Creativity snippets

This is the follow up podcast continuing the themes we touched upon in our two part series in which we reflected upon our learning and experiences from our different creative pursuits during 2025. In the first podcast we discussed Tracys experience of creativity with her pursuit of creative writing then we reflected upon Barbaras experiences with photography. Today we will expand on these discussions in considering the Importance of place in creativity

In this episode Tracy interviews Barbara about her photography. During the podcast Barbara reflects upon how she started and where she is now with her creative pursuit of photography. Barbara reflects on key creative concepts which are applicable, including perception, play, persistence and passion as well as mindset, habits and the need to overcome imposter syndrome.  

In this episode Barbara interviews Tracy about her writing practice which extends to the publication of 15 books. During the podcast Tracy reflects upon how the development of her life as a writer illustrates key creativity concepts. Concepts covered include the importance of mindset, habits, incubation and the 4 P's of Passion, positivity, persistence and play.

Barbara and Tracy discuss blocks to creativity including Imposter syndrome, and consider ways to overcome this.  They conclude with the building blocks to creativity of Positivity, Playfulness, Passion and Persistance to which was added Trust. You can read more around these topics in their book - Creativity Cycling - help your team solve complex problems You can find out more about Tracy at tjstanley.com, and Barbara at barbara-wilson.com.

Barbara Wilson and Tracy Stanley discuss the links between boredom and creativity. They reference articles from Psychology Today, and Forbes September 2022 article by Naz Behishti, offering Takeaways for the workplace. They conclude, as Naz does in the article, that boredom in the context of creativity should be renamed downtime. As part of their own creativity projects, they discuss an App that Barbara has recently started working with, Milanote. This has really helped her plan for her future photography exhibition. You can find out more about Tracy at tjstanley.com, and Barbara at barbara-wilson.com.          

Barbara Wilson and Tracy Stanley discuss the final set of principles from the book 'Steal Like An Artist' by Austin Kleon. They consider the  practical application of these principles to creativity.  This includes the importance of being curious, sharing your work, and travel to get inspiration.  You can find out more about Tracy at tjstanley.com, and Barbara at barbara-wilson.com.

In this episode Tracy and Barbara discuss and share their main takeaways from the first part of the book Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon (2012).  There are many ideas here for sparking creativity and developing habits around creativity. The second part will cover the second half of the book and will be published at the end of March. You can find out more about Tracy at tjstanley.com, and Barbara at barbara-wilson.com.

Dr Tracy Stanley and Barbara Wilson discuss concepts around Space in creativity. This covers the design of personal space to enhance creativity and emotional space as a condition for creativity. They reference the book: My Creative Space: how to design your home to stimulate ideas and spark innovation by Donald M. Rattner.   

Barbara and Tracy take a look at Design thinking , wicked problems and the Creative problem solving process. They look at the similarites and differences between CPS and Design thinking. You can find out more about Tracy at tjstanley.com, and Barbara at barbara-wilson.com.

This is a conversation about the importance of being in flow for the creative process, and the benefits of both mindfulness and mind wandering. We stress the value of incubation and that the process of creativity may be more satisfying than the end result!   You can find more about Barbara at barbara-wilson.com, and Tracy at tjstanley.com.

Barbara and Tracy discuss assumptions, facts and creative problem solving.  They underline the importance of exposing and challenging assumptions in order to understand wicked, or complex  problems. Reference is made to the ladder of inference proposed by Chris Argyris, and you can read more about this here. Peter Senge proposed the left hand column exercise in his Fifth Disciplinary fieldbook. You can find more about Barbara at barbara-wilson.com, and Tracy at tjstanley.com.

Barbara and Tracy reflect upon their highlights from 2021. In particular they remember the writings of both Mihalyi  Csikszentmihalyi, known for his work on flow and the systems approach to Creativity,  and Edward de Bono, best known for his concept of six thinking hats. Sadly, both of these creativity experts died in 2021.   You can find more about Barbara at barbara-wilson.com, and Tracy at tjstanley.com.

Barbara and Tracy discuss the importance of images and metaphor in Creative Problem Solving. They reference Gareth Morgan and his metaphor of the organisation as a machine, and the image work of Marjorie Parker and Karmoy.   You can find more about Barbara at barbara-wilson.com, and Tracy at tjstanley.com.

Barbara and Tracy reflect upon processes for opening up to creativity. In particular, randomness of ideas and techniques that can help with getting to randomness. The podcast refers to Dr Jesvir Kaur Mahil who is hosting the Creativity & Culture Conference, scheduled to take place online on Saturday 18 September 2021. This will be the 5th annual Creativity & Culture Conference hosted by University for Life and the theme this year is “The Creative Power of Stories”. You can find more about Barbara at barbara-wilson.com, and Tracy at tjstanley.com.

Barbara and Tracy discuss asking open questions, and how and where to use them sharing their experiences with coaching and creativity facilitation..   You can find more about Barbara at barbara-wilson.com, and Tracy at tjstanley.com.

