The Situationists were a group of radical artists, writers, and intellectuals active mainly in the 1950s and 60s who believed that modern life had become a kind of performance – a “spectacle” – that disconnected people from authentic experiences.

Think of it this way: they looked around at post-war society and saw people going through the motions of living rather than actually living. Shopping, working, consuming media – it all felt scripted and fake to them. They called this the

“society of the spectacle.”

The group was led by a French theorist named Guy Debord, and they were particularly active in Paris. They weren’t just complaining about modern life though – they wanted to actively disrupt it and create moments of genuine experience.

This is where the dérive came in. By wandering aimlessly through cities, they were essentially rebelling against the efficient, purposeful way we’re supposed to move through urban spaces. Instead of rushing from home to work to shop to home, they’d drift and see what happened.

They also created “situations” – planned disruptions designed to shake people out of their routine consciousness. These could be anything from rearranging furniture in public spaces to creating alternative maps of cities that showed emotional rather than geographical relationships between places.

The Situationists heavily influenced the 1968 Paris student protests and continue to influence artists, activists, and urban planners today. Their core idea – that we should actively create authentic experiences rather than passively consume pre-packaged ones – feels surprisingly relevant in our age of social media and endless content consumption.

Essentially, they were saying: “Wake up! Stop sleepwalking through life and start creating it.”

I discovered the idea of a derive during my masters programme over a decade ago, and it completely shifted how I think about creativity and innovation. Instead of walking from A to B with blinkers on, you become hyper-aware of your surroundings, noticing connections you’d normally miss.

The magic happens when you connect the seemingly unconnected. A traffic light with a church in the background becomes a metaphor for leadership. Graffiti sparks thoughts about permanence versus transience. Street signs reveal our relationship with authority.

As someone who’s spent 30 years in the creative industries, I can tell you that some of my best ideas have come from exactly this kind of unplanned wandering. When you stop trying to force insights, they start finding you.

Summer holidays coming up? Perfect time to drift a little. Listen to the short episode here

Download this week’s worksheet here.

This ‘nudge’ is part of my Creative Summer School, a free, six-week email series dropping into your in-box each week

• Get a simple creative tool or tip from me

• A partner podcast episode to help you go deeper and learn on the move

• A practical worksheet or prompt to instantly apply the nudge to real work or life projects

• An optional “buddy system” to check in and share learnings boosting accountability and connection

• A short, snappy WhatsApp-style audio note from Claire with bonus stories and inspiration

• All the resources and worksheets are yours to download for your own use or for running creative sessions with your team.
• Sign up here https://mailchi.mp/nowgocreate.co.uk/creative-nudge

Well… what if you switched on your creativity too?

Introducing the Creative Nudge Summer School

I’ve created a completely free six-week summer school to help you build tiny creative habits that fit into your life, not your to-do list.

Here’s why: creativity isn’t about having loads of spare time or being “naturally talented.” It’s about noticing, reframing, and borrowing ideas from the world around you – in ways that take minutes, not hours.

What you’ll get:

• One short email each week packed with easy nudges to spark fresh thinking.
• One 4 minute mini-podcast episode designed for beach walks, coffee breaks, or even waiting in holiday traffic.
• Tiny creative habits that build confidence and inspire new ideas, without adding any pressure to your summer.

What will we explore?

• How to build creative confidence in ridiculously small ways
• Why your best ideas come in the shower (and how to harness that)
• How a simple walk around your neighbourhood can unlock your next big solution
• The art of borrowing brilliance from completely unrelated worlds
• How to reframe problems like a photographer changes angles
• And why resting is the most productive thing you can do for creativity

Who is it for?

If you’re thinking:

“I’m not the creative type.”
Perfect – this is exactly for you.

“I don’t have time for this.”
Even better – we’re talking about habits that fit into the tiniest gaps in your day.

“I’ll probably forget to do it.”
That’s why I’ll be your gentle weekly reminder, dropping into your inbox with a nudge

Ready to join us?

The first nudge lands on the 16th July. You can sign up at any time over the summer.

Sign up here for free!

