“Carla shares practical tools, models, and facilitation exercises to apply innovation as a discipline.”
Do You Sign Your Work?
This summer I took a couple of pottery classes. The first time since I had 9 weeks of it in art class in high school a few decades ago. I'm always up for something new and it started as a date-night idea from my husband. But it didn't take long...
How Surreal Cereal Turned Constraints into Growth
If you've perused the cereal aisle lately, you've noticed there's a lot of choices. A LOT. Almost 5,000 to be exact. How does a newcomer like Surreal make a dent in a cereal universe that size? Ideally with celebrity endorsements. At least,...
Stop Waiting to Feel Inspired
Stephen King sits down every day and writes 2,000 words. He doesn’t wait for a brilliant opening line, a flash of genius, or the perfect blend of caffeine and emotional stability. He sits down, starts writing, and keeps going until he hits the...
Why Busyness is the Biggest Innovation Blocker
I'm sitting in my office chair, staring into the camera, and whispering under my breath trying to divert the disaster I can see unfolding before me. One of my clients asked me to join a leadership team meeting and share my thoughts on a...
Why Successful Companies Stop Innovating
Imagine spending years creating something that changes your career. Or even the direction of your company. People love it. Critics praise it. Customers can't get enough of it. Your confidence spikes because you've finally found the formula. The...
The Hidden Grind Behind Every Big Win and Breakthrough
Three finish lines crossed this month (so far), and the world's watching all of them.The Knicks won the NBA title, their first in 53 years. In Barcelona, the Sagrada Família basilica is complete a mere 144 years after the mason laid the first...
The Innovation Debt Crisis: Why Playing It Safe Is Costs More Than You Think
I was in a workshop a few months ago when a senior leader raised his hand with the confidence of someone who'd already decided what he thought. "We do innovation," he said. "We have a whole team for it." The room nodded. A few people smiled the...
Why Laughter is Your Brain’s Best Creative Tool
In every brainstorm I've been in, there's a point when the room quits posturing and people finally loosen up. Maybe someone unbuttons their collared shirt. Or somebody kicks off their shoes. Sits criss-cross-applesauce on the floor and...
How Cross-Industry Insights Drive Innovation
There's something about watching a world record get broken that makes you feel a little itchy, Carla.Not just because it’s faster, bigger, or better than anything that's been done before. But because it feel like you've been settling for...
2026 World Creativity & Innovation Day
HKS Architects designed a skyscraper that's actually a sky cleaner. Liquid Death turned water into a cult brand. Meadow reimagined the supply chain by repurposing the aluminum beverage can. Paper company Avery Dennison is reducing food waste....
AI Adoption is an Organizational Design Problem. Most CEOs Treat it Like a Culture Problem.
The gap in most AI transformation efforts isn't employee resistance It's the lack of a companywide strategy that tells people what to do, in their specific role, with this specific technology. When PwC's US CEO Paul Griggs announced that any...
Why Your Team Keeps Thinking Small (And the Curiosity Fix That Sends Ideas to Space)
When was the last time your boss told you to think big, and you actually did? Nearly everyone has been in that room. The one where the CEO sets up cross-functional teams, brings in a facilitator, and challenges the organization to completely...