Developing Personal Innovativeness

The goal of Mindset Trek is to develop and strengthen students’ innovativeness, or their ability to create new value. Value for themselves as innovators and entrepreneurs; for their employers; for their communities; for all of us. This happens in two ways. 1) Students gain an understanding of how innovation works, the fundamental similarities shared by all types of innovation. These principles apply regardless of the specific context, challenge, or opportunity. And 2) Mindset Trek explains the cognitive capabilities and behaviors that innovation requires, and how to develop them.

Who is Mindset Trek for?

Mindset Trek is for anyone who wants to make the world better. It is appropriate for strengthening the innovativeness of entrepreneurs, engineers and scientists, as well as those involved in new product development, research & development and social change—anywhere the goal is to create new value. It is relevant to students in any discipline who want to strengthen their capacity to create, adapt, be resourceful, make astute observations, identify and pursue new opportunities, learn from experience, gain insight and make discoveries.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of Mindset Trek elearning, students will

  • Understand the nature of mindset, and why it’s such a powerful influence on their ability to innovate successfully and create new value, including launching new ventures
  • Have a clear sense of their own mindset, how it may support or hinder their ability to innovate, and what shifts they can make to enhance their innovativeness
  • Understand how innovation works and be able the recognize and apply the Innovation Cycle to any innovation challenge or venture
  • Gain a deeper understanding of how and why innovation tools like design thinking and lean startup work, and how to use them most effectively
  • Be able to recognize the Status Quo Cycle and understand how it undermines innovation
  • Have a personal strategy for developing their innovativeness and the Habits of an Innovator

Pacing and Structure

Mindset Trek is can be delivered in multiple ways:

  1. Self-paced learning: Each module or “Trail” typically takes 15-20 minutes to complete. They can be completed separately or grouped at whatever pace someone chooses.
  2. Asynchronous learning: An instructor or coach is free to have students complete Mindset Trek at whatever pace fits best with the larger curriculum and objectives. Each student maintains an account that they can access at any time.
  3. Blended learning: Optional instructor-led exercises can be delivered in a traditional classroom or online, to further illustrate key concepts, provide engaging student experiences, and link the material to other innovation-related content, tools and processes.

IM Assessment

Mindset Trek elearning incorporates the Innovator Mindset® assessment, to provide students with detailed personalized feedback on their current mindset and guidance on how to enhance it. They then have an opportunity to retake the assessment to gauge their progress in making appropriate shifts. Innovator Mindset® is based on rigorous psychometric research. It has been validated and applied with groups that include scientists, engineers, product developers, IT professionals, executives, entrepreneurs, and many other diverse roles and professions in a wide range of sectors, including for-profit, non-profit and government.

Shifting Mindset

Mindset is a term that gets used a lot, often without a clear definition. Innovator Mindset is based on the concept of mindset as developed and extensively researched by Stanford Educational Psychologist Carol Dweck. She defines mindset as our “implicit theories.” It is our theories about how the world works, but they are implicit because we so often hold them subconsciously. So, they are frequently unexamined. These hidden assumptions can profoundly impact how we understand things, what we value and how we behave.

Mindset Trek uses the Innovator Mindset® assessment to reveal students’ mindset to them. So those unconscious assumptions become conscious choices. This gives students control over their mindset and the ability to reshape it in whatever way they choose—a powerful strategy for personal development. That self-awareness, combined with an understanding of what mindset is optimal for innovation, is what enables students to shift to a more innovation-friendly mindset—and gain the capabilities of world class innovators.

Innovator Mindset vs. Entrepreneurial Mindset

While there is no one agreed definition of an entrepreneurial mindset, it is generally thought to include such things as a bias for action, a sense that one controls one’s own fate, openness to new ideas, a tendency to see problems as opportunities rather than obstacles; and a desire to lead change, seek out new opportunities, and create new value for themselves and others. While these characteristics are widely observed among entrepreneurs and make sense intuitively, they have not been found to be strongly predictive of new venture success. They don’t do a good job of distinguishing between those entrepreneurs who perform exceptionally well and those less effective.

An Innovator Mindset, as it is described and measured here, shares many if not all those characteristics. Furthermore, having a strong innovator mindset is associated with exception innovation performance—among entrepreneurs (35x profits, 70x revenues, 10x jobs created). It appears that it may be the “secret sauce” that enables exceptional entrepreneurial (and other innovation) outcomes. Innovativeness is treated here as the central capability that innovation and entrepreneurship require.

