What do you think?
Rate this book
Reframe: Shift the Way You Think, Work, and Innovate
WHAT IF WE COULD AFFECT PROFOUND, POSITIVE CHANGE BY CREATING MORE INNOVATIVE COMPANIES?
Too many people feel stuck at work.
They have ideas that could really disrupt the market and help their companies create beautiful, innovative, game-changing products and services, but a host of reasons hold them back. This book dives into those reasons, and offers a technique to help people unlock their creativity and generate brilliant ideas. It’s a philosophy, methodology and technique used successfully for years with Fortune 500 clients, and it’s the driving force behind the incredible growth of Motivate Design, a leading user experience design agency. In Reframe, the CEO, Mona Patel, shares her recipe for the first time, along with the compelling story of how she got there, on how to spark innovation and creativity anywhere, anytime.
Those who are disappointed by the stagnation that plagues companies trying to be innovative will find fun and highly effective ways to remove mental, cultural, and organizational barriers and bring out (and condition) each employee’s creative muscle. The goal of Reframe is to help you see the difference between facts and beliefs, impossible and possible, and problems and opportunities. The shift in how you see things changes everything.
Case studies, advice from years of strategic design and innovation consulting, and a how-to guide for a unique creative framework called “The What If Technique” provide convincing evidence that your organization’s next big idea is around the corner. This book will help you conquer roadblocks, identify opportunities and generate brilliant ideas.
Too many people feel stuck at work.
They have ideas that could really disrupt the market and help their companies create beautiful, innovative, game-changing products and services, but a host of reasons hold them back. This book dives into those reasons, and offers a technique to help people unlock their creativity and generate brilliant ideas. It’s a philosophy, methodology and technique used successfully for years with Fortune 500 clients, and it’s the driving force behind the incredible growth of Motivate Design, a leading user experience design agency. In Reframe, the CEO, Mona Patel, shares her recipe for the first time, along with the compelling story of how she got there, on how to spark innovation and creativity anywhere, anytime.
Those who are disappointed by the stagnation that plagues companies trying to be innovative will find fun and highly effective ways to remove mental, cultural, and organizational barriers and bring out (and condition) each employee’s creative muscle. The goal of Reframe is to help you see the difference between facts and beliefs, impossible and possible, and problems and opportunities. The shift in how you see things changes everything.
Case studies, advice from years of strategic design and innovation consulting, and a how-to guide for a unique creative framework called “The What If Technique” provide convincing evidence that your organization’s next big idea is around the corner. This book will help you conquer roadblocks, identify opportunities and generate brilliant ideas.
181 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 28, 2015
66 people are currently reading
166 people want to read
About the author
Mona Patel
10 books3 followersMona combines over 15 years of experience, sharp design thinking, tough love wisdom, and a little bit of magic design glitter to help people and organizations achieve crazy, great success. Her client list has included many Fortune 500 and 1000 companies, including Coca-Cola, Chick-fil-A, BlackRock, Capital One, and Lexis Nexis. Whether it’s understanding how people bank via mobile phones, why they purchase baby bedding, or how they really want to hail a taxi, she helps people find creative ways to solve problems and design a better world through innovative user research and disruptive design thinking.
Mona is the author of Reframe: Shift the Way You Think, Work and Innovate (2015) and creator of the What If Technique™ and its associated Studios -- creative teaching and design thinking workshops, co-developed with her Motivate Design team, for anyone looking to better their creative mentality and reframe problems as opportunities. She is an instructor at Parsons The New School for Design and is an accomplished speaker and author on topics related to user-centered design, user experience strategies, design thinking, usability, lean startups, and more. Her writings are featured on Forbes, Fast Company, The Huffington Post Blog, and Time.
Mona is the author of Reframe: Shift the Way You Think, Work and Innovate (2015) and creator of the What If Technique™ and its associated Studios -- creative teaching and design thinking workshops, co-developed with her Motivate Design team, for anyone looking to better their creative mentality and reframe problems as opportunities. She is an instructor at Parsons The New School for Design and is an accomplished speaker and author on topics related to user-centered design, user experience strategies, design thinking, usability, lean startups, and more. Her writings are featured on Forbes, Fast Company, The Huffington Post Blog, and Time.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 28, 2015
Read this book...yesterday!
