] [Listen in Spotify] [Listen on Stitcher] In this episode, you’ll learn: How to increase productivity Attention Pays by Neen James Avoiding overwhelm Time management Attention management Get your copy of Attention Pays here. Enjoy this episode? If you enjoyed the show, please […]

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Anne Sugar is an executive coach and speaker who has advised top leaders at companies including TripAdvisor and Havas. She is an executive coach for Harvard Business School Executive Education and has guest lectured at MIT. Prior to becoming an executive coach, Anne served as a senior leader in the advertising industry, where she oversaw […]

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Geoff Woods is the Vice President of The ONE Thing and hosts The ONE Thing podcast which is in the top 5% of all podcasts in the world. After hearing the Jim Rohn quote that “you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with” Geoff set out on a mission […]

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Keynote speaker Patrick Schwerdtfeger on how to market your speaking In this excerpt from International Speakers Summit, innovation keynote speaker Patrick Schwerdtfeger shares with us how to market your speaking. To watch the full interview get your Free Pass HERE. What we cover in the full interview:  Keynote mastery LinkedIn marketing for speakers Building your […]

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Cyriel Kortleven is a global speaker and author on creativity and change. A digital nomad who believes in inspiring others, changing mindsets and in the idea that ‘less is beautiful’, he is the author of four books and when not speaking on stages you might find him at the Burning Man festival or climbing up […]

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Jay Papasan is co-author of The One Thing, a #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller with over 450 appearances on national bestseller lists and more than 30 translations around the world. Before Jay Papasan co-authored the bestselling Millionaire Real Estate series with Gary Keller, he worked as an editor at Harper Collins Publishers. There he worked […]

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Jonah Sachs is an author, speaker and viral marketing trailblazer whose pioneering approaches to digital media were critical in bringing the ideals of social change—such as equity, empowerment, responsibility, transparency, and advocacy—to the forefront of business and popular culture. Jonah’s work and opinions have been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, […]

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A former presidential campaign spokeswoman, the New York Times described her as an “expert at self-reinvention and helping others make changes in their lives.” A frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review, she consults and speaks for clients including Google, Microsoft, and the World Bank.   In this episode, we cover: 7:24 – Doing original […]

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David Burkus is a best-selling author, a sought after speaker, and associate professor of leadership and innovation at Oral Roberts University. His forthcoming book, Friend of a Friend, offers readers a new perspective on how to grow their networks and build key connections—one based on the science of human behavior, not rote networking advice. He’s […]

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Joanna Penn is a speaker, entrepreneur and award-nominated New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Since becoming a writer she has authored 27 books and sold over 500,000 copies in 84 countries and 5 languages. She writes thrillers under the name of J.F.Penn and uses her full Joanna Penn name to write non-fiction for […]

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Bryan Falchuk is a life and executive coach, public speaker, C-level executive and the best-selling author of Do a Day, in which he teaches how to overcome challenges and achieve goals. Bryan spent the most of his life obese and overcome by anxiety until he discovered the approach to change all that – Do a […]

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Originally a neuroscientist focused on brain-computer interface and the evolution of human cognition (his work is on display at the Smithsonian), Malcolm Collins felt he could learn more about the way humans interact with the world and each other by pursuing an MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. There he met Simone, his […]

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Grant Baldwin is a speaker, podcaster, author, entrepreneur and all-around normal dude trying to make a little dent in the world. Since becoming a professional speaker ten years ago he has now given over 400 keynotes to audiences as large as 13,000. Today Grant speaks on a variety of topics including motivation, leadership and entrepreneurship […]

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Are you trying to figure out “what’s next” in your career? Are you trying to find greater satisfaction in your work without sacrificing your personal life? If so Susan Peppercorn can help. Susan is a career coach who enables professionals to find their next best career step. The NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, […]

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Chris Brogan provides strategy and skills for the modern business. He is CEO of Owner Media Group, a sought after keynote speaker, and the New York Times bestselling author of nine books. His latest is Find Your Writing Voice where he teaches how to distill your unique writing voice for any of your projects, from […]

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Donald Miller helps people clarify their message so people will listen. He has helped more than 3,000 businesses harness the proven power of story formulas to get people talking about their brands. Donald is the CEO of StoryBrand, the co-host of the Building a StoryBrand Podcast, and the author of several books, including the bestsellers […]

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Buckley Barlow is a data-driven customer experience (CX) growth expert with specialties in building out forward-thinking growth models and teams. As founding partner at Rocketsource he is a sought-after growth advisor to private equity firms, their portfolio companies and some of the most visible brands in the Fortune 100. Buckley has built and sold several […]

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From The Sage On The Stage To The Guide On The Side You and I are living at an incredible time in human history. Did you know that in the next 3 years over 3 billion people will be coming online for the very first time. That’s 3 billion people who have never bought, uploaded […]

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Augmented Creativity and The Age of Centaurs Did you know that creativity is going to become the third most important job skill by 2020? Why, well because the University of Oxford estimates that nearly 50% of jobs are at risk from automation. Technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning will replace many jobs that involve […]

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Benjamin Hardy is an author, speaker, husband, and foster parent of 3 kids (although not necessarily in that order). As the number one writer at Medium.com his work has been read 50 million times. He is nearing the completion of his PhD in Organizational Psychology and his new book, Willpower Doesn’t Work is out now. […]

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Elaine Pofeldt is an author and journalist who specializes in small business, entrepreneurship and careers. Her new book The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business, looks at how entrepreneurs are hitting seven-figure revenue in businesses where they are the only employees. How do they do this? Well by tapping automation and other technologies to scale their efforts. Her […]

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Colin Sprake is a heart-centered dynamic serial entrepreneur having trained over 42,000 entrepreneurs across North America. A 4 times bestselling author and a sought after speaker on entrepreneurship, Colin knows what it takes to build from ZERO to $1,000,000 in 12 months or less! He cares deeply about people and this planet and loves to assist others to achieve the impossible. He is a Member of the Transformational Leadership Council, a board member of Evolutionary Business Council and was inducted into the National Academy of Bestselling Authors.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Realness and vulnerability
Getting stuck in business
Sales as relationship building
Mindset change for a successful business
Quality people for your business
Interventions
Fascination with human beings
Millennials seeking significance
Millennials and social media
Creating amazing communities

Please subscribe to my channel if you are into what I do! Your support is greatly appreciated and helps me continue to keep it free for everyone:

• Please Subscribe To This Channel https://goo.gl/8EWszQ

See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

• YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesTaylorMe/
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Daniel Burrus is considered one of the World’s Leading Futurists on Global Trends and Innovation. The New York Times has referred to him as one of the top three business gurus in the highest demand as a speaker. He is the author of seven books, including The New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-seller Flash Foresight, as well as the international best-seller Technotrends. His latest book is called The Anticipatory Organization: Turn Disruption and Change Into Opportunity and Advantage.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Hard trends and soft trends
Categories of hard trends
Everyday innovations
2 areas of innovation
Innovation and creativity
The Skipping Principle
Opposites work better
Reading research
Hope and strategy
The biggest barrier everyone has

Please subscribe to my channel if you are into what I do! Your support is greatly appreciated and helps me continue to keep it free for everyone:

• Please Subscribe To This Channel https://goo.gl/8EWszQ

See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

• YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesTaylorMe/
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme
• LinkedIn https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor
• Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesTaylor_me

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Dr. Diane Hamilton is an award-winning speaker, nationally-syndicated radio host, author, and educator. She is the former MBA Program Chair at the Forbes School of Business and has taught more than 1000 business courses. Meanwhile as a keynote speaker her talks address employee relationships, engagement, productivity, and conflict resolution and her latest book is called ‘It’s Not You, It’s Your Personality’.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Curiosity and its decline
Creativity and AI
Beginning of current fascination
Uniqueness of the next generation
Data from assessments
Muse and inspiration
Disagreeing with other’s vision
Daniel Goldman and Reuben Baron
Promising and delivering
Benefits of working under pressure

Please subscribe to my channel if you are into what I do! Your support is greatly appreciated and helps me continue to keep it free for everyone:

• Please Subscribe To This Channel https://goo.gl/8EWszQ

See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

• YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesTaylorMe/
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme
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Eric Ries is an entrepreneur and author of the New York Times bestseller The Lean Startup, which has sold over one million copies and has been translated into more than thirty languages. He serves on the advisory board of a number of technology startups, is entrepreneur-in-residence at Harvard Business School, an IDEO (eye-de-oh) Fellow, Faculty Chair at Singularity University, as well as being the founder and CEO of the Long-Term Stock Exchange. His latest book is called The Startup Way: How Modern Companies Use Entrepreneurial Management to Transform Culture & Drive Long-Term Growth.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

The Lean Startup
Becoming a Movement and a Community
Lean Thinking Methodology
Strategic People in GE
Takeaways from GE
Developing Creativity Advices
Advice for Aspiring Speakers
Elizabeth Friedman
Systematic Erasure in History

Please subscribe to my channel if you are into what I do! Your support is greatly appreciated and helps me continue to keep it free for everyone:

• Please Subscribe To This Channel https://goo.gl/8EWszQ

See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

• YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesTaylorMe/
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme
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• Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesTaylor_me

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Croft Edwards, is a Master Certified Coach, Social Media Influencer, President of CROFT + Company, and the creator of LeadershipFlow, the study of how to help individuals and organizations be at their best. He has been helping leaders and their teams find their Flow since 2001 in a variety of fields: mining, refining, government agencies, sovereign nations, manufacturing, start-ups, small businesses, and healthcare. Whether it’s two miles down in a mine or up on the executive floor of a city skyscrapper, Croft coaches wherever there are leaders who desire a different result. His latest book is called ‘LeadershipFlow Perfectly Squared: A Story About Learning to Lead and Transforming a Company’.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

General Omar Bradley
Patton
Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
The Flow
Neuro-chemical effects
Cortisol
The cycle of flow
The struggle (and releasing into it)
Visioning the future
Creating culture
Re-branding

Please subscribe to my channel if you are into what I do! Your support is greatly appreciated and helps me continue to keep it free for everyone:

• Please Subscribe To This Channel https://goo.gl/8EWszQ

See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

• YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesTaylorMe/
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme
• LinkedIn https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor
• Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesTaylor_me

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James Schramko is a Sydney based entrepreneur who has started, developed and sold multiple successful businesses. A passionate father, investor, surfer, husband, coach, mentor and lover of freedom, James excels in making the complex world of business simple so that your quality of life can improve. In his early days he was a General Manager working with Mercedes-Benz commanding a large team of employees in a multi-million dollar business by day and being an online marketer by night. Since then, through his podcasts and online communities he has build a loyal following and developed a reputation as one of the smartest, most no-nonsense business coaches around. His new book is called ‘Work Less, Make More’ and it provides a counter-intuitive approach to building a profitable business, and a life you actually love.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

From launches to recurring business models
Product Launch Formula by Jeff Walker
Frank Kern
Ryan Levesque – being a truth teller
Perry Marshall
EHR (Effective Hourly Rate)
64:4 Rule (Fractal Pareto Principle)
“Almost everything you are doing is a waste of time”
Different types of recurring income models
Paid membership communities
Masterminds

Please subscribe to my channel if you are into what I do! Your support is greatly appreciated and helps me continue to keep it free for everyone:

• Please Subscribe To This Channel https://goo.gl/8EWszQ

See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

• YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesTaylorMe/
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme
• LinkedIn https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor
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Steve Sims is an “ugly” kid from the outskirts of London, who wasn’t born into the world of luxury but certainly holds his place there now. As the founder of Bluefish, one of the top personal concierge services, and an expert marketer within the luxury industry, Steve has been quoted in various publications including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, London’s Sunday Times, South China Morning Post and many more. He has been on TV and has been a speaker at a variety of networks, groups and associations as well as the Pentagon and Harvard – twice! Want to sing with your favorite rock star, be serenaded by Andre Boceli, walk the red carpet at A List Oscar parties, get married in the Vatican, Dive to the wreck of the Titanic – these are just a few highlights of what Steve provides for his clients. He makes the impossible, possible. An entrepreneur in the truest sense of the word, Steve is well regarded within the luxury world for his innovation and down-to-earth personality. Known for his honesty, integrity and doing things “his way,” Steve creates experiences for his clients that they could never have imagined being possible. His latest book is called ‘Bluefishing: The Art of Making Things Happen’.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

How to create awesome parties
The year of the ‘bll*ks’
How to get through the gatekeepers
How Hollywood parties work
Why you should interview your client
Your vibe attracts your tribe
Asking for referrals
Why to write a book

