The Innovise Guys

Putting the Muse in Musical The Innovise Guys are once again talking to The Artist's Way author Julia Cameron. This time it's about her new musical, The Medium at Large, written in collaboration with Emma Lively, her long-time creative collaborator. Emma, the Guys, and Julia talk about the show, set to open in previews October 17 and run October 19 through November 16 at the Village Players Performing Arts Center in Oak Park, Illinois at 1010 Madison Street. The spiritually inspired musical comedy deals with ghosts, romance, and mischief in New York City in 1938. The topic of the play was suggested at a dinner party by a grieving friend, features a medium character inspired by long-time friend and mentor Max Showalter, and stars renowned Chicago and Tony nominated actor John Herrara. Emma Lively observed, "The idea of the ghosts is incredibly rich -- leaving much room for mystery, inspiration, and humor. Our goal with this unusual love story is to remind the audience that we're never a lone, and those who have passed on are still with us." In the interview, the nature of inspiration is explored – “Many songs came to me complete with words and music”, said Julia. Adds Emma, “Yes, we believe that creativity is out there and artists are those who tap into that source and bring it into being.” The playwrights and composers speak of the nature of collaboration, creative process, development, and of the fun, the play, and the humor that inspires their work. They also invoked the spirits of Rogers and Hammerstein. Artist’s Way devotees may find the play especially appealing, but it is a truly human play with universal themes of loss, love, connection and coping – with a lightening comfort – about those we hold dear who have passed on. The artists acknowledge that their blithe sense of humor infuses the work – so it should leave the audience “inspired and hopeful”. For more information and tickets, find it at www.village-players.org or by calling 866-764-1010. Sample video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=25lSoeETp3U

Joe Pine and Jim Gilmore are at it again -- Breaking old paradigms and defining the next big thing. First, it was in their groundbreaking book The Experience Economy, which, nearly a decade ago, redefined the marketing landscape. Now it is with their new best-selling book Authenticity. This dynamic duo of "must do & must read" are featured in the March TIME Magazine issue on "10 Ideas that are Changing the World". It seems that in the realm of paradigm shifting, Joe and Jim only do heavy lifting. In this Innovise Guys' interview, the authors themselves tell all -- oh, well almost all -- so you still have to buy the book. Pine and Gilmore also offer a life-transforming event annually in the fall, which they call "Think About". For more information on that, go to: http://www.strategichorizons.com/SHthinkAbout.html. Joe Pine and Jim Gilmore can be reached at Strategic Horizons, LLP and at Pine&Gilmore@StrategicHorizons.com; 330-995-4680. You should find this interview, well, "authentic", if nothing else. Suffice to say, if these guys have an idea that is changing the world, you want to know about it. To link to more about their new book go to: http://authenticitybook.com/

Gushing with Gusto! To our Innovise Guys podcast listeners: "You are an immeasurable life force, saturated with infinite creative potential at this very moment ... From Siberia to the Serengetti, you are the ne plus ultra, the instantaneous creative, the best of the best at your best ... All of you --precedent- setting and paradigm shattering, bold and clever Argonauts tastefully continuing through the space-time continuum ..." How does that feel? Good, huh? These are but a few of compliments gleaned "Wickhead's Guide to Verbal Gusto" by JK (Jim Kelly) -- with whom we discuss the art of "dishing the upper" to one another, by finding the perfect compliment. JK is a former advertising copywriter turned author and a creative juggernaut and good-will ambassador who never travels life's highway without a Motherload of positive vibes and oodles of inventive energy. In the book he quotes Booker T. Washington -- "If you want to lift yourself, lift up someone else" and Bill & Ted -- "Be excellent to one another." And JK shows us how. In this interview, the author guides us through his motivations, the creative process and the uplifting content of his book. (Groundbreaking Press 2007) When he is not "dishing compliments" with the panache and flourish of "surf-speak" versions of Jame T. Kirk or Ace Ventura, Jim Kelly is an "Irishman at Large", stationed outside of Petaluma, California -- near Sonoma Creek -- at the Larson Family Winery. If you consider yourself even remotely "A deftly-skilled professional, thinking outside the box -- The Commissioner of Can-do", then this podcast is for you. For more information go to: www.groundbreaking.com, www.amazon.com and www.larsonfamilywinery.com.

Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein first met as Harvard freshman in 1957. Their book, "Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes" (2007) is presently a best seller in both the humor and philosophy categories. Not bad for a couple of philosophy majors who tried on various careers after graduation. Tom worked with street gangs in Chicago, doctors at Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and dropped in and out of divinity schools. Dan has written jokes for various comedians, including Flip Wilson and Lily Tomlin. Tom lives on Cape Cod with his wife. Dan lives in the Berkshires with his wife. Together, they are also authors of the politically incorrect book of daily affirmations, "Macho Meditations". This interview is littered with jokes (WARNING: some are PG-13) with illustrative examples of how jokes are able to connect to a better understanding of philosophers and their philosophies. Of course, humor is an essential ingredient of creativity and old friends Dan and Tom briskly banter back and forth on their collaboration and also tell the story of their "Aha! Moment" -- that spawned the book idea. Not surprisingly, that moment took place in a light-hearted conversation over a couple of pints in a pub. So successful is this book that their publisher demanded an encore -- the newly published "Aristotle and an Aardvark go to Washington" -- offering humorous insights into political jargon employed by the real jokers in DC. The Innovise Guys assume you will guffaw, chortle, howl, abstractly "he-haw!" and even titter as much as did we through this rousing romp through the thoughtfully theoretical and silly cerebral philosophical phootnotes from Plato to modernity. You'll laugh 'til you think! www.platoandaplatypus.com

Tim Hurson is one of the class acts in the creativity and innovation field. In this interview with The Innovise Guys he provides real insights into creative thinking and you get a slice of one of the best “thinkers about thinking? providing innovation services today. He has a lot going on, he’s written a fabulous new book -- Think Better, an Innovators Guide to Productive Thinking, he’s also the prime mover behind the MindCamp conference in Toronto (http://www.thinkxic.com/mindcamp/tastings.php), and Facilitators Without Borders, a group that provide pro bono facilitation services for communities in need. Tim talks about all these things, but mostly about how to “think better,? the challenges of writing and publishing, and the responses he’s received so far to his book. Tim is a founder of ThinkX Intellectual Capital (www.thinkxic.com) and an in-demand innovation consultant and public speaker. He is also is a great story teller with a great sense of humor, so this interview goes by in a flash.

This is an interesting and informationally dense interview, be prepared to take notes! Over 70 books have been written about Thomas Edison, "Innovate Like Edison" is different, it's the first to elucidate how Edison did Innovation. This book puts forward more detail about how he worked and his methods with teams, research, and more. This is a book that we can learn from and adopt. The Innovise Guys talk to the great grand niece of Edison, Sarah Miller Caldicott, an innovator in her own right, and co-author of this important new book about innovation process. As usual the Guys have fun with serious content and they explore the books ideas with Sarah. Included are a review of Edison's "five competencies of innovation," his innovation and problem solving assessments (that you can access in the book), various other Innovation tools and techniques, and what it was like to work with illustrious co-author Michael Gelb. For more information about Sarah and the book, visit www.sarahcaldicott.com.

Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club, had this to say about the authors of This Is Not the Life I Ordered: "Kudos to the amazing strength of these women! This book is the needed inspiration to survive the worst luck and circumstances that catch women unexpectedly. Stories of almost unimaginable pain and tragedy: the death of loved ones, being witness to mass murder, the loss of an esteemed job after years of loyalty, and the reversal of fortunes. But more importantly, these are stories of individual strength to transform shock, despair, and paralysis into sheer will and guts. It contains the innate resources we have to climb out of the abyss and into a new life with unexpected happiness." In this podcast, The Innovise Guys talk to two of the authors, Deborah Collins Stephens and Michealene Cristini Risley about their book which celebrates sisterhood, community and creative re-framing of lives gone horribly awry -- and how hope, optimism, humor and acceptance can open the way to gratitude and acceptance of what life deals you. The guys want to also mention that they think, on top of everything else, these brainy, resilient, funny women are "major babes".