I was immediately impressed with the smart, witty pros of this book, but quickly found myself relating to the BS personas, walking through the WIT Studio and checking off all of the ways I could re-ignite my own creativity and inspire those around me. What stuck with me the most was the "don't be afraid to be an idiot", which in practical application, is really just the opposite! Consider the insights of those around you...but ultimately decide to stop caring about those holding you back (naysayers), and execute on your idea! You can't afford the alternative.
This book was relatable on many levels--both professionally and personally. I couldn't put it down!
I was immediately impressed with the smart, witty pros of this book, but quickly found myself relating to the BS personas, walking through the WIT Studio and checking off all of the ways I could re-ignite my own creativity and inspire those around me. What stuck with me the most was the "don't be afraid to be an idiot", which in practical application, is really just the opposite! Consider the insights of those around you...but ultimately decide to stop caring about those holding you back (naysayers), and execute on your idea! You can't afford the alternative.
This book was relatable on many levels--both professionally and personally. I couldn't put it down!
October 12, 2015
What went wrong? Companies had great ideas that could possibly disrupt a market and lead them to great riches, yet something just didn’t fire in the hearts and minds of those who should have came rushing with their proverbial wallets in hand. This book looks at this frustrating sector of business life and seeks to offer a strategy to help others reframe or reboot their business ideas if necessary.
Sometimes it might be the simplest things that have sent you down the wrong path. Other times it might just be the wrong place at the wrong time. It can be something else too. Of course, you don’t have to have had a failed business idea (or entire business) to reap the benefits of this book. If you do, it might give it a second chance, yet selling those new-fangled fax machines is no longer an option… If you haven’t shot your bullet yet, maybe the book can act as a sanity check to help you overcome problems that you have not experienced but might. In any case, does it hurt to further stress test your assumptions and expectations?
The author believes that her strategies will help companies avoid stagnation and disappointment, allowing them to focus and “… see the difference between facts and beliefs, impossible and possible, and problems and opportunities. The shift in how you see things changes everything.” This is not a business rescue-style book in the traditional sense, yet it is more than a business refresh or business reboot guide. It is a careful mix of so many things. When you consider the price of this book and what you are getting, it can really be a no-brainer unless you are absolutely, definitely sure that you have a slam-dunk success on your hands. Even then, are you really sure? Even Apple can slightly release a less than perfect, err, Apple…
The book was quite a refreshing read and pleasantly different. The humour was questionable at times (but not in an inappropriate way – no “wardrobe malfunctions” are to be found here). The author also believes that having a company is optional; even private individuals stand to gain from her advice and counsel, noting: “…anyone who feels stuck in any area of their life and needs to reframe their mind-set to get out of that rut would benefit from the read. It doesn’t matter if your problem is big or small, life- or work-related, or in your neighbourhood or halfway around the world.”
Part of the author’s determination and focus is attributed to her Indian heritage and parental influences. Even if there is an element of humour or chiding, you can sense her passion and pride in this and no doubt parental influences had a positive part to play too. After all, her parents made her. As part of her background show-and-tell the author explains how she was always asking questions as a young child, even about possibly out-of-bounds matters such as her place of worship. Such determined questioning seems to have been a sign of things to come.
