1. DISCIPLINED CREATIVITY
The Merlin Lecture - 8th October 2013
Phil Rumbol
Founding Partner 101

2. VT – FLY ME TO THE MOON

3.
“Fly Me To The Moon”

4.
“Fly Me To The Moon”
Poets often use many words
To say a simple thing
It takes thought and time and rhyme
To make a poem sing
With music & words I've been playing
For you I've written a song
The Essence of Marketing
Making brands ‘sing’
The Art of Marketing
Evoke the brand in a memorable way

5.
“Fly Me To The Moon”
To make sure you know what I'm saying
I'll translate as I go along
Fly me to the moon
And let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On Jupiter and Mars
In other words
Hold my hand
In other words
Darling kiss me
The Stimulus
Evoke the feeling in a memorable way
The Response
Get people to ‘hold the brand’s hand’

6. “In Other Words”

7. “It takes thought and
time and rhyme to to
make a poem sing”
Creativity

8. THE MOST VALUABLE COMPANIES IN THE WORLD
Creatively and
innovation-led
companies

9. Everyone wants it, but most
people don’t get it
Creativity

10. A bit about me
Creativity
How we think
Habits

11.
VT - The sort of work I’ve bought
Cadbury ‘Eyebrows’ ad
Stella Artois ‘Ice Skating Priests’ ad
The Natural Confectionery Co. ‘Trumpets’ ad
Flake ‘ Dress’ ad

12. ‘Reassuringly Expensive’
+16% CAGR over 10 years
The Power of Creativity
‘Gorilla’, Wispa etc
-3% to +10%

13. “I come from a family of engineers”
“That makes sense. You like to know how
things work”
“I come from a family of engineers”
“That makes sense. You like to know how things work”

14. MY JOURNEY
Creativity
Analytical
Favourite
‘O’ Level
Art
A Levels
Geog
History
Maths Degree
BA (Maths)
Brand Manager
Analytical
Marketing
Director
Power of
creativity
Founding Partner
Creative company

15. “Imaginative processes with outcomes that
are original and of value”
Sir Ken Robinson
WHAT IS CREATIVITY?

16. WHAT IS CREATIVITY?
”We want artists to take the mundane
materials of our lives , run it through their
imaginations and surprise us.”
Twyla Tharp
Choreographer

17. You remember a lot more than you think you do
Eg. Muscle memory
Sensual memory
MEMORY

18. THE MAYA PRINCIPLE
Most Advanced, Yet Acceptable

19. Taking things we know (often
subconsciously) and making surprising
connections to create something original
and valuable
CREATIVITY

20. CREATIVITY IS A FRAGILE THING

21. WE’RE HARD WIRED TO THINK IN A CERTAIN WAY
WESTERN
PHILOSOPHY
EDUCATION
SYSTEM
BUSINESS
THINKING
SCIENCE

22. “We reject all knowledge which is merely
probable and judge only those things should
be believed which are perfectly known and
about which there can be no doubts”
Rene Descartes
CARTESIAN THINKING

23. RATIONALISM
Reason and logic
EMPIRICISIM
Evidence
REDUCTIONISM
Break down to understand
THE FOUNDATIONS OF WESTERN THINKING

24. “That’s right”
“It’s critical”

25. MASS EDUCATION
PREPARE A WORKFORCE
LOCK DOWN CERTAINTY. CREATE EFFICIENCY
OUR EDUCATION SYSTYEM
MASS INDUSTRIALISATION

26. “Our education system was and still is primarily
concerned with proving to us that we are efficient:
Learn it, remember it, demonstrate it”
Richard Gerver
Ex Head Teacher and Author

27. “We go to school and we’re taught to paint
pictures and write songs, and then we leave
school and no one wants to look at the
pictures or listen to the songs”
Dr Mike Lynch
Founder of Autonomy

28. “A company is birthed through a creative act.
It then hones and refines… through increasingly
pervasive analytical thinking and enters a long phase in
which the administration of the business dominates.”
Roger Martin – The Design of Business
THE EVOLUTION OF BUSINESS

