The Lavin Agency Speakers Bureau

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George Newman

Great ideas aren’t created. They’re discovered—through exploration, persistence, and a repeatable process that puts creativity within reach for everyone.

Author, How Great Ideas Happen | Cognitive Scientist at The University of Toronto

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We think of great ideas as being conjured from thin air. But cognitive scientist George Newman argues that they’re actually discovered—unearthed and polished through a simple creative process that anyone can learn. The author of How Great Ideas Happen, which Kirkus calls “a refreshing exploration of creativity that’s expansive in cultural scope and packed with concrete exercises,” George has nearly two decades of research and teaching at institutions like Yale and The University of Toronto. In dynamic, immediately actionable keynotes, he shows us how the world’s greatest innovators, from Jackson Pollock to Paul Simon, use a creative process like archaeology: scanning the terrain, digging with intention, and finding gold. Audiences walk away with a new understanding of how great ideas really happen, and how to uncover their own.

George E. Newman is a cognitive scientist who studies creativity, identity, and the construction of meaning.

He is an Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour at the University of Toronto. Prior to that, he was an Associate Professor at the Yale School of Management, where also held affiliated appointments in the Departments of Psychology and Cognitive Science. He was named to the 2026 Thinkers50 Radar List: “thinkers with the ideas most likely to shape the future.”

His book, How Great Ideas Happen: The Hidden Steps Behind Breakthrough Success, reframes creativity not as a mysterious flash of genius, but as a process of discovery: one grounded in research and practiced by the world’s most successful innovators. Drawing on vivid examples from art, science, and business, George reveals a repeatable method anyone can use to uncover, refine, and unlock great ideas hiding in plain sight. Laurie Santos (The Happiness Lab), says that the book “turns our usual thinking about creativity on its head. Newman shows us how creativity isn’t some mysterious force reserved for a lucky few, but a skill we can all develop. If you’ve ever felt like creativity was sometimes out of reach, this is the guide you’ve been waiting for.”

A leading expert on creativity, he has published more than 60 articles in leading academic journals and his research has been featured in popular media outlets such as The New York Times, Scientific American, The Wall Street Journal, and The Economist. He has nearly two decades of experience speaking to executive audiences and offers a range of seminars on how to boost innovation and foster insight, which he has presented to audiences in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Testimonials

George's talk was thought-provoking, inspiring, and packed with practical tools for leading and innovating. He gave us fantastic and practical insights about what really drives creativity.

PEO Leadership | Innovators Alliance

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Speech Topics

Creativity

How Great Ideas HappenThe "Archaeological Dig" Method for Unlocking Creativity

We tend to think creativity arrives in sudden flashes of inspiration—but what if great ideas are discovered, not invented? In this funny, energetic keynote, cognitive scientist George Newman challenges the myth of creativity as a rare gift and reframes it as a universal capacity that can be systematically unlocked through exploration. Drawing on cutting-edge research and vivid stories from art, science, and business, George introduces a repeatable creative method that anyone can follow.

Through concepts like “finding your five”—the small, personal tweaks that unlock outsized breakthroughs—he shows audiences how the most innovative thinkers become expert problem finders, push past the creative cliff when ideas stall, and use subtraction as a powerful (and often overlooked) tool for insight. Participants leave with a new understanding of how great ideas actually happen, along with practical strategies they can immediately apply to generate better ideas, solve harder problems, and approach creativity with greater confidence and intention.