The ability to think creatively is the one core human truth that will remain relevant in the brave new world of Artificial Intelligence. Everyone has the power to be creative!
But wait, do you believe that you are not the “creative type”? That we should leave the creativity to the “Creatives”? For most, this has happened so many times that we end up actually believing it. For adults, not being creative is an accepted fate.
With an education and corporate structure that encourages finding the single “right answer” to every question, we are trained to fall in line, and shut down that creative portion of our brain.
But weren’t we kids once? Turning boxes into spaceships and pillows and blankets into forts and castles? What happened to that creativity?
Fortunately, that childhood creativity did not dissipate – it’s just lying dormant, waiting to be brought back to life!
During the Theory of Creativity™ Keynote, Duncan Wardle will share innovation tools developed from experience with thousands of global Fortune 500 companies and 30 years of experience with the Walt Disney Company, most recently as Head of Innovation & Creativity.
By the end, your audience will walk away with a series of unique Creative Behaviors and Innovation Tools to leverage their creative minds, deliver revolutionary thinking and drive substantial results in all areas of your business.
The best brands in the world may have great products and service, but they thrive because of an unrelenting passion and focus on customer experience.
Through this engaging and interactive Keynote, Duncan will share how to transform your business from product-centric to customer-centric and reap the rewards that come when customers believe the work you do is truly magic.
Duncan Wardle will share with your team famous real-world examples from behind the scenes from his time as the Head of Innovation and Creativity at The Walt Disney Company.
Showcasing challenges brought on by direct and indirect competitors, Duncan will share real-life and timely examples of how ever-evolving organizations drastically changed consumer behaviors.
As he shares the exact steps Disney and other companies have taken to turn problems into massive opportunities, he will dig into the new revenue opportunities and enhanced customer experiences.
By the end of this interactive presentation from Duncan Wardle, your audience will have developed a whole new understanding of customer experience, and you will be empowered with tools to reframe any challenges facing your organization, finding those unique opportunities to create some customer experience magic of your own!
The ability to think creatively is the one core human truth that will remain relevant in the brave new world of Artificial Intelligence. Everyone has the power to be creative!
But wait, do you believe that you are not the “creative type”? That we should leave the creativity to the “Creatives”?
For most, this has happened so many times that we end up actually believing it. For adults, not being creative is an accepted fate.
Duncan Wardle is one of the world’s most respected authorities on creativity, design thinking, and innovation leadership. As the former Head of Innovation and Creativity at The Walt Disney Company, he spent three decades shaping the creative culture behind one of the planet’s most iconic brands. Duncan led teams responsible for breakthrough customer experiences across theme parks, resorts, media platforms, and corporate strategy, developing the processes and mindsets that helped Disney continually reinvent itself.
Today he is a highly sought-after keynote speaker and consultant, bringing his hands-on experience to Fortune 500 companies across sectors. His work focuses on helping organizations break through entrenched thinking, spark curiosity, and build cultures where unconventional ideas can take root. Duncan’s Innovation Toolkit—a proven, practical framework—equips teams with the methods needed to problem-solve differently, collaborate more imaginatively, and uncover fresh opportunities for growth.
As the former Head of Innovation and Creativity at The Walt Disney Company, Duncan Wardle is a globally recognized expert in creative leadership and innovation. His extensive experience at one of the world’s most iconic brands has earned him a reputation as a thought leader in fostering a culture of innovation, design thinking, and disruptive creativity.
His strategies have been instrumental in developing new ways to inspire creativity across teams and help organizations grow their innovative capabilities.
With over three decades of experience working at Disney, Wardle’s influence spans a vast range of industries. Today, as a sought-after keynote speaker, he brings his unique approach to creativity to companies worldwide, empowering them to reimagine their potential, embrace new ways of thinking, and break free from conventional paradigms. His engaging presentations not only highlight his deep expertise but also leave audiences with actionable insights to drive innovation within their organizations.
Duncan Wardle’s expertise in creativity and innovation is rooted in his experience leading creative teams at The Walt Disney Company. As Head of Innovation and Creativity, he was tasked with developing strategies to ignite creativity across the organization. He introduced new processes, such as design thinking and disruptive thinking, that helped solve complex challenges and improve customer experiences at Disney’s theme parks, resorts, and media platforms.
His innovative approach integrates practical tools with psychological insights to unlock human creativity, fostering an environment where unconventional ideas can thrive. Wardle’s deep understanding of creative leadership comes from his hands-on experience working with diverse teams to push the boundaries of innovation. He has a proven track record of transforming stagnant organizational cultures into ones that embrace experimentation, curiosity, and forward-thinking solutions.