Share the love

Know someone who could use a creativity boost right now? Share this post with them or include your team or colleagues in the exercises each week.

Why does this matter?

Many of us work on briefs that feel uninspiring, dry, or weighed down by constraints. This episode proves that creativity doesn’t depend on having a “cool” brand or unlimited budgets. Instead, the world’s best ideas often come from flipping assumptions, understanding cultural truths, and reframing products or problems in unexpected ways.

Here are some of the key campaigns we discussed – and what they teach us about creativity.

1. The world’s unlikeliest tourism campaign

Campaign: The Best Place in the World to Have Herpes
Organisation: New Zealand Herpes Foundation

This campaign reframed herpes from taboo into national pride by combining humour with cultural insight. Using Kiwi sporting icons, it created a spoof-style destigmatisation course with a leaderboard, encouraging people to engage, learn, and reduce stigma.

Arif noted how the team probably asked themselves:

“What’s the wrong way to do a herpes campaign? Then, what’s the opposite of that?”

This campaign shows how flipping assumptions can break creative deadlocks, especially when combined with bravery and authentic cultural relevance.

2. Turning tickets into opportunities

Campaign: Lucky Yatra
Organisation: Indian Railways

In India, fare dodging is common due to limited gates and checks. The insight behind Lucky Yatra was simple but powerful: while many people avoid buying train tickets, they spend willingly on lottery tickets.

So Indian Railways transformed train tickets into lottery tickets by adding a simple code. This reframed ticket buying from a burden into an opportunity, leading to a 34% increase in sales. It shows how creative problem solving doesn’t always require changing a product – sometimes it just needs a new lens.

Claire reflected on this as an example of related worlds thinking – connecting seemingly unrelated categories (rail travel and lotteries) to spark a solution.

3. Burger King’s cheeky gaming hack

Campaign: Burger to King
Brand: Burger King

Burger King used FIFA gaming to reinforce its underdog, playful brand personality. They noticed that two real FIFA players were called ‘Burger’ and ‘King’. Players who recruited both and completed plays triggering the commentator to say “Burger King” were rewarded with Whoppers.

This idea:

• Reinforced brand consistency while feeling fresh
• Used cultural relevance (gaming) and cheeky humour
• Out-thought competitors like McDonald’s with earned media rather than outspending them

Arif described Burger King’s long-term success as:

“The secret of brand management is to be new and old at the same time.”

4. AXA’s three words that changed lives

Campaign: And Domestic Violence
Brand: AXA Insurance

Domestic violence victims often stay because they cannot afford to leave. AXA added three words – “and domestic violence” – to their mandatory home insurance clauses in France, enabling victims to claim support and find safety. This affected over 2.5 million policies.

Claire highlighted how this moved beyond CSR into genuine product innovation with purpose baked in, proving that creativity isn’t just ads or stunts – it can be how you design your services to solve real problems.

5. Rocket’s unifying Super Bowl moment

Campaign: Own the Dream
Brand: Rocket (mortgages and financial products, USA)

Rocket united diverse Americans during the Super Bowl with a brand film featuring John Denver’s ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’. Arif discussed how emotion and music can create a sense of national unity, while Claire noted how it activated audiences to sing along, making them participants rather than passive viewers.

Practical takeaways from this episode

1. Flip assumptions – ask yourself “What’s the wrong approach here?” then reverse it.
2. Reframe products and problems – train tickets as lottery tickets, insurance as a route to safety (check out the podcast episode on related worlds)
3. Root ideas in cultural truth – humour for herpes only worked because it felt authentically Kiwi.
4. Balance consistency with freshness – like Burger King does by staying cheeky while finding new executions.
5. Use creativity to design services – not just campaigns. Creativity can drive business innovation with purpose.

Creativity thrives when we challenge norms, see constraints as springboards rather than blockers, and immerse ourselves in unexpected worlds. Whether it’s herpes, insurance, or fare dodging, brilliant creative thinking can turn any brief into something talkable, effective, and culturally powerful.