Exercises

The optional Innovator Mindset instructor-led exercises were originally intended for use in a live classroom, but many of them can be adapted for use online. They are designed to give students a relevant personal experience that is revealing and memorable, while reinforcing the elearning content.  Most exercises take no more than 10-15 minutes, so they can be used as engaging icebreakers or segues into related topics and innovation tools. The outline below provides specific suggested exercises for elearning segments. The exercise instructions also indicate where they best fit.

Complementing Innovation Tools

Innovator mindset is based on the premise that there is a common pattern to all forms of innovation, whether that occurs in nature, the sciences, technological development, new busines ventures or positive social change—anywhere new value is created. This pattern or Innovation Cycle is the core dynamic that drives innovation tools like design thinking, lean startup and creative problem solving, among others. As students learn to recognize and apply this Innovation Cycle, they gain a more robust understanding of how these tools work, why they are effective, and how to apply them. They also learn how to select appropriate tools for specific innovation challenges.

When students are introduced to these broader innovation concepts, they can apply innovation tools more proficiently. Using those tools then becomes practice and reinforcement for the Habits of an Innovator, that drive the Innovation Cycle. Students also gain a broader understanding of innovation that can be transferred to other contexts, challenges and opportunities.

A learning sequence that integrates mindset and tools might be:

  1. Learn about the Innovation Cycle and its Phases
  2. Learn the key steps (or a specific task) in an innovation tool, like Lean Startup
  3. Determine how those steps map onto the Innovation Cycle
  4. Explore the important distinctions and Habits of an Innovator, for that Phase of the Innovation Cycle, as they relate to that task
  5. Have students discuss how they will complete that task in a way that follows and supports the Innovation Cycle.
  6. Upon completion of that task, have students explain how that has followed the Innovation Cycle, and propels them further around that cycle.

This sequence can be repeated for multiple innovation tools, noting how each of those tools applies in the corresponding Phases of the Innovation Cycle, and where alternative tools may be appropriate.

The exercise Tools of an Innovator maps many commonly used innovation strategies onto the Innovation Cycle. This exercise, or portions of it, can be used to transition between elearning content and those innovation tools.

Coaching and Mentoring

Innovator Mindset® provides an excellent framework for coaching entrepreneurs and other innovators. Mindset Trek makes that easier by explaining key concepts and delivering personal feedback asynchronously. Coaches and mentors are then free to focus on personal development strategies that apply that feedback to the unique innovation challenges and opportunities that someone may be facing.

Grading

Where grading is appropriate, it should be based on completion and mastery of the Mindset Trek content. The exercises and quizzes students are given are designed to confirm mastery of that material before they move on.

Instructors should not grade students based on their Innovator Mindset scores. Improving those scores is one goal of this program, and a measure of its effectiveness. But it’s important not to create perverse incentives. To become effective innovators, students need to be motivated to seek genuine feedback that is not always complimentary but that helps them improve. When they feel a need to achieve the highest score that they can, this is compromised.

Research

Innovator Mindset® collects data from Mindset Trek for research purposes, possible publication and to enhance this offering. This data is kept confidential and no personally identifiable information is made public without the permission of the subject(s) of that data. This is disclosed in the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy on the Innovator Mindset website. Everyone who takes the Innovator Mindset assessment or Mindset Trek is prompted to read and consent to these policies.

Badges

Students who complete Mindset Trek are awarded a badge documenting that accomplishment, that they can add to their portfolio to share with employers, investors or others who may be interested.

Accessibility

Innovator Mindset is committed to providing equitable access to learning opportunities for all students. Mindset Trek has been designed and created with accessibility in mind. All videos are open or closed captioned, and other content is intended to be screen-reader friendly. We hope to soon have non-mouse (keyboard) navigation available throughout.

If any student or instructor has concerns or suggestions regarding accessibility, please contact us at [email protected]. Where possible, we will make accommodations, and prioritize improved accessibility in future updates.

