Melissa Dinwiddie

Click to watch (10:27) or scroll down to read on… Hey there, innovation champions! Imagine you're in a room full of brilliant minds—data scientists, researchers, managers—all buzzing with groundbreaking ideas. The energy is electric. Innovation seems inevitable. But then... nothing happens. Sound familiar? Today we're diving into one of the biggest innovation killers I see in tech teams: when brilliant ideas get lost in translation. The Falcon That Never Landed Let me start with one of my...

Click to watch (10:27) or scroll down to read on… Hey there, innovation champions! When I was a kid, much as I dreaded the end of summer freedom, I confess I loved the fresh start feeling of "back to school." New binder, new backpack, new pencils and erasers. With the unknown territory of a new teacher and classroom, it was almost as if I could walk into school as a new me! Who doesn't love that feeling? A reboot. A refresh. Like clearing cache or rebooting your computer to see things with...

Click to watch (14:44) or scroll down to read on… Hey there, innovation champions! This past week, I had the incredible opportunity to step inside what might be the most effective innovation lab I've ever witnessed. No, I wasn't at Google's X Lab or Meta's Reality Labs. I wasn't surrounded by cutting-edge technology or million-dollar prototypes. I was sitting in a theater. Specifically, I was at Theatreworks' New Works Festival here in Silicon Valley—an annual showcase where playwrights test...

Click to watch (12:08) or scroll down to read on… Hey there, innovation champions! Have you ever noticed how some of your best ideas come when you're under pressure? Today I want to share a story that completely changed how I think about deadlines and creativity—and how you can harness the power of the pressure cooker to fuel innovation in your tech teams. The Ten-Minute Song Challenge The last time I went to music camp, I took a songwriting class. At one point, the instructor gave us a...

Click to watch (13:42) or scroll down to read on… Hey there, innovation champions! Did you know I’m a singer-songwriter? However, for years, I didn't write a single new song. Not one. Now, I’ve never been the most prolific—or speedy— of songwriters, but still, this creative drought felt... well, let's just say it wasn't great for the ego. But every time I sat down to try, I'd think about all the reasons it wasn't worth the effort. Then AI came along, and that little voice in my head got...

💡 Big Idea This Week: I’m Writing a Book! (And You Can Help Name It) Yep, it’s happening—book #2 is in the works. This one’s for team leaders who want to spark bold ideas without waiting for a reorg or a miracle. It’s a playful, low-stakes collection of micro-experiments—one for each week of the year—to help teams get unstuck, collaborate better, and actually enjoy the creative process. And I need your help. I’m testing a few possible titles and running a poll on LinkedIn. Will you help me...

Click to watch (18:41) or scroll down to read on… Hey there, innovation champions! Back when I was a professional artist, I used to meet once a month with a group of about a dozen fellow calligraphers. Some were professionals, like myself, others pursued calligraphy as an avocation. Sara, the one who invited me to the group, had been my second-ever calligraphy teacher. And she was not only a professional, she was wildly prolific. We had a bit of a joke in the group that Sara made 3 pieces...

Click to watch (14:20) or scroll down to read on… Hey there, innovation champions! I'm about to tell you a story about a poster I created in April 2016, but here's the thing — I almost didn't share this story because I wanted it to fit perfectly with summer momentum. I kept thinking, "But it wasn't summer! How can I make this work for a mid-summer newsletter?" And that's exactly the kind of perfectionist thinking that keeps us stuck. So here I am, modeling my own principles in real-time....

Click to watch (13:31) or scroll down to read on… Hey there, innovation champions! Back when I was a professional artist, after years of making art for clients, I knew I needed to get back to making art just for the joy of it. And I knew the path to get there was play. But here's the thing—I'd completely forgotten how to play. Sound familiar? If you're like most of the brilliant tech minds I work with, you probably haven't thought about play as a business strategy. But stick with me, because...