If you want to hear the full conversation and get practical tools for your own work, listen to episode 25 – Herpes, Home Insurance, and Fare Dodging: Creativity That Earns Its Keep here

Want your own Cannes Decoded?

Want to understand what really makes award-winning creativity tick – and how to apply it to your briefs or challenges?

Arif Haq and I are offering Cannes Decoded: a bespoke 90-minute session for your team. We’ll unpack this year’s most powerful campaigns, reveal the creative thinking behind them, and share practical tools to unlock braver, smarter ideas in your work.

If you’d like to:

• Get behind the scenes of Cannes Lions-winning ideas
• Inspire your team with fresh approaches and frameworks
• Learn how to flip assumptions and create talkable, effective campaigns

Then get in touch to book your Cannes Decoded session today.

Email claire@nowgocreate.co.uk to find out more and tailor it for your team’s challenges.

It sounds like science fiction, but it’s closer than you might think.

According to the World Economic Forum, an astonishing 85% of the jobs that today’s learners will do over the next decade haven’t been invented yet. They’ll use technology that does not even exist today.

For those of us in the working world right now, this raises a critical question:

How can you future-proof your career when you don’t even know what your future job will be called?

Why reinvention matters more than ever

At Now Go Create, we specialise in helping business professionals stay creative, resilient and adaptable. So when I heard about Christopher Bishop, a man who calls himself a Chief Reinvention Officer, I knew I had to talk to him.

Christopher has done exactly what many of us fear doing: he’s reinvented himself not once, but nine times. His career journey spans decades and includes some pretty remarkable chapters:

• Touring rock musician in the 1970s
• Studio musician in New York, performing with Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley
• Composer for TV jingles
• Early web producer at New York’s pioneering interactive agencies
• Over a decade in strategy and executive comms at IBM, including projects that experimented with the early metaverse
• And now, a respected speaker and author, helping people navigate careers in quantum tech, AI and other cutting-edge fields

What I love about Christopher is that he is relentlessly optimistic about the future of work. While headlines tend to focus on which jobs AI might destroy, he focuses on how people can use creativity, curiosity and adaptability to thrive whatever comes next.

The future career toolkit

When I interviewed Christopher for the Now Go Create podcast, he shared something I found really practical: his Future Career Toolkit.

This toolkit is simple, but surprisingly powerful. It breaks down how to keep your career flexible and future-ready into three steps:

1. Voice: Define your unique brand

Your voice is your personal brand — your reputation, your unique perspective and the value you bring. Many people overlook this. They think a CV or LinkedIn bio covers it, but Christopher argues you should go deeper.

One way to uncover your voice is to look at your favourite films, books or games. What draws you in? What qualities do you admire? This helps pinpoint what matters most to you and what makes you stand out.

2. Antenna: Stay plugged In

Next, build your “antenna”. This is how you stay alert to trends and conversations shaping your industry and future ones too.

Christopher suggests listing a few trusted sources you’ll check regularly, from TED Talks and YouTube channels to podcasts and newsletters. Be deliberate about it. Which topics excite you? Which sources expand your thinking?

The idea is to develop a habit of scanning the horizon so you’re not surprised when change arrives, but prepared to seize it.

3. Mesh: Build and nurture your network

Finally, there’s your “mesh” — your network of connections, both inside and outside your current field.

Christopher recommends a simple goal: add five new connections each week. Find people talking about topics that spark your curiosity. Join groups on LinkedIn. Attend virtual or in-person events when you can.

The more diverse and active your network, the more resilient you’ll be when it’s time to reinvent yourself or spot unexpected opportunities.

You can hear Christopher coaching me through the process on the podcast episode.

If you’re a team leader, manager or business owner, you know how fast skills become obsolete. Many organisations still focus training budgets on old frameworks, but the biggest advantage today is helping your people get comfortable with ambiguity and new ideas.

Christopher’s toolkit is an excellent conversation starter for your next team meeting or personal development session. It gets people thinking about how they can take ownership of their careers instead of waiting for change to come to them.

Get the toolkit

I asked Christopher if we could share his workbook with you and he said yes!