“I started by asking why there were separate entrances and seating areas for females and males. I grew up with boys in school and around the neighbourhood, and I wanted to sit with my friends. He told me that the genders had to be separated so that the women didn’t distract the men. The idea was that if they separated the genders, the men would focus on the sermons and not be ‘lured’ by the seductive women. (I believe my precocious teenage words were ‘Why can’t you just get rid of the men who can’t focus? Seems like you’re solving for the symptom, not the problem.’) I think this is where my passion for truly understanding the problem and reframing it as an opportunity came from,” wrote the author. This reviewer was also encouraged (as a child) to ask questions, which sometimes led to questions his parents probably rather wished hadn’t been uttered, especially to strangers, yet if you make the offer…
“Asking questions was my way of breaking the rules, challenging the expected, daring myself to do more, and creating a world that let me reframe problems as opportunities to come up with something cool, new, and different. Now, I never feel like I have to pick A or B. If I can’t find what I am looking for, I keep trying to find other options. I’m not thinking about the constraints; instead, I’m asking ‘What do I want? What do I need to do to get there? What’s important to me? What am I unwilling to compromise?” wrote the author, giving a good idea about how she thinks and approaches a problem.
The wise reader should be alert to the following sentence. This book is more than a “business rescue”-type thing. If you let it, it can open your mind to a lot of other elements and, if necessary, serve as a springboard to further research, as you will be inspired. User interface design, human behaviours, usability, product design and much more besides awaits you. In many ways the “business rescue” side pails into insignificance.
There is not much more to add. Looks can be deceiving and the first impression of this book was blown away. It became something much more than what one first feared and expected. It was a nice read, even for the humour, the outlook on life and the general stick-your-nose-out-type approach. It is lightweight yet powerful; an ideal thing for a commute or flight if you don’t fancy a bit of bedtime reading.
Autamme.com
Sometimes it might be the simplest things that have sent you down the wrong path. Other times it might just be the wrong place at the wrong time. It can be something else too. Of course, you don’t have to have had a failed business idea (or entire business) to reap the benefits of this book. If you do, it might give it a second chance, yet selling those new-fangled fax machines is no longer an option… If you haven’t shot your bullet yet, maybe the book can act as a sanity check to help you overcome problems that you have not experienced but might. In any case, does it hurt to further stress test your assumptions and expectations?
The author believes that her strategies will help companies avoid stagnation and disappointment, allowing them to focus and “… see the difference between facts and beliefs, impossible and possible, and problems and opportunities. The shift in how you see things changes everything.” This is not a business rescue-style book in the traditional sense, yet it is more than a business refresh or business reboot guide. It is a careful mix of so many things. When you consider the price of this book and what you are getting, it can really be a no-brainer unless you are absolutely, definitely sure that you have a slam-dunk success on your hands. Even then, are you really sure? Even Apple can slightly release a less than perfect, err, Apple…
The book was quite a refreshing read and pleasantly different. The humour was questionable at times (but not in an inappropriate way – no “wardrobe malfunctions” are to be found here). The author also believes that having a company is optional; even private individuals stand to gain from her advice and counsel, noting: “…anyone who feels stuck in any area of their life and needs to reframe their mind-set to get out of that rut would benefit from the read. It doesn’t matter if your problem is big or small, life- or work-related, or in your neighbourhood or halfway around the world.”
Part of the author’s determination and focus is attributed to her Indian heritage and parental influences. Even if there is an element of humour or chiding, you can sense her passion and pride in this and no doubt parental influences had a positive part to play too. After all, her parents made her. As part of her background show-and-tell the author explains how she was always asking questions as a young child, even about possibly out-of-bounds matters such as her place of worship. Such determined questioning seems to have been a sign of things to come.
“I started by asking why there were separate entrances and seating areas for females and males. I grew up with boys in school and around the neighbourhood, and I wanted to sit with my friends. He told me that the genders had to be separated so that the women didn’t distract the men. The idea was that if they separated the genders, the men would focus on the sermons and not be ‘lured’ by the seductive women. (I believe my precocious teenage words were ‘Why can’t you just get rid of the men who can’t focus? Seems like you’re solving for the symptom, not the problem.’) I think this is where my passion for truly understanding the problem and reframing it as an opportunity came from,” wrote the author. This reviewer was also encouraged (as a child) to ask questions, which sometimes led to questions his parents probably rather wished hadn’t been uttered, especially to strangers, yet if you make the offer…
“Asking questions was my way of breaking the rules, challenging the expected, daring myself to do more, and creating a world that let me reframe problems as opportunities to come up with something cool, new, and different. Now, I never feel like I have to pick A or B. If I can’t find what I am looking for, I keep trying to find other options. I’m not thinking about the constraints; instead, I’m asking ‘What do I want? What do I need to do to get there? What’s important to me? What am I unwilling to compromise?” wrote the author, giving a good idea about how she thinks and approaches a problem.
