About Geoff Thatcher :

Geoff Thatcher is the founder and CEO of Creative Principals, an experienced design firm delivering creative leadership for world-class brand experiences, corporate visitor centers, museums, theme parks, and more.

From the Al Ain Zoo in the UAE to the Zippo Museum in Bradford, PA, Creative Principals has worked with attractions both big and small. Whether it’s the Petronas AMG Formula 1 Team or quarterbacks at the College Football Hall of Fame, he knows how to bring great stories to life in some of the world’s most memorable experiences.  

Geoff has been in the experience industry for 40+ years, and as a creative leader has worked on everything from the opening ceremonies for the Rio 2007 Pan American Games to the grand opening of Warner Bros World Abu Dhabi, the world’s largest indoor theme park, in 2018. 

Before starting Creative Principals, he worked as Executive Creative Director at The Brand Experience, where he led a talented team of writers, designers, videographers, programmers, producers, and multi-media experts who delivered award-winning brand experiences for Fortune 500 companies, including Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, and IBM.

In this episode, Dean Newlund and Geoff Thatcher discuss:

• The intersection of creativity and leadership for transformative outcomes.
• Overcoming the challenges of getting teams to adopt and implement creative visions.
• Identifying individual strengths and weaknesses within teams to promote creativity.
• Client engagement in the creative process and managing expectations for novel ideas.
• The transformative impact of AI tools on creative processes including design and concept illustration.

Key Takeaways:

• The fusion of innovation and visionary guidance is crucial for actualizing creative ideas, illustrating that leadership is as much about nurturing others’ ideas as it is about having them.
• A fertile ground for innovation and collaborative success is created when each team member’s unique talents and ‘allowable weaknesses’ are acknowledged.
• Involving clients and team members in the genesis of an idea fosters a sense of ownership and eases the adoption process.
• Artificial intelligence is reshaping the landscape of creativity, as Dean Newlund and Geoff Thatcher explore tools like Mid Journey, DALL-E, and Suno, recognizing their dual role as enablers and disruptors in the artistic realm.
• As brought to life by the collaborative production of an AI-composed song, embracing the synergy between human ingenuity and artificial intelligence blossoms into extraordinary and pioneering creations.

“What scores the highest…is combining human creativity with AI and working together to create something special.” — Geoff Thatcher 

Connect with Geoff Thatcher:  

Website URL: https://www.creativeprincipals.com/

X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/geoffthatcher

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffthatcher/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geoffthatcher/

See Dean’s TedTalk “Why Business Needs Intuition” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEq9IYvgV7I

Connect with Dean:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgqRK8GC8jBIFYPmECUCMkw

Website: https://www.mfileadership.com/

The Mission Statement E-Newsletter: https://www.mfileadership.com/blog/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deannewlund/

X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/deannewlund

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MissionFacilitators/

Email: dean.newlund@mfileadership.com

Phone: 1-800-926-7370

Show notes by Podcastologist: Hanz Jimuel Alvarez

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You’re the expert. Your podcast will prove it.