Please direct any questions, comments or suggestions regarding Mindset Trek to

[email protected]

Mindset Trek Elearning Course Outline

ActivityDescriptionLearning Objectives
Trail One: The Innovator’s JourneyCourse overview and benefitsUnderstand what to expect from this program, including its overall objectives and benefits, and how a mindset approach differs from traditional knowledge-centered instruction
Video: Generic Introduction for Innovators 4:22 OR Video: Introduction for Entrepreneurs 6:16Introduction for all types of innovators in all contexts

Introduction and benefits for entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs
Exercise: Describe yourselfSelecting from a list of possible self-descriptorsPrompt students to reflect on their motivations and context for developing their innovativeness
ReflectionsJournaling self-reflectionsPrompt students to explore their curiosity and begin journaling—one of the habits of successful innovators
Trail Two: What is Mindset?Description and examples of mindsetUnderstand how mindset is defined in this context, what it is and is not
Video: What is Mindset? 6:54
Exercise: Personality, Skillset, MindsetSorting personal descriptors into different categoriesUnderstand how mindset differs from knowledge, skills and personality
Trail 2 Review QuizTrue/FalseCheck for comprehension and mastery
ReflectionsJournaling self-reflectionsPrompt students to consider what assumptions they may be making

Optional Instructor-led Exercise: Spinning Dancer

Visual illustration of mindset and how it works

Appreciate the subtle yet profound impact that mindset has on how we perceive things

Trail Three: Why Mindset MattersExplanation of the body of research behind Innovator MindsetUnderstand what the research says about the impact of mindset, and its importance for entrepreneurs and other innovators
Video: Innovator Mindset Research 6:30
Trail 3 Review QuizMultiple choice items about Innovator Mindset researchCheck for comprehension and mastery of the research content
ReflectionsJournaling self-reflectionsPrompt students to recall key insights about innovativeness and note any questions they may have
Activity: Innovator Mindset AssessmentTaking the innovator mindset online assessmentDetermine student’s current mindset and enable personalized feedback on how to enhance that mindset

Optional Instructor-led Exercise: Theory of Intelligence

Taking Dweck’s Growth vs. Fixed mindset assessment

Appreciate how mindset works, its theoretical foundations, and understand Growth vs. Fixed mindsets and how they differ from the distinctions that impact innovativeness

Trail Four: Innovativeness ExplainedExplanation of how innovation and innovativeness are defined in this context, and how innovativeness is innate yet developableUnderstand the fundamental similarity among all types of innovation, and why developing innovativeness often means getting out of our own way
Video: Innovativeness Explained 5:35
Trail 4 Review QuizTrue / False QuizCheck for comprehension and mastery of the concepts of innovation and innovativeness
ReflectionsJournaling self-reflectionsPrompt students to recall when they have been innovative and have created value

Optional Instructor-led Exercise: Cahoots

Using a children’s guessing game to illustrate how we naturally innovate

Prompt students to recognize their innate ability to innovate, how automatic it can be, yet how they so often undermine it.

Trail Five: State Quo CycleDescription of the Status Quo Cycle and it effectsUnderstand how we so often get trapped in the Status Quo and resist innovation
Video: Two Mindsets – The Status Quo Cycle 4:45
Trail 5 Review QuizTrue / False QuizCheck for comprehension and mastery of the concepts of the Status Quo Cycle
ReflectionsJournaling self-reflectionsPrompt students to recall when they have observed the Status Quo Cycle, and what impact it had.

Optional Instructor-led Exercise: Recognizing the Status Quo Cycle

Asking students to volunteer examples of the Status Quo Cycle and discuss its effect

Recognize the Status Quo Cycle in ourselves and others

Trail Six: Innovation CycleDescription of the Innovation Cycle, its effects and how it compares to the Status Quo CycleUnderstand how innovation occurs and its universality
Video: Two Mindsets – The Innovation Cycle 6:22
Exercise: Sorting Between Two CyclesDrag and drop matching the characteristics of these two cyclesEnable students to readily distinguish between the Status Quo and Innovation Cycles
ReflectionsJournaling self-reflectionsPrompt students to recall when they have observed the Innovation Cycle, and what impact it had.

Optional Instructor-led Exercise: Recognizing the Innovation Cycle

Asking students to volunteer examples of the Innovation Cycle and discuss its effect

Recognize the Innovation Cycle in ourselves and others, and understand how it drives our capacity to innovate

Optional Instructor-led Exercise: Cahoots

This exercise can be used here instead of after Trail Four. It may be more meaningful to students after they have been introduced to the Innovation Cycle.

Optional Instructor-led Exercise: SQ vs. IC in Business

Posing business activities and having students sort then according the cycle they fit.

