Carla Johnson- Rethink Innovation

Host Jeremy C. Park talks with Carla Johnson, keynote speaker, bestselling author, and Innovation Architect, who discusses her background, highlights her book, "Re:Think Innovation," and shares insights on innovation and observation. She explains her approach to innovation, including the Wheel of Innovation process and the importance of curiosity and challenging the status quo. Carla shares examples of innovative problem-solving, such as reducing cigarette litter in London, and emphasizes the significance of preparation for effective ideation and pitching in her keynote speaking work.

Rethinking Innovation Through Design Thinking
Carla discusses her background in architecture and marketing, emphasizing her design-thinking approach to creating purpose-driven organizations. She defines innovation as the ability to consistently produce new, great, and reliable ideas, highlighting examples like McDonald's drive-through experience. Carla explains that innovative thinking involves connecting dots, curiosity, and a willingness to challenge the status quo. She introduces her book "Re:Think Innovation," which outlines a five-step process called the Wheel of Innovation to help individuals develop creative ideas and achieve extraordinary outcomes.

Competitive Litter Campaign Inspires Change
Carla shares the story of Treewin Restorick, who founded the nonprofit Hubbub to make people environmentalists, even unintentionally. The City of London contacted him about their problem of spending over a million pounds annually on cleaning cigarette butts. Treewin observed that typical anti-litter campaigns either shamed people or made them feel obligated to donate, so he decided to inspire behavior change through competition. He created yellow boxes in London featuring Ronaldo and Messi, encouraging people to vote with their cigarette butts by placing them in the appropriate side of the box.

Curiosity Drives Global Environmental Change
Carla shares that experience of using curiosity and observation to inspire environmental change, reducing cigarette litter by 73% in London and repeating similar successes in 37 countries. She explains her keynote speaking work, which covers innovation, curiosity, and the intersection of AI with human creativity, emphasizing that great ideas require preparation and effective pitching. Carla concluded by promoting her website carlajohnson.co, where listeners can take an innovation archetype assessment and sign up for her bi-weekly newsletter focused on creativity and curiosity.

Visit https://www.carlajohnson.co to learn more and connect with Carla Johnson.