AI promised to revolutionize the workplace, streamline our processes, and reduce our workloads. But has it?

Many would say no.

Agile has revolutionized the way teams collaborate and innovate, but it has also suffered heavy criticism. Going as far as calling it cult-like, opponents say Agile can stifle creativity and motivation. We believe Agile is a mindset rather than a process, and it needs the support of other frameworks to be effective.

When I first starting leading design thinking workshops over a decade ago, I learned a lot about how to bring groups together to co-create.

A decade later, I believe democratizing the design thinking process isn’t just an abstract goal to work on; it’s a necessity. When we open the doors to more people, we get more perspectives faster, break down hierarchies and foster creativity. Getting ideas from everywhere makes solutions more reflective of the diverse world we live in.

Looking back, I’ve seen so many examples of what not to do in the workplace, and it has made me want to create better environments. It also makes the business more successful. I frequently reference a study from MIT that found groups with high collective intelligence performed much better at things like problem-solving, decision-making and innovation. When everyone feels heard and valued, they are much more likely to take creative risks and innovate.

The Navigator Collective’s resident behavioral psychologist Joshua Haddock, LMFT, opens up about self-doubt, impostor syndrome, and using Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) to see the bright side.

In this piece, Paul Sears, Founder & CEO of The Navigator Collective interviews Sarah Harrison, MBA, Founder & Principal Consultant of Order of Operations, LLC. Sarah is an experienced operations professional and author of "Streamlining Success: Avoiding Common Pitfalls in Operations Management." Sarah shares her insights on leveraging AI to enhance business operations, informed by her extensive career in operations.

Our Founder & CEO, Paul Sears, recently had the pleasure of joining the Gloria Bailey Ray Show, to chat about The Navigator Collective’s viewpoints on AI in culture. Gloria and Paul discussed and debunked common misconceptions about AI, tackled the critical issue of bias in AI algorithms, and envisioned a world where great ideas can come from everywhere, regardless of an individual’s background or training.

I continue to read pieces about ageism, particularly in creative industries. And many fear AI is a culprit. But as a power user and AI trainer—I know full-well that AI is nowhere near replacing human creativity

But what it can do is partner with humans to dramatically enhance creativity, and unlock it from all corners. We just need a radical re-think about how that’s supposed to happen.

I’m a huge sci-fi geek. Especially dark, dystopian stories. Movies like The Terminator, The Matrix, Blade Runner, I Robot, Ex Machina - I love them all. But when it comes to really thinking about AI and its impact on society, I’m 10,000x more optimistic than my taste in movies would suggest.

Today at The Navigator Collective, we’re excited to launch our new identity!

We’ve been working with a brilliant design team for the past few weeks to bring this new look to life. As soon as we saw the first iterations, we loved the vibrant color, the approachable hand-drawn shapes, and the powerful storytelling.

In today’s blazing-fast marketplace, companies are hitting a wall when it comes to innovation. The pace of play is only accelerating, and financial markets are raising the stakes to get it right, fast. The traditional model of relying on a small group of professionally-trained creatives and innovators is starting to show its age. How can new AI-enabled approaches flood the R&D pipeline with great thinking?

Creativity isn't just for the creatives; it’s a skill that lives in all of us. Unfortunately, what we’ve learned from others—and even our own inner talk track—can dim the spark. But there’s a fix: cognitive restructuring, a psychological technique that helps us change our thought patterns and let our creativity shine. Here are 5 key steps:

Brainstorming should be a fertile ground for limitless creativity and rapid innovation, but sadly not all brainstorms achieve this goal. All too often, the format of the session itself can inadvertently stifle participation, favor certain personality styles over others, and yield uninspired ideas. Here are five types of brainstorms that fall short of their potential, typically resulting in a smaller number of underwhelming ideas.

Innovation flourishes in diverse environments where individuals feel empowered to share their ideas freely. Unfortunately, too often in group ideation settings, introverted, analytical and neurodivergent individuals feel overshadowed by their extroverted and expressive peers. Cultural differences often come into play as well, making some participants less comfortable publicly taking creative risks than others. Discover how to apply Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) to help create accelerate innovation.