Emerson Exchange 365

Day two of the 2014 Emerson Global Users Exchange began on a lighthearted note as author, humorist and creativity expert Guy Browning took the stage Wednesday morning to deliver his keynote presentation, “Mental Re-engineering,” which focused on creativity in business and how to think differently to achieve success.

“I've always been involved in creative thinking,” Browning began. “I started as an advertising copywriter, before moving on to work for a marketing firm as a creative director. I founded my own agency about 17 years ago, which concentrates solely on helping big companies come up with new ideas. What I'd like to do is to show you some of the techniques that we've found working together in business that can change the way you operate for the better.”

“Creativity basically means thinking new things. Innovation is actually making those things happen. Some might say that another definition of innovation is that which senior management requires middle management to get from junior management. Clearly that doesn't always work. Everyone says they've got to think differently but they often don't do it, or don't know how.”

“There's only one bit of theory involved in this, and that is the idea put forth by the great Albert Einstein that you can't solve a problem with the same thinking that created it. If you want to innovate, you have to start at the bottom and work your way back up.”

“First, you have to 'kill off' some old ideas to make way for the new. Next, you've got to give up the things that are doing you no good in business and stop selling yourself too cheaply to the wrong people. After you've done that, you must clarify your vision for the future and reassess your partnerships and recruitment strategies. Only then will you be on the path toward true innovation.”

Mr. Browning studied history at Oxford University and worked at the Darcy Masius Benton and Bowles advertising agency before becoming Creative Director of the Added Value Company, Europe's largest marketing agency. In 1997 he founded his own company, Smokehouse, an innovation consulting agency specializing in new product and service development.

Browning is also one of Britain's leading humourists having written for the Guardian newspaper and the BBC. He has authored several books including Weak at the Top, Maps of My Life, and Never Hit a Jellyfish with a Spade, and recently directed his first feature film, Tortoise in Love. He lives with his family in Oxfordshire, England.