Creativity Talks & Training
Talks - Training - Workshops
Spending over 30 years at the top of the advertising industry has taught me a great deal about the power that creativity has to transform brands, and bring about positive change in organisations and individuals.
The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report places creativity and innovation as the most valuable skills for staying relevant in the workforce and thriving during a time of accelerating change. Unicef consider creativity a core life skill. “Creativity allows for adaptability in various life situations by leading to solutions, methods and processes to tackle old problems and contemporary challenges.”
I want to help you to embrace your innate creativity, understand it, develop it, use it with confidence, and enjoy it. Whether you are a creative professional or not.
“So, what’s so good about creativity?”
A short clip taken from my recent Keynote talk at the Arts Marketing Association Conference 2025 in Edinburgh.
The Creative Nudge. 9 Ways to think differently.
Training Workshop: 3 Hours. In person or online.
Talk: 60/90 Minute interactive talk. In person or online.
Anyone who places a value on fresh, innovative thinking, and needs a nudge in the right direction, will benefit from The Creative Nudge Workshop or Talk. Not only people who work in the creative industries.
Simple, fun, practical tools to boost your creativity and get you thinking in new, fresh, and innovative ways that will rewire your brain forever. Lively, fast paced and suitable for any industry.
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Creativity isn’t a job title. It’s not about being an artist. Creativity isn’t even about being able to draw. Creativity is a way of looking at the world in a fresh and innovative way. There’s creativity in every industry, every walk of life. Breakthroughs in science, medicine or technology don’t come by accepting received wisdom. Or by maintaining the status quo. The future is in the hands of creative thinkers. In fact, the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report puts creativity as the most valuable skill needed to stay relevant in the workforce and thrive during a time of accelerating change. Creativity is no different to any other innate skill. It can be developed and improved. Like music or sport. You just need to know how. And to have a great teacher to encourage you. This workshop will unlock the door to a more colourful and vibrant world of possibilities. It doesn’t matter who you are, how old you are or what you do for a living, you were born with the ability to think creatively. So, lets harness it!
I have had the privilege of spending all of my senior career, over 25 years, nurturing creativity in others. As the Chief Creative Officer of 3 of London’s largest and most creatively awarded advertising agencies, I have been responsible for establishing and maintaining a creative culture and environment that has helped all kinds of people to flourish. The behaviours that I have used to achieve that have been distilled into this workshop and been validated by some of the UK’s finest behavioural scientists. The Creativity Nudge Workshop is based on my best selling book, The Creative Nudge.
Talk Section - I will introduce you to the key behaviours that I’ve defined in my best-selling book, The Creative Nudge, that will help you to unlock your creativity. I will then explain the sociological and biological double whammy behind each of them that is currently inhibiting you, before discussing how to overcome them, giving examples of the nudges that will help you.
Work Section – You’ll be split into teams, then, with my help you will create your own nudges for your three chosen chapters, and look at how you can apply them practically to your day. You’ll then present them back to the room for discussion. By the end you will have a series of personalised nudges that will stimulate fresher and more innovative thinking in and out of the workplace.
In collaboration with The IPA, I will be running this course with my long term work partner and Creative Nudge co-author Kev Chesters. The course takes place in-person at the IPA on Wednesday, 1 October, 9.30am - 5pm.
Everything you need to know about inspiring, nurturing, evaluating and protecting great creative work.
A practical course for anyone who cares about getting to great work and who wants to understand how to make it happen. Given by a CCO and a CSO who know from experience exactly what it takes. Content:
1. Understanding creatives and the creative process.
The nine behaviours of successful creatives. Embracing your own creativity.
2. Creating the right environment for great work.
The importance of a creative culture. How can I build one?
3. Great work starts with a great brief.
The principles of a great brief. How to write one.
4. What does great creative work look like?
Heart over head. Strategically sound. The idea is 80% of it. And so is the production!
5. The art of giving great creative feedback.
The dos and don’ts of creative feedback. The psychology of motivating creatives.
6. Building client relationships that enable great work to be bought.
How to build trust. Selling vs buying.
The Creative Culture Talk.
Talk: 2 90 Minutes interactive talk and discussion. In person or online.
A Creative Culture’ is one of those overused phrases that everyone nods along to without being entirely sure what it means in practice. Do you know what it means in practice? You’re not alone. The confusion comes from how ‘creative’ traditionally gets defined: painting, literature, design, fashion etc. These are simply the obvious outputs of creative thinking. And so, a creative culture is mistakenly believed to be the preserve of creative departments, design studios, art galleries, etc. Every business in every industry can benefit from a creative culture. In this talk I explain the benefits of a creative culture to your business and give you the key 10 lessons in building a successful and lasting one.
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As I’m sure you’ve noticed, the world has changed and the problems we are asked to solve have grown more complex. And the old ways of solving them are no longer fit for purpose. New ways are required.
Consequently, the need for creative thinking has grown dramatically in every direction, leading to a far more expansive definition of creativity as the single most powerful business and life skill you can possess, and one that is fundamental to everyone’s role within the business. This view is endorsed by the World Economic Forum, which considers creativity to be essential if individuals and businesses are to prosper at a time of accelerated change.
Creativity is now being championed for its ability to transform the world for the better, drive global innovation and progress, encourage resilience and embrace change in a fast-changing world.
