Creativity Corner The Creative Process

The Creative Process – Meet Richard Huntington

February 18, 2013

I’m extremely excited to announce the launch of a new category here on colourliving, which I hope will provide some inspiration and insight for many of you. Much has been written about The Creative Process, which in its purest form is simply a way of solving a problem. That sounds simple, doesn’t it? Creativity and its process, contrary to popular belief, is not just reserved for artists and designers. I believe that everyone can benefit from learning and understanding the numerous ways of the creative process. I will invite people to share their own personal creative processes with us.

I am hugely delighted to introduce my first guest contributor, Richard Huntington, Director of Strategy at Saatchi & Saatchi. Richard also writes the UK’s most influential advertising blog adliterate, radiacal thinking for the brand advice business, a most stimulating read indeed!

Although i originally asked Richard whether i could pinch a post he wrote on his blog, entitled a decade of Moleskines (utterly great read & fun vine clip), he very generously and kindly wrote an entirely new post for us. I’ll shut up now and hand you straight over to Richard!!

The Creative Process – Richard Huntington

Richard Huntington

Forgive me but I find the idea of articulating my creative process a little strange. You see I am a strategist in an advertising agency – a planner as we are known.

One of the more bizarre aspects of advertising is the division of labour that we have created within agency life, in which we have separated the doers (account handlers or suits as they are charmingly known), the thinkers (us planners) and the creators (the creative teams). The planners decide what should be done and how, the creatives come up with the ideas and the suits make the client’s coffee.

So the thing is I don’t actually create anything tangible, I merely produce ideas, approaches and thinking that others turn into amazing stuff that engages the world – or certainly big chunks of the UK. From the Royal Wedding spoof for T-Mobile and the Hank Marvin work for Fridge Raiders to the Kevin Bacon ads for the launch of EE – Britain’s first 4G network operator. Rather sadly my creative canvas is not the silver screen or the colour scheme but really Microsoft Word and Powerpoint.

If there is creativity it is in the process of connecting and combining ideas, thoughts and facts together to solve problems and act as a creative springboard for others – something that they can get their teeth stuck into and create magic from.

This goes something like this.

Me: EE is a brand new quintessentially British brand (unlike the Euro-trash O2 and Vodafone) that puts you at the centre of and connects you to your whole digital life not just your mobile one.

Them: Launch EE with Hollywood A-lister Kevin Bacon, known for being connected to everyone everywhere and have him display an un-nerving degree of insight into the minutiae of British cultural life while dramatizing that everyone is connected to everything.

Us: Bosh!

Anyway I thought I’d share some of the things I hold dear in creating these solutions – they may inspire you or they may make you go ‘duh, tell me something I don’t know’, either way by now I should have sufficiently managed your expectations to get away with it. There are nine because ten is too convenient.

1. Read weird-shit

I don’t read business books and I try to avoid the very many books that people write about brands, advertising and communications – unless they are of ground breaking importance. Rather I try and consume random stuff that interests me and that might provide a lateral spark that helps solve a problem. Ask yourself how much inspiration you are taking from the world you already inhabit and are deeply familiar with rather from other places. Right now I’m reading a book on Heatherwick Studios work over the past 30 years (the designers of the 2012 Olympic Cauldron), couldn’t be further from my day job, couldn’t be more helpful.

2. See the things others don’t or can’t see

Creativity is often thought to involve breath-taking moments of genius in which the most unusual and potent idea pops into your mind and away you go. That doesn’t happen with me. Most of the time I am exposed to exactly the same stimulus as other people its just I am on the look out and listening for thoughts that others have ignored because they don’t see their significance. And the thing that will help you most in this endeavour is point three.