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At age 23, Steve Long created his first company and by the time he was 30 he has already built and sold 3 businesses. It was while building one of these companies he decided to fulfill a life goal, to retire before the age of 50, design and build a 65 foot trimaran boat and then sail around the world with his family. He did just that and has plenty of stories and lessons learned from his adventure. Since returning to dry land he has founded Leaders Factory, a coaching and mentoring hub for creative and disruptive leaders.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Coaching on boats
Million dollar round table
Montreal mindset
Removing power struggles in organizations
Setting goals and goal lists
Losing your creative pair

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

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James Dodkins helps companies create outstanding and unforgettable customer experiences. As a speaker, author, trainer and consultant he travels the globe learning the secrets of the world’s best performing companies, and he uses that information to help organizations replicate that success. James specializes in customer experience and customer centricity and is Principal Consultant at BP Group. His new book is called ‘Put Your Customers Second’ and will be hitting the stores soon.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why the best organizations put their customers second
The waffle in most business books
The story narrative in business books
The One Minute Manager
Built To Sell
How to connect with influencers
VAKWIRE – The seven elements of creating a customer centric culture
Culture at Ritz-Carlton
Vision and values
Personal values vs Company values
Value ladder
Creating your own competitors

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

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Kit Pang is a communication expert, TEDx speaker coach, keynote speaker, host of the BostonSpeaksSeries and the founder of BostonSpeaks. He is on a mission to help individuals become exceptional speakers and communicators. Kit’s seminars and talks have been described as super fun, engaging, soul-searching and insightful.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Going from professional dancer to professional speaker
Getting into a flow state
How to structure your keynote presentations
The one message or idea
Tony Robbins vs Dalai Lama

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How would you like to attract your ideal customers? You know the ones who pay you what you’re worth, are loyal, and are an absolute joy to work with. My guest today can teach you exactly how. Having been one of the most sought-after portrait photographers in the U.S. for more than three decades, Jeffrey Shaw, a.k.a. the Lingo Guy, uses this honed intuition to attract and maintain customers by speaking their Secret Language. Jeffrey is also the host of the popular business podcast Creative Warriors, a nationally acclaimed keynote speaker, a business coach for entrepreneurs, and author of the new book LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customers Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Who would love that?
The 5-Step Secret Language Strategy
How to go from being overlooked to being overbooked
How pricing can attract, not deter, your ideal customer
How to develop a brand image that magnetizes your ideal customer and filters out the rest
Empathy
Harley Davidson the brand
ManCrates.com

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Daniel McGinn is a senior editor at Harvard Business Review, where he edits the IdeaWatch and How I Did It sections, manages the magazine’s annual Best Performing CEOs in the World ranking, and edits feature articles on topics including negotiation, sales, and entrepreneurship. He has appeared as a guest on NBC’s Today Show, PBS, CNN, MSNBC, and NPR as well as writing for magazines including Wired, Inc. and Fast Company. His latest book is called ‘PSYCHED UP: How the Science of Mental Preparation Can Help You Succeed’ and it’s received wide praise including from Katie Couric, Arianna Huffington, Charles Duhigg and Brad Feld among others.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

How the best athletes, speakers and entertainers get themselves in the zone
Why trying to calm backstage nerves is not the best strategy
Reviewing your greatest hits
Malcolm Gladwell’s keyboard
Visual Priming
The role of visualization in mental preparation
Managing your energy levels
Defensive pessimism – Seneca
Making lots of small bets
Pre-game rituals for creatives
Motivational music

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James Mapes is a modern Renaissance man combining life as a speaker, peak performance coach, best-selling author, clinical hypnotist, award-winning performer and professional actor. Indeed the Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen once quizzed James on how he was able to get so much done in his life. His answer…’Because no one told me I couldn’t”. James is considered as the world’s foremost authority on applied imagination and inspires, motivates and educates others on developing the unlimited potential of their creative imagination. His latest book is called “IMAGINE THAT! Igniting Your Brain for Creativity and Peak Performance’.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Harnessing your imagination
Washington Speakers Bureau
Saying ‘Yes’ to opportunities
Creating a vision statement
A vision directed life vs a goal directed life
Letting go
The lemon exercise
Why everyone should take an acting class
What James did when he found out he only had a few weeks to live
The power of attitude

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With over 200+ speaking engagements each year, master publicity strategist, consultant and bestselling author, Jill Lublin, consistently wows audiences worldwide with her keynotes and training programs on publicity, networking and influence marketing. Jill has shared the stage with Tony Robbins, T. Harv Eker, Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and many others. Additionally, thousands of people have attended her popular ‘Crash Course in Publicity’, which she teaches at live events and online. She has been featured in The New York Times, Women’s Day, Entrepreneur and Inc magaziness and her Guerrilla Publicity book is regarded by many as the “PR Bible”. Her latest book ‘The Profit of Kindness’ went number one in four different categories.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Similarities between the music industry and book industry
The profit of kindness – moving from winning to giving
How professional speakers should get referrals
Return on kindness principles
Going deep

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

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Ciprian is one of the smartest guys out there when it comes to automating your business. A self-described procedures “guy” he loves to see people succeed using his automation blueprints and business hacks. He specializes in helping people transform one-time launches into automated life-time evergreen revenue streams. If you are looking for more business and less stress then Ciprian is definitely someone you want on your team.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

What is a virtual summit
Live virtual summits vs Evergreen virtual summits
Thought leadership and list building
Serving your audience
Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Formula
The downside of launches

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

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Dane Sanders helps freelancers and entrepreneurs become owners. With earned degrees in business and philosophy, Dane photographed professionally for over twelve years. He now speaks, consults and coaches on the business of creativity at fastermind.co as well as being the author of two best-selling business books for creatives. Seth Godin describes his Fast Track Photographer book as “a priceless gift… offering advice on how to make a living in a world where everyone has a camera.”
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

The Fastermind Community
Say Anything movie with John Cusack
A While New Mind by Dan Pink
Safe Spaces and Intimate Events
Marching Orders
How To Start A Mastermind
Mentors vs Masterminds
Finding Your Unique Sound As A Creative

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Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

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Ron Carucci is co-founder and managing partner at Navalent, working with CEOs and executives pursuing transformational change for their organizations, leaders, and industries. He has a thirty year track record helping some of the world’s most influential executives tackle challenges of strategy, organization and leadership. From start-ups to Fortune 10’s, turn-arounds to new markets and strategies, overhauling leadership and culture to re-designing for growth, he has worked in more than 25 countries on 4 continents. He is the best-selling author of 8 books, including the recent Amazon #1 Rising to Power. He is a regular contributor to HBR and Forbes, and has been featured in Fortune, CEO Magazine, BusinessInsider, MSNBC, Business Week, Smart Business, and thought leaders.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Pictures of your ideal reader
Disruptive change as a way of life
The discipline of strategy
Saying ‘no’
Focusing your resources
Choosing your book title and cover
Using IBM Watson and Artificial Intelligence in book writing
Why you shouldn’t work with sociopaths!
The mid-cap market
Success is the greatest impediment to change

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

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Andy Molinksky is a professor of Organizational Behavior and Psychology at Brandeis University. He regularly writes for the Harvard Business Review and Inc, and his work has been featured in The Economist, Fast Company, Fortune, The New York Times, and NPR. His first book, Global Dexterity has been used widely in organizations around the world including Boeing, AIG, the U.S. Air Force Academy and the Clinton Foundation, among others. His new book ‘Reach’ with Penguin Random House is about acting outside your comfort zone – why it’s so hard, how we avoid doing it, and how to be more successful at it.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Behavioral Economics
Billions
Imposter syndrome
Dealing with procrastination
Getting over a fear of public speaking
Discovering your source of conviction

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“People Packaging is what I do”… says Sylvie di Giusto who helps individuals and organizations to explore how people make up their minds very quickly about them, their leadership potential, or their company, and either open the door or slam it shut. As a professional Keynote Speaker, Corporate Trainer and Image Consultant, Sylvie uses her multi-cultural background to work with leaders from around the world who place great importance on themselves and their reputation. Austrian by birth, French in her heart, Italian in her kitchen, German in her work ethic, and American by choice it’s my pleasure to be joined by Sylvie di Giusto.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Mark Sanborn
Moving to America
Reinventing Yourself
Working With Corporations
Letting Go
Becoming An Expert
Post-It Notes Exercise
What Is Your ‘One Word’
Confirmation Bias
“Don’t be cheap, be the best” – Jeffrey Hayzlett
Image Advice For Speakers

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

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Vinh Giang (Jang) is a keynote speaker and magician but first and foremost an entrepreneur. While in his 20s, he started an online business with two good friends; all of them had decided to leave their careers in accounting and pharmacy, to pursue their dream of building a successful business. Their online platform, Encyclopedia of Magic, now teaches magic to almost 50,000 students around the world. For this innovative and successful business idea, Vinh and his friends were awarded Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Today Vinh is perhaps better known as a keynote speaker, sharing business ideas using the art of magic and some on-stage audience participation. Coming from the humble beginnings of a Vietnamese refugee family, Vinh has now worked with companies from all over the world including HSBC, Pfizer and the Million Dollar Round Table.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Going from the back of the room to on the stage
Why mastery is boring
Voice training for speakers
Why you should only talk about what you care about
Common truths
Charlie Munger – Poor Charlie’s Almanac
Getting out of debt
Creating great speaker reels
How to build a speaking business – 30 books
Why you should educate, entertain and inspire your audience
Your story and your sound
Hiring comedy writers
Working with speaker bureaus
Being so good they can’t ignore you
Don’t be a jerk!

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Cathy Fyock is The Business Book Strategist, and works with professionals and thought leaders who want to write a book as a business development strategy. She is the author of eight books, including On Your Mark: From First Word to First Draft in Six Weeks, and Blog2Book. She has helped more than 100 professionals become published authors.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

What a book coach does.
Why Cathy doesn’t love writing
Why you should write a book
Scheduling your writing
The Writers Pledge
Writers Mastermind
Writing your first book
The dreams of executive women
Imposter syndrome
Writing sprints
Writing a letter to your ideal reader

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

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Ahmad Munawar is the Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Boutique Growth, where he helps boutique professional services firms generate more leads so they can win more business. He’s also the host of Forecast — a marketing podcast for professional services leaders, where he interviews the brightest minds in marketing and business development. Ahmad’s work has been featured in Professional Services Marketing Today, Duct Tape Marketing, The B2B Growth Show, and B2B Revenue Leadership.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

From accounting to marketing
Thinking critically
Lead generation
Making more strategic decisions
The two types of places for gathering ideas
Formulating your own ideas
Perennial Seller by Ryan Holiday
Creating a podcast
Creating a library of ideas
Writing podcast monologues
Ira Glass
Capturing ideas

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

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Geeta got her first paid (and international!) writing gig at age 12 and in the more than two decades since, she’s worked for the CBC, CNN, Reader’s Digest, Asia Pacific Broadcasting (and more) producing print, TV, radio and new media. She currently contributes to Inc, Entrepreneur, and Huffington Post. Geeta was voted “Best TV Personality” by the readers of the Montreal Mirror and has been featured in the Montreal Book of Everything. She is the founder of Baby Got Booked, an online course designed to help visionary entrepreneurs use uncommon PR strategies to create exponential growth in their companies. Her students have grown six- and seven-figure businesses often in their first 12 – 18 months by learning how to get in front of millions of their ideal prospects and then leverage that media exposure for fun and profit.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Being a storyteller
Why your gift may not be your life purpose
Asking great questions
Children are curiosity poured into shoes
Opening and closing loops
Golden seed clients
Jesse Itzler
Sara Blakely
Indian men and fake wedding rings
Physualizing
Storytelling as a means to an end
Helping people be more possible
Starting a movement
Do what you can’t – Casey Neistat
Be More Possible
Falling in love with the process

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

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JB Glossinger, MBA, Ph.D., is widely known as the Morning Coach, with a daily podcast that has been downloaded over 22 million times. A sought-after motivational speaker and coach with an international following, JB is also a Mastermind group leader and a contributing writer for The Business Journals, a 43-paper network. He holds advanced degrees in business and metaphysics but credits his street education—from black eyes to near bankruptcy—with providing the life-changing lessons that inspired the keys to personal transformation he shares with audiences, coaching clients, and readers worldwide.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

National Speakers Association
Tony Robbins
Zig Ziglar
Wayne Dyer
Tim Ferriss
Gary Vaynerchuk
Creating online courses
1,000 True Fans
Why 60% of people suck!

