We tell our kids to be creative, but do we really know what that means—or how to cultivate it? Doreen Lorenzo, former President of frog design and now Assistant Dean at UT Austin's School of Design and Creative Technologies, has spent decades helping Fortune 100 companies innovate and is now transforming how we educate the next generation. Through her podcast "Creativity is the Job of the Future," she's exploring a crucial thesis: in an uncertain, AI-driven world, creative thinking isn't just nice to have—it's the essential skill. Today, Doreen shares what she's learned from design legends, ultramarathon runners, and unconventional creatives about how creativity actually works, why schools often kill it, and most importantly, how parents can nurture it at home.
Why This Matters
→ Creativity isn't what we think it is—and that's the problem. Most parents equate creativity with arts and crafts, rather than with the ability to tackle challenges, find unexpected solutions, and adapt to rapid change. If we're nurturing the wrong thing, we're not preparing our kids for the future they'll actually face.
→ Traditional education is systematically killing creativity—even as it becomes more essential. Schools reward conformity, right answers, and standardized thinking precisely when the world needs divergent thinking, experimentation, and the courage to fail. Unless parents actively counterbalance this, kids lose their natural creative capacity by the time they hit middle school.
→ AI makes creativity more valuable, not less. As AI handles more routine cognitive work, the uniquely human ability to ask new questions, make unexpected connections, and imagine possibilities becomes the differentiator. Kids who can't think creatively won't just struggle to find jobs—they'll struggle to find meaning and agency in a rapidly changing world.
What is Futurist(Mom)?
Parenting for the future shouldn't feel like guessing in the dark. Weaving her experience as a global futurist, TEDx pioneer and mother of three thriving young adults, Nancy Giordano shares tangible perspectives, real-life stories, and the people you need to know in a quest to explore how kids and families can step confidently into life, work and the world ahead. From developing critical thinking and problem-solving in infancy to confidently facing emerging digital and cultural challenges as they grow, the Futurist(Mom) is your insightful companion for preparing your child for a dynamic and unpredictable world. Tune in and join the conversation on how we can best equip our kids for the future, one episode at a time.