If you are a naturally creative person, even the idea of discussing creative thinking skills may seem odd to you. Creative thinking is, surely, something that happens naturally - for many creative people.

Given enough time, space and a clear enough brief, creative ideas will usually flow in to help you solve the presenting problem.

There’s a lot of talk about strategic thinking in the business community. It’s of variable quality, arguable value (sometimes), sold by some as a dark art only safe in the hands of an elite few and definitely not easy to define. So, what is strategic thinking, when should the process be applied in the real world and how should you approach making it work to your advantage?

It’s the strangest thing.

Well, two things actually. No. Three.

Trust me they are related.

And there’s a step by step guide to how to be creative at the end for good measure. You’re welcome.

The journey from provocation to result takes grit and determination.

The provocation is crucial - it’s the grit that creates the pearl

The provocation is the oxygen for the wildfire that inspires everyone - the energy needed to achieve anything.

When day comes, we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never-ending shade?

The loss we carry. A sea we must wade.

We braved the belly of the beast.

We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace, and the norms and notions of what “just” is isn’t always justice.

>70% of change initiatives fail

Over the years we’ve gathered insights into why leaders and strategies go off the rails. Not surprisingly they are worth the effort to revisit every now and then.

Oh, The Paradox. Why We Fail.

John is one of the most patient men I know. Let me tell you why

Thirty-Five years ago, he owned the company that was my design agency of record where I worked. The work was massive, award-winning and original. From the simplest Christmas card through to the full branding and corporate identity of an ocean racing 2-tonne yacht, including the crews offshore and on boat uniforms, the associated marketing, all the events.

I haven’t really entered into the discussion on the future of work.

Probably because I’ve concentrated on work of the future. In the future work will be very different. A few examples below.

The advancement of technology and the pressure to be efficient will never abate. The conclusion is only what we should educate future generations to do.

Let’s not solve the wrong problem really well. That’s been our mantra for well nearly two decades. When it comes to making a strategy that works, unless the question is correct the answer never will be.

Understand Or Misunderstand?

Making strategies hasn’t stopped.

Developing plans for the future during COVID-19 has forced businesses to be more creative.

Strategy development has always been a collaborative and creative process.

You run a business, you make great stuff - you have a world-beating solution or idea. Nobody has ever heard of you.

What Happened?

DRIVEN TO REFRESH AN ARTICLE I FIRST PUBLISHED IN 2010

Are You Listening?

We Want Strategies That Work.

The best strategies are directly linked to purpose. They deliver the endeavours and motivation of the entire business. They know precisely what they intend to achieve, how that should be done and why that matters.

I’m not an author and didn’t make the most of the process, to be honest. It was published in 2003.

I’ve written three more books but never published them. There’s a theme here perhaps. And as I write this post I have another book, again co-written, which launches in the 4th Quarter of 2020 - a COVID-19 era project which seeks to change the world.

WHETHER AN INDIVIDUAL, BUSINESS OR SOCIETY WE ARE PRETTY UNHAPPY WITH THE WAY THINGS ARE RIGHT NOW.

Few of us are OK with inequity, abuse or poverty.

We’re not blind to the have and have nots.

I sometimes get into discussions about this paradox.

“How can you think holistically and systemically and at the same time deal with complex challenges as a human being - in bite sized chunks”

There’s a lot of talk around what constitutes the ‘agency’ of the future. That’s not a conversation we want to be in.

We don’t want a comparison with an agency of the future any more than we wish to be compared with an agency of today.

The word ‘agency’ is historically associated with the creative industry - marketing, advertising and branding.

A Big White Wall Sounds Simple - Often It Isn’t

We will ask for 60–70–100-foot expanses of wall - depending on the scale of the challenge.

Inside The Mind Of The Map Maker

This quote caught my eye.

It fires up my frustration with education generally. I can get violent that we get told drawing is for fun and not valuable in life - utter rubbish.

Marketing is the mechanism (system) by which an Organisation makes its promises to its audiences

Manufacturing is the mechanism (system) through which an Organisation makes the promised ‘substance’. (service, solution or product).