Robyn Bolton challenges an article posted in Fast Company that claimed the most popular design thinking strategy is BS. How might we ruin a perfectly good and useful tool?” This might not be the question that innovators, design thinkers, and brainstorm facilitators wanted to answer.  But it seems that it’s the one they did. “The most popular design thinking strategy is BS,” proclaimed the headline on a June 28 article in Fast Company.  “The ‘How might we’ design prompt is…

Robyn M. Bolton shares an evergreen post on the benefits of thinking visually for business, and how to do it.  Last week, I wrote about Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), a process of using art to teach visual literacy, thinking, and communication skills. Typically, used in primary school classrooms, VTS has made its way into the corporate setting, helping individuals and teams to build and strengthen their problem solving and critical thinking skills, ability to communicate and collaborate, and effectiveness in…

  Robyn Bolton reflects on lessons learned as a child that she brings into her field to help problems solve and drive innovation.  Innovation is all about embracing the AND. Creativity AND Analysis Imagination AND Practicality Envisioned Future AND Lived Reality Looking back, I realize that much of my childhood was also about embracing the AND. Mom AND Dad Nursery School Teacher AND Computer Engineer Finger paint AND Calculus A few years ago, I wrote about my mom, the OG…

  Robyn Bolton recently had an article published in Forbes that is designed to help business leaders and managers get the best results from proactive employees.  One of the first pieces of professional advice many people receive from their managers is, “Bring me solutions, not problems.” From my perspective, this is good coaching because it teaches people to be problem-solvers, to think critically about the problems they see and to take ownership for solving them. But if you have ever…

  Robyn Bolton shares introspective insights and answers on working from home during the pandemic. In middle school and high school my dad and I would have massive arguments about my math homework. And by “massive,” I mean arguments that make episodes of The Real Housewives look like polite differences of opinion over tea and crumpets. The issue was not my struggles to understand the work (though I’m sure that played into things) but rather my insistence on knowing WHY…

  With Mother’s Day comes memories of small moments that had a big impact. Robyn Bolton shares a wholly amusing, moving, and inspirational story on innovation found in unlikely places. My Mom was a nursery-school teacher. It was more than her profession, it was her gift. Long after my sister and I were grown and out of the house, my mom chose to spend her days with 4-year olds, teaching them everything from the ABCs to how to use the…

  Robyn Bolton offers a post that illustrates a common issue in today’s workplaces. Some conversations stick with you for a long time. Some conversations take your breath away the moment they happen. A few weeks ago, I had one that did both. “Everyone is focused on ‘humanizing’ work,” my client said. “I wish people would de-humanize work. I would love nothing more than to be treated like a line of code or a piece of equipment. We treat our…

  Robyn Bolton draws innovation inspiration from the Princess Bride to illustrate how the innovator embarks on a hero’s journey within a corporate setting.   A few weeks ago, I wrote a post using quotes from “Moneyball” (the movie, not the book) to describe the experience of trying to innovate within a corporate setting. It was great fun to write, I received tons of feedback, and had many fascinating conversations (plus a fact check on the year the Red Sox broke…

  If you have experienced great ideas die in the making and want to avoid this in the future, read on. Robyn Bolton offers a few expert tips on how to combat the problem of the ‘derailers’ in your midst. Innovating – doing something different that creates value – is hard. Innovating within a large organization can feel impossible. In my work with corporate innovators, we always start with great optimism that this time will be different, this time innovation…

  In this article, Robyn M. Bolton provides a few practical steps that can be taken to help build and improve innovation in the workplace.  According to a 2018 survey by NPR and The Marist Poll, the most common New Year’s resolution is to exercise more.  Not surprisingly, losing weight and eating a more healthy diet ranked third and further, respectively (“stop smoking” was #2, in case you’re curious). Hitting the gym to drop weight and build muscle is a…

  Robyn M. Bolton makes a poignant observation on the popular approach to innovation and provides a few tips on how to punch out of the proverbial box.  The definition of insanity is repeating the same actions over and over again and expecting different results.” This quote, often (wrongly) attributed to Albert Einstein, is a perfect description of what has been occurring in corporate innovation for the last 20+ years. In 1997, The Innovator’s Dilemma, put fear in the hearts…

  In this article, Robyn M. Bolton illuminates how our personal bias comes into play with the co-creator syndrome and how it can affect innovation.    When I was a senior in college, I took a pottery class.  One of our assignments, before learning to throw on the wheel, was to create a functional piece using slabs of clay.  I designed an Alice in Wonderland-inspired vase and built something that somewhat resembled the design. Obviously impressed by my innate talent, the…