Reframe: Shift the Way You Work, Innovate, and Think

by Mona Patel

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 is 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, 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.

284 pages, Hardcover

Published June 22, 2015

About the author

Mona 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.

Reviews

[Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Patel says: “A creative mindset, which encompasses your beliefs and attitudes, is about living in the gray area — the space between black and white and option A and B — and thinking expansively. Although there are people who show more creativity than others, being creative is not about who you are or are not. It’s a mindset and anyone can have it.” Her parents are from Gujarat, India, and, growing up, she noticed the unfairness of gender role constraints and how girls seemed to be valued less than boys. When she began facilitating brainstorms as part of her design career, she also noticed that, while Indian people are as creative as anyone else, there was a linguistic barrier in translating her work: “I realized that there was no way to ask ‘What if?’ in Gujarati.” I put more of her insights on my author blog and on LinkedIn.

[Musings of the Moonchild · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reframe: Shift the Way You Think, work and Innovate by Mona Patel

Patel has crafted an insightful collection of thoughts for readers whom are aspiring to make the most of their entrepreneurial ideas. Her smart, witty prose is easy to read and at times feels like the banter between friends. Patel liberates readers, demonstrating the only limitations we have on our ideas are the restrictions we put on ourselves. She supplies the tools to find motivation and correctly navigate through creative process to find success. An approachable and inspiring ‘How To Guide’ for those looking to execute and successfully market their ideas.

[Charles Bender · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always love a good process to follow. I enjoyed the accessibility this book made to her ideation strategy and am looking forward to running my team through the process to see where we can get a breakthrough.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm stoked by all the amazing innovative ideas that come from this book.