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

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Bob Stromberg is one of a very small group of artists who have stayed prolific and profitably busy for over forty years. Hows he done it? Well by “Mastering the Craft of Creativity”. In his online course of the same name, Bob shares profound, transforming disciplines that lead to a rich, personal reservoir of original ideas.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why creativity is in our genes
The three fundamental disciplines for creativity: grab, interrogate, transform.
Rediscovering your creativity
Hell Yes or No
The 10,000 hour rule
Shadow work

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

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Michael Gebben spent 7 years building a video company that was the envy of everyone in his field, GebbsTV. Until, one day, he woke up to the realization that he’d built a cage of his own making. And given up so much of his life in the name of something that didn’t really mean a whole lot. So he hit reset, and over the last three years, rebuilt his life and his career around what matters and even launched a new inspirational Youtube channel. Michael’s current company Jumpstarters helps creative entrepreneurs to get over the same hurdles that he was able to conquer, allowing him to work with individuals such as Tim Ferris, Tony Robbins and Richard Branson. Michael is a big believer in Massive Imperfect Action rather than getting stuck in the minutia and never moving forward.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

The role of mentors
Walks with his grandfather
Ryan Holiday
Backstage at Brendon Burchard event
Working with Tony Robbins
Les Brown
Same-day edit
The ‘My Way’ decision
Derek Sivers – Hell Yes or No
Inspiring the possibilities in others
Myers Briggs personality test
Jumpstarters

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

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Daniel DiPiazza is the founder of the massively popular Rich20Something.com, and was once a typical twentysomething, logging mind-numbing hours at low-paying jobs in hopes of moving up. Then it hit him: This doesn’t have to be my life. Now twenty-eight, DiPiazza has launched multiple successful businesses with zero startup capital—simply by identifying and monetizing his skills into a career and life he loves. His latest book ‘Rich20Something: Ditch Your Average Job, Start An Epic Business, and Score The Life You Want’ will help you do just that.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Inspiration from Walt Disney
Creative Leadership
Initiation
Fail-Proofing Your Idea
The Two Questions You Should Ask
Is There Someone Else That Is Doing It?
Are They Making Money?
Different or Better
Tesla vs Dodge
Not Getting Stuck On The Idea
Tony Robbins and Future Pacing
Andy Warhol
The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier
Delivering The Promise
4.45am Routine

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

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Jonathan Fields is a dad, husband, serial entrepreneur, growth strategist and award-winning author, who loves discovering stories and ideas. His Good Life Project® helps people live more meaningful, connected and vital lives. You may have heard Jonathan’s top-rated podcast or watched his video-series where he regularly shares conversations with the likes of Sir Ken Robinson, Elizabeth Gilbert and Brene Brown. His most recent book, How to Live a Good Life: Soulful Stories, Surprising Science and Practical Wisdom, is a wake-up call and a path to possibility. Jonathan also speaks globally on the ideas contained within the book to clients such as PayPal, GE and at events including SXSW and World Domination Summit.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

The art and craft of the conversational interview
The heroes journey
Education/Media/Community
The role of intention in pursuing your goals and dreams
Vitality/Connection/Contribution – Living the Good Life
Intentional vs Reactive
Self-discovery
Boundary crossing
Long-form content
Going deeper
The Good Life Project Camp
Purpose & Meaning

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

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Anthony is internationally recognized as a thought leader in sales, with his award winning The Sales Blog being read by 65,000 people each month. He has been named one the 50 most influential people in sales by Top Sales World and was also named one of the 25 most influential people in sales by Open View Partners. In addition to writing daily at The Sales Blog since 2010, Anthony is also a contributing editor at SUCCESS Magazine and ThinkSales Magazine as well as writing an occasional column for Forbes. Anthony’s first book, The Only Sales Guide You’ll Ever Need was a national bestseller. His second book, The Lost Art of Closing: Winning the Ten Commitments That Drive Sales is released this summer.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Finding your voice as a writer and speaker
Joining Toastmasters
Level 4 value creation
Finding your dream clients
Going from zero to keynoting in one year
Two book deal with Portfolio
Discover stage of selling
The dangers of not recognizing your creative value
Closing with multiple decision makers and stakeholders
The Creative vs The Critic
Building a community
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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

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Sean Brawley has dedicated the past 25 years to helping people from all walks of life elevate their performance, unlock their potential and deal with creative blocks. As founder of the Brawley Institute, Sean one of the world’s foremost experts on innovative coaching methods and sustainable high performance. He has custom-designed programs for GE, ITT, New York Yankees and USC Football team.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Interviewing Roger Federer and Serena Williams
Success leaves clues
Discovering patterns
The breakthrough moment
The gift of injuries
Exploring the joy of starting again
Overcoming creative blocks
Paradigm shifts
Growing your capacity
The Inner Game of Golf
The Inner Game of Tennis
Pete Carroll

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

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John DeMato is a branded, lifestyle portrait photographer who partners with thought leaders and high-level entrepreneurs to create high-volume image libraries that gets them the visibility they deserve. More than just a photographer, John sets his clients up for success beyond the portrait session by coaching them on how to best leverage their image content for their websites, social channels, blogs, publications, advertisements and various other needs.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Capturing emotion
Fake smiles
What confidence looks like
Pre-session strategy call
Pia Silva photoshoot
“This is not editorial photography”
Paul Jarvis
Niching down
Qualifying your customer

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

• YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesTaylorMe/
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Michael Bungay Stanier is the Senior Partner of Box of Crayons, a company that helps organizations do less Good Work and more Great Work. Box of Crayons is best known for its coaching programs, which give busy managers practical tools so they can coach in 10 minutes or less. On the way to founding Box of Crayons in 2002, Michael lived in Australia, England, the United States and Canada, his current home. He’s written two books that have each sold close to 100,000 copies, the Wall Street Journal bestseller The Coaching Habit and Do More Great Work. He was the first Canadian Coach of the Year, is a Rhodes Scholar, and in 2016 was recognized as the #2 Coaching Guru in the world.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

How Michael self-published a book, sold 180,000 copies and 2X’d revenue
The coaching habit
Shiny object syndrome
Coach training
The promise
Edgar Schein – Corporate culture
Offer less, to fewer people, in few countries … but REALLY double down and offer what you’ve got to them.
The best coaching question in the world – AWE – And what else?
Creating a coaching book classic
The 3 year book marketing plan
Getting focused
Survivor bias

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

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Jenna Mack is the creator and host of the interview program, In the Grey. She is an experienced producer who was responsible for cultural segments on Charlie Rose, featuring renowned actors, writers, architects and designers. During that formative time at the acclaimed PBS broadcast, Mack’s vision for “In the Grey” took shape.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Starting ‘In The Grey’
Working on Charlie Rose
Sharing people’s stories
The vegetarian hunter
Humans of New York
Long form video content

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

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Jessica Hagy is an artist and writer best known for her Webby award-winning blog, Indexed. Her work combines data with humor, insight, and simple visuals to make even the most complex concepts immediately accessible and relevant. Her books include ‘The Art of War, Visualized’, ‘Indexed’ and ‘How To Be Interesting’ and her latest is “The Hustle Economy: Transforming Creativity Into a Career”.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Publishing everyday
Moving from blog to book
The advertising voice
Developing your style

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

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Andrea is the Creative Director at Thinkific, a platform which helps anyone create their own online courses. She helps run the creative team there and works to align the entire organization around creativity. She got her start with a Bachelor of Commerce with a focus in Entrepreneurship and quickly jumped into the world of advertising to help clients of all sizes use creativity to affect their bottom line. She’s now also completing her B.DES specialized in Industrial Design, which has solidified her devotion to what can come from an solid and effective creative process.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

The Five Why’s
Creative Culture at Thinkific
Brand values and objectives
Structure and creativity
Niching down

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

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Courtney Smith Kramer is the co-founder and Executive Creative Director for PureMatter, and is proud to be one of the 3% of female creative directors in the United States. An accomplished creative strategist, storyteller, writer and designer, she has earned hundreds of creative awards and jurors creative competitions across the county. Courtney has a wicked dirty sense of humor and swears like a sailor but has to be serious (mostly) for her job. Her first book is called “21 Reasons Creativity is Like Sex” and is out now.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

The 3% Conference
Mistaking creativity with artistry
The Double D’s – Distraction and Dopamine
Empathy Maps
Mindmaps
Wine culture
Tim Ferriss
The saboteur
Deep listening
3 Ideas
“When expectations are in alignment, there is no conflict.”

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

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Mike Brown is founder of The Brainzooming Group. He has been at the forefront of leading Fortune 500 culture change, developing simplified tools for innovation, strategy planning, and branding to maximize collaboration and business results. Mike is known for providing non-experts with dynamic tools so they can succeed like experts. Finally his Brainzooming blog turns 10 years old later in 2017, and is visited annually by readers in 190 countries.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

How tables can help or hinder creativity
Black Swans
Ghostbusters
Being more strategic
Strategic planning questions
What are you trying to achieve?
How does it help our brand?
How do we achieve it?

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

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Entrepreneur, speaker and author Pia Silva is a partner and brand strategist at Worstofall Design where they build “Badass Brands without the BS” for 1-3 person service businesses in 1-3 day intensives. She is a Forbes contributor and has spoken at a host of entrepreneurial organizations including The Million Dollar Women Summit, Goldman Sach’s 10,000 small businesses, and The Chamber of Commerce. Her company was named top “10 Design Firms Lead By Young People That Are Changing the Way We Look at the World” and her new book is called Badass Your Brand: Impatient Entrepreneur’s Guide to Turning Expertise into Profit.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

How to be mint-choc chip in a vanilla world
How to find the right clients
Freedom as a goal
The agency model
The Brandup™ Process
The BrandShrink™ Process

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

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Mark Bowden is a keynote speaker for organizations worldwide whose work depends upon winning the hearts and minds of others. His talks take you on an exciting and humorous journey to understand how, with the right body language “It’s often not what you say—but how you say it, that gets results!” An expert in human behaviour and body language, Mark is the creator of TRUTHPLANE®, a communication training company and unique methodology for anyone who has to communicate with impact to an audience.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Truth and Lies
Sir David Attenborough
Desmond Morris
Physical Triggers
Open Body Language
Barack Obama’s Body Language
Body Language and Culture
Open Palm Gestures at Naval Height
G8 Leaders Body Language
How To Move On Purpose
PresentationGenius.com

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

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Anthony has developed a network of world-wide famous acting studios in 7 cities all over the world and has one of the biggest acting studios in Los Angeles, teaching many of Hollywood’s biggest stars. He has 3 best-selling published books on Creativity – including AT LEFT BRAIN TURN RIGHT and BOOK THE F**KING JOB! He is currently working on his second and third feature films and has written and directed a number of award winning shorts and film projects and theatre plays. He has been an avid meditator for 20 years.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Acting schools in Los Angeles
Acting training
Blog post on ‘being an artist’
Getting out of your way
Barack Obama talk
This American Life by Ira Glass
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

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Roger Dooley is the author of Brainfluence: 100 Ways to Persuade and Convince Consumers with Neuromarketing, and writes the popular blog Neuromarketing as well as Brainy Marketing at Forbes.com. He is the founder of Dooley Direct, a marketing consultancy, and co-founded College Confidential, the leading college-bound website. He’s been a serial entrepreneur since he left a senior strategy position at a Fortune 1000 company to enter the then-nascent home computer market.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Brainfluence
Neuromarketing
System 1 and System 2
Robert Cialdini ‘Influence’
Dan Ariely
Finding the 100 short chapter approach to writing
Decision Making
College Confidential
fMRI scanning

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

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Blake Brandes is a TEDx speaker, co-founder of the personal development company, Motivational Millennial, and co-host of the Motivational Millennial Podcast. He also runs a hip-hop motivational speaking business to help students “Remix Their Reality” through assemblies and workshops. Blake was the recipient of the Marshall Scholarship, one of the most competitive postgraduate awards in the world, which he used to complete his Master’s and PhD on hip-hop and global youth cultures.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

TEDx Talk on the untapped power of millennials
Booking 95 date speaking tour of schools
Performing on America’s Got Talent
Getting booked to speak in schools
Growth mindset

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

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David Allen is Founder of the David Allen Company and author of Getting Things Done–the Art of Stress-Free Productivity. If you are new to Getting Things Done or GTD it is a self-management methodology that became a worldwide phenomenon and has helped countless individuals and organizations bring order to chaos. Indeed TIME Magazine called Getting Things Done “the defining self-help business book of its time” and the insights contained within it have enabled many to alleviate feelings of overwhelm and bring greater focus, clarity and creativity to their life and work.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

How GTD works
Capturing your ideas, projects and tasks
Creating a global training company
Stephen Covey
Horizons of Focus

