Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents

Our 32nd episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Michael Ackerbauer, Ph.D., a business transformation leader in the IBM Client Engineering organization who received his Ph.D. in Creative Leadership for Innovation and Change from the University of the Virgin Islands. He shares his recent dissertation research on team creativity preferences and social style behaviors, as well as insights from helping numerous teams apply the creative process. 

Mike discusses how he uses FourSight and Creative Problem Solving to help explain how teams interact and how they can improve. With over 20 years in the field, he focuses on teaching people about creativity and the creative process, and his work at IBM involves helping teams develop a reusable creativity process. 

Learn about his views on the future of creativity using artificial intelligence to augment human imagination and be more efficient, not to replace human creativity. He feels the focus must be on helping people become open and aware of their innate capacity for creativity and their own versatility to work with others. 

Don’t miss this discussion of creative flow in rock balancing, researching, and writing from a thought leader who excels in research. Find our podcast today on all of your favorite platforms.

Our 31st episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Teresa Lawrence, Ph.D., PMP, the subject matter expert on integrating Creative Problem Solving into Project Management. She is the president of International Deliverables, LLC, and provides professional services in creativity, creative problem-solving, and project management. She is a certified Project Management Professional and received a Graduate Certificate from the International Center for Studies in Creativity, SUNY Buffalo State, and a Ph.D. in Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education from the University at Buffalo.

Teresa shares insights from her career working with many organizations and teaching over 80,000 people how to apply creativity in ways that are novel, useful, and on-demand. She describes the importance of instilling an understanding in her participants of where they are in the problem and then helping them select the best tool to move them forward. She is passionate about helping the people she works with become empowered and skillful in problem identification so they solve the problem, not the symptom.

While she points out the many misconceptions about creativity, Teresa shows how creative problem-solving is an evidence and performance-based process. She describes two success stories, one with a nonprofit organization hiring a new executive director and one with a large healthcare IT company. These impactful examples demonstrate how a facilitated process using the right tool at the right time can impact the entire future of an organization and save millions of dollars.

Don’t miss this discussion with a change agent doing impactful work in service to others while living a richer, more alive, and rewarding life. Find our podcast today on all of your favorite platforms.

Our 30th episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Nathan Schwagler, a Military Design and Innovation Facilitator at the US Space Command. He also worked as an expert-level facilitator of Military Design and Creative Problem Solving programs for US Special Operations Command, Dept of Defense, and International NATO allies. As the founding co-director of Innovation Labs at The Dali Museum, he designed programs and facilitated organizations. He received an MS in Creativity at the International Center for Studies in Creativity, SUNY Buffalo State, and an MS in Entrepreneurship from the University of South Florida, where he worked as a Creative-in-Residence and Instructor.

Nate shares how his introduction to Creativity began when he came across a flyer and explored the halls of the International Center of Studies in Creativity and found an environment that looked “unlike anything he had ever seen before in his life.” He worked in diverse circumstances by finding champions at organizations as varied as the Department of Defense and the Dali Museum. His success stories span working with one of the largest breweries to helping a leader develop a whole of government approach to designing national security.

Nate discusses the exciting future of Creativity in Extreme Environment Research and using “AI (Artificial Intelligence) in creatively serviceable and optimized ways.”  His creative flow is found on the billiard table or climbing stairs for exercise.

Don’t miss this discussion of big ideas and opportunities to take deliberate Creativity to space and beyond.Find our podcast today on all of your favorite platforms.

Our 29th episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Florian Rustler, the founder of creaffective Europe and Asia, who works as a consultant to help organizations worldwide to strengthen agility, innovation, and effective collaboration. He is based in Munich, Germany, and has an MS from the International Center for Studies in Creativity at SUNY, Buffalo State.

Florian describes how he became interested in creativity through mind mapping, which triggered a journey ten years later to study for his Master's Degree in Buffalo, NY. He shares several examples of his work to support companies in Europe and Asia to be more creative and innovative. One success story involved helping engineers achieve a breakthrough by using the analogy of baking a cake to solve a plating problem on a jet engine.

As part of his work with organizations, Florian discovered that he needed to broaden his scope to include collaborating effectively at scale. He now works with customers to find alternatives to traditional organizational design hierarchies to allow for distributed decision-making and agility in “an open, complex, and dynamic world.”

