Creative Gorilla PDF Archive


John Brooker has written the Creative Gorilla articles since 2004..

They are much improved by the editing of Kate Brooker, correcting grammatical mistakes and tempering John’s enthusiasm for bad jokes.

In the articles you will usually find personal stories which link to topics around Facilitate, Innovate and Transform.

There are lessons and observations about how you can facilitate, innovate and transform as a creative leader. Some are thoughtful, most are practical, quite a few are humorous.

They aim to build knowledge and provoke thought, not sell. We strive to make each article original, there are very few overlaps between them; with over 140 articles that has been a challenge!

We hope you will find them enjoyable and useful as other Creative Gorilla Troopers do. Here are comments from some of them:

  • “I’ve been receiving John’s Creative Gorilla ezine since its inception. I don’t read many ezines but I continue receiving and reading John’s. His articles consistently live up to their name; they’re always creative! And he always offers clear, simple, and practical ideas backed by interesting vignettes that relate to his personal experience. He emails never fail to spark my creativity!” Steve Davis, FacilitatorU
  • “Many thanks for another Creative Gorilla message. I can’t believe that you are up to 133 – all are stimulating and thought provoking.”
  • “Thanks for the Creative Gorilla – I find it a really useful source of creative ideas – some are ideas I have heard of, or adaptations, and some are completely new – all remind me that there are creative ways to approach most situations if I take a step back from the traditional approach and think it through.”
  • “I really love this newsletter. It’s useful, interesting and something I can easily use in the future with groups.”
  • “Thanks John – these are great reading.”
  • “Another excellent Gorilla! Will think about creating adaptive/radical innovation climates in my next job whatever that might be.”
  • “Lovely and simple and powerful as ever John. Thank you.”

If you would like to join the Creative Gorilla Troop and receive the articles, please use the “Contact Us” page with “Sign up Gorilla” in the subject line.

There is no charge and no spam, guaranteed. Let us know your full name and the country you are from as we have a wide international readership. A short message is always welcome too!

Enjoy your reading and please provide feedback on the articles if you wish!

If you would like to read them on line and feedback, go to the Creative Gorilla Online Archive, we are adding them daily at present.