Wardle’s background in international business, marketing, and design thinking gives him a unique perspective on how organizations can embrace creativity in a structured way to drive growth and stay competitive in today’s fast-evolving market. His work has been implemented not only at Disney but also in other Fortune 500 companies, giving him a broad understanding of industry dynamics and innovation processes.
Duncan Wardle’s qualifications in innovation and creativity stem from his tenure at The Walt Disney Company, where he led the Creative Incubator, an internal initiative aimed at fostering new ideas. During his time there, he spearheaded projects that revolutionized customer experience and product development, delivering tangible results for the company.
Wardle is also an experienced consultant, having worked with major brands such as Apple, Coca-Cola, and McKinsey to implement creative strategies that align with business goals. He has developed a proven framework called the Innovation Toolkit, which helps teams break out of the same old thinking and unlock their full creative potential. His hands-on experience leading creative projects with Disney and other global giants provides organizations with a trusted and reliable roadmap to achieve transformational growth through creativity.
In addition to his corporate roles, Wardle is a highly respected educator, frequently lecturing at top universities such as Yale, Harvard, and Cambridge, where he shares his innovative insights and expertise with future leaders in the field. His combination of corporate experience and academic knowledge makes him an invaluable resource for companies seeking to implement lasting creative change.
Duncan Wardle is widely considered a top authority in the fields of creativity and innovation, having built a career that blends practical experience with thought leadership. His authority as a speaker stems from his long-standing influence at Disney, where he helped the brand maintain its legendary status as one of the most creative companies in the world. His direct role in shaping Disney’s approach to creativity and innovation solidifies his credibility and makes him a highly sought-after keynote speaker for companies looking to replicate Disney’s culture of creativity.
Beyond his corporate background, Wardle’s keynote speeches are recognized for their engaging, hands-on approach. His presentations are more than just theoretical; they offer practical insights and tools that organizations can immediately apply. His status as a leading voice in creative leadership has been further validated through his contributions to industry conferences, such as TEDx and the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Duncan Wardle’s trustworthiness is demonstrated through his decades-long career with one of the most trusted brands globally—The Walt Disney Company. Working at the helm of innovation at Disney required immense responsibility and integrity, both of which Wardle demonstrated consistently. His ability to manage complex, high-stakes projects at Disney and his extensive work with other Fortune 500 companies is a testament to his reliability and expertise.
Wardle is also known for his transparency and collaborative approach, which has earned him the trust of event planners and organizations alike. His genuine commitment to helping teams unlock their creative potential and his dedication to providing value in every interaction make him a trusted partner for organizations looking to innovate.
Duncan Wardle is a globally recognized thought leader in creativity and innovation, with a career built on over 30 years of experience at The Walt Disney Company. As a former Head of Innovation and Creativity, Wardle has been at the forefront of pioneering new approaches to creative leadership, helping companies across the globe implement strategies that foster growth through innovation.
Wardle’s unique blend of expertise, experience, and engaging presentation style makes him a top choice for organizations looking to inspire their teams and drive innovation. His proven track record with Disney and Fortune 500 companies showcases his authority as a leading speaker, while his approachable, collaborative nature ensures his trustworthiness for event planners.
Are you ready to unleash a culture of innovation and creativity within your organization?
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A dynamic 2 minute and 12 second introduction showcasing Duncan Wardle’s approach to unlocking creativity, challenging assumptions, and elevating innovative thinking.
This 2:12 introductory video presents Duncan Wardle as a high-energy innovation leader known for helping organizations rethink how they generate ideas and solve problems. He highlights the common barriers that keep teams stuck in habitual thinking, pointing out that most people operate on autopilot and rarely push beyond their usual patterns. Duncan emphasizes the importance of intentionally disrupting those habits to find fresh insights and breakthrough solutions.
The video captures his trademark enthusiasm and fast-paced delivery, underscoring his belief that creativity is not a talent reserved for a select few—it’s a skill anyone can strengthen with the right tools and mindset. He introduces the foundational concept behind his Innovation Toolkit: deliberately shifting perspective so teams can uncover new opportunities hidden in plain sight. Duncan stresses that organizations grow when people feel empowered to question assumptions, explore possibilities, and collaborate in ways that invite imagination rather than limit it.
By the end of the clip, viewers get a clear sense of his practical philosophy: innovation is a disciplined, learnable process, and with the right approach, every team can produce more original, more impactful ideas.