But it does have a sizeable impact on how a business is run. Without question, you will arrest your company’s development if you make creativity the sole domain of people with creative in their job title. By cordoning off creativity like a crime scene, you miss the rich, diverse perspectives and ideas that lie dormant across other departments. Innovative thinking should be encouraged to flourish in every department. When a business fosters an inclusive creative working environment, the collective brainpower increases your ability to adapt to the constant demands of change and enables you to apply your collective creativity in many more ways. It stops the formation of silos that become set in their ways and uncompetitive. It will also create a far more enjoyable working environment that leads to fewer tension points, politics and factions. The other upside, of course, is that those employees are more productive and stay longer because morale is higher. The more every department feels encouraged to think in creative and innovative ways, the more limitless your team’s creative potential will feel.
The Insider’s Guide To Giving Creative Feedback.
Talk: 60/90 Minute interactive talk. In person or online.
Communication is only what the listener hears. It doesn’t matter what you said, or what you think you’ve said. Only what the person you were speaking to heard.
So when it comes to giving creative feedback, getting it wrong when you think you’re getting it right can easily lead to disastrous misunderstandings. Domino-ing into missed deadlines, demotivated colleagues, fractured relationships, terrible creative work, and frustration all round. Giving inspiring creative feedback to creative people is another language. But it’s one that I can teach you. Get the insider’s guide from an insider. You need this interactive training talk if you regularly have to give feedback on creative work to creative people. Regardless of what industry you are in and how junior or senior you are, this insider’s guide will teach you something that you didn’t know about the creative mind and how to inspire it to deliver for you.
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I have spent over 20 years giving feedback to creatives in my various roles as CD, ECD, and CCO in some of the most successful ad agencies in London. I had to inspire them to do the best work of their careers and at the same time, to stay on brief and on time.
I've turned all of that knowledge and experience into a lively and provocative 60/90 minute talk that will give you a checklist of 12 simple, practical, real-world actions to help you get the most from your creative partners. Whether you’re agency side or client side, I'll give you the inside track on how to give creative feedback in a way that’s not only understood but will make your creative partner feel trusted, respected and engaged.
Whether you’re agency side or client side, this invaluable talk will give you the inside track on how the creative mind works and how to inspire it.
How To Be Creative When There’s No Time To Do It Properly.
Talk: 60/90 Minute interactive talk. In person or online.
When you’re under real time pressure to deliver for a deadline, your ability to think creatively plummets by an alarming 45 per cent. The trouble is, the need for creative thinking has never been in greater demand, whilst as the world speeds up, the pressure to think faster has never been more intense. And frustratingly, our evolutionary brains can’t cope.
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I’ve gathered up a whole host of simple and fun ways to help your brain keep pace with progress and keep creativity levels high when time is against you. Most of them have been developed, trialled, and thoroughly tested during a lifetime spent chasing deadlines in the advertising industry, so that I know that they work in the real world.
And they are all available in a fast paced interactive 90-minute talk. Or a breakneck, less interactive 60-minute talk, if you’re in a hurry. No coffee breaks or lengthy intros required.
Training Workshop: 3 3 Hours. In person or online.
Talk: 60/90 Minute interactive talk. In person or online.
One of the most Googled questions about creativity is: How do I start being creative? So, you are not alone. Creativity can seem overwhelming. Until you have a map to follow. I’m going to show you exactly how to set a creative goal, get inspired, have loads of ideas, pick the best ones, polish them until they’re awesome, overcome the wobbles that you’ll meet along the way, feel incredibly happy with what you’ve achieved, and want to to do it all over again straight away.
Creativity For Beginners.
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The world is full of guides on how to be more creative. I've even written one of them. But what there never seems to be is a guide to how to start being creative in the first place.
Creativity, for many people, is an utterly alien concept. An amorphous alternate state. The exclusive preserve of the wild-eyed, and dangerous. They don’t perceive creativity as accessible.
Schools are to blame. Society is to blame. The workplace is to blame. The creative industries are to blame. But you are not to blame.
The fact is, creativity belongs to everyone. Everyone was born with creative ability.
In Creativity For Beginners I will take you through not only how to get started, but also how to set a creative goal, find inspiration for it, generate lots of ideas for it, pick the best ones then polish them into something to be proud of.
By the end of the session you will have your first fully formed idea and the knowledge and confidence to do the next one on your own.
"Mick recently led a session for 60 members of our In-House Agency Leaders Club, walking them through all the key qualities needed by a great creative leader. It was one of the most engaging, insightful, and best-received sessions we have ever run.”
Patrick Burgoyne. Co-founder - In-house Agency Leaders Club
“Mick has a brilliant way of engaging the audience to allow everyone to embrace their creative self and as every organisation needs creative, questioning minds to grow & embrace change, his talks are a fantastic way to motivate teams across all disciplines. Felt genuinely refreshed & re-set after 1 hour!”
Jessica Hargreaves Paczek. CEO - PrettyGreen.
“Mick recently ran a Creative Leadership session for our Agency ECDs/CDs. I’ve never seen everyone so engaged! Mick’s disarming manner and insightful workshop left us all enlightened, motivated and wishing we’d had all this information years ago. Outstanding. Would recommend.
Dylan Bogg. CCO - The Mission Group.
“Mick ran a training session for our entry level talent recently. It was a fun session - full of conversation, laughter and revelation. But it was also a really useful session. We could see the confidence of the attendees grow, as they realised they have the power to generate imaginative solutions and the right to make their voice heard”.
Olivia Johnson. TMA - Foundation.
“Mick is a great creative leader that helps build teams. He was such an inspiration and great help for me in developing my very young marketing team. He gave training sessions and workshops and always dedicated the time and effort for junior members of the team when they had questions. “
Bilge Ciftci. Ex Head of Brand - Vodafone UK.
Mick's guide to unlocking creativity was clear, practical and implementable for even the most time-poor of our conference delegates. His tips and hacks for experiencing the world with curiosity have already started to show results!
Lucy Jamieson, Head of Programme, Arts Marketing Association