You can download the free Future Career Toolkit right here

If you want to hear Christopher’s stories and insights in his own words, listen to our full podcast conversation:

Inside, you’ll learn:

• Why so many of us feel overwhelmed by change and why that’s normal
• How curiosity is more valuable than expertise in an unpredictable economy
• Examples of surprising future job titles you may never have considered
• And how to teach the next generation to embrace reinvention, not fear it

We live in extraordinary times. Technology is evolving faster than our job descriptions can keep up. The good news is, your best tools for staying employable have always been human: creativity, curiosity and community.

Use this toolkit as your starting point and share it with your team, your colleagues, and your family. Christopher’s book Improvising Careers: Succeed at Jobs that Don’t Exist Yet is out now and I for one cannot wait to read it.

The future may be uncertain, but your ability to navigate it creatively is not.

Stay curious. Stay ready. And keep creating.

Download the Future Career Toolkit
Listen to the Podcast Episode

If so, you’re not alone.This episode of the Now Go Create podcast is the one I wish I’d had years ago when I first started reviewing creative work. Judging creativity is both art and science, an emotional and ration actl. But with the right tools, we can move beyond gut reactions and personal bias to evaluate creative work with clarity, consistency, and confidence.Whether you’re a creative director, a comms lead, or part of an in-house marketing team, this blog distills the key takeaways and frameworks from the episode including insights from leading PR creatives and strategists I interviewed.

Why judging creativity is so damn hard

Creative work is subjective by nature. As the IPA puts it, judging creativity is where instinct meets intellect. One person’s “brave” is another’s “off-brand.” The stakes are high – what if you make the ‘wrong’ decision for the business or the execution doesn’t deliver how you thought/predicted/hoped it would.

But here’s the good news: there are tools to help. I’m sharing three proven frameworks from my creative kitbag you can use to assess ideas more objectively plus street-smart wisdom from fellow Creative Moment Awards judges Kim Allain (Golin), Greg Double (Burson), and Gemma Maroney (SHOOK).

Framework 1: the Heineken Creative Ladder

Use it for: evaluating ambition and originality

Created by Arif Haq working with Heineken, when he worked at Contagious, the creative ladder is a 10-step “dictionary” to help you articulate how strong an idea really is from clichéd to legendary. I interviewed Haq about it for my book back in 2016 and it really is a brilliant tool to help you to frame conversations about creativity, set a benchmark and challenge yourself and others to a higher standard. It works from 1-10.

You can’t jump to ‘legendary’ without passing through ‘ownable’ and ‘fresh’. The ladder helps teams build shared language, level out subjective opinions, and even bridge the gap between creatives and clients. Five is considered the minimum standard for Heineken and its agencies as the benchmark for creative work.

10 Legendary

9 Cultural phenomenon

8 Contagious

7 Groundbreaking

6 Fresh

5 Ownable

4 Cliché

3 Fusing

2 Hijacked

1 Destructive

Framework 2: IDEO’s lifeline cards

Use it for: reviewing work from multiple human-centred angles

The design lifeline cards from IDEO are a powerful tool to reframe and review creative work using seven lenses:

• Heart – does it come from a place of empathy?
• Beauty – is it elegant, iconic, evocative?
• Brains – is it strategic and novel?
• Bravery – did it take risks?
• Magic – is there awe or delight?
• Mastery – is there evidence of craft?
• Destiny – will it create long-term impact?

Pro tip: use these cards at any stage of the process – briefing, reviewing, or final evaluation. They’re like a Swiss army knife for creative conversations.

Download the cards here. They are a gift 😉 Print them off and share with your team.