The Los Angeles Times – once wrote, “Fresh out of college, Marty Sklar was overwhelmed to find himself as Walt Disney's newest writer.? Sklar, in awe, dutifully followed Disney around, scribbling down Disney's orders, ideas and, occasionally, one-line gems. Many years after Walt’s death, Sklar recognized this treasure-trove of wisdom and created “Mickey's Ten Commandments?, one of the most widely circulated creeds and a bible of the theme park industry.“The lessons became a cornerstone of Sklar's own iconic reputation at Walt Disney Co., where he is among the last of a generation of creative minds who worked with the founder--so closely in his case that he became known as the Sorcerer's Apprentice?. "When people see Marty, they see Walt," says a former colleague. "When Marty says something is good, it's almost like Walt says it's good." He has also been called “the Jiminy Cricket? of Disney. Sklar led Disney Imagineering for over three decades. The Innovise Guys tracked down Marty at the ACA conference in Austin this past spring where he keynoted (American Creativity Association meeting). In this short but sweet interview, we learn of brainstorming and creativity Disney-style and about some of the methods behind the fairy dust. "There are two ways to look at a blank piece of paper," says Sklar, "One way is to see it as the most frightening thing in the world because there is nothing on it, and you have to make the first mark. The other way is to see the blank sheet as the greatest opportunity in the world.... You can let your imagination fly in any direction." Let’s “Wish upon a star …?, shall we?

Bijoy Goswami is an interesting man. He's the author of The Human Fabric, CEO of Aviri Corporation, and a founder of the Austin Boostrap Network. He's well educated of course -- Stanford -- but what makes him interesting is his diverse background and his ability to blend eastern and western concepts into new ways of being effective in the business world. A highly creative individiual Bijoy is very articulate when it comes to talking about start-ups, and creativity and innovation. Gregg caught up with Bijoy at Cafe Caffeine in Austin, Texas while there on his own book tour for Jack's Notebook. This is a concise and information packed interview, for more about Bijoy see: www.http://www.aviri.com/bijoy.htm and for more about the Austin Boostrap Network, see: http://www.bootstrapaustin.org/.

Are you a Clarifier, an Ideator, a Developer, an Implementer, or a Driver? In this instructive podcast, Dr. Gerard Puccio discusses FourSight, the breakthrough creative thinking style preference assessment which he developed through years of field testing and comparative research. The simple, user-friendly 34 question self-assessment tool is deceptive in it's simplicity, because it yields profound insights with far-reaching implications for personal development and how we work together as teams to accomplish complex objectives. Gerard keeps the Innovise Guys on their toes in this informative and jocular interview, wherein he sometimes upstages the Guys with some subtle and some not-so-subtle one-liners. Anyone who is involved with creative process, change management, team building, organizational development or dating will find this interview useful.

The Innovise Guys recently caught up with Dr. Gerard Puccio, program chair at the International Center for Studies in Creativity at Buffalo State College (SUNY) and his faculty colleague Dr. Mary Murdock at the American Creativity Association Conference. Together, with Marie Mance, they have just published a brilliant book, entitled Creative Leadership: Skills That Drive Change. In this fast-paced, fun and substantive interview, Puccio and Murdock discuss the connection between leadership and creativity. As the introduction to the book explains: “Change originates in creative thought, and the ability to engage in creative thinking or foster it in others is a skill that separates those who lead from those who follow … Creative thinking is the fuel that makes leadership work.? Leveraging more than 50 years of research in characteristically thorough fashion, the authors have written this book from the perspective of creativity as a core leadership competence. This is an informative and fun interview – at some points our affable guests even “out goof? The Guys, while covering the breadth, scope and seminal thinking behind the book, sharing their insights with aplomb. They also weigh in some of the challenges of the collaborative effort it took to write the book and fusing three authors into one, authentic voice. In the end, Puccio, Murdock and Mance have produced a book that is at once an extremely accessible, eminently readable, while a thorough, detailed academic resource for the latest thinking on Creative Problem Solving and Leadership – a hot topic du jour. Also discussed is their substantive reframing of the always resilient CPS process model. This is an engaging an informative interview that’s right for anyone facing the challenges of change, leading others through it and who want access to lucid, straight forward, state-of-the art thinking on the Creative Problem Solving model. For more information on the Buffalo State program see: www.buffalostate.edu/centers/creativity

