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About this Episode:

In this episode of The Transformative Leader Podcast, I’m happy to bring you a conversation with Jeff DeGraff about what it takes to become a creative leader by tapping into your own power to innovate, as well as several factors that inhibit innovation and how you can overcome them. Also in this power-packed episode, Jeff shares a great deal of insight from his recent book, The Creative Mindset: Mastering the Six Skills that Empower Innovation, and shares his perspective in the context of today's events and offers ideas that are directly applicable to the ever-changing world we live in.

Jeff DeGraff is the Professor of Management and Organizations at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. He teaches MBA, EMBA, BBA, and Executive Education courses on leading creativity, innovation, and change. Jeff’s research and writing focuses on innovation strategy, change and innovation competency development, creativity and innovation practices and methods, create communities and innovation networks, and leadership development.

He is an author and co-author of the books Innovation You, Creativity at Work: Developing the Right Practices to Make Innovation Happen, Leading Innovation: How to Jumpstart Your Company’s Growth Engine and Competing Values Leadership: Creating Value in Organizations. His book, Making Stone Soup, was a finalist for several book awards. In one of his recent books, Innovation Code: The Creative Power of Constructive Conflict, he argues that diversity of thought is essential to innovation. He urges everyone to practice constructive dialogue and work in diverse teams to find hybrid solutions and develop unique approaches to solve difficult problems. His newest book, The Creative Mindset, brings 6 creativity skills to everyone and was published in September 2020.

Jeff’s mission is “the democratization of innovation.” He brings innovation to everyone, every day and everywhere through his books, his public television program (Innovation You), columns (Inc.) and radio program (The Next Idea).

His articles and thought leadership on contemporary business matters have been covered by Business Week, US News and World Report and the Wall Street Journal, to name a few.

His client list reads like a ‘who’s who’ within the world of innovators, including, among many others, General Electric, Coca-Cola, American College of Surgeons, and Google. In working with these prominent firms, he has developed a broad array of widely used change and innovation methodologies and tools. Jeff was a member of the executive team at Domino’s Pizza when it was one of the fastest growing businesses in the world in the 1980’s. Jeff’s creative and direct take on making innovation happen have made him a world-renowned thought leader and have prompted his clients and colleagues to dub him as “The Dean of Innovation.”

Jeff is a Managing Partner of Innovatrium, an innovation center and consulting practice that specializes in teaching companies how to grow and become more innovative. He serves as an advisor to think tanks and governments. Jeff has worked all over the world, with significant experience in Europe and Asia, and in most industry and market segments.

Guest Links:

• Website: jeffdegraff.com/, innovatrium.org/

• Book: The Creative Mindset

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/degraffjeff/, linkedin.com/company/innovatrium

• Twitter: twitter.com/JeffDeGraff

• Facebook: facebook.com/deanofinnovation

• YouTube: youtube.com/user/JeffDeGraff1

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