Framework 3: James Hurman’s creative effectiveness code

Use it for: understanding the commercial impact of your ideas

This model focuses on the effectiveness of creativity through six levels, from basic behavioural influence to full-on brand fame:

1. Influences behaviour
2. Changes perception
3. Drives short-term sales
4. Builds long-term growth
5. Creates cultural impact
6. Achieves brand fame

Insight: This code helps you map your idea against commercial objectives and work towards meaningful results. I’ve merely scratched the surface, grab a cuppa, sit down and read the full deck here. They analysed and compared a total of 4,863 effectiveness award entrants and winners from 2011 through 2019, from every major market in the world: 1,031 cases from the Cannes Creative Insight: This code helps you map your idea against commercial objectives and work towards meaningful results. I’ve merely scratched the surface, grab a cuppa, sit down and read the full deck here. They analysed and compared a total of 4,863 effectiveness award entrants and winners from 2011 through 2019, from every major market in the world: 1,031 cases from the Cannes Creative and 216 cases from the IPA databank. You can’t say I’m not good to you 😉

What top-of-their game creative directors look for

Here’s what my podcast guests said when asked how they judge great creative work in preparation to the upcoming Creative Moment Awards:

“Start with insight. Then trust your gut.” – Gemma Moroney, SHOOK

“If it shows up in a non-PR WhatsApp group, it’s probably good.” – Greg Double, Burson

“I look for authenticity and impact beyond our bubble.” – Kim Allain, Golin

And when it comes to writing award entries:

“Don’t just tick boxes, tell a story.” Greg Double

“Make the judges fall in love with the idea.” Gemma Moroney

Listen to the full podcast episode here for all the juicy goodness.

Whether you’re judging award entries, pitching to clients, or reviewing internal campaigns, the ability to evaluate creative work is a learnable skill. If your team would benefit from hands-on support to help determine impact, creative workshops or bespoke training, I’d love to help.

Book a discovery call with Now Go Create Founder Claire Bridges – email claire@nowgocreate.co.uk

“My brain talks to me a lot – and it talks a lot of sh*t.”

These honest words from Danny Dyer during The Assembly on Channel 4 hit home for many of us this Mental Health Awareness Week.

In this episode of the Now Go Create podcast, I’m joined by clinical hypnotherapist James Mallinson to unpack the idea of internal self-talk – and more importantly, how we can shift it from critic to coach.

James has worked with over 5,000 clients, from CEOs to elite athletes to everyday creatives, and shares practical insights for turning down the volume on your inner critic.

What is internal self-talk?

It’s the ongoing narration in our heads – the running commentary on everything we do, say, think, or feel. We have between 35,000–55,000 thoughts a day, and while many are neutral, others can be harmful. These are the “you can’t do this” and “you’re not good enough” voices – the ones that undermine us.

Why negative self-talk matters

James explains that negative self-talk amplifies vulnerability and can sabotage our performance – especially in high-stakes moments like pitching ideas or presenting work. It floods us with stress hormones and can literally freeze us in our tracks.

In high-pressure fields like special forces or elite sport, the difference between success and failure often comes down to mindset. It’s not ability – it’s what people are saying to themselves in the moment.

How it affects creativity

Negative internal chatter puts the handbrake on our creativity. Whether you’re holding back in a brainstorm or doubting yourself during a presentation, it’s often your internal dialogue doing the damage. And if someone has ever shut you down – a boss, a teacher, a creative director – those moments get logged and replayed as internal criticism.

How to change your internal narrative

Awareness is the first step. Once you notice the voice, James suggests getting specific:
– Write down what your inner critic says
– Note the tone, pitch, and pace – is it snarky, slow, mean, sarcastic?

Then: fight fire with fire. Replace those words with powerful, present-tense phrases that you’d want to hear – not soft platitudes, but strong, motivating language in a tone that resonates with you.

Need inspiration? One SAS client of James’ said his mantra was: “Shut the f*ck up. Go. Go now.”

Coach vs critic – who are you listening to?
While James doesn’t recommend naming your critic (it gives it too much power), he does suggest creating an inner coach. This could be your ideal self – or even someone else whose voice you trust and admire. Barack Obama, Bananaman, your partner – whoever helps you feel stronger, braver, more creative. Imagine their voice guiding you when you need it most.

Top tip for creatives
Don’t wait until you’re mid-pitch or in the middle of a brainstorm to try silencing your inner critic – prep emotionally before you go in. Just like rehearsing a presentation, rehearsing your internal dialogue can make a massive difference.