3. Focus on what is interesting and not what is right

In my own world I have turned this into a bit of a cliché. But it is based on the thought that our education system and professional lives encourage us to find the right answer not the most interesting one. This is not to say that you don’t want the answer to be right but that if you look for something interesting it might also be right. Whereas, if you look for something right it will never be interesting. I helped launch Sky+ in the UK by ignoring all the functional benefits of hard disk recording and the ability to pause and rewind live TV and instead positioned it as your very own TV channel – this just seemed rather more interesting.

4. Go there

I find that the more that your thinking is unpalatable the better it is. Ok, let’s start that in a different place. I believe in radicalism as an approach to problem solving, by which I mean searching for the real root cause of that problem and not settling for superficial solutions. In order to really penetrate the inner workings of why people do the things they do and think the things they think you have to have a bit of a strong stomach because human motivations are base to say the least. I heard great quote recently that we live in a time of prehistoric urges, medieval institutions and god-like technology, when we are thinking about harnessing the tech to improve the institutions its as well to remember the real urges we are driven by.

5. Be amused by the world

One of my favourite creative outlets is Twitter right now. It’s a brilliant way to capture the serendipity of life and forces you into the discipline of offering up in as economical and potent way as possible. Thoughts that would have previously crossed your mind (like why are all those men lined up outside Victoria’s Secret on New Bond Street too embarrassed to join their wives and girlfriends inside – maybe they need to reduce the taboo around lingerie for men) can now find full expression in a tweetpic and a pithy observation. The point is that I am all for things that help us enjoy the idiosyncrasies of the World around us, for in those moments are locked real insight about people’s lives.

6. Everything can give you an answer

I have a little trick if the solutions are slow in coming. I ask everything that I come across to help me. This isn’t some ask the universe bullshit, its about interrogating random stimulus like tube ads, street signs, shop fascias, half forgotten books, children’s toys, you know any old shit. Last year I got an idea for repositioning a bank brand from some words on the fascia of Pret a Manger, now that’s random.

7. Think visually as well as conceptually

This seems obvious for a design readership but what I’m talking about here is visualising conceptual ideas not visualising actual solutions. I find that people are far better at getting their heads around new thinking if they can see it rather than simply read it so my life is full of Venn diagrams, triangles, wedges and visual metaphors. These are the true tools of the conceptual creative.

8. Find your creative routine

This is something I learnt from my girlfriend and blogger Annie of insideology a little while ago and wrote about recently on my own blog. Creative routines are the things you do to force your mind into a creative place because your mind associates that routine (place, pen, lighting, smell, etc.) with producing something of worth. Because I work in my office, at home, in meeting rooms and at clients, for me it’s my Moleskine and Montblanc pen. Not in themselves aids to creativity but mnemonics for my mind to be creative.

9. Use all your life

I remember a story about a famous commercials director most celebrated for his Levis ads of the 80s and 90s. He was once asked by a client why his day rate was so astronomical, they couldn’t see how a day of anyone’s time could be that valuable and with good reason. His response was that in that day of work they were benefiting from every experience he had ever had in the thing that he would create for them, something Picasso is also believed to have said about the cost of a sketch dashed off in five minutes. In other words they weren’t buying a day or a five minutes, they were buying a life. You and your life to date should always be your greatest source of inspiration and insight.

Wow, thank you Richard, what great points. As a conceptual thinker i already practice some of these but definitely struggle with radical thinking (4). I often catch myself staying a little safe and will now attempt to change this.

What do you think of Richard’s creative process? Do you resonate with any points in particular? Do share!

Thank you Richard for taking time out of your very busy schedule. It’s much appreciated! See you all on Thursday.

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45 Comments

  • Reply Catherine Bedson February 18, 2013 at 12:28 pm

    What a fabulous and extremely insightful post from Richard…soaking it all in.
    Point 6 resonates with me as I often get creative ideas from looking at something totally unrelated.

    My oldest daughter is in her third year of a communications degree in PR, will be forwarding this to her to read also. An exciting new category Tina, I look forward to reading more. I’m inspired by Richard and very grateful to you for sharing.