29. TTHE RISE OF THE CORPORATION AND
‘BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION’
Exploration Exploitation
Organisational Focus The invention of business The administration of
business
Overriding Goal Dynamically moving from the
current knowledge stage to
the next
Systematically honing and
refining within the current
knowledge stage
Driving Forces Intuition, feeling, hypotheses
about the future, originality
Analysis, reasoning, data
from the past, mastery
Future Orientation Long-term Short-term
Risk and Reward High risk, uncertain, but
potentially high reward
Minimal risk, predictable
but smaller returns

30. WESTERN
PHILOSOPHY
Logic
Evidence
Reduction
EDUCATION
Learn
Remember
Demonstrate
BUSINESS
Administration
Refine and hone
through analysis
WE’RE HARD WIRED TO BE ‘CRITICAL EVALUATION MACHINES’

31. CREATIVE BAD HABITS

32. EXCESSIVE RELIANCE
ON SYSTEMS

33.
Micromanagement
MICROMANAGEMENT

34. TOO MUCH DISPASSIONATE LOGIC

35. Crea.ve
Bad
Habit
No.4
Too
much
reduc.on
and
‘extreme
close
up’
TOO MUCH REDUCTION AND E.C.U.

36. THE ESSENCE OF MARKETING
Making brand’s more interesting and relevant
Make them ‘sing’
THE ART OF MARKETING
Words, music etc that evoke the brand in a memorable
way
“We need to be more creative”
EXCESSIVE RELIANCE
ON SYSTEMS
MICROMANAGEMENT
TOO MUCH DISPASSIONATE
LOGIC
TOO MUCH REDUCTION
AND EXTREME CLOSE UP

37. So what do we need to
do differently?

38. A ‘New’ Paradigm for Knowledge

39. ”In contrast to the mechanistic Cartesian view
of the world, the world view emerging from
modern physics can be characterised by
words like organic, holistic and ecological.”
Fritjof Capra – 1982

40. A ‘New’ Paradigm for Knowledge
“””The universe is no longer seen as a machine,
made up of a multitude of objects, but has to be
pictured as one indivisible, dynamic whole
whose parts are essentially interrelated.”
Fritjof Capra - 1982

41. There’s a long list of things that
Cartesian Thinking can’t fully explain
Physics
Economics
Ecology
Sociology
Psychology
Etc

42. A ‘New’ Paradigm for Scientific Thinking
From only…
• Machine-like systems
• Mechanistic
• Reason and logic
• Predictive
• Deductive
Plus…
• Living Organism
• Holistic
• Instinct and intuition
• Deterministic
• Abductive

43. So What?
Things aren’t as ‘certain’ as we think they are
Logic, reduction, deduction and proof aren’t the
only way to understand something
…but we’ve been ‘hard wired’ to think they are.

44. “The 21st Century is the era when the pace of change
has finally overtaken our ability to control it.”
Richard Gerver

45. A change in our business thinking…
From
Seeking full
understanding and
certainty in a static or
slowly evolving world
To
Endless curiosity,
exploration and
experimentation in an
ever changing world

46. Signposts to re-wire our thinking
The Current Paradigm
Cartesian Thinking
Efficiency driven Education
Business Administration
‘Bad habits’ for
creativity
A ‘New’ Paradigm
Holistic Thinking
Exploration driven Education
Business Invention
‘Good habits’ for
creativity

47. Intuition
The art of knowing without
reasoning

48. “Everything we need to ‘make something out of nothing’ already
resides within us in our experience, memories, taste, judgment,
critical demeanour, humanity, purpose and humour.”
Twyla Tharp

49. 1. More
Biography,
less Zoology

50. Recognise Your
Creative DNA
2. Recognise Your
Creative DNA

51. Recognise Your
Creative DNA
MY CREATIVE DNA

52.
Bruce Springsteen ‘Storytellers’ VT

53.
3.
Listen
to
the
song
before
you
read
the
lyrics
3. Listen to the song before
you read the lyrics

54. Engage your
imagination

55. Generosity and Joy
Advertising that’s as enjoyable to consume as the
chocolate
THE BRIEF

56. How many of you would have bought it?
What do you think you would have
said to the agency?

57. VT – Cadbury ‘Gorilla’ ad

58. 4. Explore before judging

59.
“Vague but interesting”

60. 5. Make a leap

61. “I often wonder whether we all have luck;
it is just a question of being able to
recognise the moment and then having the
courage or vision to seize it.”
Richard Gerver
Luck

62. “Did you know the Gorilla ad
was presented to someone else
before you saw it?”

