Creativity is in all of us.
CREATIVITY
But creativity is not to be
confused…
CREATIVITY
with optimism.
CREATIVITY
INNOVATION
DESIGNING WHAT’S COMING AFTER
WHAT’S COMING NEXT
INNOVATION
DESIGN THINKING IS NOT ENOUGH,
IT’S TIME FOR DESIGN DOING
• Creating innovative work requires a
culture of creativity.
• Starting an innovation lab or accelerator
can be a lot to take on.
• We are overwhelmed with possibilities,
stretched by market opportunities.
INNOVATION
MANY OF US HAVE GOTTEN SO GOOD
AT PUTTING OUT FIRES, WE’VE
FORGOTTEN HOW TO LIGHT THEM
• Spending most of your energies these days
putting out fires?
• Remember pitching new, paradigm shifting,
revenue expanding ideas?
• If all we’re doing is solving problems we’re
becoming the paramedics of the business
world.
INNOVATION
MOST COMPANIES TALK ABOUT
DESIGN LIKE IT’S A MOVIE THEY’VE
BEEN MEANING TO GO SEE
• Many people say there are no bad ideas.
• Of course there are bad ideas, you can’t
walk down the street without encountering
several of them.
• What people mean is, “we want you to feel
you can express yourself freely”.
INNOVATION
ONE THOUSAND RATIONAL DECISIONS
IN SEARCH OF ONE EMOTIONAL
DECISION
• We often rely on making a seemingly endless
series of logical, well-thought-out choices.
• The final decision often hinges on an
emotional response or gut feeling.
• Rational solutions will not work if you haven’t
solved the emotional questions.
INNOVATION
FEELING LIKE, “THIS IS NOT THE
INNOVATION YOU’RE LOOKING FOR”?
At an economic conference recently a keynote
speaker, CEO of a $500B company was asked:
“How are you innovating in such a large and
diverse company”?
He responded plainly, “our goal is to have
everyone innovating all the time”.
INNOVATION
THE FUNDAMENTAL ATTRIBUTION
ERROR
• David Lee Ross and social psychologist
Elliot Aronson, “The Power of the
Situation”.
• Most people most of the time attribute
personality to something that isn’t a
function of personality but a function of the
situation the person is in.
• When it’s more likely to be the situation that
is the influence and not their personality.
INNOVATION
IF APPLE COMES OUT WITH A SELF-
DRIVING CAR WE’RE PROBABLY GOING
TO HAVE TO BUY A CASE FOR IT
• Does it feel like our most innovative tech
companies have forgotten about us?
• Or is it us, have we let our relationship with
the big tech darlings get a bit
dysfunctional?
• But like any abused lover tolerating broken
promises and long term neglect, we keep
coming back for more.
INNOVATION
I’M NOT A BIG FAN OF THE BRAIN
• The brain is a problem solving tool, so it’s
going to look for problems?
• Have you ever thought about the way your
brain talks to you?
• I think, if you knew someone who talked to
you the way your brain does, you’d never
want to hang out with them.
AI AND INNOVATION
WHY IS BETTER THAN HUMAN
BETTER THAN A BETTER HUMAN?
AI AND INNOVATION
WHY IS BETTER THAN HUMAN
BETTER THAN A BETTER HUMAN?
• Why is technology so obsessed with
trying to be better than humans?
AI AND INNOVATION
WHY IS BETTER THAN HUMAN
BETTER THAN A BETTER HUMAN?
• Why is technology so obsessed with
trying to be better than humans?
• It actually has the capacity to help
humans get better.
AI AND INNOVATION
WHY IS BETTER THAN HUMAN
BETTER THAN A BETTER HUMAN?
• Why is technology so obsessed with
trying to be better than humans?
• It actually has the capacity to help
humans get better.
• With nearly $200B spent developing self-
driving cars where are they?
MY AI AND I ARE ON THE OUTS
• Last week I asked my AI if it could
take my Thursday for me.
• You know, handle my client meetings,
coaching calls and any emails that
may need a response.
AI AND INNOVATION
MY AI AND I ARE ON THE OUTS
• My AI says, “No Dave, I cannot take
your Thursday.
• No one could take your Thursday
Dave. No one can do what you do, it
just wouldn’t be the same without
you.”
• It goes on…
AI AND INNOVATION
MY AI AND I ARE ON THE OUTS
• “Think about all the people who’ll be
disappointed and lost that you’re not
there.
• What am I supposed to tell them?”
• “Okay, alright,” I say, “I’ll do it.”
AI AND INNOVATION
MY AI AND I ARE ON THE OUTS
• So I go ahead with my Thursday,
calls, meetings and emails.
