How Playing Leads to Better Work: Lessons from Disney Innovation Guru Duncan Wardle

October 28, 2019
Duncan Wardle

We’re all born curious – we came into the world with innate fascination and a desire to explore and experiment. As we get older and our lives are more structured, our creative self often takes a back seat to other life priorities.

As trade show and event organizers, we strive to be innovative, but the creative process is often mired in organizational layers. So the question becomes, how can we be truly creative in the face of personal and professional constraints?

The CEMA Roadshow workshop in Chicago earlier this month sought to answer that question. Under the sage guidance of former Disney Head of Innovation & Creativity, Duncan J. Wardle, the group spent a day rediscovering their creative cores and acquiring tools to break down creative barriers.

According to Wardle, creativity is about finding the best way to combine the “being” with the “doing.” The first step in “being” creative is to understand and practice creative behaviors. We can learn a lot about those from children — the things they do that adults don’t: imagine, play, have energy, ask why, be honest and don’t judge.

Playfulness helps remove daily structure and stress, allowing you to pursue all sorts of possibilities. A good way to play at work is to engage in energizing games at the outset of a brainstorm, or whenever energy drops. It helps to be perpetually curious. To do this, get fresh stimuli in your life: talk to someone you have nothing in common with or read a magazine you’ve never read. Bring curiosity to the table in brainstorms and ask “why?” as many times as you need to get to an insight.

On the flip side, insights also come from experience and intuition, so it’s important to tap into your conscience, feelings, “ah-ha!” moments and dreams.

Being creative also requires being open to nurturing ideas. We are often quick to dismiss ideas in their infancy because they seem impractical or don’t align with our worldview. Wardle argues that Ideas are like seeds. How do you know if they will become weeds or flowers? You have to let them grow.

A smart way to grow idea seedlings is to use the “Yes, and…” build method. By beginning each response to new thought with “Yes, and…” you can quickly build out a small idea, make it bigger, and transform it from “my idea” to “our idea,” which helps build team and organizational buy-in.

One of the more challenging lessons Wardle imparts is that to achieve a truly disruptive idea, you have to break rules, even your own. Every creative challenge is governed by rules — preconceived notions and institutional norms — that put boundaries on creative thinking. But what if those rules didn’t apply? You can find out and create dynamic, out-of-bounds ideas by radically provoking them with a simple question: “What if…”

People have rules too — a personal “river of thinking” that is formed by their knowledge and experience. These rivers may be fast, wide and deep, but they hold all of our “sacred cows,” which can limit our openness to new ideas.  Encouraging “What if” ideas from the whole team will get everyone out of their personal rivers of thinking and opens ideation to all sorts of truly disruptive possibilities.

Another important wisdom is to look outside of your sandbox for insight and ingenuity. Innovation is about getting to an idea that you could not have found yourself. For your next brainstorm, invite a “naïve expert,” who doesn’t work for you or know what you are working on. This can help you and your team get out of your rivers of thinking.

Another wise Wardle maxim is that expansive (what can we do?) and reductive (can we do it?) thinking are both valuable in the creative process, but it’s important not to mix the two in your brainstorms. Slipping into reductive thinking – focusing on budgets, resources, timelines, etc. — during an ideation session can bring the best creative thinking to a halt.

To avoid inadvertent shifts to reductive thinking, make sure everyone knows whether it’s time to build ideas or analyze them. Also, steer clear of comments during the ideation process that can elicit reductive responses. For example, asking “what do you think?” invites reductive thinking. To stay expansive, re-frame the question to: ‘what else could we do?” or “is there a different way to think about this?”

Wardle advises to use reductionist thinking when it’s time to focus on “doing.” A good reductionist way to distill the best idea from a body of options is to test it against five criteria: strategically aligned with the brand, meets fiscal goals, is relevant to target consumer, is social engaging, and is buzz worthy. The best ideas score highest against all five criteria.

Another reductionist approach is to bullet-proof ideas by looking at them through the perspective “lens” of each of your stakeholders. Knowing who will support and who might object to your idea, and why, allows you to preemptively incorporate supportive feedback that strengthens the idea and resolve objections that can weaken it before you present it.

Wardle closed out the creativity crash course with two provocative thoughts: You were born creative, you are still creative, even if you’ve been told you’re not; and to be creative you must be brave, and the opposite of bravery is not cowardice – it’s conformity.

Kimberley Gishler is the president and CEO of CEMA.

 

Add new comment

Partner Voices
Overview: The award-winning Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) goes the extra mile to make every day extraordinary by offering customer service excellence and industry-leading partnerships. From their dedicated in-house Rigging team to their robust Exhibitor Services, The Center of Hospitality brings your imagination to life by helping you host unforgettable meetings and events. With more than 2 million square feet of exhibit space, world-class services and a dream destination, we are committed to making even the most ambitious conventions a reality. In October 2023, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners voted to approve allocating Tourist Development Tax funding for the $560 million Phase 5A completion of the OCCC. The Convention Way Grand Concourse project will include enhancements to the North-South Building, featuring an additional 60,000 square feet of meeting space, an 80,000- square-foot ballroom and new entry to the North-South Building along Convention Way. “We are thrilled to begin work on completing our North-South Building which will allow us to meet the growing needs of our clients,” said OCCC Executive Director Mark Tester. “As an economic driver for the community, this project will provide the Center with connectivity and meeting space to host more events and continue to infuse the local economy with new money and expanding business opportunities.” Amenities: The Center of Hospitality goes above and beyond by offering world-class customer service and industry-leading partnerships. From the largest convention center Wi-Fi network to custom LAN/WAN design, the Center takes pride in enhancing exhibitor and customer experience.  The OCCC is the exclusive provider of electricity (24-hour power at no additional cost), aerial rigging and lighting, water, natural gas and propane, compressed air, and cable TV services. Convenience The Center is at the epicenter of the destination, with an abundance of hotels, restaurants, and attractions within walking distance. Pedestrian bridges connect both buildings to more than 5,200 rooms and is within a 15-minute drive from the Orlando International Airport. The convenience of the location goes hand-in-hand with top notch service to help meet an event’s every need. Gold Key Members The OCCC’s Gold Key Members represent the best of the best when it comes to exceptional service and exclusive benefits for clients, exhibitors and guests. The Center’s Gold Key memberships with Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlando and Walt Disney World greatly enhance meeting planner and attendee experiences offering world-renowned venues, immersive experiences and creative resources for their events. OCCC Events: This fiscal year, the OCCC is projected to host 168 events, 1.7 million attendees, and $2.9 billion in economic impact.  The Center’s top five events during their 2022-2023 fiscal year included:  AAU Jr. National Volleyball Championships 2023 200,000 Attendees $257 Million in Economic Impact MEGACON 2023 160,000 Attendees $205 Million in Economic Impact Open Championship Series 2023 69,500 Attendees $89 Million in Economic Impact Sunshine Classic 2023 42,000 Attendees $54 Million in Economic Impact Premiere Orlando 2023 42,000 Attendees $108 Million in Economic Impact