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

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Neil Mullarkey is a comedian who uses his improv skills to inspire business people to embrace their creativity and enhance their communication skills. 32 years ago Neil co-founded the world famous improvisation group The Comedy Store Players with Mike Myers and chances are you’ll have seen Neil perform on TV shows including Have I Got News For You, Whose Line Is It Anyway, QI or the Austin Powers movies.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Footlights
Working With Mike Myers
Comedy Store Players
Desmond Morris
Listening With Intent
Breaking Down Corporate Silos
Follow The Follower
Agile Management
“Yes, and”
HIPPO (Highest Paid Person’s Opinion)
John Cleese on Creativity (Open and Closed Mode)
Ashridge Holt Business School
Resistance to Change
Walking Down The Road Exercise
Paul Plsek of DirectedCreativity.com
The Definition of Creativity
Creatio ex Materia
Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind by Guy Glaxton
Default Mode Network (DMN)
Keith Grint
Headspace for Improv

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

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Bernie DeKoven is a “founding father of play studies,” creating the Games Preserve, the first centre for the exploration of games and play for adults. Bernie continues to this day to explore the theory of fun and playfulness and how it can affect every aspect of personal and interpersonal, community and institutional health.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Playfulness in the wild
Edward de Bono
Anthropology of play
A guide to children’s games
The Games Preserve
Bill Russell
A well-played game
Games are co-operative
Separating yourself from success
Building communities and Utopia’s
Physical games vs Virtual games
Augmented Reality

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

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Jorge Barba is an entrepreneur, consultant, advisor and innovation insurgent. His Game Changer blog and Big Bang Podcast are all about innovation, new ideas and how the world is changing. Meanwhile as an entrepreneur he has started 5 companies and been part of 8 startups in both California and Mexico.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Drones and Artificial Intelligence
Managing Innovation
Startup Culture in Mexico
Entrepreneurship in Tijuana
Cross-Border Collaboration
Startup Chile
Lessons from Fred Smith of FEDEX
The Idea Box
Being A Creative Generalist
Specialization Has An Expiry Date
Society of Creative Generalists
Elon Must As A Generalist
Hybrid Vines
Michael Jordan Booklet

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

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David Meerman Scott is an internationally acclaimed strategist, whose books are must-reads for professionals seeking to generate attention and grow their businesses. He is the author of ten books – three of which are international bestsellers. Indeed ‘The New Rules of Marketing & PR’ is now in its 5th edition, has been translated into 28 languages and is required reading at hundreds of universities and business schools worldwide. Meanwhile as a speaker he has delivered keynotes in seven continents and over 40 countries to companies including Cisco, PwC, Ford, Google and Nestle Purina.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Hilary Clinton the Selfie Ninja
Donald Trump the Marketer
Tony Robbins
How Newsjacking Works
3 hours is too late!
Creating online content
Real-time news
Seeing patterns as a marketer
Marketing the Moon
Publishing great content
Marketing Mindfulness
Being in the moment with your marketing

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

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Scott Hartley is a venture capitalist and author. In 2016 he was a finalist for the Financial Times and McKinsey & Company’s Bracken Bower Prize for the best business book proposal by an author under 35. He has served as a Presidential Innovation Fellow at the White House, a Partner at Mohr Davidow Ventures (MDV), and a Venture Partner at Metamorphic Ventures. Prior to venture capital, Scott worked at Google, Facebook, and Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society. He has been a contributing author at MIT Press, and has written for the Financial Times, Forbes, Inc., Foreign Policy, and the Boston Review. He holds three degrees from Stanford and Columbia, has finished six marathon and Ironman 70.3 triathlons. He is a Term Member at the Council on Foreign Relations, and has visited over 70 countries. His latest book is called ‘The Fuzzy and the Techie – Why The Liberal Arts Will Rule The Digital World’.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

A Fuzzy in a Techie World
Stanford Fuzzies and Techies
Learning to code and read Socrates
Two Cultures Lecture
Specialization versus Generalization
Creative Artificial Intelligence
STEM to STEAM
IDEO U
Creating and Consuming
Writing a book at different times and in different places
The courtship process of venture capital
The anti-portfolio
Behavioral design
Nudge – The Tipping Experiment

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For 20+ years, Stephen Shapiro has presented his strategies on innovation to audiences in 50 countries and to organizations including 3M, Proctor & Gamble, Marriott, Nike and Microsoft. During his tenure with Accenture, he led a 20,000-person innovation practice before coming to a crossroads in his life. His latest book, “Best Practices Are Stupid,” was named the best innovation and creativity book of 2011 but it is perhaps for his work as an innovation keynote speaker that Stephen Shapiro is best-known. Indeed he was recently inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame and his speeches on creating high performing innovation teams and developing an innovative culture led one former writer at Business Week to declare that “Stephen Shapiro is the best presenter of ideas since Tom Peters.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why innovation is not the same as creativity
Why creativity has killed innovation in organizations
Innovation as the responsibility of everyone
Starting with process
The innovation process
Defining the challenge
Expertise is the enemy of innovation
Blockbuster vs Netflix
Questions and Solutions
Boundary crossing
Purposeful tangents
Pumps and Pipes
Studying magic
Innovation at Accenture
Business Process Reengineering
The Rise and Fall and Rise of Innovation
Speaker Hall of Fame
The Speaking Business
Charging what you are worth
The key to a really successful speaking business
Personality Poker
Everybody is innovative

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Rutger Bregman is an author and historian who has been called ‘The Dutch wunderkind of new ideas’ by The Guardian Newspaper. He has twice been nominated for the prestigious European Press Prize for his journalism work at The Correspondent. His latest book ‘Utopia for Realists’ makes a passionate case for universal basic income, open borders and a 15-hour workweek. I had the opportunity to hear him talk at the RSA in London recently and it’s my great pleasure to welcome him onto the show now.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Universal basic income
Inequality
Win-Win
Cornflakes Capitalism
15 Hour Work Week
Avoiding the news
It’s OK to not finish a book!
The power of Ideas
Utopia for Realists
Peter Singer
Sapiens
The obsession with work
Email

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Radim Malinic is a creative director and designer living and working in London. He runs Brand Nu, a multidisciplinary award winning studio but before finding his calling in the creative industry, Czech born Malinic was an ice hockey player, a bassist in death metal bands, an indie DJ, music journalist and student of Economics and Business management. After moving to the UK to explore the expansive music scene, he found an even greater interest in art and graphic design. Since then his eclectic interests have seen him working with some of the biggest brands, companies and bands in the world. Clients include Harry Potter, London Film Museum, SyCo, Sprite, WWF and USAID amongst many others. His latest book is called, Book of Ideas, a #1 Amazon bestseller which has helped novices and professionals across the world to find new way of approaching their creative work.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Working directly with clients
Choosing your clients
Specialists vs Generalists
The role of color in design
Color psychology
The rule of the opposite
Taking time off
Working with decision makers
Creating a brand book
James Bond and Harry Potter
Brand DNA
Augmented Reality

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Saul Kaplan is the founder and Chief Catalyst of the Business Innovation Factory and author of The Business Model Innovation Factory: How to Stay Relevant when the World Is Changing. Saul started BIF in 2005 with a mission to make transformation safer and easier to manage by helping institution leaders explore, test, and commercialize next practices and new business models in the real world. Their vision is to influence systems-level transformation in areas of high social importance focusing on healthcare, education, and public services.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Accidental Bureaucrat Phase
Creative Cities
Transforming vs Tweaking
The failure of innovation labs
Getting Netflixed
Hanging out at the edge
Transhumanism
Market making and share taking
Marketing Prozac
Storytelling in innovation
From push to pull
Minimum viable business model
CEO vs COO
Move fast and break things
BIF Summit

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

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Larry Robertson is all about helping others explore the possible. He is a multi-award winning author of two books; ‘A Deliberate Pause: Entrepreneurship and its Moment in Human Progress’ as well as his latest ‘The Language of Man. Learning to Speak Creativity’. He is also the founder of two ventures and is a highly respected thought leader in creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship, advising individuals and organizations across a broad spectrum. Larry is a former Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and his professional career has included roles with J.P. Morgan and the Walt enDisney Company.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

UNESCO Creative Cities
PWC Creativity Study
The Fox and The Hedgehog
Border Crossing
Growth Stage Entrepreneurs
Questioning vs Inquiry
McArthur Fellows and Creativity
Deborah Myer – Habits of the Mind
Asking unprofessional questions
Moving from entrepreneurship to creativity
Taking a deliberate pause
Tuning into your gut feeling
Fast failing
Lean startup approach to writing
What have I not asked you?
The importance of play
Elizabeth Gilbert
Kayaking

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Dr. KH Kim is a professor of creativity and innovation at the College of William & Mary. In 2010 she published a seminal study called “The Creativity Crisis”, a work which looked at the reasons for declining creativity levels in America. Then in 2016 she published “The Creativity Challenge”, a book which provided the solutions to this crisis. She has been awarded The Berlyne Award from the American Psychology Association, The E. Paul Torrance Award from the American Creativity Association, and both The Early Scholar Award and The Hollingworth Award from National Association for Gifted Children.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Decline of creativity in America
Nobel prize winners and creativity
Confusionism and creativity
Creativity in China
Creativity in Korea
Creativity in America
The link between intelligence and creativity
Being curious
The doctor walks into the fortune teller!
Necessary but not sufficient
Intelligence trap
Threshold theory
Boundary crossing
Unique vs New
Change the water not the fish
Torrance Center
Non-conformity
Western Creativity vs Eastern Creativity

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Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

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Brian Meeks likes to tell a story. He is a US based author who writes mysteries, thrillers and science fiction as well as non-fiction titles about the business of being an Indie author. You’d never guess then that he hated writing until January 2nd, 2010. It was on that day that he wrote a blog piece which attracted within 24 hours a respectable 300 views and 25 positive comments. This provided the spark he needed and since then he’s written over 1500 blog posts, 3 fiction books and 13 novels including his successful Henry Wood Detective Series. He also has a new book out with a former Creative Life podcast guest, Honoree Corder which is called ‘The Prosperous Writer’s Guide to Making More Money.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Mastering Amazon ads
Using Amazon Advertising platform
Data analytics as a writer
BookBub
KPI’s for self-published authors
Knowing your conversion rates
Writing to market
Chunking down your writing sessions
A panster to a plotter
Making $7,000 a month from self-publishing
Writing at night
Blocking your writing time
Co-creation of books
The self-publishing business
How many data analysts work at big book publishers
Brian’s $60,000 mistake
Elmore Leonard
Productivity hacks for writers
Building your list
Starting a blog as a writer
Writing 3-4 books quickly

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Bryan Mattimore is Chief Idea Guy at Growth Engine innovation agency. He has facilitated 1000 ideation sessions, delivered over 200 keynotes, and managed 200 successful innovation projects leading to $3 billion in new revenue. Bryan’s clients have included Johnson and Johnson, AstraZeneca, Ford, IBM, Microsoft, Pepsi, Unilever and many more. As an author he has written three books on ideation and innovation including Idea Stormers (How To Lead and Inspire Creative Breakthroughs), and 21 Days to a Big Idea.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Global Virtual Ideation Training
Tradelink
Disruptive War Gaming
What is creativity?
What is innovation?
What is ideation?
What is brainstorming?
Brainstorming vs Ideation
Artificial Intelligence for creativity and innovation
Patent Prompts
Ideation Training
Millennial Training
Gary Fraser
Innovation guru Bob Dorf

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Art Markman Phd is Professor of Psychology and Marketing at the University of Texas at Austin and Founding Director of the Program in the Human Dimensions of Organizations. He has have written over 150 scientific papers on reasoning, decision making, and motivation, as well as several books on creativity, behavior change, and general psychology. Art’s research explores how we think. He has made a lifetime study of how people form and use analogies, the mechanisms of decision making, and how our motivation affects our reasoning. However when he’s not doing things related to Cognitive Sciences you might find him playing sax in a blues and ska band.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Cognitive science
Jim Anderson
Motivation
Regret
The brain science of improvisation
Categorization by roles not features
Smart Change book
Taking up saxophone

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Tiisetso Maloma is an entrepreneur and author of four books about entrepreneurship, creativity and personal development. After becoming disillusioned with the traditional business plan, he devised an easier model called EBC which he describes in his book ‘Forget The Business Plan Use This Short Model’. An entrepreneur himself he has built businesses in accounting, music, clothing, television and technology and his heavily involved with the startup scene in South Africa. Indeed one of his books ’Township Biz Fastrack’ gives insights and growth models for township based businesses. His latest book is called ‘The Anxious Entrepreneur’ which is a manifesto and guide for aspiring and new entrepreneurs.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Catching the entrepreneurial bug
The startup scene in South Africa
Tech incubators in South Africa
Entrepreneurs mental health
Entrepreneurship and depression
Fail fast. Fail better.
Even sharks get depressed
Anxiety defeats creativity. Creativity defeats anxiety
Entrepreneurship is a marathon not a sprint
The daily writing habit
Getting into speaking
Startup picnic