Don’t miss this discussion of the global future of creativity and how a cup of tea factors into Florian’s Creative Flow. Find our podcast today on all of your favorite platforms.

Our 28th episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Jo Yudess, an Adjunct Assistant Professor at SUNY Buffalo State College who has been a part of the faculty since 2004. She found her way to Creativity by reading Applied Imagination by Alex Osborn and started presenting to groups. She attended a one-day workshop at the Creative Problem Solving Institute (CPSI) with the encouragement of Dr. Ruth Noller and fell in love with Creative Problem Solving.

With an MS from the International Center for Studies in Creativity and EDD from St. John Fisher in Executive Leadership, Jo describes her work teaching Generation Z students. She has found this generation understands what is going on in the world, cares about it, and wants to do something to change it. They are open to diversity and inclusion and living their values. Her passion for teaching and inspiring her students to leverage creativity defines her work.

Jo uses Creative Problem Solving in every job she has ever had to improve the workplace. In one project,  she facilitated a diverse team from every area of the company resulting in 200 ideas in two hours vs. eight ideas achieved in an all-day meeting from the top Leadership. She also describes facilitating a research group that did not know the problem they were solving and how their work was able to change the testing methodology of doctors for babies in utero.

Don’t miss this discussion of Creative Flow, which Jo describes as “everything is connected.” Jo’s values and beliefs, combined with the creative problem-solving process, come out in everything she does. Find our podcast today on all of your favorite platforms.

Our 27th episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Steve Martin, who has over 50 years of hands-on experience as an executive, consultant, and business owner. In his business, Steve incorporated advanced innovation tools to change management, cost reduction, and profit improvement.

Steve shares stories of using Creative Problem Solving (CPS) combined with his engineering/ business expertise to help one company to find $8 million of bottom-line profit in 10 days. At a billion-dollar company, Steve trained 250 people across the country who converted 133 ideas into projects with an estimated value of more than $50 million. He generously shares his insights on using CPS tools effectively to obtain impressive results for businesses of all sizes.

Steve was the 136th person awarded an MS from the International Center for Studies in Creativity at SUNY, Buffalo State. After his studies, he decided to leave a corporate executive role to start a business and now is a SCORE Certified Volunteer Mentor. Over eleven years he has worked with over 900 small businesses across the country. In this episode, he provides valuable advice for new graduates who seek to start a business when they graduate with a degree in the Science of Creativity.

Don’t miss this thought-provoking discussion of “discovery, redemption, freedom, and self-actualization” and the chance to learn about Steve’s rocket scientist level of ideation and why he is always in a state of flow. Find our podcast today on all of your favorite platforms.

Our 26th episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Tamara L. McMillan, MS, an award-winning Lecturer, Author, and TEDx speaker working on her dissertation for the Ph.D. in Creative Leadership for Innovation and Change from The University of the Virgin Islands. As an adjunct lecturer at SUNY Buffalo State and Chief Empowerment Officer at empower mee, she uses deliberate creativity in the classroom and with her clients.

Tamara discusses her passion for using deliberate creativity in her own life and being deliberate about who she is as a person. She learned about the academic program, Creativity and Change Leadership at the SUNY Buffalo State from her sisters. After taking one class, she went on to complete an Advanced Certificate and is continuing her studies today at the doctorate level. She describes the sacred relationship between professors and scholars and the many success stories she has achieved using creativity in the classroom.

You will learn about the Failure Fanaticism Framework and the idea that we all “pass failure on our way to success.”  Using the example of Silicon Valley, Tamara describes the subject of her dissertation on using failure to empower rather than disempower. Failure is positive because if you are not failing, you are “probably playing it safe” and may miss out on opportunities to “elevate, scale and leverage.”

Tamara uses her voice as her vehicle in her business, empower mee, to help women navigate their next move forward. She has assembled a tribe of women from diverse backgrounds to be Bold Together. Her book, Liberation Now, is a “love letter to her younger self,” and her Creative Flow involves “trusting me with me.”

Don’t miss this open discussion of why creativity is essential today because it “allows everyone to show up as their authentic self “ and “holds the space for everyone at the table.” Find our podcast today on all of your favorite platforms.