    • Reply tina February 21, 2013 at 8:20 am

      Thanks Catherine, so glad people like the new feature. It might not display pretty cushions with ribbons and is a little more challenging to read, but I believe we can learn much from people’s varied creative processes. Glad you got something out of it!

      Hope Richard’s points will inspire your daughter… x

  • Reply WeHeartHome February 18, 2013 at 12:30 pm

    So inspiring! Really great idea for a new series Tina, and so appropriate for your blog. Yay!

    “Read weird shit” and “establish a creative routine” are the two points that strike me most… mainly besause I don’t do them, or at least not intentionally. I think it would be a good exercise to be more aware of practicing that – an exercise I’d have never thought of if I hadn’t stopped by here.

    Thanks Tina and thanks to Richard for sharing his ideas with us!

    Will be checking out Adliterate now 🙂

    Xx. Holly.

    • Reply tina February 21, 2013 at 8:40 am

      Thanks love, knew you would like it!

      A good way to prompt you to ‘read weird shit’ is if you go to a newsstand and look at random magazines in all kind of subject matters. My favourite ever (and it happens to be in Berlin, lucky you) is ‘Do you read me?!’ You will find a plethora of magazines that will no doubt ignite your imagination.

      I used to love going to Borders (before they closed down in the UK), fill a basket full of books and magazines and sit in the coffee shop for hours, excited like a little kid. At the end of those sessions I would always walk away with a couple of magazines and books, but truly inspired by various ideas I got from cross-referencing. I read anything from science to men’s magazines, the more unrelated the better!

      These days, I still practice this habit but now have to stand around in Selfridges. It’s not quite the same and I tend to get restless and leave:-(

      Adliterate is a worthwhile read! xx

  • Reply Katie February 18, 2013 at 1:56 pm

    This is a great post! Thanks for sharing, Richard – really good insight.

    • Reply tina February 21, 2013 at 8:40 am

      Thanks for stopping by Katie:-)

  • Reply richard February 18, 2013 at 3:05 pm

    I live by the ‘read weird shit’ adage – creativity is nothing more or less than making unique connections between seemingly unrelated things.

    One thing I didn’t include was my favourite Eric Gill quote – ‘First I think my think, then I draw my think’. Works well in that form or as ‘first I think my think, then I write my think’.

    Thanks for taking an interest in this post, and thanks Tina for giving me the opportunity.

    R

    • Reply tina February 21, 2013 at 8:44 am

      Richard, THANK YOU!! It’s been an absolute pleasure to have you here and I’m really greatful you kicked this off for me with such style and panache;-)

  • Reply Gerard @WalnutGrey February 18, 2013 at 7:25 pm

    Tina this is an especially apt idea for a blog series and what a wonderful kick off!

    Richard when I read that you’re Director of Strategy at Saatchi & Saatchi, I was at once slightly awed and then somewhat perturbed. The perturbed bit was more about your title – I haven’t met too many creative Director’s of Strategy in my time. But your first sentence was an admission to that fact, after which I felt much more at ease.

    I work for myself – alone – and find doing the planning hard and creating easy. For me, the ideas you’ve shared are a helpful way for me to try and contextualise my creative side. I bought a pile of business books when I started out and they were so dull – I probably read the first few pages at most! The “read weird shit” is much sexier and so much more helpful. One of the reasons I had to leave FT employment was precisely because of point 3. I’m not a “yes”person and hated focusing on what was right – it was never interesting to me. Watching the world, observing people, listening to conversations, noticing difference etc. they are all key to being creative for me and it’s so helpful checking them off from your list. I don’t use all of my life enough and I really should – this for me is the most powerful of your observations.

    Finally in terms of your comment above, I do “think my think, then I write my think.” Although this is never in a strategic way… the thinking bit can be fleeting… the creative bit is when I let my mind lead me where a piece or project needs to go. I do need to get better at planning!

    Thanks again for an insightful post!

