"Are you stuck in a rut, unable to create meaningful change in your life or organization? The Art of Change is the solution you've been searching for. Written by Jeff and Staney DeGraff, founders of the consulting firm Innovatrium, this book provides a masterclass in sustainable transformation.
This masterclass in sustainable transformation includes strategies for challenging your biases and embracing ambiguity; thought-provoking insights from over thirty years of experience coaching Fortune 500 executives; real-world examples and deeply personal anecdotes; and proven, pragmatic techniques to reshape your mindset and habits.
But this isn't just another lecture on change management theory. With candor and vulnerability, the Degraffs share deeply personal anecdotes that underscore how growth often emerges from resilience in the face of failure. You'll discover how to harness the power of paradoxical thinking, challenge your biases, and embrace ambiguity as a catalyst for innovation.
Whether you're an individual looking to level up or a leader tasked with evolving your organization, The Art of Change is your roadmap to breaking free from stagnation and unlocking your full potential."
"'Jeff and Staney emphasize that small acts of creativity can have huge consequences and that ordinary people can do extraordinary things if they can see the opportunities in front of them.'
-Mitch Jacobson, Executive Director, Austin Technology Incubator, UT Blackstone LaunchPad, University of Texas at Austin
Nearly all of today's major innovation workshops and programs call on organizations to drive innovation. What they miss is that innovation comes from the personal creativity of individuals. And creativity doesn't require an advanced education or technical skills-all employees can be creative. Often, all they lack is a fitting mindset and the right tools.
The Creative Mindset brings how-to advice, tools, and techniques from two master innovators who have taught and worked with over half of all Fortune 500 companies. Jeff and Staney DeGraff introduce six essential creative-thinking skills that can be easily mastered with limited practice and remembered as the acronym CREATE: Concentrate, Replicate, Elaborate, Associate, Translate, and Evaluate. These six skills, sequenced as steps, simplify and summarize the most important research on creative thinking and draw on over thirty years of real-world application in some of the most innovative organizations in the world. It's time to rethink the way we make innovation happen. As the spirit of chef Gusteau proclaims in the Pixar classic Ratatouille, 'Anyone can cook.'"
"Innovation comes from creative tension, not harmonious interaction, says 'Dean of Innovation' Jeff DeGraff. He identifies four basic approaches to innovation and shows how leaders can manage the inevitable conflicts between them to create brilliant, unexpected hybrid solutions.
From years of research and practical experience as a consultant, Jeff DeGraff has learned that when it comes to any innovation initiative, disharmony is crucial. We innovate when we disrupt, and we first have to disrupt each other.
DeGraff identifies four contrasting types of innovators. There's the wild experimentation of the Artist, the pragmatic caution of the Engineer, the urgent competitiveness of the Athlete, and the patient community building of the Sage. He includes exercises so readers can find where they fit into this framework and shows how to build, manage, and embrace the dynamic discord of a team that contains all four types. When you combine the visionary thinking of the Artist and the practical thinking of the Engineer, you get innovation that's both revolutionary and manageable, highly ambitious without high risk. When you combine the results-oriented attitude of the Athlete with the values-oriented attitude of the Sage, you get innovation that's both a good investment and good for the world. This is a profound but highly accessible guide for achieving breakthrough solutions by utilizing the full-and seemingly contradictory-spectrum of innovative thinking."