The start of our third season and the twenty-fifth episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Gerard J. Puccio, Ph.D., the Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Creativity and Change Leadership Department at SUNY- Buffalo State.

Dr. Puccio explores the trajectory of the field of Creativity from a pioneering graduate program founded in 1967 to a growing program of distinction known worldwide. The degree program is a transformational educational experience that helps students actualize as human beings, build creative confidence and develop leadership skills. Two exciting upcoming projects discussed are the new Innovation Suite planned for the Butler Library at Buffalo State College and launching a doctoral degree in Creativity and Change leadership.

Dr. Puccio’s journey to Creativity started at Jamestown Community College when he took a course in Creativity recommended by his academic advisor, Dr. Dean Patton. Today he is one of the preeminent leaders in the field, having written more than 60 articles, chapters, and books. As an accomplished speaker and consultant, he has delivered creativity workshops and presentations across the US and in more than 20 different countries.

The Burchfield Penney Art Gallery is an example of a success story where Dr. Puccio led brainstorming concept development sessions for a large group of stakeholders. Concepts directly taken from these sessions are a living representation of using CPS to “engage a community to create something world-class.”  The NY Times named it one of the top buildings to visit in the year it was built.

Don’t miss this inspiring discussion on the future of Creativity as we discuss the impact of neuroscience in providing insights into why creativity methods work and opportunities for improving physical and mental health with Creative Problem Solving.

Our twenty-fourth episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Laura and Tim Switalski, a married couple who share a passion for using deliberate creativity in their lives and work. Originally from Milan, Italy, Laura met her husband in Buffalo, NY, at the Creative Problem Solving Institute (CPSI). They used creativity to find a way to be together despite the distance from Milan to Buffalo. Ultimately, they came to work together at Darwin Associates, the consulting business Tim founded, now celebrating its 27th anniversary. They both have an MS in Creativity and Change Leadership from the Center for Applied Imagination, SUNY Buffalo State, where Laura is also on the adjunct faculty.

Tim discusses a success story with the NYS Office of Mental Health, Division of Children and Families, teaching facilitators and conducting youth summits statewide. This work prompted real social,  policy, and funding changes, and is being published in a book on Collective Intelligence. During the pandemic, they worked to help two private schools successfully merge into one. From dialogue sessions to action teams, they helped the new organization create a shared vision and strategy.

Another legacy of Tim and Laura is their work founding the CREA Conference in Europe, a multi-cultural event that has been held for over 18 years. Tim describes the creative flow he finds in musical harmony, and Laura discusses her flow when doing yoga, dancing, and walking in nature.

Don’t miss this entertaining discussion from a married couple who describes using creativity in their everyday lives together and the many successes they have achieved in their work with Creative Problem Solving.

Our twenty-third episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Amanda Lohiser, Ph.D.. Amanda has over twelve years of experience in higher education, teaching undergraduate and graduate students in the United States, Singapore, and Denmark. Her educational background includes a BA and Ph.D. in communication studies, an MS in public relations, an MS in Creativity and Change Leadership from the Center for Applied Imagination, SUNY Buffalo State, and facial action coding systems certifications. Her Ph.D. focus was on socio-emotional intelligence and how understanding your own emotions and the emotions of others can help you be a better communicator.

Amanda uses Creative Problem Solving in the classroom at SUNY Fredonia by infusing her lessons with creativity and deliberately teaching workshops on the topic. She describes how she was faced with the challenge of moving her classes from in-person to virtual with only a few days' notice and used her training and a creativity mindset to incorporate techniques such as virtual whiteboards, resulting in a successful semester for her students.

Amanda has collaborated with Dr. David Yates, to define best practices when leading a workshop or teaching a course online. She has collaborated with colleagues working on book chapters and sees benefits from incorporating virtual whiteboards in her in-person classes. The key is making learning a fun environment by incorporating interactive elements that are engaging for students.

Learn about the crossover between communication and creativity as defining elements of the human experience. Amanda’s research combines emotional intelligence with Communication Studies to explore how our emotions help us communicate more effectively.

Don’t miss this positive discussion of using creative problem solving in higher education, communications, and remote learning.