Barbara and Tracy discuss: what are mindsets, how do they develop, how to change them and why they are important in creativity. They reference Carol S. Dweck and The New Psychology of Success. Edward de Bono who has recently died was discussed as one of the original thinkers in the world of lateral thinking.    You can find more about Barbara at barbara-wilson.com and Tracy at tjstanley.com

Barbara and Tracy discuss procrastination, incubation and creativity in this episode of creativity snippets. They refer to several sources and the links are shown here: Adam Grant TED talk BBC article on Procrastination Professor K Gilhooly Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert You can find more about Barbara at barbara-wilson.com and Tracy at tjstanley.com

In this episode Barbara and Tracy discuss habits, what they are, and how we can change them They reference the ideas on changing habits, of both  Charles Duhigg and James Clear   You can find more about Barbara at barbara-wilson.com and Tracy at tjstanley.com

Barbara and Tracy discuss the importance of nurturing creativity using a greenhouse metaphor. They consider the importance of leadership, collaborative teams and taking risks in organisations. Reference is made to Goran Ekvall. and his work on innovative climates. You can find more about Barbara at barbara-wilson.com and Tracy at tjstanley.com

Barbara and Tracy discuss the 4b P Framework of individual conditions for creativity. These are Positivity, Passion, Playfulness and Persistence. They reference: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and his work on Flow. Tracy shares her discovery of the bullet journal method. Carroll, R. (2018). The bullet journal method: Track the past, order the present, design the future. Penguin. You can find more about Barbara at barbara-wilson.com and Tracy at tjstanley.com

Barbara and Tracy share an idea - how adaptors and innovators address creativity differently, and sources of inspiration for creativity. Here are some of the references mentioned: Amand Gormans poem, The Hill We Climb  Meditation offered by the Smithsonian Museum of Asian art Writing 10.000 words a day You can find Barbara at barbara-wilson.com, and Tracy at tjstanley.com

Tracy and Barbara reflect upon the events of 2020 that have impacted on their creativity and share some insights into how to manage creativity moving into 2021. They reference Brené Brown 'Unlocking Us' and Elizabeth Day ''How to Fail' podcasts as well as Growing Gills, a book by Jessica Abel. Barbara can be found on barbara-wilson.com and Tracy on tjstanley.com

In this episode, Tracy and Barbara discuss why change is difficult and what actions leaders can take to help overcome these difficulties. You can find more about Tracy on tjstanley.com and Barbara on barbara-wilson.com.

Tracy Stanley and Barbara Wilson discuss aspects around change and in particular culture change. Tracy shares some examples of change stories from her book 'Change Stories: Success and failure in changing organisations.' You can find more about Tracy on tjstanley.com and Barbara on barbara-wilson.com.

Now an essential part of being creative involves play, which we take to mean taking time out from logical rational thinking and letting our imaginations fly. Play is a word we normally associate with children, however if we can allow ourselves to play, then this will allow all sorts of possibilities to arise. You can find more about Tracy on tjstanley.com and Barbara on barbara-wilson.com.

Creativity is about using all parts of our brain, both our logical, rational minds and our intuitive, more ‘open to possibility’ minds. This surely can't do us any harm. In fact, we would argue that by doing this, we are more likely to be taking wiser decisions and living our lives in a fuller way. You can find more about Tracy on tjstanley.com and Barbara on barbara-wilson.com.

Barbara and Tracy discuss wicked problems and the nature of creative leadership drawing lessons from the current COVID crisis. You can find more about Tracy on tjstanley.com and Barbara on barbara-wilson.com.

Barbara and Tracy share their experiences of creative writing, and the lessons learned from this that can be applied more generally to creativity.  You can find Tracy on tjstanley.com and Barbara on barbara-wilson.com

Barbara and Tracy talk about creative tools and processes you can use to envision the future. We explore: • How and when to use imagery in creativity. • Individual versus group activities – benefits and limitations of each Barbara can be found at barbara-wilson.com and Tracy at tjstanley.com

Barbara and Tracy discuss the importance of energisers and icebreakers and how they can be adapted in virtual meetings.   You can find Barbara at barbara-wilson.com and Tracy at tjstanley.com.

In this episode we discuss how to work creatively, alone or virtually with others, using the creative problem solving process, and we highlight the technique of the six thinking hats. you can find Tracy at tjstanley.com and Barbara at barbara-wilson.com

Barbara Wilson and Tracy Stanley discussing the impact of Group think on decision making and creativity in organisations. Topics explored include the importance of challenging assumptions, the value of diversity in teams and the need for review processes to capture learning Barbara an be found at barbara-wilson.com and Tracy at tjstanley.com.

Barbara and Tracy discuss creativity in the workplace, and potential  barriers to creativity. This is the first in a series based around their book: Creativity cycling, help your team solve complex problems.