    Gerard.

    • Reply richard February 19, 2013 at 8:23 am

      There are few things that I hold to be more right than the idea that its better to be interesting than right. Especially in creative businesses. An ad legend called Howard Gossage (the man that introduced Marshall Macluhan to the world and named Friends of the Earth) once said that “people read what’s interesting to them and sometimes that’s an ad”. It’s a good wake up call for people in my world (that by and large produce dross) but I’m interested in whether that works in the design arena. In that technically there is a concept of ‘good design’ and being interesting is not necessarily the name of the game (maybe I am hideously wrong here).

      For me interesting is provocative and provocation leads to conversation – and starting conversations is far more what we do in advertising these days than simply get people to ‘read’ ads. I saw a rather wonderful quote yesterday from the new editor of the Spectator (not really my politics) who said that they “serve up cask strength opinion”. I think that when I boil it all down that’s all I am really trying to do – since opinion is the lifeblood of every great conversation we have, about brands, each other or the wider world.

    • Reply tina February 21, 2013 at 8:55 am

      Gerard, darlin’, I’m delighted this post speaks to you:-))

      Also, never be awed by titles, that’s just what they are… many years ago, a friend demystified this for me buy saying…. all people are just people!!! xx

  • Reply sue February 18, 2013 at 8:52 pm

    clearly not used to exercising my intellect muscle, i think i may have to revisit this post at a later date in order to best articulate my thoughts… but suffice to say, i love the premise of this series (thank you tina) & i love this post (thank you richard)… observing the habits of ‘functioning creatives’ (distant cousins of functioning alcoholics?) is actually a relatively new process for me, so this is timely indeed… i always rather naively assumed you couldn’t harness creativity into a neat little time slot (eg, 9-5); that creativity came when it damned well suited itself (more often than not in the still of night for me)… but this speech (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VShmtsLhkQg) by john cleese, which my boyfriend kindly forwarded to me a little while back, was a real eye opener… the thought that there was a way to induce creativity & even schedule it into our daily lives kind of bowled me over (sad, but true lightbulb moment)… & now this series promises to give me some tools with which to better harness my own creative process… funnily enough, i have already long since embraced points 1-7 & 9 in varying degrees… they’re just a part of who i am… but point no. 8 was the missing piece of the puzzle for me… so many thanks indeed!

    • Reply tina February 21, 2013 at 9:02 am

      Darling, you’re doing well in exercising your intellect muscles… that’s when you’re not posting gorgeous, half naked men sitting in luscious interiors;-)

      Thank you so much for the John Cleese speech, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I had no idea he’s a motivational speaker. I liked his authoritarian and rather forceful mannerism. It makes you sit up and listen. Now, how many …..does it take to change a lightbulb? Answers on a postcard please!

      Yes, the creative routine is a good one!

      Glad you like the new series…

      • Reply sue February 22, 2013 at 1:41 am

        i found the bit where he referred to a colleague who was infinitely more talented, but ultimately less successful very eye-opening indeed! it’s one thing to have the ability, but if you don’t use it, what’s the point… made me want to strive to be a functioning creative, not a flailing one!

        • Reply tina February 23, 2013 at 1:12 am

          I know what you mean. The idea of talent vs hard work is an interesting one to me. Some people achieve success through sheer hard slog and others cruise by due to their natural talent but with little or no effort applied. I would choose the hard slog every single time. Of course, having some talent will go a long way….

  • Reply Nicola February 18, 2013 at 9:58 pm

    Tina – what a brilliant new category, The Creative Process. I don’t know how regularly you are planning to publish this but you and Richard have set a very high bar. You are quite right, everyone can benefit from understanding the creative process. There are many, many accountants, structural engineers, architects, mathematicians in the world but it’s the creative ones that stand out and are considered brilliant in their field. They all studied the ‘right’ things but the brilliant ones focussed on the ‘interesting’ things.