Distinguish between the Status Quo and Innovation Cycles in a business context

Optional Instructor-led Exercise: SQ vs. IC among Professions

Using related occupations to distinguish between these two cycles

Distinguish between the Status Quo and Innovation Cycles in professional roles

Optional Instructor-led Exercise: Tools of an Innovator –Mapping common innovation strategies onto the Innovation Cycle

Explaining how a wide range of innovation methodologies all map onto the Innovation Cycle, and perhaps segueing into one or more of those methodologies

Understand how to “translate” a variety of Innovation tools and strategies (design thinking, lean startup, etc.) using the Innovation Cycle to identify their key components, strengths and gaps

Trail Seven: Choosing a MindsetDescribing how to navigate the Status Quo and Innovation Cycles to optimize bothUnderstand how the Status Quo Cycle interferes with the Innovation Cycle, how the Innovation Cycle mitigates the Status Quo Cycle, and what makes an optimal mindset
Video: Choosing a Mindset 10:15
Trail 7 Review QuizTrue / False QuizCheck for comprehension and mastery of the concepts of the Innovation Cycle
ReflectionsJournaling self-reflectionsPrompt students to reflect on which of these cycles they tend to favor and how strongly

Optional Instructor-led Activity: Discussion

Some students may struggle to grasp the full implications of these patterns. Instructors are encouraged to foster a dialogue with students to clarify any misconceptions.

Optional Instructor-led Exercise: The Martian

Using the movie The Martian to illustrate these two cycles in action

Distinguish between the Status Quo and Innovation Cycles and understand how they interact

Optional Instructor-led Exercise: Types of Feedback

Prompting students to identify various types of feedback in a variety of contexts

Appreciate how pervasive feedback is in everything we experience—and how helpful it is to be attuned to that feedback

Trail Eight: Your Innovator Mindset SnapshotExplaining what a student’s IM Snapshot is and is not saying about them.Understand how to interpret the kind of feedback provided in the Innovator Mindset Snapshot
Video: Interpreting Your Innovator Mindset Snapshot 4:53
Trail 8 Review QuizTrue / False QuizCheck for understanding of the content of a student’s the Innovator Mindset Snapshot
Innovator Mindset DashboardRevealing the results of student’s Innovator Mindset assessmentGain personal feedback on a student’s mindset and understand how to interpret that feedback
Video 8.1 Dashboard Explainer 6:28Explain how to read the graphs and other feedback in the student’s IM Snapshot Dashboard
ReflectionsJournaling self-reflectionsPrompt students to reflect on the feedback from their IM Snapshot
Trail Nine: Telling Your StoryExplaining how the Innovation Cycle and its Phases and Profiles tell a personal story, and how to draw out those narrativesUnderstand how to craft personal self-narratives based on the feedback from the Innovator Mindset Snapshot
Understand that one can “pickup” the Innovation Cycle in any Phase, depending on the objective and the nature of the challenge
Video: Telling Your Story 5:55

Optional Instructor-led Activity: Creating a Personal Narrative

Prompt students to develop narratives for their Snapshot results.

Trail Ten: Innovator Mindset PhasesStudent chooses a Phase to start with and then continues around the Innovation CycleUnderstand how to interpret and apply the Snapshot feedback, Phase by Phase, to develop the Habits of an Innovator

Optional Instructor-led Exercise: Determining Where to Join the Innovation Cycle

Explore a variety of situations that students may experience as innovators and discuss where that puts them in the Innovation Cycle

Understand how to decide where to join in the Innovation Cycle, and that is a continuous iterative process with no beginning or end.

Idea Phase PathExplore the meaning and implications of the Idea Phase

Explain the distinctions in the Idea Phase that drive innovation or hinder it
Understand how to develop the personal attributes of creativity, why it’s important for successful innovation, and how it fits into the Innovation Cycle

Understand why innovation requires that our imagination dominates our knowledge

Understand the distinctions, goals, risks and potential biases in the Idea Phase
Video: Developing Creativity 4:00
IM Dashboard: Idea PhaseRevealing students’ personal results in the Idea PhaseGain personal feedback and guidance in the Idea Phase and understand how to interpret and apply that feedback
Video: Creative Habits of an Innovator 5:09Explain the Creative habits of successful innovatorsLearn the habits that drive innovation success in the Idea Phase
Exercise: Sorting Between Two CyclesSort Idea Phase activities into the Status Quo and Innovation CyclesReadily distinguish between approaches that favor the Status Quo or Innovation Cycles
ReflectionsJournaling self-reflectionsPrompt students to reflect on the feedback from their IM Snapshot in the Idea Phase
Mindset GuidanceDevelop a personal plan for cultivating these habitsBegin developing and practicing the habits of an innovator

Optional Instructor-led Exercise: Creating a Personal Narratives in the Idea Phase

Prompt students to develop narratives for their Snapshot results.

