Meet Chris Denson | Innovation Coach, Author, & Multimedia Host

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chris Denson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chris, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
A lot of my career has been focused around creativity, technology and innovation. Most of that was inside marketing & media agencies, the entertainment industry, or within the startup ecosystem. Along the way, that’s included work with the likes of the Obama Administration, OMD, Apple, Disney, the United Nations, MassChallenge, MACRO, GM, Mullenlowe, Stand Up to Cancer, American Film Institute, Pluto TV, and a few others here and there. Over time, I got pretty obsessed with the emotional intelligence around why some ideas happen and others don’t and all the triumphs and hurdles we experience in between the two. The more I started to chat with individuals and teams who were expressing frustration with their businesses or careers or ideas, the more I found I was helping them find interpersonal and strategic breakthroughs. So then I took a few trainings, packaged it up as a service, called it Visionology and now I work with a bunch of individuals and small teams as a personal advisor and coach.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
While I have a career filled with working alongside a ton of brands and labs and founders and executives and creatives all over the world on navigating the ins and outs of making innovation happen, I know that there is so much emotional intelligence and grit and fatigue that runs in tandem with the journey of building new products and approaches to doing business.

For starters, I’ve interviewed close to 1000 entrepreneurs, celebrities, business mavens, and other high performing innovators. I’ve done it for Fast Company, Cannes Lions, the Interactive Emmy’s and my own platform that grew 750,000 subscribers around the globe and became a #1 best selling book called “10 Essential Rules for Breaking Essential Rules” — basically a guide book focused on principles and tools like empathy, personal development, brainstorming techniques, equity, team building, and things of that nature.

Secondly, while working with clients ranging from international startup accelerators to universities, production studios, government agencies and the like, I’ve completed over 100 hours of training in everything from trauma & recovery and psychedelic facilitation to sitting with coaches, mentors, and others to both better my craft, and better myself as a human being living on planet earth.

The result is a really honest and vulnerable approach to the process of innovation, removing intellectual, infrastructural, and strategic blocks to get to unlock new levels of ingenuity. I’m like the thought partner that challenges you to think deeply and differently about identifying what you’re accomplishing and taking your very own unique steps to get there. Plus, as a former comic and comedy writer, I do it all with joy and levity.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Whew! So many good things. Lucky for you all, I grew up in Detroit, so I still treat LA like I’m a tourist. We’d definitely have to get into some hiking vibes at Runyon Canyon or Griffith Park. Like… when you get to the top and look over the city, you just see possibility. At least when smog isn’t blocking your point of view. Im also a huge audiophile, so we might have to hit up a live show — take your pick of venues because it’s LA and acoustics are usually on point. Either that or a place like In Sheep’s Clothing, that’s sonically designed for vinyl experiences and has really good Old Fashioneds. I’m also a little bit of a yoga nerd, and all my friends get mad at me when I suggest they join me at Modo Yoga for getting all bendy in 90-degree heat for an hour. For food we’d check out everything from Johnny’s Pastrami to Delicious Pizza, to C.O.D. on 3rd Street, to Charcoal, an Israeli restaurant by where I live, near the Grove. The beach is cliche if you live here, but I have a few secret spots I won’t say out loud that put Santa Monica to shame. Also the drive on Sunset from Hollywood to the Palisades is insane, with multiple good stops along the way. For getting outside, I’m a big also a big fan of Ciclavia, where they open parts of the city for a massive bike riding party.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Oh man! This question is funny timing. I was mediating a little while ago, and a flood of memories of times I was supported by others came rushing in and kinda blew me away. Conversations, book recommendations, my therapist, a meme I was sent at the right time, family members, whatsapp groups i’m a part of, the right song at the right moment, and so many heroes of mine I’ve observed from afar. But the one thing on repeat in my brain with this question is the book, Conversations With God. I probably read it cover to cover and back again 3 times in a row. As much as I talked about it with people, or would use principles from it in my growth, I 100% could not let anybody borrow it because it had so many underlines and highlights and notes and stains and dog ears. No bodily fluids though.

Website: www.chrisdenson.co

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/densonology/

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/chrisdenson

Twitter: densonology

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MastersOfCraftPod