    I love the A to B illustration, I understood that process immediately! When you see the brilliant idea at B it seems so clear, so obvious and yet it took all those life experiences and hard work to make it seem simple. Interestingly, it also sums up the first year with a baby quite nicely.

    Thank you for the nine points of your creative process, I can relate to all of them and they really have been an inspiration and an insight and a great way to kick off the week.

    I love that there are nine because, as you say, ten are too convenient and, as I say, eight steps are too expedient.

    • Reply Chi@106 February 19, 2013 at 9:01 pm

      LOVE your A to B/first year with a baby analogy, Nicola – spot on! 😀

      • Reply Nicola February 21, 2013 at 12:18 pm

        Chi- I can now confirm that the A to B analogy also applies from 0 to 21 too!! 🙂

    • Reply tina February 21, 2013 at 9:12 am

      I don’t know, probably once a month! My head is already full of people I want to feature but I think once a month is about right…

      Tell me about it.. Richard has indeed set a very high bar…

      Ah, the A to B illustration… this is how that came about:

      ME: Richard I need at least 1 visual… my readers are used to lots of photographs here and such a text rich post needs at least something to break it up. Feel free to send a pic of you etc. Oh, I found a sketch of someone’s creative process (resonated with me)

      Richard: That sketch looks like it’s someone else’ creative process, I’ll send you a doodle.

      ME: Great! Sorted!

      I always say, teamwork is best! Now, every guest contributor will have to submit a doodle/sketch/drawing of their creative process and I will entirely blame Mr. Huntington for this!!! Perfect!

      LOVE the first year with baby reference and clearly, so did Chi.

      Thanks Nicola xx

  • Reply Doris February 18, 2013 at 10:32 pm

    Gosh Tina, this is a fabulous new column! And I learnt so much just by reading this first post. The read weird shit point resonated with me. Although I read lots of interiors based stuff, I also love to read fiction. The point about using all your life really struck me too, being someone in the middle of a career change, it never occured to me that my skills from my previous career might be of use. Definitely food for thought! xD

    • Reply tina February 21, 2013 at 9:15 am

      A career change? Do tell more! Aha, listing skills from your previous career….definitely a must.. I bet you’ll find some really interesting cross references!

      Glad you enjoyed x

  • Reply Becky - Pretty Dandy February 19, 2013 at 1:11 am

    Love this post – bookmarking it, coming back later to read it again.

    Thank you!

    Becky

    • Reply tina February 21, 2013 at 9:16 am

      Thank you Becky… yes, it’s a lot to take in so glad you bookmarked!!! Nice to see you here x

  • Reply Anya Jensen February 19, 2013 at 6:33 pm

    Oh Tina congrats on this new fab column, I loved reading Richards tips and ideas. My head is a muddled mess of photos, images, texts, lyrics, graphics – like a virtual moodboard inside my head ha ha. Not very organized at all, but seems to work for me. Nice to get a few tips from here. Happy Tuesday,
    Ax

    • Reply tina February 21, 2013 at 9:18 am

      Your virtual mood board inside your head sounds fascinating. I wish we could film it… Vine anyone!!!

      I call it Creative Chaos and it works for me too xx

  • Reply Chi@106 February 19, 2013 at 7:13 pm

    First of all congratulations, Tina, on you wonderful new feature and on getting Richard to kick things off so brilliantly – what a coup!

    Richard: So kind of you to share your insights in detail – thank you.

    I warn you – this is going to be a long response so it’s probably best to put the kettle on for a cuppa beforehand. 😀

    1. I avoid business books like the plague. They make me feel as though I’m back at school. *shudders* I went to the Heatherwick exhibition last year and bought the book you mentioned. I LOVE the fact that he creates projects that interest him which then go on to attract the right client.

    2/3/4. I like to think that I’m good at seeing what others don’t and I much prefer interesting to “right” but most of my ideas start out far too “interesting”, if you ask me! I begin with my heart (usually from a fun or even radical point of view) and end up using my head to apply it to real-life needs/scenarios.

