There are more than 37 million references to creativity and innovation on Google. All are variations on the same theme, not unlike Bach’s fugues, when you start to analyse them, says Dr Ralph Kerle.

"We are now creating data pollution just like human pollution and the challenge is to stay connected and in the human moment of here and now to make sense of our worlds."

Dr Ralph Kerle will be facilitating a POP: Action session at the second day of Survive & Thrive on Saturday September 14. POP: Action is inspired by the World Cafe model of surfacing collective wisdom. It tackles an epic issue that a community is currently facing and seeks to apply creative thinking to produce a radical paradigm shift.

Tell us a bit about what you do and what drives you?

I work globally as a strategic innovation specialist assisting organizations and individuals across all industry sectors develop creative thinking skills and capabilities. It remains an enduring mystery to me how creative behaviours manifest and to be in a position to assist people to find the path to creative insights is a highly rewarding and charmed career.

Tell us about your recent or upcoming projects?

I have just finished working on a large strategic innovation exercise envisaging the next 25 years of rowing in Australia. At the completion of Survive and Thrive I will be heading to South Africa to facilitate a three day workshop on creativity in education for a selection of high school teachers from the poorest countries in Africa. In the first part of 2014 I will be working with the largest manufacturer of auto spare parts in Turkey, benchmarking and measuring their organizational innovation using the Management Innovation Index, a unique analytic I created, with the purpose of designing a strategic innovation plan for the company.  As extraordinarily diverse as these projects may seem, they are all underpinned and will only succeed as a result of creative insights.

My role is to create an environment and build a safe container using creative dialogues, tools, techniques or analytics in which each one of the participants can engage on a personal level creatively, in the process making meaning out of their work practices whilst contributing to the sustainability of the ecology in which they work and live.

Do you like to look at the big picture or focus on the details?

My work is all about starting with the big conversations, envisaging the big picture, to confront the wicked problems to find ways forward. The second stage of this process is to take the data from all these sources, to make it meaningful and to set priorities and then to facilitate the participants on their heroic journeys to innovation.

What's your number one business tip for surviving (and thriving) in the creative industries?

Persistence. Creativity evolves out of practice regardless of your profession, field or domain. Practice is a slow burn so you need to keep at it passionately.

‘So it’s the future already, all ready?’ What does this mean for you and what you do? Are you ready?

To live in the future, you need to be fearless about living with ambiguity, uncertainty and paradox because at regularly intervals these elements will appear and provide epiphanies. The shadow knows! You need to learn to live in these states so you can catch the epiphany when it flies over you. At least that is how I live, in a constant search for a moment of homeostasis, with my butterfly net.

Do you think people realise they are in the future and are prepared for that reality?

The human condition evolves slowly over life times. The digital world has created a hyper reality, an illusion with the direct intention of suggesting that unless you keep up, the future will implode on you. There are over 37 million references to creativity and innovation on Google. All pretty much are variations on the same theme, not unlike Bach’s fugues, when you start to analyse them. We are now creating data pollution just like human pollution and the challenge is to stay connected and in the human moment of here and now to make sense of our worlds.

What are you doing now (in business or practice) that you couldn’t imagine doing a year or two ago?

Working globally every day from a studio in the back yard of my home in Sydney.

The rate and pace of change is constantly increasing. What challenges and opportunities does this present for creatives?

The rate of pace and change is an illusion created by a culture of greed that can never be fully satisfied. Great creative work takes time and that truism will not change. It is only through reflection that is fully understood.

With all the information and noise, how do you scan and decide what is important to you?

I take time out at every opportunity to sea kayak around Sydney Harbour. It is when I am in that place of being at one with the sea and nature that the world speaks to me and informs me of what is important. Indeed, I have a special part of the shore line, that when I pass I wait for it to speak to me and it never fails.

It’s been a rocky few years, how have you rolled with the punches (in business or practice)?

Persistence and curiosity have informed my every move.

We’re talking about resilience at Survive & Thrive, what’s your top tip for staying on top of things or bouncing back?

Patience, persistence and practice. Never move too quickly.

What’s your top tip for balancing work and life?

Listen to your body
   
What excites you about the opportunity to be in NZ at Survive & Thrive?

I am honoured to be involved with the creative industries in New Zealand as it has a unique global culture. To be given the platform to present some of my thinking about creativity at Survive and Thrive in this context is a huge privilege.

What’s your big idea for 2014?

I do not have a single big idea. I have many little ones that will act as stepping stones towards my lifelong learning journey.

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• Survive & Thrive is a smart-thinking event for artists, creators, innovators and entrepreneurs on September 13 & 14 in Auckland. Brought to you by The Big Idea and Arts Regional Trust.

Named as one of IBM's 100 Global Creative Leaders in 2011, Dr Ralph Kerle is an internationally respected thought leader, innovation consultant, writer & designer of executive programmes on leadership, creativity and innovation and creator of the Management Innovation Index, an analytic that benchmarks and measures innovation. His commercial experience includes consulting on strategic innovation planning and implementation in global top 500 companies, designing and delivering creativity and innovation workshops.