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Melissa Dinwiddie

Empower your team to innovate on demand. I help tech leaders Create the Impossible™ through playful, interactive keynotes, workshops, & retreats. Unlock breakthrough creativity today 💥

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The metrics that truly matter for innovation success (they're not what you

Click to watch (13:10) or scroll down to read on… Hey there, innovation champions! I recently found myself reflecting on a challenge I see across the tech world: we're trying to measure 21st-century innovation with 20th-century metrics. Innovation leaders often face the same frustrating question: "But how is this impacting our bottom line?" It's a fair question, but traditional financial metrics like ROI, revenue growth, and cost savings tell only a fraction of the innovation story. They're...
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Want to know how distributed teams can out-innovate the competition?

Click to watch (19:27) or scroll down to read on… Hey there, innovation champions! Picture this: It's December, I'm sitting in a living room with eleven other people, launching what we think will be a small local community action group. Our stretch goal? 50 members. Fast forward just three months, and we're suddenly 220+ members strong, with multiple teams, projects, and a communication stream that one member aptly described as "a firehose." Sound familiar to any startup founders out there?...
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The secret to innovating when your team is scattered across the globe

Click to watch (19:27) or scroll down to read on… Hey there, innovation champions! Picture this: It's December, I'm sitting in a living room with eleven other people, launching what we think will be a small local community action group. Our stretch goal? 50 members. Fast forward just three months, and we're suddenly 220+ members strong, with multiple teams, projects, and a communication stream that one member aptly described as "a firehose." Sound familiar to any startup founders out there?...
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The surprising secret of innovative teams (it's not what you think)

Click to watch (14:06) or scroll down to read on… Hey there, innovation champions! Have you ever wondered why some teams consistently produce breakthrough ideas while others seem stuck in a cycle of "same old, same old"? The answer might surprise you – and it's something I've been experiencing firsthand in a completely unexpected arena. Over the past few months, I've found myself, quite unexpectedly, at the helm of what feels like a startup. What began as a local community action group with...
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The untapped innovation superpower hiding in your organization

Click to watch (13:08) or scroll down to read on… Hey there, innovation champions! Have you ever wondered why some teams seem to innovate so differently than others? I've recently had a fascinating experience that shed light on this question in a way I never expected. Back in December, I facilitated the kickoff meeting for a grassroots democracy group in my area. What started with a dozen people sitting around a living room quickly grew to more than 10x that number in just over two months....
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The surprising reason your innovations are failing

Click to watch (09:55) or scroll down to read on… Hey there, innovation champions! Ever notice how a four-year-old will fearlessly create masterpieces with finger paint, while highly skilled professionals often freeze when asked to innovate? The difference isn't talent or resources – it's pressure. Let me share a story that transformed how I think about innovation and pressure. For 15 years, I lived what many would consider the dream – making my living as a professional artist. But there was...
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The hidden killer of innovation (it's not what you think)

Click to watch (09:43) or scroll down to read on… Hey there, innovation champions! During the depths of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, California suffered from some of the worst fires in history. We were all on lockdown, stuck inside our homes, while ash rained down from skies that looked like they came straight out of a trailer for Bladerunner. It was at that moment that my husband and I decided to invest in some air purifiers. After extensive research, we bit the bullet and forked out a...
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The hidden killer of innovation (it's not what you think)

Click to watch (11:32) or scroll down to read on… Hey there, innovation champions! When I tell you that my most powerful lesson about innovation came from organizing a grassroots movement, you might wonder what that has to do with tech leadership. But stick with me – this story could transform how you think about team connection and breakthrough innovation. Back in December, I gathered twelve people in a living room to tackle what seemed like an impossible challenge. We weren't developing...
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Why your AI assistant should be your improv partner (not your servant)

Click to watch (08:56) or scroll down to read on… Hey there, innovation champions! Let me tell you about a surprising discovery I made about AI – one that completely transformed how I approach leadership and innovation. Unlike many of my colleagues who dove into AI tools the moment they appeared, I was hesitant. After all, I help companies unlock human creativity and innovation. Wouldn't AI just get in the way? But when I finally decided to explore AI, I noticed something fascinating. The...
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