And if you’ve got a bank of great feedback? Use it. Keep a folder of kind words, client praise, or successful moments to revisit when self-doubt strikes. Let it remind you of what you’re capable of.

🎧 Listen to the full episode on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Want to help your team get out of their own way creatively?

I run interactive workshops that tackle the inner critic, build creative confidence, and unlock better ideas – even under pressure. Contact claire@nowgocreate.co.uk to discuss how I can help

“We are truly delighted to be unveiling the very first Independent Impact 50. The event in London and the scheme more broadly represent a long-overdue celebration of a community whose influence, impact, commitment and contribution has been ignored for too long.

A panel of 17 judges including agency and in-house leaders chose the winners. Analysis of the winner demographics are interesting and shows they are:

– 70% women and 90% white
– With an average age of 48
– Working in the PR industry for an average of 24 years
– With an average 9.5 years as independent practitioners

As PRovoke Media Maja Pawinska Sims said: “So this is where all the senior women have gone…” The full write up from Maja is on the Provoke website.

The award cements Now Go Create’s reputation as one of the leading authorities on creativity and innovation working in the UK, and Claire’s commitment to providing training and consultancy services at the highest level.

Claire said: “It’s incredibly gratifying to be part of these important inaugural awards. Micro businesses contribute massively to the overall economy and it’s with pride, grit and determination that we strive for brilliant client service and in my case building creative capability and training that really cuts though and sticks with individuals and teams. It’s wonderful to be recognised and in such amazing company. There are no other trainers on the list this year and I am incredibly proud that the work we do behind the scenes is being recognised.”

On this episode of the Now Go Create podcast, host Claire Bridges dives into these mysteries with Carolyn Gregoire, co-author of the bestselling book Wired to Create and the mastermind behind the Adobe Creative Types personality assessment.

Carolyn’s Creative Types test has been taken more than 15 million times and has become a go-to tool for teams and individuals exploring how they work creatively. As Claire shares in the episode, she uses the test regularly in her creative training practice to help people better understand their preferences, strengths, and potential blind spots when it comes to collaboration and ideation.

Carolyn takes us on a journey from her background in philosophy and psychology journalism to her work helping people birth their creative ideas as a “book doula.” Her passion for the creative mind is clear: she’s fascinated by what makes creative people tick and how they can thrive.

Inside the creative types

The original Adobe Creative Types test launched in 2019 as a playful, 15-question self-assessment. It draws from personality psychology, including Myers-Briggs theory and research into highly creative individuals. The result? Eight creative archetypes like the Dreamer, the Innovator, the Maker, the Adventurer, and more. Each offers insight into your central creative tendencies, helping you and your team understand how best to work together.

Carolyn emphasises that the test is just a starting point. Most people express a blend of traits across multiple archetypes, and the magic happens when we understand how to flex between types and collaborate across our differences.

The update: creative types, shaping the future

In April 2025, Carolyn and the Adobe team released a follow-up to the original test. Where the first version identifies who you are creatively, the new one explores who you’re becoming and how your creative strengths can help shape the world. In an era defined by change, uncertainty, and AI, this new assessment is both hopeful and practical.

The new test introduces types like the Gardener, the Alchemist, the Strategist, and the Guide. Each represents a unique response to today’s creative challenges—whether that’s building new systems, leading change, or helping others find meaning.

Why this matters

Claire and Carolyn discuss how self-awareness is the bedrock of effective collaboration. Understanding your creative type can:

• Improve brainstorming by making space for different thinking styles
• Help team members play to their strengths
• Reveal blind spots in your team’s collective approach
• Foster empathy and psychological safety

If you’re a leader trying to unlock team creativity or a solo professional looking for insight into your process, these tools offer a language and framework to start the conversation.

On introversion, opposites, and the mess of creativity

The episode also dives into one of the most misunderstood dynamics in team creativity: introversion and extroversion. Carolyn explains that introversion isn’t just about being quiet; it’s about how we process information. Introverts go inward, while extroverts process externally. Recognising this can dramatically shift how teams brainstorm and collaborate.

