Episode 10 – Creativity and Higher Education

More than ever, colleges and universities are leveraging creativity to continue to offer value to their students, faculty and community stakeholders. But can creativity be harnessed to deal with the unprecedented challenges higher education is facing today. The Buzz Crew is joined by Dr. Natalie Nixon, author, global speaker and consultant, whose new book, The Creativity Leap: Unleash Curiosity, Improvisation and Intuition at Work, serves as a provocation, an inspiration, and an invitation to unleash the innate creativity that lies within each of us. Dr. Nixon shares her thoughts on creativity as a necessary force of change in higher education. Additionally, the Crew will do their usual tour through higher ed’s Quick Takes, and returns “Behind the Curtain” in this episode to examine the trends of prospective student interest in higher ed.

Natalie Nixon
The Creativity Leap
Unleash Curiosity, Improvisation, and Intuition at Work

cover photo of the book The Creativity Leap Unleash Curiosity, Improvisation, and Intuition at Work

“Natalie Nixon’s new book provides a fresh primer on how to cultivate creativity in the workplace.” – Nir Eyal, bestselling author of Hooked and Indistractable

Too many people associate creativity solely with the arts, even though to be an incredible scientist, engineer, or entrepreneur requires immense creativity. And it’s the key to developing breakthrough products and services. Natalie Nixon, a creativity strategist with a background in cultural anthropology, fashion, and service design, says that in the 4th industrial revolution a creativity leap is needed to bridge the gap that exists between the churn of work and the highly sought-after prize called innovation.

Nixon says that since humans are hardwired to be creative, it is a competency anyone can develop. She shows that it balances wonder (awe, audacity, and curiosity) with rigor (discipline, skill-building, and attention to detail), and that inquiry, improvisation, and intuition are the key practices that increase those capacities. Drawing on interviews with 56 people from diverse backgrounds—farming, law, plumbing, architecture, perfumery, medicine, education, technology, and more—she offers illuminating examples of how creativity manifests in every kind of work.

Combining creativity tools and techniques with real-world stories of innovative people and businesses, this book is a provocation, an inspiration, and an invitation to unleash the innate creativity that lies within each of us. It offers a more dynamic and integrative way to adapt and innovate, one that allows us the freedom to access our full human selves.

Listeners can download the first chapter or pre-order here: https://www.figure8thinking.com/book/

Contact info for Natalie Nixon:
Twitter: @natwnixon
Email: natalie@figure8thinking.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUrQjIP137pxNaBGwqSuPaA?view_as=subscriber