The wise reader should be alert to the following sentence. This book is more than a “business rescue”-type thing. If you let it, it can open your mind to a lot of other elements and, if necessary, serve as a springboard to further research, as you will be inspired. User interface design, human behaviours, usability, product design and much more besides awaits you. In many ways the “business rescue” side pails into insignificance.
There is not much more to add. Looks can be deceiving and the first impression of this book was blown away. It became something much more than what one first feared and expected. It was a nice read, even for the humour, the outlook on life and the general stick-your-nose-out-type approach. It is lightweight yet powerful; an ideal thing for a commute or flight if you don’t fancy a bit of bedtime reading.
Autamme.com
February 2, 2019
Inspiring read
I liked Mona's to the point writting style. I especially like how she explains the tools and methods she uses with her clients, they make sense for me and I will try them out in my team.
Thanks Mona,
Razvan
I liked Mona's to the point writting style. I especially like how she explains the tools and methods she uses with her clients, they make sense for me and I will try them out in my team.
Thanks Mona,
Razvan
May 15, 2019
Useful tools
Such a lovely simple concept and because of that so powerful! Lightly written and so easy to consume, I found this a compelling and energizing read and would recommend it for both personal and professional use!
Such a lovely simple concept and because of that so powerful! Lightly written and so easy to consume, I found this a compelling and energizing read and would recommend it for both personal and professional use!
March 6, 2017
Reframe
Original, challenging the status quo, provides a scientific and common sense systematic approach to face problems and turn them into success by fostering a creative mindset.
Original, challenging the status quo, provides a scientific and common sense systematic approach to face problems and turn them into success by fostering a creative mindset.
April 22, 2015
Reframe has done more for me in the past year of its inception than I’ve ever been able to do on my own when it comes to using my creativity muscle. It has helped me address the blocks and excuses that I’ve grown accustom to using when stuck. Reading the book has liberated my mind and helped me become more aware of my limits, as well as supplied me with the tools to move past them. I think that Motivate Design embodies everything that is right with the creative process and is the product of a fearless CEO and her pursuit to make creativity approachable to all. I believe that the techniques and processes within Reframe will help any reader unstick themselves from the day-to-day challenges that seem impossible to overcome. With a new creative mindset, we’ll slowly shift to creating a better world for us all.
Read
November 22, 2022Finding the right solution through the power of design
This is a gorgeous little book, and a very intriguing read. The author's personality shines through the material, and each page comes with a well designed illustration, quote, or sheet meant to be filled in, with visuals that inspire. I appreciated the posture or learning that this book seemed to have, a willingness to be wrong but try anyways. We can all learn a lot from teaching like that.
This is a gorgeous little book, and a very intriguing read. The author's personality shines through the material, and each page comes with a well designed illustration, quote, or sheet meant to be filled in, with visuals that inspire. I appreciated the posture or learning that this book seemed to have, a willingness to be wrong but try anyways. We can all learn a lot from teaching like that.
May 30, 2016
I ordered this book for my love of unique perspective and creative thinking, based on a review I read online. At first, I wasn't sure the style was going to fit my preferred read or be something I'd really enjoy on vacation. I was so pleasantly surprised. Mona is a rock star when it comes to asking questions and an original creative thinking process. Loved her ideas. Loved the book. Love her style!
August 27, 2015
Helpful book with lots of material that would be useful to go through with students or employees. I read through it quickly with the idea that I would go back later and attempt some of the many exercises in here with the people I lead at work. I think this will be a great reference to use in strategic planning. Well written and engaging book.
Read
January 8, 2016Fantastic thorough ideation process. I love innovation techniques. This book is a quick easy read and full of actionable information
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews