Blog - Melissa Dinwiddie | Create the Impossible™ | Innovation Keynote Speaker & Consultant -

The Crappy First Draft Showcase

Hey there, innovation champions! I want to tell you how I actually want you to use my new book. But first, a confession. A Canvas That Sat in Plastic Wrap for Years Back when I was making my living as a professional artist, I spent close to a decade almost never making art for myself. I was trapped […]

This Book Is an Experiment. And That’s Exactly the Point.

Hey there, innovation champions! Here’s the thing nobody tells you about innovation initiatives: most of them don’t fail because the idea was bad. They fail because everyone expected them to be perfect before they started. Sound familiar? I’ve been inside enough tech teams (heck, teams in general!) to know that this is one of the quietest innovation killers […]

When Creativity Feels Impossible (And Why We Do It Anyway)

Hey there, innovation champions! These are trying times. I wrote the other day on LinkedIn about the cognitive dissonance of logging in to talk about business-as-usual while communities are being terrorized and traumatized by an armed force of untrained, violent men, and citizens are being executed in the streets while exercising their Constitutional rights. Writing this newsletter feels […]

The Innovation Cycle No One Talks about

Hey there, innovation champions! Most leaders can tell you when innovation has stalled. What they struggle to see is when it’s about to stall—when the very systems that created breakthrough thinking have quietly calcified into comfortable routines that feel productive but have stopped producing anything new. I discovered this pattern not in a boardroom, but in my […]

The Most Expensive Innovation Problem Nobody Talks About

Hey there, innovation champions! Most innovation efforts don’t fail because teams lack ideas. They fail because smart, capable people are waiting for permission to be perfect—and by the time they feel ready, the moment has passed. I’ve watched this pattern stall product launches, kill momentum after conferences, and quietly drain the energy out of teams that leaders genuinely […]

Why Your Q1 Innovation Initiative Will Fail by February (And the 52-Week Alternative That Actually Sticks)

Hey there, innovation champions! Before I head to Alabama and Arizona to spend the holidays with family, I wanted to share something that could save your Q1 innovation initiative before it even launches. Because here’s the pattern I see every single year: In January, leaders roll out ambitious innovation programs. By February, they’ve quietly fizzled out. By March, […]

The 15-Minute Meeting Opener That Unlocks Creative Problem-Solving

Hey there, innovation champions! Your smartest people are sitting on half-brilliant ideas. They’re waiting to make them bulletproof before sharing. Meanwhile, your competitors are testing rough prototypes and learning what actually works. I see this constantly when I work with high-achieving teams—researchers at Meta, leadership teams at healthcare companies, high-potentials at national creative agencies, audiences at my Creating […]

The 90-Minute Innovation Framework

Hey there, innovation champions! “We need to innovate, but we can’t pull people away from their desks.” If you’re a VP of L&D, a chapter president planning your annual conference, or a research director managing tight project timelines, you’ve said some version of this. Your team needs breakthrough thinking capabilities, but you can’t pause operations for elaborate training […]

Why Technical Teams Innovate Better Than “Creative Types” (When Given the Right Framework)

Hey there, innovation champions! The CEO of PMI San Francisco Bay Area had a problem. Her members—project managers who pride themselves on precision, process, and predictability—were facing an uncertain future with AI. Would AI take their jobs? How could they position themselves as strategic partners rather than task executors? And most pressingly: how do you prepare people for […]

The Hidden Cost of Innovation Theater (And How to Spot It)

Hey there, innovation champions! Here’s irony for you: there were years when I was making my living as a professional artist, when I made very little art. Oh, I sold a lot of art, but most of it was prints of art I’d created in previous years. I spent most of my time fulfilling orders, customizing designs on […]

From Juilliard to Google: Why Arts Training Creates Better Tech Leaders

Hey there, innovation champions! When I tell tech executives I’m a former Juilliard-trained dancer turned innovation strategist, I can practically see the mental math happening. They’re wondering: Does creativity have an ROI? Can someone from the arts really understand our technical constraints? Where are the case studies proving this works in our world? Here’s what they’re missing while […]

How to Build Innovation Capability in 90 Days (Without Disrupting Operations)

Hey there, innovation champions! “We need to become more innovative—but we can’t afford to disrupt operations.” I hear this tension from leaders constantly. They know their teams need innovation capability, but they can’t shut down production for culture transformation. Here’s the good news: You don’t have to choose between innovation and operations. Based on what I’ve learned from […]

Why Innovation Training Doesn’t Stick (And What Actually Does)

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT FOR EARLY SUPPORTERS Want to read Innovation at Work before it launches? I’m looking for a small group of innovation champions to join my book launch team. You’ll get: ✨ Early access to the complete book (November 24-25) 📖 Exclusive bonus materials not available anywhere else 🎯 First look at all 52 micro-experiments before the world […]

The Project Manager’s Secret: How Analytical Minds Master Innovation (Better Than “Creative Types”)

Quick note: No video this week, as I’m head-down working on my second book, Innovation at Work. I’ve cleared my calendar to devote every spare minute to book production, which meant making some hard choices! Watch for videos to return in a few weeks. In the meantime, enjoy this week’s article! Hey there, innovation champions! I need to […]

Innovation Insights: Where Play Powers Breakthroughs

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