Carolyn also discusses the paradoxes of creativity—how great creatives often contain opposing traits (introverted and extroverted, playful and disciplined). The more we embrace this complexity, the more expansive our creative potential becomes.

Can AI be a creative ally?

No conversation about creativity in 2025 would be complete without touching on AI. Carolyn sees it as a tool: useful when it supports your process, unhelpful when it replaces your voice. As she says, real creativity is often messy and full of friction. AI might help you get unstuck, but it’s the human struggle that brings meaning and originality to the work.

Creative tips to take away

Carolyn’s advice for unlocking more creativity in your work:

• Know yourself. Use assessments like Creative Types to understand your patterns.
• Tend your inner life. Journaling, meditation, and self-reflection are powerful creative fuels.
• Stay curious. Openness to experience is the #1 personality trait linked to creativity.
• Embrace complexity. Creativity thrives in paradox, not perfection.
• Honour your process. Whether you’re fast and action-oriented or slow and contemplative, your way is valid.

Take the test

Ready to explore your creative self? Head to mycreativetype.com to take both the original and updated Creative Types tests.

Whether you’re a Gardener, an Alchemist, or an Adventurer, understanding your creative DNA is one of the most powerful steps you can take in unlocking your potential – and supporting your team.

Catch the full conversation with Carolyn Gregoire on the latest Now Go Create podcast episode. 

Claire has created a worksheet to go alongside with some coaching prompts to help you get the most out of the episode. Download it here.

“Put three or four dissociated ideas together and create awkward relationships with them — the unconscious intelligence that comes from those pairings is quite startling.” David Bowie

There’s a reason we’re still talking about David Bowie – not just as a musical genius, but as a creative thinker. One of his fascinating tools was the cut-up technique, a method borrowed from the avant-garde and adapted for songwriting, storytelling, and big ideas.

In this week’s Now Go Create podcast episode, we explored the power of random stimuli and how techniques like Bowie’s can revolutionise the way you generate ideas, especially if you’re short on time, confidence, or creative inspiration.

Why most brainstorms don’t work

Let’s face it: brainstorms often fall flat.

They’re either dominated by the loudest voice in the room, rely on generic thinking, or end up recycling the same safe ideas. They often start with “Okay, who’s got a great idea?” which is a surefire way to induce blank stares and panic.

For busy professionals working in PR, marketing, and communications, the pressure to “be creative” on demand can feel paralysing. And yet, creativity is often expected to appear in a 30-minute meeting with little preparation or structure.

Enter random stimuli: disruption with purpose

Random stimuli isn’t about chaos for chaos’s sake. It’s about shaking up your usual thinking patterns by introducing unrelated, unexpected inputs.

David Bowie used it by cutting up headlines, poems, and pages from books, feeding them into a software program, and remixing them to create new lyrics. His logic? The unexpected combinations forced new perspectives.

“I’ll take articles out of newspapers, poems I’ve written, pieces of other people’s books… and then hit the random button. It will randomise everything.” David Bowie, BBC interview (1997)

This technique, rooted in the Dada art movement and popularised by writer William Burroughs, taps into something fundamental: our brains are wired to find meaning in patterns even when they don’t make immediate sense.

What this means for business creativity

When adapted for modern creative work, the cut-up/random stimuli technique can be a secret weapon for:

• breaking creative blocks
• warming up a tired team
• jumpstarting a solo creative sprint
• challenging conventional thinking

It’s especially useful if:

• you don’t know how to run a “creative session”
• you’re working with mixed-ability or nervous teams
• you’ve got a “same old ideas” problem
• you want quick stimulation without high pressure

How to use the cut-up technique in a brainstorm

Here’s how you can bring this into a team setting or use it solo.

1. Prepare your raw material

Collect 3–5 different types of content: news articles, social posts, product reviews, poems, ads, etc. These should be totally unrelated to your challenge.

2. Cut it up

Snip phrases or single words from each piece. You want a minimum of 50 fragments in total. Physical paper works well, or use a digital tool to randomise the text.

3. Mix it up

Shuffle the pieces and pull 3–5 fragments at random.