• Then I find out later that day my AI
asked the algorithm if it could take its
Thursday.
• And then, the algorithm asked several
million databases if it could pull
together and take its Thursday.
AI AND INNOVATION
MY AI AND I ARE ON THE OUTS
• Then the databases started asking
other databases.
• And those databases were asking
other databases.
• Now I’ve got to figure out how to fix
this.
AI AND INNOVATION
AI AND INNOVATION
AI AND INNOVATION
AI AND INNOVATION
EPILOGUE:
• A week later my AI apologized, sort of,
saying it would not do that again.
• However, it did make me promise not to
show it to anyone.
END OF LINE
“WORK LIFE BALANCE.” IS THERE
SOMETHING MISSING HERE?
• Yes, there’s something missing, YOU!
• The one thing that is common to both is
you. I think you deserve a spot on the
balance diagram.
• In fact, I think it’s critical for the success of
the other two.
AI AND INNOVATION
AI AND INNOVATION
AI AND INNOVATION
AI AND INNOVATION
“Dispatches from the entrepreneurial mind:
<t:1625937668:F> 01162024 07:35 PST
It was mission critical that I move the needle on the synergy required to turn
this whole thing around.
So I woke early, popped a new blade into my Occam's razor, jumped in a
thought shower, put on my market cap and headed out to join a user group
and write with unapologetic disambiguation.
It was a blue sky day. I knew I had to drill down to the key takeaways if I was
going to gain any traction. I stopped into the ‘Low Hanging Fruit’, grabbed a
seat at the bar graph, next to the Overton window and ordered a slice of pie
chart and a ‘make hay’ coffee.
I thought, if I can create a 4 stage plan to gain a 5x profit, I’ll have 6 sigma
status worth a 7 percent share. I’ll finally become my own product, my own
business, the operator of my own summation.
That is of course, as long as my commercialized value does not involve
unreasonable expense or loss of time.
AI AND INNOVATION
27 Feb, 2025
Prompt: How do I write a prompt to get
you to think like me?
To get me to think like you, phrase your
prompt like this…
AI AND INNOVATION
"Think like someone who [your thinking
style: analytical, creative, structured,
intuitive].
Approach this problem by [your process:
breaking it down, questioning
assumptions, prioritizing impact].
Focus on [your priorities: innovation,
practicality, user experience, scalability],
and frame your response as if you were
[your role/expertise].”
AI AND INNOVATION
WHY IS LISTENING, REALLY LISTENING,
SO HARD?
TEAMS: LISTENING
WHY IS LISTENING, REALLY LISTENING,
SO HARD?
• Is it so hard because of external influences,
like digital distractions, audio notifications,
glowing screens and information overload?
TEAMS: LISTENING
WHY IS LISTENING, REALLY LISTENING,
SO HARD?
• Is it so hard because of external influences,
like digital distractions, audio notifications,
glowing screens and information overload?
• Or is it internal, brain chatter – what they
call the monkey mind, or is it just another
case of our shrinking attention spans?
TEAMS: LISTENING
WHY IS LISTENING, REALLY LISTENING,
SO HARD?
• Is it so hard because of external influences,
like digital distractions, audio notifications,
glowing screens and information overload?
• Or is it internal, brain chatter – what they
call the monkey mind, or is it just another
case of our shrinking attention spans?
• It’s probably all of these to varying degrees.
I think if we wanted to do something about
it we certainly could.
TEAMS: LISTENING
LISTENING IS KEY TO COLLABORATION?
• Or is it internal, brain chatter – what they call
the monkey mind, or is it just another case of
our shrinking attention spans?
TEAMS: COLLABORATION
LISTENING IS KEY TO COLLABORATION
• Or is it internal, brain chatter – what they call
the monkey mind, or is it just another case of
our shrinking attention spans?
• Neuroscientists tell us, we react to things we
hear 10 times faster than things we see.
TEAMS: LISTENING
LISTENING IS KEY TO COLLABORATION
• Or is it internal, brain chatter – what they
call the monkey mind, or is it just another
case of our shrinking attention spans?
• Neuroscientists tell us, we react to things
we hear 10 times faster than things we see.
• So where do we start, how do we quiet our
unsettled minds, develop our ability to listen
and give the person we’re talking to the
attention they deserve?
TEAMS: LISTENING
WHEN COLLABORATING HERE’S WHAT
THE EXPERTS SAY:
• Try to remember exactly what the other
person is saying to the extent that if you
had to you could repeat it back to them.
• Put off your reply until you have the chance
to reflect back to them what they meant or
what it meant to you.
