Stop Hoping for Creativity, Start Designing for It | Neuroscience of Creativity, Innovation & AI ft. Coral McConnon

Creativity at work is a process you design, not an event. Coral McConnon on the neuroscience of creativity, why brainstorming fails, and AI for innovation.

Most companies still run innovation workshops the same way: six hours in a room, "no idea is a bad idea", and a wall of ideas that end up safe, boring or off strategy. The right brain creativity myth is still shaping behavior, even in teams that say they know better. Meanwhile, AI generates ideas faster than ever and can quietly narrow our thinking.

Coral McConnon has more than 20 years of global innovation experience leading early-stage innovation projects with cross-functional teams through 8 Innovation. She holds a master's in creativity focused on the neuroscience of creativity and is the author of The Breakthrough Brain: The Neuroscience of Creativity for Smarter Early-Stage Innovation.

In this episode:

• Why the right brain left brain creativity myth still damages teams
• The 4 rules of divergent thinking every facilitator should know
• Why breakthrough ideas show up in the final third of ideation
• How to use AI as a devil's advocate without narrowing ideas
• Why psychological safety alone is not enough for creative teams
• The 5 C's for designing the conditions for creativity and innovation

This one is for the HR leader, L&D professional or innovation facilitator who keeps running brainstorming sessions and wonders why the ideas never go anywhere.

Key moments:

09:32 Right brain vs left brain: what neuroscience really shows

13:26 Why companies keep using creativity methods science has debunked

18:01 The 4 rules of divergent thinking

22:42 AI as a devil's advocate, not an idea machine

25:22 Stop treating creativity as an event

36:50 Does national culture change how you facilitate innovation?

Connect with Coral McConnon: The Breakthrough Brain (book): https://amzn.eu/d/06qzdEFh

8 Innovation: https://www.8innovation.com/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coral-mcconnon/ 

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Ivan's book, Expired? The Science of Staying Indispensable in a World Obsessed with New: https://www.ivanpalomino.net/expired-book-ivan-palomino 

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Growth Hacking Culture is a top 5% global podcast exploring the neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral science behind leadership and workplace culture. Hosted by Ivan Palomino