00:22 Why most teams fall into habitual, limiting patterns
00:48 Importance of disrupting assumptions to find fresh ideas
01:13 Introduction to perspective-shifting as a creative tool
01:42 How structured creativity unlocks stronger solutions
A 17 minute and 52 second TEDx talk where Duncan Wardle breaks down how creativity works, why we lose it, and how anyone can systematically reignite their creative potential.
Duncan Wardle explores why creativity feels natural in childhood yet becomes constrained in adulthood, and how organizations can reclaim it through deliberate shifts in mindset and behavior. He opens with the idea that we are all born creative, but over time education, social norms, and corporate structures teach us to prioritize correctness, efficiency, and patterns—slowly weakening the imaginative instincts we once relied on.
Duncan explains how the human brain defaults to habitual thinking to conserve energy, making it difficult to generate fresh ideas unless we consciously disrupt our mental autopilot. Using humor, personal stories, and Disney anecdotes, he illustrates how constraints, assumptions, and fear of judgment restrict creative capacity. He argues that creativity is not magic; it’s a muscle, strengthened through intentional tools like provocative questioning, reframing problems, and shifting perspective.
He highlights the importance of building environments where curiosity is encouraged and risk is safe, showing how teams can unlock dramatically better ideas when psychological barriers are removed. Duncan also breaks down the creative process into approachable steps—expanding, exploring, narrowing, and selecting—emphasizing that innovation thrives when people feel free to challenge the obvious and imagine what could be.
03:10 How the brain’s autopilot blocks new ideas
06:25 Techniques for disrupting assumptions to spark creativity
09:40 The role of curiosity and psychological safety in innovation
12:55 Practical steps in the creative process from expansion to selection
A fast-paced 2 minute and 4 second highlight reel showcasing Duncan Wardle’s virtual sessions on creativity, disruptive thinking, and sparking innovative ideas anywhere.
This 2:04 highlight reel captures the energy and philosophy behind Duncan Wardle’s virtual creativity sessions. He emphasizes that most people operate from a narrow mindset shaped by routine, which limits the ability to see fresh opportunities. Duncan demonstrates how small perspective shifts can unlock dramatically different ideas, urging teams to challenge the obvious and push past their first, most predictable answers. His commentary focuses on breaking habitual thinking, embracing curiosity, and using structured tools to generate meaningful innovation even within tight constraints.
The video features quick moments from his virtual workshops, where he guides participants through techniques designed to expand thinking, identify hidden insights, and move beyond the blockers that typically shut down creativity. Duncan reinforces that innovation isn’t reserved for a select few; it’s accessible to everyone when teams adopt the right mindset and methods. The highlights underline his core message: organizations can build a powerful culture of creativity by giving people permission to think differently and by embedding simple, repeatable creative tools into their daily work.
00:18 Why routine thinking limits innovative ideas
00:42 Encouraging teams to push past obvious answers
01:06 Using structured tools to unlock new perspectives
A 26 minute and 54 second conversational deep dive into Duncan Wardle’s background, philosophy on creativity, and the practical tools he uses to help organizations think differently.
This 26:54 “meet the speaker” conversation offers an inside look at Duncan Wardle’s journey from a young creative thinker to the former Head of Innovation and Creativity at Disney and now a global consultant helping organizations unlock bold ideas. Duncan begins by discussing his early experiences at Disney, explaining how creativity became both his passion and his career focus. He shares stories from his decades at the company, including moments where unconventional thinking led to breakthrough solutions in guest experience, storytelling, and internal problem-solving.
Throughout the discussion, Duncan highlights a recurring theme: people are naturally creative, but workplace systems often restrict that ability. He explains how fear of being wrong, habitual thinking, time pressure, and company culture quietly suppress imaginative ideas. To counter this, he describes the Innovation Toolkit he developed—simple, repeatable methods designed to help teams shift perspective, challenge assumptions, and uncover ideas that would otherwise remain invisible.
The conversation also explores the psychology of creativity. Duncan talks about the brain’s tendency to default to efficient patterns, how curiosity erodes over time, and what organizations can do to rebuild a culture where questions are welcomed rather than avoided. He outlines the process of expanding, exploring, and narrowing ideas, emphasizing that creativity is not chaotic; it’s a structured practice that anyone can learn.
10:20 The Innovation Toolkit and practical tools for shifting perspective
15:00 Why curiosity and questioning drive breakthrough ideas
20:18 The structured process behind generating and selecting creative solutions
25:10 Final insights on building a culture where innovation can thrive
Innovation leadership, design thinking, creativity under pressure, disruptive thinking, and building cultures of imagination.
Yes. His workshops are highly interactive, tool-driven, and designed for immediate team application.
Standard keynote AV; workshops may require whiteboards, table workspace, and basic interactive materials.
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