• Before you respond think to yourself, what
are the chances they’re actually going to
hear me?
TEAMS: LISTENING
HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW:
• Listening strengthens each and every
connection and interaction.
• With deeper levels of listening comes levels
of understanding that help you grow
professionally and personally.
• The ability to absorb and reflect back to
others is a rare and highly valued skill.
TEAMS: LISTENING
TO BUILD THE PART OF PEOPLE THAT
INNOVATES YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND,
THAT PART IS ATTACHED TO THE REST
• You may be hoping there’s a link to an AI program
that will deal with this fact for you.
TEAMS: COLLABORATION
TO BUILD THE PART OF PEOPLE THAT
INNOVATES YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND,
THAT PART IS ATTACHED TO THE REST
• You may be hoping there’s a link to an AI program
that will deal with this fact for you.
• The focus here is on people, those adorable
biological entities that hold positions at your
company.
TEAMS: COLLABORATION
TO BUILD THE PART OF PEOPLE THAT
INNOVATES YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND,
THAT PART IS ATTACHED TO THE REST
• You may be hoping there’s a link to an AI program
that will deal with this fact for you.
• The focus here is on people, those adorable
biological entities that hold positions at your
company.
TEAMS: COLLABORATION
IT’S WHAT SHAKESPEARE CALLED, “OUR
NATIVE HUE OF RESOLUTION”
• “Native”, because we’re born with it, “hue” is the
particular tone or shade of our style and “resolution
reminds us of the value in our determination.
TEAMS: COLLABORATION
IT’S WHAT SHAKESPEARE CALLED, “OUR
NATIVE HUE OF RESOLUTION”
• “Native”, because we’re born with it, “hue” is the
particular tone or shade of our style and “resolution
reminds us of the value in our determination.
• Simplified it says, ‘from birth, what we have to
express is unique and important.
TEAMS: COLLABORATION
IT’S WHAT SHAKESPEARE CALLED, “OUR
NATIVE HUE OF RESOLUTION”
• “Native”, because we’re born with it, “hue” is the
particular tone or shade of our style and “resolution
reminds us of the value in our determination.
• Simplified it says, ‘from birth, what we have to
express is unique and important.
• Sometimes innovation takes the form of an open
field of possibilities, and other times it takes the
form of a target to hit.
TEAMS: COLLABORATION
Thank you,
Creativity, AI, and Human-Centered Innovation

Creativity, AI, and Human-Centered Innovation

  • 2.
    Creativity is inall of us. CREATIVITY
  • 3.
    But creativity isnot to be confused… CREATIVITY
  • 4.
  • 5.
    INNOVATION DESIGNING WHAT’S COMINGAFTER WHAT’S COMING NEXT
  • 6.
    INNOVATION DESIGN THINKING ISNOT ENOUGH, IT’S TIME FOR DESIGN DOING • Creating innovative work requires a culture of creativity. • Starting an innovation lab or accelerator can be a lot to take on. • We are overwhelmed with possibilities, stretched by market opportunities.
  • 7.
    INNOVATION MANY OF USHAVE GOTTEN SO GOOD AT PUTTING OUT FIRES, WE’VE FORGOTTEN HOW TO LIGHT THEM • Spending most of your energies these days putting out fires? • Remember pitching new, paradigm shifting, revenue expanding ideas? • If all we’re doing is solving problems we’re becoming the paramedics of the business world.
  • 8.
    INNOVATION MOST COMPANIES TALKABOUT DESIGN LIKE IT’S A MOVIE THEY’VE BEEN MEANING TO GO SEE • Many people say there are no bad ideas. • Of course there are bad ideas, you can’t walk down the street without encountering several of them. • What people mean is, “we want you to feel you can express yourself freely”.
  • 10.
    INNOVATION ONE THOUSAND RATIONALDECISIONS IN SEARCH OF ONE EMOTIONAL DECISION • We often rely on making a seemingly endless series of logical, well-thought-out choices. • The final decision often hinges on an emotional response or gut feeling. • Rational solutions will not work if you haven’t solved the emotional questions.
  • 11.
    INNOVATION FEELING LIKE, “THISIS NOT THE INNOVATION YOU’RE LOOKING FOR”? At an economic conference recently a keynote speaker, CEO of a $500B company was asked: “How are you innovating in such a large and diverse company”? He responded plainly, “our goal is to have everyone innovating all the time”.
  • 13.
    INNOVATION THE FUNDAMENTAL ATTRIBUTION ERROR •David Lee Ross and social psychologist Elliot Aronson, “The Power of the Situation”. • Most people most of the time attribute personality to something that isn’t a function of personality but a function of the situation the person is in. • When it’s more likely to be the situation that is the influence and not their personality.