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Shona Main is a modern Renaissance woman. With a background in journalism, law, politics and social policy Shona spend years as a travel writer and columnist before picking up a film camera in 2011. He first documentary (Clavel), is an intimate portrait of a crofter on the Scottish island of Shetland. While in Shetland she began researching the pioneering documentary filmmaker Jenny Gilbertson who had filmed crofters on the island in the 1930’s and the Inuit of Arctic Canada in the 1970’s. Recently Shona has embarked on a practice-led PhD which explores the ethics of Gilbertson’s filmmaking and her own. In 2018 she heads to the Arctic as part of the research and filming for this project.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Getting the filmmaking bug
The making of Clavel
Beginners mind
The role of encouragement
Ethics and filmmaking
“Get It Right Next Time” by Gerry Rafferty
Buddhist chanting

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Derek Friday is a multi-displinary environmental graphic designer who originally trained as a traditional architect before transitioning into integrated branding and environmental graphic design. In 2007 he founded Finndustry, a graphic design and brand development company, based in Boulder, Colorado and Hamburg, Germany. In addition to his projects across the US you’ll see Derek’s work in countries ranging from Poland and Hungary to Egypt and the UAE. When he’s not designing you’ll find him running up mountains and biking gravel.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

The Brand DNA
Mumford & Sons
Environmental Graphic Design
Integrity in Design
Visioning Stage
Finding Inspiration
Becoming A Visual Sponge
Boulder, Colorado as a Creative Hub
Creative Life in Hamburg, Germany
Going from Complex to Simple
Haiku Poetry
Creative Rituals
Running to Think
Sketching

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

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Michael Hendrix is a Partner of the influential design company IDEO, renowned for decades of innovation. As an Executive Design Director he splits his time between leadership of IDEO’s Cambridge, Massachusetts studio and global marketing and communications. Throughout his 20-year career, Michael has brought an unorthodox sensibility to bear, inspiring creative talent and working with them to build design programs and organizations. This diversity of roles has provided the opportunity for him to contribute to a number of leading brands and organizations including Converse, Tempur Sealy, Steelcase, the DIY Network, and the Department of Homeland Security.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

IDEO values and guidelines
Human centric design
One client
No account managers
'Design for Change' group
Innovation Labs
Design thinking
Open source methodology
Creative confidence
Pattern recognition

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

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As a creative business manager to creative freelancers, Corwin cares about the why and how of making a living from ones passion. He manages talent such as world-renowned photographer and best-selling author David duChemin. He is the author of ‘Living the Dream: Putting Your Creativity to Work [and Getting Paid] which is a business book for creative people.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

The role of the business manager
Choosing the right business manager
Opportunity costs
7 clients
CEO, Concierge, Consigliere, Counsellor
Drawing a crowd
Target Audience vs Target Market
Zagging and Zigging
Financial advice for creative professionals
Diversifying your creative income streams
Drawing from parallel industries
Business manager for chefs
Not making negotiation emotional
Talent is implied

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See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

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David B. Goldstein is a writer, artist, researcher and co-author of the best-seller “Creative You: Using Your Personality Type To Thrive”. He is the originator of the ‘Creative-Type’ concept and speaks about how everyone can be creative in their own way using their natural strengths.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Developing your personal creative style
Myers Briggs of Creativity
16 Creative Personality Types
Creative diversity
Brainstorming sessions
Delegating

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I spend much of my year as a creativity and innovation keynote speaker attending global conferences and creativity workshops in various parts of the world. I've also been fascinated by the differences in terms of how creativity is thought about in the West versus the East. When I ask an executive in New York what creativity means to them they describe "something coming from nothing" or what creativity experts call 'create ex nihilio'. However on a recent talk in Asia I asked the same question and creativity what described as "taking two ideas and arranging them in some new way". In today's episode of The Creative Life TV Show I talk about the origins of why creativity and innovation is thought about in different ways depending on where you are in the world.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you'll learn:
create ex nihilo - create out of nothing
Buddhism and Confucinism
create ex materia - create out of something
creativity is evolutionary

Please subscribe to my channel if you are into what I do! Your support is greatly appreciated and helps me continue to keep it free for everyone:

• Please Subscribe To This Channel https://goo.gl/8EWszQ

See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

• YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesTaylorMe/
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme
• LinkedIn https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor
• Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesTaylor_me

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Paul Jarvis has been called the hardest-working creative you’ll meet, and as a designer and writer he spends his time at the intersection of creativity and commerce. He has taught over 10,000 students through online courses, published four bestselling books, and worked with top entrepreneurs including Marie Forleo, Danielle Laporte and Kris Carr. Oh, and when not doing all this he finds time to host two podcasts, The Freelancer and Invisible Office Hours.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

The Accidental Entrepreneur
Choosing your clients
Niching down
Relating to ROI (return on investment)
Ontraport
Justin Livingstone and Hustle
Gary Vaynerchuk
2am Problems

Please subscribe to my channel if you are into what I do! Your support is greatly appreciated and helps me continue to keep it free for everyone:

• Please Subscribe To This Channel https://goo.gl/8EWszQ

See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

• YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesTaylorMe/
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme
• LinkedIn https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor
• Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesTaylor_me

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Ever wanted to write your first book? Then you'll love this episode of The Creative Life Podcast with writing coach Honorée Corder.

Honorée Corder is the author of 20 books, including You Must Write A Book, Vision to Reality, Tall Order, The Successful Single Mom book series, and The Divorced Phoenix. She is also Hal Elrod's business partner in The Miracle Morning book series, which has been a huge hit. Honorée coaches business professionals, writers, and aspiring non-fiction authors who want to publish their books to bestseller status, create a platform, and develop multiple streams of income. She also does all sorts of other magical things, and her badassery is legendary!
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Writing your first book in 3 days
Building your list
LinkedIn for writers
Reciprocity
The Successful Single Mom
Evergreen book marketing
Goodreads
Learning to say ‘no’
21 books + 7 Miracle Morning series books
Thinking about a series of books as opposed to just one book
Mark Victor Hansen story
Getting the confidence to write that first book
Major publisher vs self-publishing
Successful book marketing strategies

Please subscribe to my channel if you are into what I do! Your support is greatly appreciated and helps me continue to keep it free for everyone:

• Please Subscribe To This Channel https://goo.gl/8EWszQ

See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

• YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesTaylorMe/
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme
• LinkedIn https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor
• Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesTaylor_me

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Alan Iny is the senior specialist for creativity and scenarios at The Boston Consulting Group and has spent his entire working life on the subject of creativity in business. With the Boston Consulting Group since 2003, Alan has trained thousands of people on how to think creatively, and has work with clients across industries worldwide. His latest book, Thinking in New Boxes is now available in 11 languages.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

The importance of doubt in creativity
Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and innovation
Creativity across different cultures
Making a step-change
The intelligence trap
Creative strategy
Creative facilitator
Creativity Consultant role models (Edward de Bono)
Brainstorming questions not answers
Thinking creatively about the future
Neurocreativity

Please subscribe to my channel if you are into what I do! Your support is greatly appreciated and helps me continue to keep it free for everyone:

• Please Subscribe To This Channel https://goo.gl/8EWszQ

See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

• YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesTaylorMe/
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme
• LinkedIn https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor
• Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesTaylor_me

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Some of the most creative and innovative people have been risk takers, but calculated risk takers. In today's episode of The Creative Life TV Show I share the story of what a doctor in Enlightenment Edinburgh can teach us about taking risks.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you'll learn:
Dr James Young Simpson
Decanters of chloroform
Taking calculated risks
Silicon Valley tech billionaires

Please subscribe to my channel if you are into what I do! Your support is greatly appreciated and helps me continue to keep it free for everyone:

• Please Subscribe To This Channel https://goo.gl/8EWszQ

See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

• YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesTaylorMe/
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme
• LinkedIn https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor
• Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesTaylor_me

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Jason Kotecki is an artist, author, and speaker who considers himself a professional reminder-er and permission granter. His mission is to demonstrate how the secrets of childhood are timeless and through his work he shares real-world strategies and practical ideas for driving innovation, preventing burnout, and achieving new levels of productivity. His is the co-founder of Escape Adulthood which seeks to help people escape from adulthood and annihilate Adultitis.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Escape Adulthood Adventure Club
How to become an artist
Getting a literary agent
Publishing vs Self-Publishing
What is Adultist?
Being childlike and curious
Opening and Closing Keynotes
Tinkering vs Innovation
Authenticity
Comparison
Choosing the right bait

Please subscribe to my channel if you are into what I do! Your support is greatly appreciated and helps me continue to keep it free for everyone:

• Please Subscribe To This Channel https://goo.gl/8EWszQ

See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

• YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesTaylorMe/
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme
• LinkedIn https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor
• Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesTaylor_me

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Do you get some of your best ideas in coffee shops? Well you are not alone. Creativity and coffee has a long history and some of most innovative minds including Freud, Klimt, and Mahler valued the importance of coffee shops as a ‘third place’, not home and not work. In today’s episode of The Creative Life TV Show I share why coffee and tea shops have such a beneficial effect on the creative process.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you'll learn:
1900’s Vienna coffee shop culture
Central Cafe
Freud, Klimt, Mahler, Stalin, Trotsky
The cafe as a ‘third place’
Every batman needs a robin
Coffee shops as providers of intimacy and exploration

Please subscribe to my channel if you are into what I do! Your support is greatly appreciated and helps me continue to keep it free for everyone:

• Please Subscribe To This Channel https://goo.gl/8EWszQ

See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

• YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesTaylorMe/
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme
• LinkedIn https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor
• Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesTaylor_me

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In this episode of The Creative Life Podcast I talk with author and creativity speaker Warren Berger about the value of questioning, frame-storming and marketing your book.

Warren Berger is an innovation expert, speaker and author of 5 books, the most recent of which is “A More Beautiful Question”. A longtime contributor to the New York Times, Wired Magazine and Fast Company, Warren describes himself as a “Questionologist”. He believes that asking questions can spark innovation and lead to change. An expert on design thinking and innovation he has interview top entrepreneurs, creative artists, designers and innovators to find out how they ask game-changing questions, solve problems, and create new possibilities.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

The writing process
Creative writing
What if?
4th grade slump
Creativity in schools
The value of questioning
How the media frames questions
Open and closed questions
Re-framing the question
Why are you doing what you are doing?
Design thinking
Marketing your book
Public Words by Nick Morgan

Please subscribe to my channel if you are into what I do! Your support is greatly appreciated and helps me continue to keep it free for everyone:

• Please Subscribe To This Channel https://goo.gl/8EWszQ

See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

• YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesTaylorMe/
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme
• LinkedIn https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor
• Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesTaylor_me

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In this episode of The Creative Life Podcast David Burkus talks about the common myths of creativity. David Burkus is a writer, speaker, teacher and podcast host whose books include The Myths of Creativity and Under New Management but you’ll also find him writing for Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc Magazine. When not writing or traveling to speak around the world he teaches at Oral Roberts University where he holds the position of Associate Professor of Management.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Bringing up creative children
Carol Dwek and the growth mindset
The myth of the muses
Pre-game creative rituals
Elizabeth Gilbert & Steven Pressfield
The creative class
The originality myth
Hofstede country comparisons
The eureka myth

Please subscribe to my channel if you are into what I do! Your support is greatly appreciated and helps me continue to keep it free for everyone:

• Please Subscribe To This Channel https://goo.gl/8EWszQ

See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

• YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesTaylorMe/
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme
• LinkedIn https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor
• Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesTaylor_me

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Ryan Kairalla is a lawyer, writer, podcaster and teacher and in this episode of The Creative Life he talks to me about poor man's copyright and 360 deals for creatives. He advises both chart-topping music artists and up-and-coming musicians about recording, publishing and management agreements as well as litigation and copyright. His new book ‘Break The Business: Declaring Your Independence and Achieving True Success In The Music Industry’, shines a light on the pitfalls that too many music artists fall into and how musicians can achieve success on their own terms.
More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Break The Business podcast and book
The music industry is dead...or is it!
360 deals in book publishing and music industry
Irving Azoff
Role of the music lawyer
Making a music career plan
Poor man's copyright
Hardware store for lightbulb moments
All You Need To Know About The Music Industry by Donald Passman

Please subscribe to my channel if you are into what I do! Your support is greatly appreciated and helps me continue to keep it free for everyone:

• Please Subscribe To This Channel https://goo.gl/8EWszQ

See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

• YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesTaylorMe/
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme
• LinkedIn https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor
• Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesTaylor_me

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Srinivas Rao is the host and founder of The Unmistakable Creative podcast where he’s conducted over 600 interviews with thought leaders and creative entrepreneurs including Tim Ferriss, Seth Godin and Simon Sinek. These interviews have given him a unique insight into what creates remarkable branding, storytelling and marketing. He is also the author of two books, his first ‘The Art of Being Unmistakable’ was a Wall Street Times bestseller while his latest ‘Unmistakable’ inspires readers to create their own path and define their own success.