The Creative Gorilla #1
Even Gorillas Can Create
The Creative Gorilla #2
Challenge Your Beliefs
The Creative Gorilla #3
Listen To Create
The Creative Gorilla #4
Create Flow And Motivate People
The Creative Gorilla #5
Clear Your Mind
The Creative Gorilla #6
Overcome Obstacles To Creativity…
The Creative Gorilla #7
Use Naïve Thinking To Innovate
The Creative Gorilla #8
Be A Creative Leader
The Creative Gorilla #9
Be Lucky, Be Creative
The Creative Gorilla #10
Change Your State To Create
The Creative Gorilla #11
Create Meetings With More IMPACT
The Creative Gorilla #12
How To Use The ‘What If?’ Technique
The Creative Gorilla #13
Encourage Transformation
The Creative Gorilla #14
Create Better Training
The Creative Gorilla #15
Challenge the Gurus
The Creative Gorilla #16
Categorise Creative Techniques
The Creative Gorilla #17
Make Change Stick
The Creative Gorilla #18
Be Brave To Innovate
The Creative Gorilla #19
Make Time To Think Creatively
The Creative Gorilla #20
Balance Operation And Innovation
The Creative Gorilla #21
Find The Qualities Of A Creative Leader
The Creative Gorilla #22
How To Use the Random Connection Technique
The Creative Gorilla #23
Use Ideas From Other Industries
The Creative Gorilla #24
Sense Ideas To Innovate
The Creative Gorilla #25
Focus On What’s Working To Facilitate Transformation
The Creative Gorilla #26
Meditate To Innovate
The Creative Gorilla #27
Use Metaphors To Facilitate Transformation
The Creative Gorilla #28
Play With Ideas To Innovate More
The Creative Gorilla #29
Think Fluently To Innovate
The Creative Gorilla #30
Break Down Silos
The Creative Gorilla #31
Make The Most Of Synchronicity
The Creative Gorilla #32
Innovate Whatever Your Age
The Creative Gorilla #33
Improvide To Innovate
The Creative Gorilla #34
Encourage People To Change
The Creative Gorilla #35
Balance Risk And Innovation
The Creative Gorilla #36
Influence Change
The Creative Gorilla #37
Check Assumptions
The Creative Gorilla #38
Keep Solutions Simple
The Creative Gorilla #39
Consolidate Learning
The Creative Gorilla #40
Create Better Solutions
The Creative Gorilla #41
Use Scaling As A Tool
The Creative Gorilla #42
Use Technology To Innovate
The Creative Gorilla #43
Become A Creative Leader
The Creative Gorilla #44
Change Your Mindset
The Creative Gorilla #45
Identify Ideas To Explore
The Creative Gorilla #46
Make Innovation Happen Now
The Creative Gorilla #47
Avoid The Blame Culture
The Creative Gorilla #48
Reward Risk Takers
The Creative Gorilla #49
Make Transformation Simpler
The Creative Gorilla #50
Generate Ideas With A Metaphor
The Creative Gorilla #51
Inspire Leadership
The Creative Gorilla #52
Match Style To Organisational Innovation
The Creative Gorilla #53
Avoid Making False Assumptions
The Creative Gorilla #54
Signal Your Ideas
The Creative Gorilla #55
Flex Your Style
The Creative Gorilla #56
Consider The Consequences
The Creative Gorilla #57
Capture Stories
The Creative Gorilla #58
Commincate For A Change
The Creative Gorilla #59
Find The Optimal Solutions
The Creative Gorilla #60
Create Meeting Climate
The Creative Gorilla #61
Use Random Connection To Create Ideas
The Creative Gorilla #62
Focus Minds To Create
The Creative Gorilla #63
Focus Workshops
The Creative Gorilla #64
Ellicit Information
The Creative Gorilla #65
Encourage All Views
The Creative Gorilla #66
Write A Haiku To Define Challenges
The Creative Gorilla #67
Make Processes Simple
The Creative Gorilla #68
Encourage Creative People
The Creative Gorilla #69
Find Concepts For Creativity
The Creative Gorilla #70
Overcome Barriers To Creativity
The Creative Gorilla #71
Save ‘Intrapreneurs’
The Creative Gorilla #72
Make Communication Simple
The Creative Gorilla #73
Mind Map Creativity
The Creative Gorilla #74
Make New Technology Successful
The Creative Gorilla #75
Evaluate Ideas And Options
The Creative Gorilla #76
Use Levers To Transform
The Creative Gorilla #76A
A Lesson In Communication
The Creative Gorilla #77
Check The Facts To Innovate
The Creative Gorilla #78
Avoid Condemning The Ideas Person
The Creative Gorilla #79
Reflect On Innovation
The Creative Gorilla #80
Broaden Your Thinking To Innovate
The Creative Gorilla #81
Create A Vision
The Creative Gorilla #82
Give Yourself Space To Create
The Creative Gorilla #83
Use Creative Tension
The Creative Gorilla #84
Use Laddering To Innovate
The Creative Gorilla #85
Differentiate To Innovate
The Creative Gorilla #86
Run A Creative Workshop
The Creative Gorilla #87
Communicate To Innovate
The Creative Gorilla #88
Have Fewer Rules To Innovate
The Creative Gorilla #89
Make Team Decision Making Easier
The Creative Gorilla #90
Use Prototypes To Innovate
The Creative Gorilla #91
Do The Right Thing To Transform
The Creative Gorilla #92
Have A Process Escape Hatch To Innovate
The Creative Gorilla #93
Help Judgemental People In Creative Sessions
The Creative Gorilla #94
Reduce Risk Creatively
The Creative Gorilla #95
Use Metaphors To Reframe Issues
The Creative Gorilla #96
Facilitate Negative People To Be Constructive
The Creative Gorilla #97
Facilitate Teams Through Difficult Times
The Creative Gorilla #98
Facilitate Teams To Undersatnd A Challenge
The Creative Gorilla #99
Know The Facts Of The Problem
The Creative Gorilla #100
Facilitate People To Be Creative
The Creative Gorilla #101
Make Meetings More Effective
The Creative Gorilla #102
Facilitate People To Deal With New Situations
The Creative Gorilla #103
Facilitate Innovative Thinking
The Creative Gorilla #104
Make Controls Work For You
The Creative Gorilla #105
Use Social Media
The Creative Gorilla #106
Value Time For Innovation
The Creative Gorilla #107
Use Innovation Prizes
The Creative Gorilla #108
Facilitate Virtual Meeting Creativity
The Creative Gorilla #109
Think Outside The Box – Make The Box Bigger
The Creative Gorilla #110
Understand The Situation
The Creative Gorilla #111
Plan A Team Away Day
The Creative Gorilla #112
Map For Creativity
The Creative Gorilla #113
Build A Creative Climate
The Creative Gorilla #114
Provoke Ideas
The Creative Gorilla #115
Use A Different Approach
The Creative Gorilla #116
Maintain Mental Resolve
The Creative Gorilla #117
Use Critical Success Factors
The Creative Gorilla #118
Facilitate Innovation
The Creative Gorilla #119
Capture Innovation Learning
The Creative Gorilla #120
Repercieve Situations
The Creative Gorilla #121
Create A Creative Climate
The Creative Gorilla #122
Innovate In The Day Job
The Creative Gorilla #123
Encourage Innovation
The Creative Gorilla #124
Use The All-Purpose Scaling Tool
The Creative Gorilla #125
Facilitate More Effectively
The Creative Gorilla #126
Hone Your Idea
The Creative Gorilla #127
Use Clues To Make Change Happen
The Creative Gorilla #128
Create Stakeholder Maps
The Creative Gorilla #129
Elicit Issues Safely
The Creative Gorilla #130
Tranform Your Team Simply
The Creative Gorilla #131
Self Organise For Performance
The Creative Gorilla #132
Facilitate New Business Models
The Creative Gorilla #133
Use Sprint Actions
The Creative Gorilla #134
Innovate better Through Discussion
The Creative Gorilla #135
Person of Influence
The Creative Gorilla #136
Create Ideas In 5 Minutes
The Creative Gorilla #137
Plan Actions Creatively
The Creative Gorilla #138
Exploit An Opportunity
The Creative Gorilla #139
Influence
The Creative Gorilla #140
Trains Of Thought