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Dave Birss

creativity authority, change agent,
divergent thinker, business innovator

Leading Creative

As a motivational speaker and thought leader on the topics of creativity, innovation and applied thinking, Dave's mission is to demystify creativity and help individuals and companies learn new skills and fresh thinking to achieve better results. His Keynotes, Masterclasses and Mind Audits not only debunk the myths and misunderstandings surrounding the pressing business challenges of our day, they also give leaders and teams the methodologies, frameworks and practical exercises that can be immediately integrated into their workplaces. Dave does this by supporting their efforts to weave creativity into their culture, with hands-on demonstrations and practical applications that solve real business problems.

A vast amount of his experience comes from his years spent in the world of advertising, working as both a copywriter and an art director, and winning a fistful of awards along the way. He ended up leading the creative departments of some of London's biggest and best agencies, including Poke, McCann Worldgroup, OgilvyOne and DraftFCB.

Dave has excelled in a wide variety of creative careers; as a film director, radio broadcaster, poet, stand-up comedian, session musician, record producer, illustrator and university lecturer.

Creativity Speaker

Top Creativity Speakers

Dave's energetic and entertaining talks are mesmerising; packed full of stories, case-studies, practical know-how and even musical jams that deliver tangible take-aways. With a focus on demystifying creativity and innovation, he debunks myths, explains how we come up with valuable ideas and offers practical advice. He draws on academic research, years of hands-on experience and the thinking outlined in his books. His content is suitable for every organisation that understands it needs fresh ideas to stay relevant.

Dave covers a depth of critical business themes that organisations require to manage growth and remain successful. Some of the topics he customises for each talk include:

  • innovating the old
  • binning the brainstorm
  • non-obvious idea generation
  • creative doing vs. creative thinking
  • how to make people less un-creative
  • creating your brand's iconic advantage

Innovation Workshops

Leading Innovation Workshop

Dave's value-adding thinking and content goes far beyond what he can deliver in a keynote. Companies around the world have benefitted from his workshop sessions, coming away with tools to unlock their ability to have extraordinary ideas. His unique methodologies and exercises challenge people to harness their innate creative abilities, to come up with game-changing ideas.

Ideas Culture

Leading Business Ideas Culture

Over the last few years, Dave's worked with lots of individuals and organisations to help them boost their creativity. That's not limited to idea-generation techniques and workshops. He also looks at the environment, the processes, the culture, the structure and the recruitment processes - all of which have a massive impact on an organisation's ability to generate fresh thinking.

Vladimir Vilic - spark.me

To say that the crowd loved him would be a serious understatement. To every corporate event organiser and conference director out there - hire Dave to speak. It will be one of the best decisions you will make.

Vladimir Vulic, Program Director, spark.me

Darko Buldioski - All Web

Dave is one of the most original speakers I've ever seen. He is always ready to adjust his presentation to fit the context. He's one of the most creative minds off and on the stage. Never skip a chance to book or watch him!

Darko Buldioski, Program Director, All Web Events

Graham Ruddick - Digital Doughnut

We've had Dave speak for us twice at major conferences. He's brilliant, thoughtful and thought-provoking. I love his ability to open my mind to new concepts and ways of thinking and our audiences have always felt the same.

Graham Ruddick, CEO/Founder, Digital Doughnut

Ivan Minić - Digital Day

It has been a true pleasure having Dave as our keynote. Rockstar on stage, he is brutally honest and shares amazing insights on all sides of creativity. We were a tough crowd to please and he got standing ovations!

Ivan Minic, Business Entreprenuer, Digital Day Serbia

Rachel Evans - Experian Data Quality

Everyone loved Dave's talk; it was great to give our teams a different outlook. As always, Dave's presentation style is engaging, honest and really makes you sit up and listen. We'd love to work with him again.

Rachel Evans, Event Manager, Experian Data Quality

BBC
Spark.me
Hilton Hotels and Resorts
All Web
KPMG
Ditigal Doughnut
Nestle
Experian
 

Critical Thinking

How to Get to Great Ideas by author Dave Birss

Dave's latest book, How to Get to Great Ideas is a practical guide on how people and organisations can have better ideas. It draws on scientific study, academic theory, and decades of personal experience. And much of it runs counter to most people's understanding of creativity.

It's divided into four easy-to-digest parts:

  • Section 1 gives you a better understanding of creativity
  • Section 2 gives you a handy framework to solve any problem
  • Section 3 shows you how to have better ideas yourself
  • Section 4 shows you how to get better ideas out of an organisation

Read along

best reads from dave:

How to get to Great Ideas
User Guide to a Creative Mind
Out of My Mind
Iconic Advantage

Mind Resources

More insights into Dave's creativity & innovation expertise
Thought leader thinking deelpy

the skills of creativity

We actually have creativity built into our brains already - each and every one of us. The people who consistently come up with great ideas are those who seek the non-obvious and diverge away from the norm.

Creative thinking

alternative uses test

This is a classic creativity test used to measure flexibility of thinking. It provides you with a random object and gives you 2 minutes to come up with as many alternative uses for it as you can.

Motivational speaker podcasts

listen and learn

Dave has an entire set of tools, frameworks and years of experience supporting leaders and cultures consistently to come up with great ideas. Hear how he does it and where thinking different will do more than illuminate a lightbulb over your head.

In the world of business, it's conformity that kills brilliant ideas and innovation.

Enquire now

Dave Birss

Leading Topics

Debunking the myths around creativity, unlocking people and organisations, harnessing their innovation potential and future great ideas.

 

let's start a conversation...

Miriam: +44 7771 707 951

enquiries@LeadingMindsWorldwide.com

 
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