    5/6. I love the fact that inspiration can strike at any time especially (for me, anyway) when I don’t make a conscious decision to find it. There I am minding my own business, making messy art with my 3 year old and – wallop! – it hits me.

    7. So true.

    8. My creative routine is all about fun – the more consistently I incorporate fun into my daily life, the more relaxed I am. The more relaxed I am, the more creativity flows forth with ease. It took me a while to figure this out. I’d sit at my desk thinking, ” Right. I have a deadline. Must create – now!” Never worked. Not once. Funny that.

    9. I think we all do this subconsciously but I never factored it in when it came to determining the value of my work. I just had what Oprah calls an “Aha!” moment. 😀

    Fabulous job, you two. This is definitely one to print out and refer to again and again! Looking forward to the next one already.

    • Reply tina February 21, 2013 at 9:30 am

      I know, still can’t get over Richard wrote such an incredible post for my blog…very much appreciated!

      I think Heatherwick is in his own league. I remember the first time I heard him speak (many years ago). My friend Max Fraser used to run Petcha Kutcha, together with Marcus from Dezeen and they had the best speakers… Ron Arad etc
      Heatherwick always fascinated me.. no wonder he is where he is today! I LOVED the exhibition!

      I’m always amazed when you comment on blog post the details you pick up… that really stands out!
      Have a listen to John Cleese’s speech (see Sue’s link below) you’ll enjoy it!

      Thanks love and good Luck with the move! x

  • Reply Ingrid February 20, 2013 at 7:17 am

    Hello Tina,

    Great post, interested to check out Richard’s blog. One point that I do think it true is the ‘weird shit’ point. When you read articles on the top fashion designers, Lagerfeld, Prada and Westwood, they all talk about going to galleries and museums and reading books. Not just surfing through the magazines.

    I have another idea about the creative process- still in the process of formulating it, so excuse my clumsy definition. I don’t think that you can be too full up with thoughts and ideas to the point that you don’t listen to new things coming from other people. You also need some space in your mind so that ideas can bubble up from within. I know Stephen King calls this listening to ‘the boys in the basement’ and Robert Louis Stevenson referred to it as putting a pot of stew on the fire and coming back later to see what boils up…

    x Ingrid

    • Reply tina February 21, 2013 at 9:38 am

      Do have a look at Adliterate… very thought provoking….

      I agree with your observation. Personally, I emerse myself with ideas/inspiration (all sorts) and then I sit back and let them do their thing in my subconscious while I get on with other stuff, often the pure art of living.

      I always say that if I can’t hear myself think I need to distance myself from the situation. It’s my way of ‘boiling up’

      Thanks Ingrid x

  • Reply Louise de Miranda February 20, 2013 at 9:33 pm

    Ha, this is really up my alley 🙂 Great premise. First of all I admire how Mr Huntington can articulate his creative process as well as his position in the creative process at his office so well. I work in exactly the same position, so now I can also proudly say that I’m a connector of concepts and a creative springboard for others. I had never thought of it that way.

    I recognize a few of his points. To start with number 8: I always need music, tea and a chewing gum when writing. Isn’t that weird? I read that it has to do with synergy and stimulation of the two brain parts.

    Number 1: Don’t recognize that. I get a lot of my ideas from reading business related articles and hardly read funny stuff.

    Number 2 is however something that cannot be taught, you either have that talent or you don’t. And I think that competency is what distincts a leader from a manager, or a successful entrepeneur from an unsuccessful.

    Number 3 is the core of marketing, and certainly something I still have to work on. I always want to be honest and tend to stay factual. I needn’t see it that way, there is also a grey area you can use to your advantage.

    Number 4: Yes it all comes down to the Maslow pyramid. But being human myself, I can’t always see that since I’m also part of it.

    number 5 and 7 are again inherent to marketing people (the suits), and I just think I’m missing that gene. I do observe but stop my creative thinking process to early to get to that solution.

