At the root of all job burnouts and stressed executives I assert there is an insecurity. Now don't mistake that statement for assuredness. I do not confidently assert this. But beneath all the productivity anxiety and the 'always on' mentality there must be some form of fear pulling the strings. Perhaps the individual inexplicably links … Continue reading Burnt to a crisp →

Did you know how Dolphins get to sleep? Apparently they don't entirely switch off. They can't. Their breathing isn't automatic. So instead they have to turn off half of their brain one part at a time. So the first half sleeps while the other is awake and then they switch. Quite cool isn't it? Also, … Continue reading Dolphins and their sleep →

Some of the best movie twists come from preying on an audience's assumptions. A cripple can't be the bad guy - Usual Suspects. Fathers of good guys are also good - Star Wars. Of course Brad Pitt is real - Fight Club. The filmmakers probably have great fun leading the audience astray. It's not a … Continue reading Audience assumptions →

Lateral thinking is fun. If humour is the space between expectations and reality then the outrageously specific or the ridiculously unusual slide into that gap nicely. 'The wife of grandad Diloquent' is a funnier answer than 'pompous' to the question - what does grandiloquent mean?

It turns out lateral thinking is a skill. Jerry and the Loose Oranges. Something you can develop. The Gooseberry Twins. Something you can practice. Bitter Suite. In fact the more you practice, the better you get. Eating loco, dancing Coco. Or should I say the stronger the muscle gets. Bob Bobinson. It's like going to … Continue reading Lateral thinking →

I think a good portion of leadership is dealing with uncertainty. When there is no map the leader comes in and says 'that way!'. When there is no instruction manual the leader sits down and says 'ok here's how we're going to do it'. I think it's an amazing skill, because as with all uncertainty … Continue reading No, not that way! →

I sent the ad copy a month ago but it was only on campaign launch day that I got feedback. My suggested training plan was accepted by the committee 10 days ago but it's the night before the first practice when people start to pitch in with alternatives. I reckon this is a symptom of … Continue reading Deadline panic →

When the requests never stop rolling in and you're being pulled in a thousand different directions it's very easy to fall in love with the vision of 'done'. 'When all the tasks are done, then I'll be able to relax.' So you lean in harder, work faster and work longer. You look up time management … Continue reading Chasing ‘done’ →

According to Andrew Price's talk on 'The habits of highly effective artists' the Gnomon school is the #1 CG school in the world. It has a 97% placement rate for its graduates (for comparison the 2nd best has a 50% placement rate). Alex Alvarez, the founder of Gnomon told Andrew Price that in every year … Continue reading Creative Rockstars →

The curator is well informed and pulls from many different sources. 'This is a breathing technique used by Tibetan monks' 'This is a creative exercise used by French artists' But the curator is not a creator. You could benefit from the impressive memory of a curator but odds are they can't tell you why the … Continue reading Curator v Innovator →