The Innovation Code
The Creative Power of Constructive Conflict

Harmony is sublime in music but deadly to innovation. The only way to create new, hybrid solutions is to clash. Innovation happens when we bring people with contrasting perspectives and complementary areas of expertise together in one room. We innovate best with people who challenge us, not people who agree with us.

It sounds like a recipe for chaos and confusion. But in The Innovation Code, Jeff DeGraff, dubbed the “Dean of Innovation,” and Staney DeGraff introduce a simple framework to explain the ways different kinds of thinkers and leaders can create constructive conflict in any organization. This positive tension produces ingenious solutions that go far beyond “the best of both worlds.”

Drawing on their work with nearly half of the Fortune 500 companies, the DeGraffs help you harness the creative energy that arises from opposing viewpoints. They identify four contrasting styles of innovator—the Artist, the Engineer, the Athlete, and the Sage—and include exercises and assessments for building, managing, and embracing the dynamic discord of a team that contains all four. You can also figure out where you fit on the continuum of innovator archetypes.

Using vivid examples, The Innovation Code offers four steps to normalize conflict and channel it to develop something completely new. By following these simple steps, you will get breakthrough innovations that are both good for you and your customers. This is a rigorous but highly accessible guide for achieving breakthrough solutions by utilizing the full—and seemingly contradictory—spectrum of innovative thinking.

This companion game to The Innovation Code brings leadership training to life in a new way. Get your leaders and employees up and moving, discovering their strengths and passions in an interactive, fully immersive game.The Competing Values Card Deck is a great, immersive experience for organizations. The card deck helps teams sort themselves into the quadrants of the Innovation Code model and then uses the included and ancillary materials so participants can learn more about their teams. Armed with this knowledge, teams will be able to leverage the concepts of competition and collaboration in their organizations. Get ready to get a whole room of people up, moving around, and talking to each other without resorting to questions about everyone's favorite ice cream flavor.

This classic bestseller by Kevin Cashman pioneered a holistic approach to leadership development: grow the whole person to grow the whole leader. The third edition turns leadership development inside out for a new generation of authentic, purpose-inspired leaders.
This classic bestseller by Kevin Cashman pioneered a holistic approach to leadership development: grow the whole person to grow the whole leader. The third edition turns leadership development inside out for a new generation of authentic, purpose-inspired leaders.


This book was the first to reveal and build on a foundational insight: we lead by virtue of who we are. Cashman's trademark whole-person approach is essential to success in today's talent-starved marketplace and provides a measurable return on investment. Framed in seven simple yet profound personal mastery areas, this book serves as an integrated coaching experience that helps leaders understand how to harness their authentic, value-creating influence and elevate their impact as individuals, in teams, and in organizations.

The third edition contains updated content in the first three chapters-Personal Mastery, Purpose Mastery, and Interpersonal Mastery (the most foundational chapters in the book)-and includes a new chapter, Story Mastery: Leading with Inspiration. This chapter deepens comprehension of authenticity, provides a more significant sense of meaning and purpose, and inspires more profound interpersonal connection. For everyone from CEOs to emerging leaders, this long-awaited third edition advances the art and science of leadership, which makes the book even more relevant today than when it was first published.

Own Your Story


Sometimes you get only one chance. A good introduction can create connections and open doors. A bad one can make conversation fizzle and opportunities fade. What you need is a story that tells who you are—authentically, compellingly, and concisely—and can be adapted to fit any situation. Created for dynamic beings constantly redefining themselves, their work, and the world around them, Tell Me About Yourself pairs interviews and case studies with a simple, scalable framework, helping you craft and deliver comprehensive, compelling, and generally kick-ass introductions and personal stories for yourself, your team, or your company. In an ever-changing innovation economy and a climate that demands we put our best foot forward to create change, there's no better time to learn how to articulate your usefulness to the world. 

No More Hate! All Are Welcome!


“Stigma” is a simple two-syllable word, yet it carries the weight of negative and often unfair beliefs that we hold about those who are different from us. Stigmas lock people into stereotyped boxes and deny us all the right to be our authentic and whole selves. Dr. Pernessa Seele, a longtime public health activist who started one of the first AIDS education programs in the 1980s, has crafted a proven method to address stigma. This powerful book confronts stereotype development, shows how to undo the processes and effects of stigma, and explains how we can radically change cultural thinking on the individual, interpersonal, and societal levels to put an end to stigmatization once and for all.

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. The four dominant world views are Artist, Athlete, Engineer, and Sage. They will also show four leadership dimensions of Orientation, Flexibility, Momentum, and Magnitude within the four dominant world views. The graphic results will show the the four approaches at the individual and the organizational levels.

PRODUCT INFORMATION

Format: Online Subscription

Price: $9.95 for one-year subscription, or five tests, whichever comes first

Description: This instrument consists of 24 question, 12 pertaining to the individual and 12 pertaining to the organization. For each section, consider the answer choices for each question and rank them in order of their relevancy. The assessment will produce a graphic of your results and interpretation from the coauthors. You can take the test up to five times within a 12-month period and compare your results.

Coauthors' Welcome

Harmony is sublime in music, but it’s deadly to innovation. The only way to create new hybrid solutions is to clash. Innovation occurs when people with contrasting perspectives and complementary areas of expertise are in one room. We innovate best with people who challenge us, not people who agree.

The best innovation teams are like bands of superheroes: members recognize their individual gifts and talents, but they don’t let those superpowers limit them. They know when to rely on their own skills and when their partners should take over.

Before you can create your own team of superheroes, you need to understand your strengths and weaknesses.

Have your colleagues or friends take this assessment too. Then create space and time to discuss each other’s results openly and honestly. The trick is not to hide your weaknesses, but to surround yourself with people who are strong where you are weak.