Tamara Saviano is a creative publicist and the organizer of a non-profit called American Roots Publishing, which is dedicated to the preservation of American culture through music, literature, and art. Beneath her mild-mannered exterior lies a bit of a firebrand and a devout defender of free speech. That’s one reason why Kris Kristofferson hired her – her guts to speak out. We would call her a genuine Creative Leader, entrepreneur, and arts advocate. The Innovise Guys are delighted to feature this interview Tamara did with Gregg Fraley as she passed through Chicago on her way back to Nashville. She’s a classic creative in her own right as a Producer – her first CD won a Grammy in 2005 for Best Traditional Folk Album. That album, named Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster, is just one of the first projects slated for publication at American Roots Publishing. Her new media company, Ellis Communications will take her PR and media expertise up yet another level – we only wish we could afford her! Learn how this Nashville rebel unleashes her creativity on behalf of musical artists and in the cause of preserving American arts in this sparkling interview. For more information about American Roots Publishing see: http://www.americanrootspublishing.org/, for more about her publicity services see: http://www.savianomedia.com/index.html.

Sewonderful Quilts is an amazing volunteer program to create quilts for critically ill children. They take material destined for the landfill and turn it into an object of love for the people who need it most. Francine Spacek, an interior designer in Chicago manages a volunteer network of quilters that have created almost 1000 of these works of art. Francine talks to the Innovise Guys about how she got the idea, how she recruits volunteers, how she gets tons of fabric samples, distributes them, and collects finished quilts which she gives to several hospitals in the Chicago area. She's looking to do more to expand this win-win-win idea, and needs quilters, sewing machines, fabric, and -- money -- to do more. It's hard to imagine a creative project more deserving of help, it's green, it distributes objects of art, it cares for people, and it creates communities of self expression. See www.sewonderfulquilts.com for more information. Tell people about this project please!

Michelle James is a creativty consultant from the Washington DC area and is the CEO of the Center for Creative Emergence (www.creativeemergence.com). Michelle is also a practiced improvisational actor who plays with Precipice Improv Theater Company (www.precipiceimprov.com) where she does long-format improv scenes. The Innovise Guys had a particular interest in Michelle because she actively uses improv tools in her business consulting, sometimes on the quiet, but many times she's brought in by her clients to teach improv. This is a fun and wide ranging discussion and the trio have a few laughs while talking about use of improv concepts like YES + AND, and Michelle's twist on that concept, YES = AND, Because. Michelle is also a key player/organizer in the Capitol Creativity Network (www.capitolcreativitynetwork.com). Tune into this pithy and upbeat interview with a leading creativity practitioner.

Pre-ACA Conference (March 21-23) Interview with Creativity's Garrulous Guru, Doug Hall: The Innovise Guys interview the guy dubbed "America's #1 Idea Guru" by Inc. Magazine. Doug Hall began his inventing career at the age of 12 by inventing and selling a line of magic and juggling kits. After graduating from the University of Maine with an engineering degree, Doug went to work with P&G, where he rose meteorically to Master Marketing Inventor by developing and implementing 9 innovations in 12 months. You may also know Doug for his appearances on TV's "The American Inventor" or for his "Brain Brew Radio" show on PRI or as CEO and founder of the Eureka! Ranch, described as an "invention & research think tank". The Innovise Guys match minds with this Mensan and marketing maven, who is a playful, peripatetic and a sometimes pugnacious proponent of his proprietary innovation system, which prognosticates and evaluates ideas based on a replicable, end-to-end, data-driven system. Hall speaks with some specificity about the American Creativity Association and its distinct value and mission, his soon-to-be-launched nationwide creative facilitation effort (in collaboration with the federal government) and forcefully shares his roguish views on the primacy of "left brain divergence". Tailor-made for the exigencies of today's business enterprises, Hall's system focuses on measurability and projectability based on a large data base and scaleable metrics to provide reliable degrees of confidence around new ideas in the largely uncertain world of new product development. Hall no longer believes that "fun is fundamental" and vows to rewrite his seminal book "Jump Start Your Brain" to reflect his new philosophy. No warm & fuzzies here. Art and play are out! This notwithstanding, this interview is full of fun and provocative insight that will get your synapses jumping, your blood surging and maybe your dander up! For more information see: www.amcreativityassoc.org, www.doughall.com, www.eurekaranch.com.