    And 6 is so true. The best ideas come to me when I’m doing something completely different or when I’m in total relax mode.

    Again, perfectly articulated. Thanks for sharing and can’t wait for the next.

    • Reply tina February 21, 2013 at 9:51 am

      Love that you call him Mr Huntington…;-)

      Interesting: music, tea and chewing gum… to activate your two brain parts!

      Do you see any relevance for you in No.1? Would you give it a try?

      Your comments are interesting and I’m fascinated by the notion of ‘genes’ vs learned behaviour!
      Sometimes I catch myself believing everyone can learn a behaviour, sometimes I agree we are born with certain genes.

      I wonder whether you’ll find this book of interest:
      Twyla Tharp: The Creative Habit

      x

  • Reply Michaela February 21, 2013 at 8:59 am

    Great post Tina – Richard articulates what he does so enviably well! I wasn’t aware of the strategic part of agency work. I knew there the creatives, and the account holders, but the planning I knew incredibly little about. So now I know! I think this series of posts is going to be very popular.

    And the creative ideas are spot on – all a long way from Mad Men eh! (although I do secretly like Don Draper of course!) 😉 xx

    • Reply tina February 21, 2013 at 9:55 am

      Thanks Michaela.

      Yes, I’m hoping to feature different creatives from different disciplines so we can all learn a little bit more about them!

      I wondered when someone was going to mention Mad Men, thought Gerard might!
      Don Draper…. Yum! xx

  • Reply Igor February 21, 2013 at 10:09 am

    What a great new blog series, Tina! Love the interview. I particularly like the ‘be amused by the world’ idea. Oh and I have not thought of the ‘finding my creative routine’ – I have to reconsider that! Thanks for the mental stimuli:-)

    • Reply tina February 21, 2013 at 10:15 am

      Thanks Igor, pleased you enjoyed!

      ‘Finding my creative routine’ is a big one and quite a revelation to a lot of people.
      It’s not always easy..

      I’m glad you enjoyed the mental stimuli…cone back next month for another dose!

  • Reply geraldine February 21, 2013 at 5:17 pm

    Sorry for being late. Tina this is a wonderful series. So inspiring. No 4 resonates with me. Deep root cause analysis ! Leading the clinical service that I do at the moment, you notice that not everyone rows in the same direction even though one may think this is the most pragmatic and logical way to improve patient experience. A dig deeper, some lateral thinking and understanding motives and pressures can sometimes bring that light bulb moment to mediate a situation.

    • Reply tina February 21, 2013 at 11:00 pm

      Hello you. How’s Half Term??

      Thanks, glad all of you enjoy it!

      Fascinating about your work. I’m sure human psychology plays a far bigger role than anything else. Oh, yes, and then there are the patients:-) Your work always sounds so interesting but am sure it’s not without it’s big challenges!

  • Reply noreen February 22, 2013 at 4:26 am

    wow, tina, that was interesting, funny, and inspiring! reading weird stuff, huh? in! see stuff that’s there but not obvious – in. look for the interesting, not the right? as a montessori teacher, we follow the child. AND some things, like capital letters need to be learned, even if we choose not to use them later. i need to reread this post.

    a wonderful idea, and so happy to have stopped by today. thanks to you and richard!

    • Reply tina February 23, 2013 at 1:21 am

      Hi Noreen, happy you stopped by and feel so inspired.

      I’m sure Richard is ok with you posting this piece on your blog. I am! Quite flattering really!!

      I’m a big fan of the Montessori philosophy.

  • Reply Louisa Blackmore February 23, 2013 at 7:02 pm

    This is a BRILLIANT post Tina & Richard! Thank you so much for sharing this, it has really inspired me.

    • Reply tina February 25, 2013 at 12:29 pm

      Great to hear this…. x

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