Maggie — Third Thought Third Thought

Hi, I’m Maggie Kolkena

I started Third Thought in 1995. Since then I’ve provided a range of services focused on leadership development and building capacity to innovate.  I absolutely love what I do and it’s been my privilege to work with a lot of great people in many great companies (here’s a list of client companies).

But I wasn’t always a smart and helpful consultant.  Until I was 33 years old I made my living as an actress, choreographer, and a teacher of dance and fitness.  I did a stint as a journalist and dance reviewer. 

When I  I needed to make a more secure living I went back to school and studied Organization Development in the excellent MSOD program at Pepperdine University.   My research focused on Collaborative Creativity and I compared comedy improvisation teams to corporate project teams to identify factors critical to team creativity.  I gathered lots of quantitative data (that’s me, Quant Girl) with the hypothesis that Comedy Improv performers are more creative than Corporate employees.  Some people are creative, some just aren’t.

Ah youth.

Imagine my surprise when I calculated my Eigen values.   There was no statistically significant difference between the two populations.  They were remarkably similar in creative styles.  What WAS different were 1) Team Dynamics and 2) Organization Climate.  Since I’ve developed a distinct competence in coaching teams and leaders around innovation.

Over the years I’ve worked with McKinsey & Company in a research role as part of a global research team working to understand how leaders innovate across large networks. I’ve had extensive experience working with international teams and leaders in global firms such as Nike’s leaders in Asia and the Americas. In 2002 I took an internal position to work with Intel’s first CTO to build a new global R&D organization.  My toolbox and experience continue to expand with each new client engagement.   My respect for the audience is evident in my workshops–they are creative and highly interactive.

And I’m enjoying my work more than ever and I’d love to work with you!

Maggie Kolkena Bio