  • 14.
    INNOVATION IF APPLE COMESOUT WITH A SELF- DRIVING CAR WE’RE PROBABLY GOING TO HAVE TO BUY A CASE FOR IT • Does it feel like our most innovative tech companies have forgotten about us? • Or is it us, have we let our relationship with the big tech darlings get a bit dysfunctional? • But like any abused lover tolerating broken promises and long term neglect, we keep coming back for more.
  • 15.
    INNOVATION I’M NOT ABIG FAN OF THE BRAIN • The brain is a problem solving tool, so it’s going to look for problems? • Have you ever thought about the way your brain talks to you? • I think, if you knew someone who talked to you the way your brain does, you’d never want to hang out with them.
  • 17.
    AI AND INNOVATION WHYIS BETTER THAN HUMAN BETTER THAN A BETTER HUMAN?
  • 18.
    AI AND INNOVATION WHYIS BETTER THAN HUMAN BETTER THAN A BETTER HUMAN? • Why is technology so obsessed with trying to be better than humans?
  • 19.
    AI AND INNOVATION WHYIS BETTER THAN HUMAN BETTER THAN A BETTER HUMAN? • Why is technology so obsessed with trying to be better than humans? • It actually has the capacity to help humans get better.
  • 20.
    AI AND INNOVATION WHYIS BETTER THAN HUMAN BETTER THAN A BETTER HUMAN? • Why is technology so obsessed with trying to be better than humans? • It actually has the capacity to help humans get better. • With nearly $200B spent developing self- driving cars where are they?
  • 21.
    MY AI ANDI ARE ON THE OUTS • Last week I asked my AI if it could take my Thursday for me. • You know, handle my client meetings, coaching calls and any emails that may need a response. AI AND INNOVATION
  • 22.
    MY AI ANDI ARE ON THE OUTS • My AI says, “No Dave, I cannot take your Thursday. • No one could take your Thursday Dave. No one can do what you do, it just wouldn’t be the same without you.” • It goes on… AI AND INNOVATION
  • 23.
    MY AI ANDI ARE ON THE OUTS • “Think about all the people who’ll be disappointed and lost that you’re not there. • What am I supposed to tell them?” • “Okay, alright,” I say, “I’ll do it.” AI AND INNOVATION
  • 24.
    MY AI ANDI ARE ON THE OUTS • So I go ahead with my Thursday, calls, meetings and emails. • Then I find out later that day my AI asked the algorithm if it could take its Thursday. • And then, the algorithm asked several million databases if it could pull together and take its Thursday. AI AND INNOVATION
  • 25.
    MY AI ANDI ARE ON THE OUTS • Then the databases started asking other databases. • And those databases were asking other databases. • Now I’ve got to figure out how to fix this. AI AND INNOVATION
  • 26.
  • 27.
  • 28.
    AI AND INNOVATION EPILOGUE: •A week later my AI apologized, sort of, saying it would not do that again. • However, it did make me promise not to show it to anyone. END OF LINE
  • 29.
    “WORK LIFE BALANCE.”IS THERE SOMETHING MISSING HERE? • Yes, there’s something missing, YOU! • The one thing that is common to both is you. I think you deserve a spot on the balance diagram. • In fact, I think it’s critical for the success of the other two. AI AND INNOVATION
  • 30.
  • 31.
  • 32.
  • 33.
    “Dispatches from theentrepreneurial mind: <t:1625937668:F> 01162024 07:35 PST It was mission critical that I move the needle on the synergy required to turn this whole thing around. So I woke early, popped a new blade into my Occam's razor, jumped in a thought shower, put on my market cap and headed out to join a user group and write with unapologetic disambiguation. It was a blue sky day. I knew I had to drill down to the key takeaways if I was going to gain any traction. I stopped into the ‘Low Hanging Fruit’, grabbed a seat at the bar graph, next to the Overton window and ordered a slice of pie chart and a ‘make hay’ coffee. I thought, if I can create a 4 stage plan to gain a 5x profit, I’ll have 6 sigma status worth a 7 percent share. I’ll finally become my own product, my own business, the operator of my own summation. That is of course, as long as my commercialized value does not involve unreasonable expense or loss of time. AI AND INNOVATION
  • 34.
    27 Feb, 2025 Prompt:How do I write a prompt to get you to think like me? To get me to think like you, phrase your prompt like this… AI AND INNOVATION
  • 35.
    "Think like someonewho [your thinking style: analytical, creative, structured, intuitive]. Approach this problem by [your process: breaking it down, questioning assumptions, prioritizing impact]. Focus on [your priorities: innovation, practicality, user experience, scalability], and frame your response as if you were [your role/expertise].” AI AND INNOVATION
  • 37.