4. Create awkward connections

Ask: “What idea, product, campaign or message could link these fragments together?” Encourage absurdity. The goal is association, not logic.

5. Refine

You’ll probably strike gold 1 in 10 times but that one time can unlock something truly original. Use the best outputs as springboards for real ideas.

Key takeaways from the podcast episode:

In this week’s show, I explore:

• why the illusion of randomness is often more valuable than endless structure
• examples of how top creatives (like Bowie) use disruption to surprise their own thinking
• the psychological benefit of freeing yourself from “the right answer”
• why AI can be an incredible tool to remix, randomise, and support creative thinking — when used intentionally

Bonus: try it yourself

Want to give the cut-up method a go? I’ve created a free downloadable worksheet to help you (or your team) try it out in under 15 minutes.

Download the creative jumpstart worksheet – Bowie edition

Creativity isn’t about pulling rabbits out of hats. It’s about creating the conditions for new connections to form and sometimes, that means letting go of control and inviting a bit of randomness in.

So next time you’re stuck, don’t start with “what’s the big idea?” Start with “what don’t we expect?”

Listen to the 13 minute podcast episode here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/now-go-create/id1786353481?i=1000705488491

Or watch this short video on how to use visuals, another way to use random stimulus.

Across the first 13 episodes, certain themes have come up again and again: how we find ideas, why constraints spark creativity, how to navigate burnout, and the emotional rollercoaster of creative work.

So I wanted to share some highlights, recurring insights, and a few personal reflections on what I’ve learned so far.

🎧 Haven’t tuned in yet? You can listen to all episodes here

1. Constraints are fuel, not friction

Again and again, guests have talked about how limitations – time, budget, briefs – actually force us to be more inventive.

“Constraints aren’t a block – they’re a brief.”
From Tom Oldham photographing Cristiano Ronaldo in five minutes to creative leads navigating tight campaign timelines, clarity and limitation breed originality.

2. Curiosity is non-negotiable

Whether it’s asking better questions, reframing a problem, or going deeper with a client, curiosity is a key creative superpower. It’s how we keep ourselves and our ideas fresh even if we don’t know where it might lead – and ourselves motivated.

3. Remember you’re a stakeholder in your own creative ideas too

A recurring theme: creative professionals often forget to advocate for their own vision. Many guests talked about learning to protect their creative integrity in commercial settings – and how that ultimately leads to better, bolder work.

4. Burnout is real – but creativity can be recovered

An episode that’s resonated with you? Burnout, out of energy, not ideas.

Creative work is deeply emotional and often misunderstood by the systems we work in. But through honesty, reflection, and resetting boundaries, we can find our way back to joy.

5. Done is better than perfect

Whether you’re launching a podcast, pitching a big idea, or starting a personal project – almost every guest echoed this: you have to start before you’re ready.

“Honour your ideas by finishing them. That’s the only way to build creative muscle.” Tom Oldham

Listen to his episode here.

🎧 Favourite moments

• Tom Oldham on creative bravery and photographing Rick Rubin listen here
• Neuroscientist Dr Ben Martynoga sharing his amazing insights into our cognitive processes and how we can hack our creative states. Listen here.
• The amazing force of nature that is singer song writer Dyo insisting that writer’s block doesn’t exist. Listen here.
• PR agency co-founder Gemma Moroney sharing how tiny creative habits can lead to big creative breakthroughs.
• Guests sharing their creative rituals – from their daily walks to their tiny creative habits to nap breaks!

💬 What’s next?

I’ve got more brilliant interviews lined up, diving into fresh angles on creativity in business – from adventures in AI to storytelling to how to lead a business built on a culture of creativity.

If you’ve enjoyed the podcast so far, I’d love you to:

✅ Share your favourite episode with a friend
✅ Leave a quick review on your podcast app
✅ Drop me a message – what do you want to hear more about?

Thanks so much for listening, sharing, and joining the conversation. Here’s to unleashing more creativity – one episode at a time.

🎧 Catch up or subscribe here or wherever you get your pods