Growing up, if mom told you you’re creative, she was right. And if she didn’t, Kyle Scheele thinks she should have. 

“Creativity is a skill, but we talk about it like it’s a gift, and we talk about it like it’s this thing that you either have or you don’t. And the reality is that every single human being is creative, all the time,” said Scheele, who calls himself the “Patron Saint of Crazy Ideas.” 

At Smarter Faster Payments 2025, Scheele’s April 28 keynote, sponsored by Visa, will focus on practical tips to get more—and better—ideas out of yourself and your team, while avoiding common idea killers. 

Previewing his keynote on Nacha’s Payments SmartCast podcast, Scheele said the old saw that some people are creative and some aren’t is not only false, it’s keeping your organization from getting the most out of your people. Because creativity is a skill, “you can practice it, you can get better at it, you can learn how to get less bad at it, and it’s something you can improve it over time.” 

Scheele gave a for instance geared to the payments industry. 

“It’s easy to go, ‘Oh, we have too many regulations, we can’t innovate,’” said Scheele, who promptly disproved that. “By the time that this podcast comes out, there will probably be some new—or 10 new—different ways to send money from one person to another or one institution to another.” 

Scheele said organizations too often pigeonhole employees—he does this, she does that—which, in turn, runs the risk of missing out on some great creative ideas. And for staffers who have such ideas but may be afraid to speak up, Scheele said how you frame it to management can make all the difference. 

“If you say, ‘Hey, I have an idea for this, and I think it could help the company,’ I think your boss would be an idiot to not listen to you.” 

Scheele hopes all who come to his Payments presentation will come away “inspired and empowered, and understanding that they do have creative capacity, that all of us have that.” 

This 365 Podcast episode is brought to you by our sponsor Form3.

Much more was discussed, and you can listen to the complete podcast below. 

For details on Smarter Faster Payments 2025, visit the conference website.