Today we’d like to introduce you to Natalie Nixon, PhD.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My story consists of a series of nudges.
Nudges to follow my heart, to listen to my intuition and to trust that the combination of my lived experiences, skills I’ve acquired up to date, and great advice from mentors, sponsors and strategic partners – are my best compass. A recombination of these have been helpful at every stage of my career.
I’m a global keynote speaker, author and advisor. As a creativity strategist and the CEO of Figure 8 Thinking I help companies connect the dots between creativity and business impact.
I think, speak, write and advise about applied creativity.
Figure 8 Thinking, LLC started as a side hustle. In 2014, when I was an Associate Professor and founding director of a Strategic Design MBA program at Thomas Jefferson University, I gave a TEDx Philadelphia talk. I proclaimed that the future of work is jazz. That talk catapulted me into receiving invitations to consult companies about how to design more improvisational ways of working in order to innovate. My husband, John, looked at all of these requests and said to me, “Babe- you should formalize this!” And so I started Figure 8 Thinking- totally as a side project.
Gradually these requests led me down the path to leave academia and to think very strategically about the crux and seeds of innovation. My perspective is that innovation requires us to start with building our creative capacity as individuals, as teams and as organizations.
My intuition has never failed me. Including at every step where I’ve helped companies focused on the bottom line to embed more wonder, rigor, curiosity and improvisation into the ways they build impact. Although, at each juncture I may have felt nervous because what were the odds that a Fortune 500 C-Suite team wanted to figure out how to design in more wonder to their work? It turns out, they really do.
My work’s mission is to change lives with ideas. That’s what got me out of bed every morning when I was a professor (for 16 years)- and that’s what motivates me today. The cool thing about my work is that I’m fortunate to be able to integrate the diverse range of experiences I’ve had: in dance, cultural anthropology, the fashion industry, academia, design thinking and having lived in five different countries. Today, all of those experiences converge in the ways that I help companies connect the dots between creativity and business impact.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has not always been a smooth road. It’s been more like a fun jeep ride along a bumpy dirt road whose destination you suspect is a fantastic cove along an incredible beach! You’ve gotta hang on tight, deal with the dust in your eyes sometimes and also hold on to the exciting anticipation.
Following your intuition is the good news AND the bad news. The challenge is that you have to become comfortable with sitting with the discomfort of ambiguity; to be patient until the signals get stronger, And to have the courage to test out and prototype your half-baked ideas. It gets a little easier over time.
Tapping into a sense of humor about myself helps me to not take myself so seriously when doubts set in.
Another struggle has been that I have invented a lot of what I do with very little precedent. For example, I never met a ‘creativity strategist’ before. I made up my job title. That was both thrilling and also a little scary. In addition, I don’t see a lot of women of color in the thought leadership space of innovation, creativity and future of work. I’ve had some amazing allies who don’t look like me- for example, Seth Godin, Katie Couric, Josh Linkner and Eve Rodsky. I hope that one day I and my work will be referenced in the same sentences as Adam Grant, Simon Sinek, Daniel Pink and Seth. As our popular culture develops a short list of thought leaders, writers and speakers in the innovation and leadership space – I will be part of those references.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I’m known as “the creativity whisperer to the C-Suite”. I am a global keynote speaker and I help people connect the dots between creativity and business impact.
My clients hire me to think, speak and write about applied creativity.
What distinguishes Figure 8 Thinking are the accessible ways I explain complex ideas, making them simple and actionable. I have developed original frameworks to democratize creativity. I help both individuals and organizations understand the business ROI of creativity – that it is not a nice to have, it’s a must have. My WonderRigor™ and 3iCreativity™ frameworks are a couple of examples of these approaches.
I’ve been named one of the top 50 keynote speakers in the world by Real Leaders. I am invited to give keynotes globally on the topics of change management, leadership and future of work. I’m pretty agnostic about industry: I have spoken for the financial services. healthcare, tech and media/entertainment sectors. The common denominator is that my clients like that I use research, data and stories to share original, accessible and actionable techniques to help their teams and clients work in more innovative and creative ways.
After hearing me speak, audience members and clients often hire me for longer term learning experiences which I customize. My Foresight Studios are examples of these.
I’m an author. I edited a book called “Strategic Design Thinking: Innovation in Products, Services Experiences and Beyond”. My first solely authored book is called “The Creativity Leap: Unleash Curiosity, Improvisation and Intuition at Work”. It won innovation awards from Porchlight Books, Soundview and Fast Company.
My next book comes out in the fall of 2025 and will be published by Hachette Publishers. This book is a provocation on a new way to think about productivity and redesign work through the lenses of movement, thought and rest. It’s a build on my portfolio of work about creativity, because at the end of the day, making the most of work days full of ubiquitous tech, hybrid workplaces and burnout- requires us to build our creative capacity,
I have a self-paced autonomous course called The WonderRigor™ Lab that’s available on the Figure 8 Thinking website. It features a clear 4 step process called the L.E.A.P Method™ (leverage, envision, ask and prototype) which I designed to help learners go from a fuzzy notion to an actionable service, experience or product. I also have 3 courses on the LinkedIn Learning platform.
It makes my day when someone who has heard me speak or read my work tells me that my content has changed their life and their approach to their work.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I will start with acknowledging ALL of my clients. Their curiosity led them to hire me to help their teams and clients learn new ways to build business value. Often those keynotes lead to longer term, customized learning experiences that I design called Foresight Studios.
I have also had tremendous advocates along the way. Some of those allies include Seth Godin, Eve Rodsky, Steve Spinelli, Katie Couric, Roz McPherson and Josh Linkner. They have given major shoutouts about my work, shared their platforms and given me access and opportunity to disseminate my work. On the writing front Meghan Stevenson; my literary agents, Steve Troha & Jan Baumer at Folio Literary; and my developmental editor Danielle Goodman have been invaluable. Fast Company, INC magazine and LinkedIn Learning have also been terrific strategic partners where I have published my thought leadership.
I have a great team consisting of my online business manager, Tracie Scyrus; and a terrific social media management partner, SpeakrBrand, consisting of Conner Krizancic and Brooke Watson. I have worked with a great business coach named Ali Caravella who helped me distill my offering, create systems and SOP’s for my business. That has helped me to be financially accountable and build a team.
Very significantly, is my husband, John Nixon. He’s my greatest encourager and best friend. Sheryl Sandberg said the most important career decision you can make is your choice of spouse. I could not agree more.
Pricing:
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.figure8thinking.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natwnixon/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalienixonphd/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/NatalieNixon
- Other: https://www.figure8thinking.com/book-natalie/
Image Credits
Sahar Coston Hardy Poupay Jutharat Michael Cirlos