Let’s Create New Knowledge
Dr. Roger Firestien’s Blog, Innovation Espresso ®
and Additional Creative Resources
The Latest:

Suspended from School for Two Months: Let’s redefine this problem
She had never been in a fight before. But as a result of her fighting, a fifteen-year-old we’ll call Crystal, managed to get herself suspended from school. And not just suspended for a week. Crystal’s suspension was for two months. Enter Kelly Heinze, an eighth-grade...
Suspended from School for Two Months: Let’s redefine this problem
She had never been in a fight before. But as a result of her fighting, a fifteen-year-old we’ll call Crystal, managed to get herself suspended from school. And not just suspended for a week. Crystal’s suspension was for two months. Enter Kelly Heinze, an eighth-grade...
Innovation Resources
More Innovation Espresso ®
Would you be willing to spend $1.50 to save $200,000 a month?
Would you be willing to spend $1.50 to save $200,000 a month? Have I got a deal for you. Read on. No, this isn’t a gimmick. It’s real, it works.
When Mirrors and Elevators Got Married
What problems are staring you right in the face? Did you ever notice that mirrors and elevators usually show up together? I can’t think of a hotel that I have stayed in that didn’t have a mirror near the elevator. Do you know why? In their book, Turning Leaning Right...
Get off your butt and do something: The secret to lifetime creativity
Want to celebrate your 88th birthday AND be incredibly creative? Then do what Ruth does.
[Event] Creating your Future – 7p – 9p Wed March 27 at St. Joseph’s University Parish
Join Dr. Roger Firestien at St. Joseph University Parish on Wednesday, March 27th at 7pm for a free session on Creating Your Future. The difference between the winners and the “also ran” are the visions and powerful images they create about their future. This is true...
A Hippo, A Lightbulb or One Hundred Dollars
The results are in! Thanks to all of you who entered the contest to choose a tagline for my upcoming book. But, wait! There’s more!
Find out how to get a hippo out of a bathtub.
My new book, Create in a Flash has four tag line possibilities. I need your help deciding which one to use. Enter, the Competition.
Drive a tractor. Get creative.
Can cows help you to become more creative? Read on to see how driving a tractor, or herding cattle can increase your creative productivity.
Have a Taste Before You Light Up
Want to sell your new idea? Give your customers a taste first. Lighting designer Philip Colarusso, owner of Luminated Landscapes, lights houses and landscapes. Phil has turned night landscapes into works of art throughout Western New York since 1989. He lit my friends...
Innovation in Fort Collins, CO
I was honored to deliver an Innovation Work Session at the Fort Collins, Colorado All Managers Meeting on October 4. Two hundred fifty leaders in Fort Collins government generated thousands of ideas to help the city maintain and sustain its innovative edge.
Don’t Get Fat. Hire A Facilitator.
Health and fitness trainers are a lot like Creative Problem Solving facilitators. Can you run effective Creative Problem Solving sessions consistently without someone managing the process and keeping the group on track? My experience is, no.
Video: Innovation in Business with Erik Eustice
You have the answer, but you don’t know how to access the answer. You need to bring someone in from the outside who has a proven track record of solving these kinds of problems.
Innovation in the Church with Father Jack Ledwon hosted by Dr. Roger Firestien
Meet Father Jack Ledwon, Pastor at St. Joseph University Parish in Buffalo New York. Several years ago, my graduate students and I worked with St. Joseph University Parish to help them craft a vision for their future. We worked with the Parish leadership team and then conducted a series of town hall meetings with members of the congregation.
Talk to your dog if you want to get creative
by Ashley Cournyea I spend a lot of time talking to my bulldog, Tucker. Whether he understands me is not important, but how he responds is. If am brainstorming for a personal challenge, I tell Tucker everything I come up with. Guess what he does? He defers judgment....
Want to get new ideas? Set a quota.
How many ideas do you need to get a good one? Do you have to come up with hundreds of ideas to get a breakthrough? It all depends on the kinds of ideas you want. If you want to find ways to improve the way you are currently doing business, you will need fewer...
Video: Innovation in Agriculture with SK Herefords hosted by Dr. Roger Firestien
Creativity is desperately needed in agriculture. There’s too much of this of the wine cellar mentality always whining about complaining about too hot too cold out. No no no no. Stop the complaining. Let’s focus on solutions. Let’s be creative. That’s what makes things work. So, it could be used on every farm in this country.
Mastering the Inside Moves of Creative Problem Solving Facilitation at CPSI 2018
Dr. Roger Firestien will be leading a one-day program on June 19 at the 2018 Creative Problem Solving Institute (CPSI). The program, Mastering the Inside Moves of Creative Problem Solving Facilitation is for anyone who wants to improve their ability to facilitate the Creative Problem Solving Process.
Keynote at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus Research Discovery Day
Dr. Roger Firestien will be delivering the keynote address at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus Research Discovery Day on May 3 in the Jacobs Research Institute on the BNMC Campus.
Proof Creativity Training Works: More Fun and More Productive
While pursuing my doctorate, I became very interested in the effects of Creative Problem Solving training on the communication behaviors that occur in small groups. In organizations, it is in the small group where new ideas are born and, in many cases, where new ideas die.
Innovation In Medicine with Dr. Robert Gatewood
Meet Dr. Robert Gatewood. Robert is board certified in Cardiovascular Diseases and Internal Medicine, a Clinical Associate Professor at the University at Buffalo; author of more than 50 presentations and co-author of two books. Dr. Gatewood took one of my Creativity courses at the Center for Applied Imagination at SUNY Buffalo State.
Innovation in Educational Administration with Susan Whittaker hosted by Dr. Roger Firestien
Meet Dr. Susan Whittaker principle of the Summit Academy in Getzville, New York. I conducted a Creative Problem Solving workshop with all 300 staff members of the Summit Academy. This session lead to a year- long project that was designed to infuse Creative Problem Solving methods into the academy.
Innovation in Economic Development with Jane Fischer hosted by Dr. Roger Firestien
Meet Jane Fischer. Jane is Chair of the Local Economic Development Initiative of the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation in Dunkirk, New York. Jane hired me to lead a Creative Problem Solving workshop with about 100 members of the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation Local Economic Development Initiative at their annual summit.
Video: Innovation in Education with Mary Bennett hosted by Dr. Roger Firestien
Meet Mary Bennett unit director of the Summit Academy in Amherst, New York. Mary took one of my Creativity courses at the Center for Applied Imagination at SUNY Buffalo state and was then instrumental in bringing me into the school to infuse Creative Problem Solving methods into the organization.
Never Run Out of Ideas with Dr. Roger Firestien from Disrupt HR
Creativity isn’t some mysterious ability that only a few people possess. Creativity is a skill. Just like you learned to ride a bicycle, you can learn how to be creative. You can turn on your creativity at will instead of waiting for ideas to happen.
The Evolution of the Creative Problem Solving (CPS) Process
Dr. Roger Firestien, Senior Faculty Member at the Center for Applied Imagination at SUNY Buffalo State speech at the Creativity Expert Exchange, October 2017. I fell in love with creativity in 1977.
Want to get creative? Then practice.
Great sport teams practice. Great symphony orchestras practice. Fire departments practice. They practice so that when they must perform at peak effectiveness under extremely stressful conditions, they can execute extremely well.