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What I do

The short form is that I'm a creative strategist who gets hired to help companies think differently and creatively about the wicked, messy problems they have. These might be large logistics projects that are derailing, anything to do with innovation or culture, issues such as branding or diversity or customer centricity, or basically any time there are a bunch of people butting up against each other and their systems trying to get something useful done, or trying to find a new way to be and think. 

I do this by consulting , training and coaching, and giving keynotes and other presentations. 

I'm an artist and a business strategist, so my main interest is in the space where creative process and business coincide. All businesses are the result of a creative process, but the bigger they get the more they focus on systems, predictability and efficiency--a production rather than a creative model. Which works in some areas, but rarely in the areas that matter most. The fuzzy ones like culture and leadership, or innovation and change. The ones that involve people and their beliefs, behaviours, emotions and desires.

For these you need to get creative. Which is often easier said than done. And while some people feel comfortable with it, with the inherent mess and ambiguity and subjectivity and fluidity, many if not most feel either totally at sea or downright terrified of it. So I have a number of ways in, depending on where people are at.

Design Thinking

A great place to start--and currently the little black dress of business models.  Design thinking is a codified creative process taught by universities all over the world, tried and tested by most of the biggest companies we know. It started with new product development and UX and is now creeping into the domain of leadership and strategy. It's a mindset backed by an easily accessible methodology and comes with a vast open source toolkit. Focusses on human centricity, collaboration, experimentation and iteration. People love it. 
but wait! there's more!

Wicked Problems

Wicked problems are the Why to design thinking's How. Almost unheard of a few years ago, they are rapidly becoming part of the strategy and leadership lexicon. Why? Because they are where the most value lies, and are the ones that few people feel comfortable or capable of dealing with. Wicked problems are messy, full of ambiguity, chaos, subjectivity, people and significance. They change every time you engage with them and they do your head in. Worst of all, YOU CANNOT SOLVE THEM. You can however create amazing outcomes, if you understand how they work and how to approach them creatively. 
piqued your curiosity?

Studio Thinking

Most of my work, including all the IP on wicked problems, comes from this space. The impact of takingke the skills I learned in the studio and apply them to business and life has been profound. It's not for everyone, but it may be for you. Studio thinking is about looking inward to develop your skills as a leader, and primarily as a human being. It is the art of thinking like yourself but at a much higher level. Of changing your mental models and assumptions and the way you see yourself and the world so that you can become more confident, grounded and effective in creating the outcomes you want.  Outcomes that are transformative. How? Through art. Literally learning how to make art in order to understand how to create magic. How to become more effective by being more yourself.  How to become an artist in your life and how to live it with true artistry.
you had me at transformative