More info and Free Book: http://jamestaylor.me/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The power of curiosity
  The instigator experience
  Keystone habits
  Daily routines
  Systems versus Goals (Scott Adams)
  Setting books out on desk the night before
  Activation energy
  Writing 1,000 words a day

Please subscribe to my channel if you are into what I do! Your support is greatly appreciated and helps me continue to keep it free for everyone:

See my website for hundreds more free training videos, interviews, and free courses on creativity, innovation, creative process, creativity exercises, theory and loads more at http://www.jamestaylor.me

Hope you enjoy it - if you do please subscribe to my YouTube Channel and come find me on my socials below. Thank You!

• YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesTaylorMe/
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme
• LinkedIn https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor
• Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesTaylor_me

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In this episode of The Creative Life Podcast I talk with David Avrin, one of the most in-demand marketing and branding keynote speakers in the world today. Known as The Visibility Coach he speaks to CEO’s, business owners, associations, entrepreneurs and executives about how to attract the best customers and create an army of raving fans. As an author his books include ‘Visibility Marketing’ and ‘It’s Not Who You Know. It’s Who Knows You”.

“I want to spend my life doing things that matter with people who care.” – David Avrin

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Visibility marketing
• Public speaking misconceptions
• The glamor of travel!
• The myth of the motivational speaker
• 10 year overnight success
• Return on investment
• Certified Speaking Professional (CSP)
• How to become a CSP
• Fellow of Professional Speaking Association
• Million dollar roundtable
• Global conference speaker
• Differentiation
• Shift from selling to buying
• Authenticity
• Systems and processes
• Social media for speakers
• Being interesting

Resources mentioned in this episode: * TripIt * Freakonomics * December by George Winston * David Avrin’s Website

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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Charles Burchell is a musician, educator and social activist from New Orleans that has toured with Grammy nominated artists Christian Scott, Delfayo Marsalis and Donald Harrison. He has a passion for music education have attended community music programs himself growing up. Charles is a recent graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Education 'Master’s in Arts in Education’ Program and is currently teaching and performing in New York City. In this interview, we talk about music as a movement and creative moments.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why music can be a movement
• The role of cultural exchange
• What makes the music of the late 60's powerful

Resources mentioned in this episode: * Tutti Player * A Love Supreme by John Coltrane * The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho

Enjoy this episode?

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In this episode of The Creative Life Podcast I talk with Erik Wahl, a graffiti artist, creativity speaker, entrepreneur, and author of the bestselling book UNthink. Erik is a believer that creativity is not just the reserve of a chosen few; the poets, the painters, the writers. He believes that creativity is in all of us and we simply need to rediscover the keys that will unlock this creative potential.

Erik Wahl's 'Creativity Speaker' Show Notes:

• On giving 100 creativity talks a year
• Linear Thinking
• Creativity, ego and identity
• Mindful creativity
• Success to significance
• Graffiti art
• Book as a business card
• Painting live on stage
• Keynote speakers to kick-off conference
• Katy Perry show
• Crafting your keynote
• EDM 'The Drop'
• Steve Martin
• Idea File
• How to access your creativity
• Bio-hacking and creativity-hacking
• Drugs and creativity
• Fasting and creativity
• Ego is the enemy of creativity

Favorite Tools: * Snapchat

Favorite Book: * The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

Favorite Album: * Pearl Jam - Ten

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In this episode of The Creative Life Podcast I talk with guitarist, composer and YouTube star Andy McKee on creative retreats. Andy first came to prominence via YouTube and his version of ‘Drifting’ has had over 54 million views and he is perhaps best known for his use of alternative tunings, tapping, percussive hits and two-handed techniques.

In 2012 he was asked by Dream Theater to open their Asian tour before joining Prince’s band for a series of shows in Australia. Meanwhile as an educator he holds an annual Musicarium guitar camp each year in upstate New York and has been featured in all the major guitar publications.

Andy McKee's 'Creative Retreats' Show Notes:

Preston Reed
Altered Tunings
Michael Hedges
Don Ross
Eric Roche

Favorite Tools
Truefire
Bandsintown

Favorite Album
Aerial Boundaries by Michael Hedges

Favorite Book
Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space by Carl Sagan

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme
LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor
This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).
Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.
The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In this episode of The Creative Life Podcast I talk with Colorado based entrepreneur, business coach and podcast host Stephen Christopher about the power of niching down. As the founder of Seequs Digital Marketing Stephen has built a team who help business owners achieve results they never thought possible. Meanwhile as host of the Business Revolution podcast he shares with business owners how to grow both their businesses and improve their lives.

"Pick a niche and get rich." - Stephen Christopher

Stephen Christopher's 'Niching Down' Show Notes: * Ideal client * The power of podcasts * Niching down * SEO * Coaching and Masterminds * Meditation * Pre-Loading * Letting Go * Key Performance Indicators * Unlimited vacation policy * Multiple points of accountability

Favorite Tools: * Google Mobile Friendly Checker * Rev.com

Favorite Book: * You2 by Price Pritchett

Favorite Album: * The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale

Links: * Seequs * Business Revolution Podcast

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In this episode of The Creative Life Podcast jazz guitarist Ulf Wakenius, former member of Oscar Peterson Trio and Ray Brown Trio, shares the story of his creative journey. Ulf describes how he manages to balance his time being on the road, spending time with family, and practicing guitar. In this episode he also shares with us his experiences of performing with great artists to going solo.

Ulf Wakenius' 'Creative Journey' Show Notes:

• Balancing life with being on the road
• Coffee and how he starts his creative day
• Working as a solo guitarist
• Working with singers
• Having good ideas and a team around you
• The power of social media

Favorite Tools Favorite Album * Night Train by Oscar Peterson

Favorite Book * Mario Puzo

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In this episode of The Creative Life Podcast I talk with entrepreneur, coach and speaker Dale Callahan about finding your calling outside corporate America.

Dale Callahan is an entrepreneur, coach and speaker who helps people break out of the corporate rut by becoming a Company of One. His mission is to help others find freedom in their life and work while building their own businesses. As well as his role as an entrepreneur and coach, Dale is also a university faculty member at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where he leads the graduate program in Information Engineering and Management. He also has an awesome online course on building your own business.

Dale Callahan's 'Finding Your Calling' Show Notes:

• On Leadership
• Walking away from your expertise
• Corporate lobotomy
• Intrapreneurs
• Company of One
• Identifying internal customers
• Understanding your value
• Mastermind Groups
• Figuring out the 'What'
• Leaving corporate America
• Using Slack

Favorite Tools: * Slack * Evernote * Nozbe

Favorite Books: * Bold by Peter Diamandis

Favorite Record: * Toby Mac

Interview Links: * Dale's Website

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In today's episode of The Creative Life Podcast I sit down with Los Angeles based guitarist and music educator Richard Smith to talk about following your creative dreams. In the interview Richard shares with us about the new projects that he is working on.

“Find your Passion. Lose your Fear. Dream Big. Talk Small and Work Hard. And in your dreams, so shall you begin.” – Richard Smith

Richard Smith 'Creative Dreams' Show Notes: * Making lists * Following what you like doing * Being enthusiastic * Playing duet guitar and "in the pocket" playing * Working with a producer * Inspired by Chick Corea and Al Di Meola * Finding your audience * Austin Kleon

Favorite Tools: * Guitar Rig 5

Favorite Books: * The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi

Favorite Albums: * Well to the Bone by Scott Henderson

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In this episode of The Creative Life Podcast I talk with Cory Gregory and John Fosco, hosts of the Business and Biceps podcast, a show that helps people get stronger in business, fitness, and motivation. Cory is the co-founder of Sports Nutrition powerhouse MusclePharma and is a top trainer and leader on diet and nutrition. As a way to save for college, Cory worked as an underground coal miner until he opened a gym at the age of 20. Since then he has gone onto compete in some of the world’s biggest power lifting competitions, he has been featured on the cover of 11 fitness magazines, and was recently added to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s fitness advisory board. Meanwhile John Fosco is a serial entrepreneur and started Active8Media which has become an industry leading marketing agency for athletes and entertainers. A veteran in sports marketing, Fosco represents a number of popular UFC and MMA fighters. Together Cory and John are doing very creative and cool things.

'Business and Biceps' Show Notes: * Business and Biceps * Crushing it * Learning from Arnold Schwarzenegger * Starting a record label * Confidence * It's OK not to be an entrepreneur * How to build 700,000 Twitter followers * Finding a voice for your brand

Favorite Tools: * CoryGFitness * Instagram

Favorite Books: * The Art of War by Sun Tzu * The Wisdom of Andrew Carnegie by Napoleon Hill

Favorite Albums: * Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats * Led Zeppelin IV by Led Zeppelin

Interview Links: * Business & Biceps Podcast * Active8Media

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In this episode of The Creative Life Podcast New York based trombonist and member of The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Weston Sprott shares with us his tips on building the perfect music practise routine. Weston talks about the differences between being an orchestral player in U.S orchestras and in Europe orchestras and tells us at what point in his career he sensed that he wanted to teach.

“Practise more efficiently and also practise shorter time frames. If you practise too much, you put yourself at risk of injury. You have to be very careful to make sure that you’re doing an appropriate amount of work, that you’re always getting better and that you’re always prepared, but not so much that you may hurt yourself.” - Weston Sprott

'Music Practise Routine' Show Notes:

How orchestra schedules differ
How he got started on trombone
Practise routines and focus
Pomodoro Technique and time management
Trombone online teaching and You Tube
Knowing when to say "no"
Meaningful experiences

Favorite Tools:
TonalEnergy Chromatic Tuner and Metronome
forScore

Favorite Books:
Practice Perfect: 42 Rules for Getting Better at Getting Better by Doug Lemov
Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most by Douglas Stone

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In this episode of The Creative Life TV Show I talk about the myth of the creative journey and how it can hold us back from achieving joy in our creative work.

'The Myth of the Creative Journey' Show Notes:

• Alan Watts
• Life is not a journey
• The analogy of life like music
• Creativity as playful and curious
• No destination

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In this episode of The Creative Life Podcast I talk with Yuri Cataldo, a Boston based entrepreneur, designer and Director of the Creative Entrepreneurship program at Emerson College. After training at Yale in set and costume design he founded IndigoH20, a multiple award winning bottled alkaline water which recently won best tasting water in the world. IndigoH20 has been featured at the Oscars, Golden Globes, the Emmy’s and in 60+ magazines. Yuri himself has been named as one of the 40 under 40 business leaders in his home state of Indiana for his work bootstrapping IndigoH20 and today he lectures at Princeton, Stanford and at art and entrepreneurship conferences. You can hear him each week when he hosts his podcast “Advance Your Art”, which focuses on the journey from artist to creative entrepreneur.

'Creative Entrepreneurship' Show Notes: * Arts entrepreneurship * The myth of the starving artist * La Boheme and Rent * Starting again * Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss * How to pre-sell your creative work * The water business * Evaluating creative ideas * Advice from a NASA engineer

Favorite Tools: * Fancyhands

Favorite Books: * Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Favorite Albums: * Amnesiac by Radiohead

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In today's episode of The Creative Life Podcast I meet with London based concert violinist, wine aficionado and snowboarder, Yi-Jia (E Ja How) Susanne Hou who talks about the importance of creative commitment. Susanne also describes how she balances life despite a very busy touring schedule and why she is fascinated with wine and physics.

“No matter what you do, if it doesn’t feel right, you can’t do it well.” – Yi-Jia Susanne Hou

Yi-Jia Susanne Hou 'Creative Commitment' Show Notes: * Balancing being an artist and making choices * Committing to practising at age 4 * Daily habits, the importance of fitness and posture * Chocolate obsession, food, wine and links with music * The Red Violin * Taking the right opportunities * Taking on roles within the music

Favorite Book: * Playing With Fire by Tess Gerritsen

Favorite Albums: * Beethoven Violin Concert with Fritz Kreisler

Interview Links: * Official Website

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In this episode of The Creative Life Podcast I talk with entrepreneur, author and academic Mike Glauser about the rise of the "Main Street Entrepreneur".

