A short bonus episode showcasing a few stand out moments from this weeks guest interview with Laura Cibilich. 

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Radim: [00:00:00] hey. Welcome to another bonus episode of the Daring Creativity Podcast. I'm back to unpack some of the jams from this week's conversation. Pulling out those moments that deserve a second look and dig in deeper into what makes them special. It's about the ideas that hit differentlythis week.

I sat down with Laura Sibilich, and I got to find out how she runs her creative studio titled, run Out of New Zealand. The episode published a few days ago was titled Dare to Lean Into Indigenous Values, and I got to learn about Maori values and principles that guide their work day to day. If you haven't checked out a full interview yet, let me start with these four moments that stood out from our conversation.

Laura / Lauren: Like it, it really does ground us. and we've got a full-time Po. Maori cultural director is her role. and she likes to say,Maori values or indigenous values are just human values. when take it back to just people, to people, it's those human values [00:01:00] and the way people are just being real.

Radim: that's what it comes down to. Yeah. Strip, strip away everything else. It's, yeah, just quite pure.Here, Laura articulates something really profound. What we often categorize as indigenous values or cultural values are usually universal human principles that hyper capitalism has made us forget.

Kinship and environmental stewardship, genuine relationships, accountability to community. And this matters because businesses worldwide struggle with defining authentic values that aren't just a marketing speak. Companies plaster walls with value statements about innovation and excellence while indigenous frameworks offer something more fundamental, how do we treat each other?

How do we care for our environment and what responsibility do we have to future generations for any leader trying to build authentic company culture? This is a revelation. [00:02:00] Stop inventing corporate values from scratch, and instead look at time-tested human principles. Strip away the complexity. The co consultants speak the buzzwords.

When Laura says just being real, she's identifying the antidote to corporate artifice, genuine human connection, honest relationships and values you can actually live by rather than just display on your website. This approach to values isn't about being trendy or checking diversity boxes. It's about returning to what actually matters when humans work together.

In the second stand moment, Laura talks about the size of her business and how it actually is a benefit.

Laura / Lauren: Yeah, and I mean, I guess we're small enough that we can, be so strongly aligned to our values and say no and things like that. with those kind of things, it's like, where is the line? And then ultimately, if you think bigger picture, does it really matter in terms of big thinking,is a [00:03:00] few job losses, or not worth it, either way. So, Would the planet thank you for it or is it just about the money? That kind of thing. So we really lean into, trying to be responsible and looking after that and all those things. 

Radim: At this moment exposes the uncomfortable truth that many agencies and studios avoid. Size often come at the cost of integrity. Laura frames their smaller scale, not as limitations, but as their competitive advantage.

They can afford to be choosy about clients because they haven't locked themselves into growth at all Cost mentality that forces larger agencies to compromise. The second part, does the planet thank you or is about money? It's a kind of gut wrenching question that every creative should really ask themselves.

 it matters because it reframes business success in our industry, obsessed. We've been in big clients expanding headcount and maximizing revenue. Laura proposes a different [00:04:00] metric. Are we making decisions that benefit the world beyond our bank account?

 and this is particularly relevant now as greenwashing and performative corporate responsibility become easier to spot. Agencies tied B Corp status while service and fossil fuel clients studio post about sustainability whilst producing wasteful campaigns.

Laura's willingness to turn down lucrative work that doesn't align shows that values based business isn't just idealistic posturing, but it's a viable strategy when you control your scale and expenses. In the next standout moment we talked about. Creativity, education and childhood.

Laura / Lauren: I believe that. Everyone is creative and some people just get it, almost taught out of them sometimes, kids get it taught out of them, which is really sad.

Radim: but I kept that and just have always been passionate about [00:05:00] art and creativity and loved it. did like lots of coloring competitions and I was little and things like that. Lots of drawing all that was, I was that kid. and. And then just through school did art through school.in my conversation, Laura, I tried to pose a question about how. discord challenges. The fundamental myth that creativity is array give, possessed by a selected few.

Low rest observation speaks to system issues in education and society. We often prioritize conformity and standardization over creative exploration. When children are repeatedly taught to color inside the lines, follow the rigid templates, or that there's only one correct answer, we gradually erode their natural curiosity and willingness to experiment.

The real insight here is that creativity isn't lost, it's actually suppressed. This matters to anyone building creative teams or raising children because it shifts the question [00:06:00] from how do we find creative people to. How do we create environments where people feel safe to be creative again, and Laura's own journey proves that maintaining that creative spark through childhood into adulthood possible, but it requires conscious resistance against systems that value compliance over curiosity.

For business leader, this is a call to examine whether your workplace cultures encourage experimentation, or inadvertently punishes it in the last standout moment. We talk about challenges when it comes to running your own business.

Laura / Lauren: I think, it's just part of your journey really. there are ups and downs through life and it's just one of those things, and I think, I think very long term in general, and so it was just. one of those bumps in the road. I always knew I would get to running a studio, but it just took longer than I thought maybe, and needed a few more steps along the [00:07:00] way. 

Radim: This quote is a masterclass in reframing setbacks that could derail most people's creatives careers. When Laura had to return to employment after starting an agency, A moment that many would interpret as failure.

She saw it as a temporary detail on a longer journey. This isn't a toxic positivity or delusional optimism. It's a strategic patience, grounded in self-knowledge. This matters profoundly in our instant gratification culture, where three months without traction feels like a failure where we compare our day to day to someone else's Year 10.

The creative industry especially suffers from highlight real syndrome. We see that award-winning work and the big client announcements, the studio expansions, but we rarely get to see the years of lumous groundwork, the contract jobs taken to pay bills or the pivots and restarts. So lower long term thinking gives her permission to experiment, fail, recalibrate, and try again without the [00:08:00] crushing weight of.

I should be further along now. When she says, I always knew she's not being arrogant, she's demonstrating the power of internal conviction that doesn't require external validation in every step. This is just the antidote to anxiety spiral so many creative people face. If this project doesn't work, if this client says, no, if this launch floss, then I'm not meant to be doing this.

So for anyone navigating a non-linear career path and whose creative path is actually linear these days, this quote is a permission to zoom out. The details aren't derailments, the extra steps aren't wasted time. They're part of a longer arc that only makes sense in retrospect.

This perspective is especially crucial for mid-career professionals who feel behind or feel like they've made wrong turns.

Laura suggests there are no wrong turns when you maintain conviction about your eventual destination [00:09:00] while staying flexible about the route. If you haven't checked out a full episode with Laura Sage, I really encourage you to do so. 

There's a lot in there, which is full of humility, has great encouragement. There's a great view into indigenous values and how they get applied. Yeah, check it out and thank you for being here. I'll see you on the next one.