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Denise Withers

dw@denisewithers.com

Creative muscle: Use it or lose it!

Creative muscle: Use it or lose it!

A couple of years ago, I sprained a muscle in my lower back quite badly – during my morning stretching routine. (The irony of this is not lost on me). As usual, I tried to wait it out, assuming I’d recover in a couple of days. But two days later,

DIY Social Innovation: Insight from YVR’s leaders

DIY Social Innovation: Insight from YVR’s leaders

Last night, I joined 499 people in celebrating the “unlaunch” of Al Etmanski’s new book, “Impact: Six Patterns to Spread Your Social Innovation“. The event featured 5 other social innovation leaders from Vancouver, who each took a few minutes to share their stories and insights. I haven’t read

Using constraints to kickstart design

Using constraints to kickstart design

I’m trying to put together an initial budget and plan for a new client. And have painters’ block. Staring at the blank canvas, paralyzed by possibilities. At this point, I don’t have a budget, timeline or any real limits. So where do I start? Normally, we begin at

Want more influence? Study more stories.

Want more influence? Study more stories.

I was catching up with some folks on the weekend. And one of them told me about a course he took, on how to influence people. As part of the program, students study things like the interpretation of office decor, body language and presentation styles. It sounds a bit as

Managing Creatives

Managing Creatives

Doing the same old thing the same old way is the only way to guarantee the decline of your business, your institution, and your organization. Yet, the people who could help most are the ones shunned most quickly. Too scary. Too unpredictable.

Story Intel: The Scooby Doo Strategy

Story Intel: The Scooby Doo Strategy

Last week, I ran a conference session in Whistler for international educators at BCCIE on Story Intel – New Strategies for Academic Innovation. I designed the hands-on session to help attendees discover how intentionally collecting and analyzing stories about a specific topic can quickly generate rich intel that adds a human-centred

Sea to Sky StoryStorm

Sea to Sky StoryStorm

I love a good challenge. I’m also passionate about working with story and interesting people. And I think the Sea to Sky Corridor in BC is one of the most wonderous places on earth. So when Cheeying Ho, Executive Director of the Whistler Centre for Sustainability, asked me to