Welcome to the Ideasicle Podcast, where our host, Will Burns, founder of Ideasicle, relentlessly untangles the mysteries of the elusive idea. In this first episode, Will interviews Tom Monahan, a true expert in the field of ideas.

(click on Tom’s face to start the podcast)

Tom is the founder and head creativity coach of Before & After, Inc. and a leader in the field of applied creativity. He does private consulting and ideation training for a list of leading companies and professional organizations. Tom’s unorthodox approach to training has had toy designers doing origami, engineers playing mental leapfrog and media executives throwing rotten tomatoes.

Subscribe to all of the Ideasicle podcasts here and never miss an episode.

Show notes:

  • Tom starts by describing the prolific ideators he’s worked with – David Lubars, David Baldwin, Kara Goodrich, Jim Garaventi and others.
  • The balance of confidence and insecurity in creativity and ideation.
  • Importance of talented people these days versus a “creative department.”
  • They discuss the impact of the democratization of executional tools. Is a million dollar production necessary today?
  • Tom talks about his company, Before & After, and techniques you can do to your mind to increase the chances of coming up with great ideas (e.g. the “Do It Yourself Lobotomy”).
  • Ideas in history happen when people wonder more and are pressed to do so.