63. Challenging your hard wiring
1. More Biography less Zoology
2. Recognise and feed your Creative DNA
3. Listen to the song before you read the lyrics
4. Explore before judging
5. Make a leap

64. “Yeah, but what about the
rest of the organisation?”

65. BUILD A CREATIVE
ECOSYSTEM

66. 1. People
not
systems

67. 1. Focus
2. Preparedness
3. Conviction
4. Perseverance
5. Creativity
Sybervision - Learning Technology Company
10 Traits of Great People
6. Curiosity
7. Resilience
8. Risk Taking
9. Independence
10. A sense of higher
purpose

68.
2. Transformational
Leadership
2. Transformational Leadership

69. Transactional Leadership
• Rewards effort & recognises
accomplishments
• Watches and searches for deviations &
takes corrective action
• Intervenes only if standards are not
met
• Abdicates responsibilities, avoids
making decisions
A Different Leadership Model

70. Transactional Leadership
• Rewards effort & recognises
accomplishments
• Watches and searches for deviations &
takes corrective action
• Intervenes only if standards are not
met
• Abdicates responsibilities, avoids
making decisions
A Different Leadership Model
Transformational Leadership
• Provides vision and a sense of mission,
instills pride, gains respect and trust
• Communicates high expectations, uses
symbols to focus efforts
• Promotes intelligence and careful
problem solving
• Gives personal attention, treats each
employee individually, coaches,
advises.

71. NO COMMITTEES!

72. 3. Soul

73.
”…the ones that work out what they uniquely can
give to the world – not just growth or money, but their
excellence, their respect for others, or their ability to
to make people happy. Some call those things a soul.”
Charles Handy
The companies that survive the longest…

74.
4. Invention not Administration

75. “The most successful businesses
of years to come will balance
analytical mastery and intuitive
originality in a dynamic
interplay called design thinking”

76.
5. An ‘A’ in Failure
5. An ‘A’ in Failure

77. “They say that the great entrepreneurs fail and
fail again , but never give up, and always learn.
…they’re not waiting for someone else to come
along and provide the answers. They realised the
course of their lives would be created by their
own decisions, and actions.”
Richard Gerver
An ‘A’ in Failure

78. My biggest mistake

79. VT – The Flake ad that never was….

80.
5. An ‘A’ in Failure
5. An ‘A’ in Failure

81. People not systems
Transformational Leadership
SoulInvention An ‘A’ in Failure

82. People not systems
Transformational Leadership
SoulInvention An ‘A’ in Failure
More Biography less Zoology
Your Creative DNA
Listen to the song
Explore before judging
Make a leap

83. Disciplined Creativity
Everyone wants it, but most don’t get it
Fighting against years of Cartesian ‘hard wiring’
Creative bad habits
A new, more holistic, way of thinking
Creative good habits

84. People not systems
Transformational Leadership
SoulInvention An ‘A’ in Failure
More Biography less Zoology
Your Creative DNA
Listen to the song
Explore before judging
Make a leap
WE’RE HARD WIRED TO THINK IN A CERTAIN WAY
WESTERN
PHILOSOPHY
EDUCATION
SYSTEM
!
BUSINESS
THINKING
SCIENCE
!
!
Disciplined Creativity

85. More ‘Fly Me To The Moon’
(and less ‘In Other Words’)

86. Thank You

87. References
‘The Turning Point’ – Fritjof Capra
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Turning-Point-Science-Society-Culture/dp/0553345729/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381308328&sr=1-1&keywords=the+turning+point,+fritjof+capra
‘Change’ – Richard Gerver
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Change-Learn-Love-Lead/dp/067092234X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381308455&sr=1-1&keywords=change,+richard+gerver
‘The Creative Habit’ – Twyla Tharp
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Creative-Habit-Learn-Use-Life/dp/0743235274/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381308517&sr=1-1&keywords=The+creative+habit,+twyla+tharp
‘The Design of Business’ – Roger Martin
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Design-Business-Thinking-Competitive-Advantage/dp/1422177807/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381308578&sr=1-1&keywords=The+design+of+business,+roger
+martin