Mike Glauser is an entrepreneur, business consultant and Executive Director of the Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship in the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University. Over the past twenty years he has helped hundreds of students and entrepreneurs develop their business ideas and launch companies. His latest book, 'Main Street Entrepreneur', introduces a proven roadmap for starting and building a successful company. Michael got creative when researching for this new book. He interviewed 100 entrepreneurs during a 4,000 mile cross-country bicycle ride which took in more than 100 cities. He is also the co-founder of My New Enterprise, which provides online training and development for universities, colleges and government agencies.

Mike Glauser 'Main Street Entrepreneur' Show Notes: * New documentary * Half of all businesses being started by people over 50 * Main Street vs. Silicon Valley * Bicycle Tour of America * Where ideas come from * User Entrepreneurs * Hygiene factors * Purpose driven business * Start With Why * Multiple streams of revenue * Portfolio of Products - Michael Porter

Favorite Tools: * GPS

Favorite Book: * The Main Street Entrepreneur

Interview Links: * The Main Street Entrepreneur Book

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In this episode of The Creative Life Podcast Los Angeles based session drummer and drum educator Thomas Lang talks about learning how to practise and structure an effective practise routine. Thomas discusses the importance of patience, the dangers of "fame by proxy", and why its worth learning how to practise even before you learn how to play.

"Practising is for tweaking, adjusting and learning new things. Playing is applying what you’ve already practised.” – Thomas Lang

Thomas Lang's 'Learning How To Practise' Show Notes: * Structuring practise as a learned skill, method and goals * Thomas' Practise Rules * Being patient * Resilience, grit and passion * Music is play * Working independently for your own career * Thomas Lang Drumming Boot Camp * Creating something out of nothing * Social media and connecting with people

Favorite Tools: * Pro Tools * Logic Pro X * Ableton

Favorite Books: Favorite Record: * One Train Later by Andy Summers

Interview Links: * Thomas Lang Official Website

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In this episode of The Creative Life TV Show I look at creativity personality and if it is shaped more by nature than nurture.

'Creative Personality' Show Notes:

• Nature or Nuture
• Creativity and Intelligence
• The Intelligence Trap
• Creative Thinking Software
• Investing in your creative thinking skills

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In this episode of The Creative Life Podcast I talk with Erin McKean about how to give a TEDTalk. She is a lexicographer and founder of Wordnik.com which is the world’s biggest online dictionary. Before founding Wordnik she was the editor-in-chief of American Dictionaries for Oxford University Press. Her goal is to make every word in the English language “lookupable” - including the 52% of unique English words that aren’t currently in any dictionary. She is also the author of three books including her most recent ‘The Hundred Dresses’, a field guide to dresses. She’s been a columnist for the The Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal and New York Times.

Erin McKean 'How To Give A TEDTalk' Show Notes: * Learning Javascript * Coding Haikus * Antiquarian Kindle Sellers * Free Range Definitions * Allogrooming * Etymology * Stoorsooker * Anatoly Liberman * Being an acquiring editor * The Allusionist Podcast * TEDTalks and meeting Chris Anderson * Speaking in front of Bill Clinton * 100 Dresses

Favorite Tools: * The Setup Blog

Favorite Book: * The Minor Pleasures of Life by Rose MacAulay

Favorite Album: * One Trick Pony by Paul Simon

Interview Links: * Erin's Twitter

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In this episode of The Creative Life Podcast I talk about creative leadership with Dr Mark Goulston MD who is a Los Angeles based business advisor, consultant, coach and confidante to CEOs and Board Chairmen. Dr Goulston’s special power is his skill at increasing people’s ability to "get through" to anyone which is why executives at GE, Disney and Coca-Cola have him on speed dial. He has appeared on Oprah, The Today Show and CNN as well as writing for Huffington Post, Psychology Today, and the Harvard Business Review. In addition to this he is an FBI and police hostage negotiator trainer, a professor of psychiatry at UCLA for 25 years and author of seven books on everything from post-traumatic stress disorder and overcoming self-defeating behaviour to how to deal with and get through to absolutely anyone.

Dr Mark Goulston 'Creative Leadership' Show Notes: * Reverse engineering violence and anger (2:00) * Powerlessness and humiliation (4:04) * The power of impotent rage (5:00) * Suicide prevention (6:35) * Empathy (10:00) * Being a PAL (12:45) * Founder coaching (14:00) * Steve Jobs - Visionary Thinkers vs Visionary Leaders (15:40) * Joy of discovery (22:05) * Shiny object syndrome (22:50) * Turning founders in to CEOs (24:50) * Being an empath (31:36) * The calling - making the world safe (36:20) * Prove, Show, Hide, Please (36:20)

Favorite Tools: * BizJournals

Favorite Book: * Judgment by Warren Bennis and Noel Tichy

Favorite Album: * Imagine by John Lennon

Interview Links: * Mark's Website * Mark's Twitter

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In this episode of The Creative Life TV Show I discuss how to discover your creative clock and find your best time of day to be creative.

'Understanding Your Creative Clock' Show Notes:

• The ebb and flow of your creative powers
• Discovering your creative clock
• Morning creativity
• Afternoon creativity
• Evening creativity
• Setting up your day to win
• Developing your creative capacity
• Peak creativity vs High Creativity
• Creative Thinking Skills

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In this episode of The Creative Life Podcast I talk with Andy Hall of The Infamous Stringdusters about life on the road as a touring musician and how he learned to love playing live.

"Music is not a competition. You can't win. The only way to win is to keep doing it and make people smile and feel good." - Andy Hall

Andy Hall Show Notes: * Playing with The Grateful Dead (2:05) * Getting started playing dobro (3:19) * Getting over injury as a musician (6:00) * Practising with inspiration (8:50) * Developing as a dobro player (11:30) * Moving to Nashville and the tradition of Bluegrass music (12:50) * Using technology to build audiences (16:00) * Understanding how to be a business (18:10) * Quieting the voice of uncertainty (19:30) * Knowing his path (20:15) * Fear and anxiety as a performer (23:45) * Having authenticity (30:55) * GoPro and social media (35:35)

Favorite Tools: * GoPro * Mixlr

Favorite Album: * Skip, Hop and Wobble by Jerry Douglas, Russ Barenberg and Edgar Meyer

Interview Links: * The Infamous Stringdusters

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In this episode of The Creative Life Podcast I talk with Laurence O'Bryan about creative writing. He is an Irish mystery and thriller writer who is dedicated to helping promote other authors. Laurence dreamed of becoming a writer from childhood when he would tell adventure stories to friends that lived on his street. Now three novels later and with a series of literary awards he is not only a successful writer but helps other writers find new audiences with his site BooksGoSocial.com. His latest book is called 'The Nuremberg Puzzle’, a fast-paced thriller that centres around the rise of violent anti-refugee groups spreading across Germany.

Laurence O'Bryan's 'How To Write A Fiction Book And Creative Writing' Show Notes:

• The puzzle novel series (1:30)
• Researching for fiction writers (3:49)
• Writing craft books (6:20)
• Stephen King and Sol Stein - On Writing (7:18)
• Professional editing services (10:00)
• Networking as a writer (11:17)
• Building your platform as a writer (13:10)
• Blogging for writers (13:45)
• Show your work (17:45)
• Crowdfunding your book (20:15)
• Hybrid authors (22:00)
• Building a team (23:00)
• Structural edit (24:30)
• Proof readers (24:50)
• BooksGoSocial (30:31)
• Persistence (34:40)
• Alliance of Independent Authors (35:50)

Favorite Tools: * Microsoft Word

Favorite Book: * Lord of the Rings by JR Tolkein

Favorite Album: * Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd

Interview Links: * Laurence's Website * BooksGoSocial.com

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In this episode of The Creative Life TV Show I cover creativity hacking and creativity hacks to deal with creative block and boost your levels of creativity.

'Creativity Hacking' Show Notes:

• Creative Block
• Motion creates emotion
• Extreme cold/hot
• Fasting
• What would xyz do?
• Mental mastermind

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In this episode of The Creative Life Podcast I talk with Fredrik Haren, a Singapore based author and creativity speaker for global conferences. As an in-demand speaker on all things creativity and innovation he has delivered over 2000 presentations, lectures and workshops in over 60 countries on 6 continents. These talks have inspired hundreds of thousands of business people to become more creative and to look at the world in a new way. He is the author of nine books, including ‘The Idea Book’, which was included in the ‘100 Best Business Books of All Time’. Fredrik is also the founder of Ideas Islands - an island in Sweden where creative people can stay for free to work on their ideas.

"Say what you believe and believe what you say." - Fredrik Haren

Fredrik Haren's 'Creativity Speaker' Show Notes:

• Summer in Sweden (2:00)
• Creative places (3:15)
• Internet marketing (4:45)
• Creativity vs Business Creativity (6:20)
• Creativity in banking (8:55)
• Creativity in Asia (12:52)
• Creativity in the developing world (14:50)
• Creative confidence (15:30)
• World Economic Forum
• Being present (19:28)
• Seminal moments (36:20)
• Being authentic (40:40)

Favorite Tools: * Email * Google Maps * Spotify

Favorite Book: * Idea Book

Favorite Album: * Spotify Playlists

Interview Links: * Interesting.org

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In this episode of The Creative Life Podcast I talk creativity with British born multi-instrumentalist, composer and record producer Tony and discuss how to be a self-sufficient creative professional. Tony shares his inspiring story of how nearly dying in a car accident made him pick up the bass guitar and within 12 months landing a place at one of the world's top music colleges.

"Make sure that your dream is bigger than your fear. When your dream is bigger than your fear, no matter how hard it is, you will find a way." - Tony Grey

Tony Grey's 'Self-Sufficient, Creativity' Show Notes: * Tony's Story (3:00) * Maximizing time for goals (8:30) * Overcoming fear and finding a path (10:30) * From Berklee College of Music to professional (12:00) * Becoming comfortable with playing music (15:00) * The Hiromi gig (15:45) * Confidence and believing in yourself (17:18) * Using determination and fear (20:48) * Doing it yourself and collaborating (25:55) * Goals, positivity and energy (30:19)

Favorite Tools:

• Talk Bass Website
• Bass Chat Website

Interview Links: * Tony Grey's Bass Academy * Tony on Twitter * Tony on Facebook

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In this episode of The Creative Life TV Show I share a very powerful 'Random Acts of Kindness' exercise, which is based upon the idea of thanking those people who have inspired, educated or shown us a path in our creative work. Thanks to business coach Dani Saveker for teaching me this powerful exercise on gratitude. Give it a try, you might be surprised at the results!

Random Acts of Kindness Show Notes:

• Standing on the shoulders of giants
• Dani Saveker
• Steps
  • List 100 people you admire
  • Write to each of them telling them something you admire about them
• No expectations

Here is a simple template that you should feel free to use and adapt:

Hi [First Name]

This month I'm reaching out to 100 people who have inspired me over the years to express my gratitude and say why I admire them so much.
It's based upon this post by James Taylor on 'Random Acts of Kindness' and I've chosen you as one of my 100.

What I most admire about you is [insert main reason] because [insert what this means to you or the impact it has had on your life and work].

Thank you for being one of my 100.

Best wishes

[Your Name]

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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Paul Sloane is an author, public speaker and facilitator on innovation and leadership and has been described as "The King of Lateral Thinking Puzzles". He is the author of 20 books on creative problem-solving and his latest book ‘Lateral Thinking Puzzles’ ranges from relatively easy to fiendishly hard conundrums that require mental agility. Paul’s company Destination Innovation help organizations make innovation happen and they have some incredible corporate clients.

"Failure is a good teacher. Success is a poor teacher."
"I succeed or I learn but I never fail."
"Only do what only you can do."
- Paul Sloane

Paul Sloane 'Lateral Thinking Puzzles' Show Notes: * Innovation workshops (2:30) * Impediments to innovation (5:40) * Using external facilitators for brainstorming (7:40) * Divergent thinking vs convergent thinking (8:00) * Deference to authority (8:57) * Inspirational innovative leadership (12:17) * Edward de Bono's 'Six Thinking Hats' (20:11) * Need, Greed, Succeed, Speed (20:40)

Favorite Tools: * SocialOomph * LinkedIn * Twitter

Favorite Books: * How To Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Favorite Record: * Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix

Interview Links: * Paul's website * Paul Sloan on Twitter

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In this episode of The Creative Life Podcast I talk with Italian author, actor, journalist and singer Isabelle Adriani about creative storytelling, fairy tales and open quantum relativity!

After gaining a PHD in History from the University of Perugia with a thesis entitled “The DNA of Fairy Tale” she has gone on to star in more than 30 movies and published eight books on fairy tales as well as two historical novels. As an actor she has starred alongside George Clooney in The American, John Cusack in Reclaim, and with Penelope Cruz in the film Twice Born. You can also hear her voice in the Italian versions of hit animations Alvin & The Chipmunks and Ice Age. Isabelle's latest book, that has just been translated into English, is called ‘Castaways in Time’, a story about three English orphans who are shipwrecked on the mysterious Island of Time and she also has a new album coming out called To Movies with Love.