The Experience Economy & Innovation: The Innovise Guys Interview with Joe Pine. In 1999 Joe Pine and Jim Gilmore turned the marketing world on it's ear with the publication of their groundbreaking book, "The Experience Economy." Pine, formerly an innovator at IBM and a graduate of MIT's Sloan Graduate School of Business in Management Technology, met Jim Gilmore shortly after the publication of his first book, Mass Customization: The New Frontier in Business Competition. It turns out that Gilmore had author's envy -- He had been thinking along the same lines. They soon became friends, collaborators and ultimately partners in Strategic Horizons LLP. In this "experiential interview" Joe explains the basic precepts of the Experience Economy, the evolution of the concept, its application today and its relationship to innovation. The interview is true to the spirit of The Experience Economy's subtitle: "Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage" as Joe indulges Gregg and Doug and joins in the fun. For their part, as "The Guys" ham it up, they lend considerable credence to Oscar Wilde's Observation that "The World is a Stage, but the Play Badly Cast". (But you knew that.) In this interview Joe Pine also affords a glimpse of the soon-to-be-published Pine-Gilmore collaboration, "Authenticity." Each year, Pine & Gilmore design and direct a two-day experience called thinkAbout -- a series of staged events that foster creativity, innovation, and learning. The thinkAbout is a high-energy, high-impact event available to a limited number of participants each year. For more information on this and other offerings, visit www.StrategicHorizons.com or call Doug Parker at 330-995-4680.

Da Bears. Da Super Bowl. Da Innovise Guys. We simply could not resist talking Bears football at this momentous time. And we make a true attempt to connect it all to Innovation -- After all, we all remember how the Bears 'thrilled the nation with their T-formation' -- or so the Bears fight song goes. And that's not all -- Papa Bear Halas created the professional National Football League -- an innovator for sure. In this interview, The Guys speak with sports geeks and clairvoyant cliches Skip Castro and Lou Scorpini, formerly the bombastic baseball announcers for the fictitious Beloit Bee Keepers Triple-A baseball franchise on WXRT and the SCORE radio in Chicago. Skip and Lou (actually screenwriter/sitcom executive producer Tom Wolfe and awarding-winning playwright, Hollywood sitcom actor and Second City alumnus Kevin Crowley) have at Da Bears of 2007 and Bears lore, as they prognosticate, play and replay with the connection of Bears football and innovation, as well as ruminate on Scorpini's incarceration in a federal penitentiary which effectively separated the delightfully unselfconscious, dunderheaded duo until this very special reunion. In this podcast, the Guys have their game faces on and give Skip and Lou room to connect on the bombs, keep the tape rolling and let their garrulous guests riff, diverge and converge on the Monsters of the Midway. There are a lot of 'forced connections' here, some fumbles and many takeaways -- all true to the Bears' football tradition.

This podcast is a break with tradition for the Innovise Guys. Here, Doug interviews Gregg about the publication of Jack's Notebook, a business fable about creative problem solving. It's a fun interview -- some improvised songs, jokes, and accents happen as they manage to find out why Gregg wrote the book, who it's for, and to discuss some of the aspects of deliberate creativity as they progress. Jack's Notebook could be the first "break out" book that takes the concept of CPS and deliberate creativity to a much broader audience. For more information about Jack's Notebook, go to Gregg's website: www.greggfraley.com, or order it on Amazon.

David Horth, author of The Leaders Edge, creativity and leadership expert, is with the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensborough, NC (www.ccl.org). In this wide-ranging and eclectic interview the Innovise Guys and David cover a wide range of topics, but with a central connection to creative leadership and design. They talk about design as a unifying concept of creativity, innovation, and quality. It's good fun and as usual the Guys talk about seemingly non-related stuff as well, like David's playing of a didgeridoo. David recites lines from Robert Frost and runs through the "six creative competencies" of an innovative leader that he amplifies in his book. David also talks about the goals of, and his role with, the Creative Education Foundation (www.creativeeducationfoundation.org). Check out this lively and content-rich chat.

Eva Niewiadomski is the founder and owner of Catalyst Ranch in Chicago. Catalyst Ranch is a highly successful and innovative venue for creative meetings of all kinds. It really has to be seen to be believed; it's possibly the most creative meeting space in the USA. Eva, formerly with Quaker, is a real creative environment expert and an inspiring entrepreneur. Here she talks with The Innovise Guys about how she got Catalyst off the ground and she shares her views and ideas about creative meetings and designing creative environments. For more about Eva and Catalyst Ranch, visit their web site: www.catalystranch.com.