Leslie Grandy always wanted to be 'creative', but after discovering that she 'sucked' as a child at piano, painting, drama, dancing and so on she decided (to the relief of her teachers) that it simply wasn't for her.

Until she realized, in her corporate career working with visionary leaders like Steve Jobs, that creativity can also be defined as 'the ability to solve problems in novel ways'. And now she helps organizations - from major brands like Starbucks to early-stage ventures - navigate the challenges of innovation. Creativity, it turns out, is not an inbuilt talent reserved for the select few, but a practical skill that anyone can develop with the right mindset and tools.

And that's exactly what she provides in her book Creative Velocity: simple, everyday techniques for building creative confidence. She also tackles the role of generative AI, inviting us to see it as a partner that can expand our creative thinking, provided we bring structure and discernment to the process.

Leslie also discovered she could have filled a book with what she didn't know about publishing a book, and shares her insights from that journey too.

Funny, inspiring, practical, unmissable.

 'If you just want a machine to write all of this stuff and put your name on it and say it's yours, I don't know what the motivation is. I don't know what results you think it could bring.'

What does it look like to use AI in creative activities practically, ethically, and in a human-centred way? One answer to that question might be Cliobooks.ai, the speak-your-book technology developed by publishing entrepreneur and business coach Georgia Kirke.

Starting and ending with humans, and rejecting the quick fix of AI-generated content, this is an attempt to develop workflows that make authorship more accessible and less soul-sucking. But there's no short cuts to the human expertise behind each book (sorry), both on the part of the author and the publishing team around them.

This is a fascinating exploration of how AI can be used for good, the difference between timeless principles and evolving workflows, and the wisdom of understanding the difference between them.

‘It’s not a presentation or a business card. It’s a conversation.’

This Best Bits episode is a love letter to intentional conversations – the ones that unlock insight, build cohesion, shape identity and, ultimately, bring books into the world. As I looked back over the last few episodes, what stood out was how often my guests spoke about dialogue in all its forms – with ourselves, with each other,and with our readers – as the real work of writing, leading and changing the world.

Hear from:

• Sarah Rozenthuler on the life-changing magic of energising, intentional dialogue;

• Claire Pedrick on the space between words and the attentiveness behind great coaching – and writing;

• Wendy Smith on paradox as a creative lens for thinking, leading, and writing;

• John Dore on the 'glue' that binds people together around ideas;

• Marissa Eigenbrood on publicity as a bridge into new conversations with new audiences;

• Petra Molthan-Hill on making complex ideas accessible and immediately useful;

• David Oxley and Helmut Schuster on creating a character to talk to an audience that's had enough of being talked at;

• Alison Jones (hello!) on how AI forces us to be more intentional than ever about the conversations we’re having – and who we’re having them with – as authors, publishers, and humans.

If you’re writing a business book, or even just thinking about it, this episode is packed with insights to get you talking.