Isabelle Adriani 'Creative Storytelling' Show Notes: * Promoting Ice Age 5 (2:00) * The power of fairy tales (3:58) * The story of Cinderella (7:40) * The origin of the moon (9:00) * Isabelle Adriani the storyteller (11:30) * Going to acting school (14:20) * Acting classes with Susan Strasberg (16:30) * Firing yourself (17:30) * Advice from Jacki Weaver (19:25) * Lucia Dalla (27:05) * Mind Island (28:15) * Being inspired by Open Quantum Physics (30:00) * How to enjoy casting calls (32:58) * Having a lot of projects (39:40)

Favorite Tools: * Twitter * Instagram * Spotify * SkyView

Favorite Books: * The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Favorite Record: * Whitney Houston Greatest Hits

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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This is a slightly unusual episode of The Creative Life TV Show as I have just decided to open up my coaching program again and become the creativity coach for six new clients.

You see, every day I am contacted by creatives from around the world who ask me if I would coach them. Usually, I have had to say no because I was already working 1-on-1 with a number of clients. These clients are aspiring and professional musicians, authors, entrepreneurs, artists and designers so if this sounds like you, you can now apply for one of the six limited places to join my coaching program by going to www.jamestaylor.me/coaching

'Creativity Coach' Show Notes:

• What is creativity coaching
• Creativity Coach
• How best to unlock your creativity
• How to find your path and your strategy
• New ways to market and monetize your creativity

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In this episode of The Creative Life Podcast I talk with singer-songwriter Melissa Ferrick about the process of creative songwriting.

Melissa, an eight time Boston music award winner, is regarded as one of the most prolific and hard working artists in the business. She performs regularly throughout North America with up to 100 shows a year and has shared the stage with Morrisey, John Hyatt, Bob Dylan, Ani DiFranco, K.D Lang, Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin and many many others. Her 12th original album, a coming home and a self titled album, is in many ways a new beginning for Ferrick. Written in just over a year, recorded at home, it's out now on her newly relaunched label Right On Records.

We discuss the power of building a loyal fanbase of true fans and Melissa shares with us why accepting help is her biggest weakness and how she coped up.

Melissa Ferrick 'Creative Songwriting' Show Notes: * One woman show (3:00) * Staying sane (4:17) * Record theme (6:18) * Getting feedback (9:40) * Accepting help (19:20) * Thinking outside the box (21:20) * Touring (36:25)

Favorite Tools: * Stop, Breathe & Think App

Favorite Record: * Lit by Mary Karr * The Mission by Ennio Morricone

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In this episode of The Creative Life Podcast global disability inclusion strategist Debra Ruh talks about brainstorming, innovation and speaking at the UN.

When told by ‘experts’ that her daughter, Sara, who was born with Down’s Syndrome, would be lucky to push shopping carts at the local grocery store, Debra refused to accept this. Debra Ruh’s unshakable faith in the power of human potential first led her to create multi-million dollar IT firm Tec-Access, an ICT Accessibility firm with the majority of employees being technologists with disabilities.

After exiting that business she started Ruh Global, which focuses on Global Disability Inclusion, Digital Marketing and the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. She now consults with governments, corporations, NGO’s, and travels the world inspiring and encouraging others to follow their dreams. Her latest book is called “Tapping Into Hidden Human Capital: How Leading Companies Improve Their Bottom Line by Employing Persons with Disabilities”.

"I just don't let him stop me. I just walk right into him. I'm not gonna let anybody stop me including myself."

"I'm gonna look fear in the face and I'm gonna walk right through him."

• Debra Ruh

Debra Ruh 'Brainstorming' Show Notes: * Sara's Story (3:15) * Compliance vs Innovation (15:30) * Neurodiversity (23:17) * Brainstorming (26:53) * Creativity in different cultures (28:10) * Workplace training for millennials (30:45) * Always wanting to write (32:00) * Using anger as a motivator (33:06) * Looking fear in the face (36:00) * Raising $200,000 overnight (41:07) * The gut check (43:54) * Preparing to speak at the United Nations (45:37) * Having an authentic journey (46:17)

Favorite Tools: * Evernote * Audacity * Buffer

Favorite Books: * Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Favorite Record: * The Moody Blues

Interview Links: * Debra Ruh's website * Debra Ruh on Twitter

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

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In this episode of The Creative Life TV show I talk about Warren Buffett's advice for creatives when it comes to goal setting. Based on the advice that the legendary investor gave to his airline pilot we look at the power of focus to achieve goals. This advice is also something that any creative can use when having to evaluate new ideas, opportunities and goals.

Warren Buffett's 'Advice for Creatives' Show Notes:

• Warren Buffett
• Evaluation Stage
• Opportunity Cost
• 25/5 Rule

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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Today I talk with Charleston based rock and soul band Dead 27s about their creative process as musicians and crowd funding their recordings through Pledgemusic. Their new album Ghosts Are Calling Out is produced by Ben Ellman of funk/rock act Galactic and mixed by Mikael ‘Count’ Eldridge whose other credits include Radiohead and the Rolling Stones. Indie music magazine Jamsphere said of the band "Anyone who claims that rock and soul ain’t what it used to be clearly hasn’t heard of these stunning musicians. This will remind you of soul and blues from the late 60’s – with rock from the early 70’s. But probably the most compelling quality of the Dead 27s is how seamlessly they stay true to the pure, old school rock and soul sounds while making their music cutting edge and relevant to today’s listeners."

In this episode of The Creative Life Podcast, Dead 27 talk about their experiences of crowdfunding their music through Pledgemusic, how they all met and started playing music together and where they find ideas for their music.

"Overall in any development of any musician, you're gonna experience a lot of failure and that's kinda the key, to being able to accomplish what you want to is being able to step back and use whatever you feel as motivations and what drives you to achieve whatever you are trying to achieve."

"Bare down the road and keep your head up because it's gonna turn into a grind on some point. Just make sure you don't lose sight of why your doing this and it's actually something you love and it's a labor of love."

"Don't fear failure."

• Dead 27s

Dead 27s 'Pledgemusic' Show Notes:

• Recording at New Orleans (4:40)
• Ben Ellman as producer (13:12)
• Fear of failure (22:00)
• Life on the road (23:12)
• Staying healthy (23:15)

Tools: * Superphone * Pledgemusic * ProTools

Favorite Books: * Effortless Mastery by Kenny Werner * A Love Supreme by Ashley Kahn * Clapton: The Autobiography by Eric Clapton * The Heroin Diaries by Nikki Sixx

Favorite Records: * Live At The Fillmore East by Allman Brothers * Band of Gypsys by Jimi Hendrix

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In this episode of The Creative Life Podcast I talk with Dr Noa Kageyama of The Bulletproof Musician on coping with stage fright.

Dr Noa Kageyama is a New York based performance psychologist and a former classical violinist. He has worked with everyone from music students from Juilliard to members of the US Armed Forces School of music. Noa's skill is being able to help talented musicians prepare for orchestra job auditions, understand performance enhancement and overcome performance anxiety.

" Simply saying 'I'm excited' and trying to attribute everything that you've experiencing to being excited because, you know we've all had performances where we really were excited and we had the butterflies and were nervous but it was also super exciting and our performance is finally well, just re-attributing what we were experiencing to excitement as suppose to fear or anxiety is one small thing that can be done, but also very impactful at the same time."

• Noa Kageyama

Dr Noa Kageyama 'The Bulletproof Musician' Show Notes:

• Performance enhancement (3:31)
• In A Game Of Golf (5:08)
• Beta blockers (11:43)
• Superstitious rituals (16:06)
• Stephane Grappelli (19:47)
• Relationship of sports to music (21:39)
• Using technology to improve the performance of the individual musician (24:00)

Favorite Books: * Make It Stick- The Science of Successful Learning by Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger and Mark A. McDaniel * Performance Success by Don Greene * 10- Minute Toughness by Jason Selk

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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In this episode of The Creative Life TV Show I talk about the issue of 'creative imposter syndrome' and how it affects so many people today. Recently I was with one of my coaching clients, a very successful author and musician, and just before he went up on stage to play in front of thousands, he turned to me and said he felt like a fraud and unworthy of his success. In this episode I give you the advice that I gave to him on that day.

'Creative Imposter Syndrome' Show Notes:

• Feeling like a fraud
• The luck factor

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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Dr Janice Presser is a Philadelphia based behavioural scientist, CEO of The Gabriel Institute and the architect of Teamability ® - a new technology that measures the analytics of team chemistry. A recognized thought-leader in leadership and teamwork she is the author of six books including @DrJanice: Thoughts and Tweets on Leadership, Teamwork and Teamability®. Her forthcoming book will explore the theoretical and physical foundations of teaming, and the profound impact of teaming metrics on the structure, development, and leadership of teams.

In this episode of The Creative Life Podcast Dr. Janice tells us about Teamability® working on start ups, mid sized companies and getting into larger companies. Dr. Janice also shares with us how Teamability® started some time ago when she was working in healthcare.

"The best thing you can do is get the people who put the know in innovation, and there are plenty of them, out of the way." People are naturally creative when they're not told 'Don't do this.'."

"I found my meaning in life, why would I ever change it."

• Dr Janice Presser

Dr Janice Presser 'Teamability®' Show Notes:

• Teamability® (1:20)
• Teams in healthcare (2:14)
• Two kinds of teaming (5:30)
• Myers Briggs (9:16)
• Millennial Training (22:12)
• Performance appraisal (23:25)

Favorite Tools: * Evernote * Quora.com

Favorite Books: * Ogden Nash

Favorite Record: * Born to be wild by Steppenwoolf

Join James's Facebook fans: https://www.facebook.com/jamestaylordotme

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jameskirktaylor

This is The Creative Life, James Taylor's weekly YouTube show.

ABOUT JAMES

As a creativity expert Taylor is a frequent guest speaker at universities and international conferences. He has given keynotes and talks at Apple, Subscription Site Summit in San Francisco, the British Music Show in the UK and at several universities across Europe including University of Dundee in Scotland and University of Macerata in Italy. He is often called upon by media outlets to give his views on trends in creativity and innovation. He has been quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald, Columbus Dispatch, STV, Business Insider and San Jose Mercury News as well as featured on BBC TV and being the subject of a 30 minute program on his life for BBC Radio Scotland. As a host on shows about creativity and innovation he has interviewed legendary investor Maynard Webb (Yahoo.com, eBay.com & Salesforce.com board member) and New York Times best-selling writers Chris Guillebeau ($100 Startup), Rolf Potts (Vagabonding), Brand Cooper (The Lean Entrepreneur) and Ryan Holiday (Trust Me I’m Lying). James is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA).

Meet James at http://www.JamesTaylor.me

ABOUT THE CREATIVE LIFE

The Creative Life is a weekly self-improvement show full of #motivation, #inspiration, and #creativity strategies with creativity speaker and author James Taylor.

The Creative Life blog can be read at: http://www.jamestaylor.me

SUBSCRIBE

Never miss a video, and join the Youtube self-help community living the fully creative life: http://www.youtube.com/jamestaylorme

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Gregg Fraley is an entrepreneur, author, speaker, trainer, and consultant in commercial creativity and innovation who helps organizations with creative problem solving. Gregg’s diverse background includes everything from founding and managing high-flying software technology companies to working as an interactive television producer. He is the author of business novel “Jack’s Notebook” which is featured on many business school reading lists and he’s won an Emmy and a cable ACE award during his time at Warner Cable. Gregg is passionate about all things creativity and innovation and I’m delighted to have him on the show today.

In this episode of The Creative Life Podcast Gregg talks about attending the Intrapreneur Conference and always looking to connect with new groups of people. He tells us about his experiences in working in the television industry for many years and also shares with us how he discusses creativity to larger organizations.

"My stimulus for new ideas comes from experiences that I have in the marketplace. When I'm working with customers, I'm looking at how they're using what we're doing, I'm looking at how they're responding on what we're doing."

• Gregg Fraley

Gregg Fraley 'Creative Problem Solving' Show Notes:

• The Intrapreneurship Conference (1:26)
• IBM Survey on Creativity (4:00)
• Creative Problem Solving (5:02)
• Breakthrough innovation requires risk (10:06)
• Creative Problem Solving (CPS) - Osborn and Parnes (14:08)
• Problem Framing (14:23)
• Brainstorming techniques for introverts (15:08)
• Brainwriting (16;02)
• Brainstorming training (17:58)
• The business novel (26:04)
• Idea management systems (29:35)