    WHY IS LISTENING,REALLY LISTENING, SO HARD? TEAMS: LISTENING
  • 38.
    WHY IS LISTENING,REALLY LISTENING, SO HARD? • Is it so hard because of external influences, like digital distractions, audio notifications, glowing screens and information overload? TEAMS: LISTENING
  • 39.
    WHY IS LISTENING,REALLY LISTENING, SO HARD? • Is it so hard because of external influences, like digital distractions, audio notifications, glowing screens and information overload? • Or is it internal, brain chatter – what they call the monkey mind, or is it just another case of our shrinking attention spans? TEAMS: LISTENING
  • 40.
    WHY IS LISTENING,REALLY LISTENING, SO HARD? • Is it so hard because of external influences, like digital distractions, audio notifications, glowing screens and information overload? • Or is it internal, brain chatter – what they call the monkey mind, or is it just another case of our shrinking attention spans? • It’s probably all of these to varying degrees. I think if we wanted to do something about it we certainly could. TEAMS: LISTENING
  • 41.
    LISTENING IS KEYTO COLLABORATION? • Or is it internal, brain chatter – what they call the monkey mind, or is it just another case of our shrinking attention spans? TEAMS: COLLABORATION
  • 42.
    LISTENING IS KEYTO COLLABORATION • Or is it internal, brain chatter – what they call the monkey mind, or is it just another case of our shrinking attention spans? • Neuroscientists tell us, we react to things we hear 10 times faster than things we see. TEAMS: LISTENING
  • 43.
    LISTENING IS KEYTO COLLABORATION • Or is it internal, brain chatter – what they call the monkey mind, or is it just another case of our shrinking attention spans? • Neuroscientists tell us, we react to things we hear 10 times faster than things we see. • So where do we start, how do we quiet our unsettled minds, develop our ability to listen and give the person we’re talking to the attention they deserve? TEAMS: LISTENING
  • 44.
    WHEN COLLABORATING HERE’SWHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: • Try to remember exactly what the other person is saying to the extent that if you had to you could repeat it back to them. • Put off your reply until you have the chance to reflect back to them what they meant or what it meant to you. • Before you respond think to yourself, what are the chances they’re actually going to hear me? TEAMS: LISTENING
  • 45.
    HERE’S WHAT WEKNOW: • Listening strengthens each and every connection and interaction. • With deeper levels of listening comes levels of understanding that help you grow professionally and personally. • The ability to absorb and reflect back to others is a rare and highly valued skill. TEAMS: LISTENING
  • 47.
    TO BUILD THEPART OF PEOPLE THAT INNOVATES YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND, THAT PART IS ATTACHED TO THE REST • You may be hoping there’s a link to an AI program that will deal with this fact for you. TEAMS: COLLABORATION
  • 48.
    TO BUILD THEPART OF PEOPLE THAT INNOVATES YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND, THAT PART IS ATTACHED TO THE REST • You may be hoping there’s a link to an AI program that will deal with this fact for you. • The focus here is on people, those adorable biological entities that hold positions at your company. TEAMS: COLLABORATION
  • 49.
    TO BUILD THEPART OF PEOPLE THAT INNOVATES YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND, THAT PART IS ATTACHED TO THE REST • You may be hoping there’s a link to an AI program that will deal with this fact for you. • The focus here is on people, those adorable biological entities that hold positions at your company. TEAMS: COLLABORATION
  • 50.
    IT’S WHAT SHAKESPEARECALLED, “OUR NATIVE HUE OF RESOLUTION” • “Native”, because we’re born with it, “hue” is the particular tone or shade of our style and “resolution reminds us of the value in our determination. TEAMS: COLLABORATION
  • 51.
    IT’S WHAT SHAKESPEARECALLED, “OUR NATIVE HUE OF RESOLUTION” • “Native”, because we’re born with it, “hue” is the particular tone or shade of our style and “resolution reminds us of the value in our determination. • Simplified it says, ‘from birth, what we have to express is unique and important. TEAMS: COLLABORATION
  • 52.
    IT’S WHAT SHAKESPEARECALLED, “OUR NATIVE HUE OF RESOLUTION” • “Native”, because we’re born with it, “hue” is the particular tone or shade of our style and “resolution reminds us of the value in our determination. • Simplified it says, ‘from birth, what we have to express is unique and important. • Sometimes innovation takes the form of an open field of possibilities, and other times it takes the form of a target to hit. TEAMS: COLLABORATION
  • 53.