Understand how to interpret and apply IM Snapshot feedback in the Idea Phase

Optional Instructor-led Exercise: Bad Product Ideas

Challenge student teams to come up with hopelessly bad product ideas, and then challenge other teams to find potential in those ideas

Understand the importance of looking for potential in ideas, rather than flaws

Action Phase PathExplore the meaning and implications of the Action Phase

Explain the distinctions in the Action Phase that drive innovation or hinder it
Understand how to develop the personal attributes needed in the Action Phase, why they’re important for successful innovation, and how they fit into the Innovation Cycle

Understand why innovation requires experimentation, exploration, and taking risks

Understand the distinctions, goals, risks and potential biases in the Action Phase
Video: Building Bravery 4:22
IM Dashboard: Action PhaseRevealing students’ personal results in the Action PhaseGain personal feedback and guidance in the Action Phase and understand how to interpret and apply that feedback
Video: Brave Habits of an Innovator 3:24Explain the Brave habits of successful innovatorsLearn the habits that drive innovation success in the Action Phase
Exercise: Sorting Between Two CyclesSort Action Phase activities into the Status Quo and Innovation CyclesReadily distinguish between approaches that favor the Status Quo or Innovation Cycles
ReflectionsJournaling self-reflectionsPrompt students to reflect on the feedback from their IM Snapshot in the Action Phase
Mindset GuidanceDevelop a personal plan for cultivating these habitsBegin developing and practicing the habits of an innovator

Optional Instructor-led Exercise: Creating a Personal Narrative in the Action Phase

Prompt students to develop narratives for their Snapshot results.

Understand how to interpret and apply IM Snapshot feedback in the Action Phase

Optional Instructor-led Exercise: Taking Action

Prompt students to recall when they have acted on their ideas and decisions, and reflect on whether they are applying a proven approach or testing new possibilities

Recognize two different ways of taking action and understand how they impact our ability to innovate

Reality Phase Path: Video: Building Awareness 4:16Explore the meaning and implications of the Reality Phase

Explain the distinctions in the Reality Phase that drive innovation or hinder it
Understand how to develop the personal attributes needed in the Reality Phase, why they’re important for successful innovation, and how they fit into the Innovation Cycle

Understand why innovation requires awareness and careful observation

Understand the distinctions, goals, risks and potential biases in the Reality Phase
IM Dashboard: Action PhaseRevealing students’ personal results in the Reality PhaseGain personal feedback and guidance in the Reality Phase and understand how to interpret and apply that feedback
Video: Aware Habits of an Innovator 4:28Explain the Aware habits of successful innovatorsLearn the habits that drive innovation success in the Reality Phase
Exercise: Sorting Between Two CyclesSort Reality Phase activities into the Status Quo and Innovation CyclesReadily distinguish between approaches that favor the Status Quo or Innovation Cycles
ReflectionsJournaling self-reflectionsPrompt students to reflect on the feedback from their IM Snapshot in the Reality Phase
Mindset GuidanceDevelop a personal plan for cultivating these habitsBegin developing and practicing the habits of an innovator

Optional Instructor-led Exercise: Creating a Narrative in the Reality Phase

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Prompt students to develop narratives for their Snapshot results.

Understand how to interpret and apply IM Snapshot feedback in the Reality Phase

Optional instructor-led Exercise: Whodunnit

Using a public service announcement video to illustrate change blindness

Appreciate how challenging it can be to make accurate and complete observations

Understand that making good observations is a disciplined and imaginative process

Optional Instructor-led Exercise: Hair Over Ears

Using in-the-room observations to illustrate how where we direct our attention determines what we notice

Optional Instructor-led Exercise: Invisible Gorilla

Famous exercise that illustrates how we can miss the seemingly obvious

Feedback Phase PathExplore the meaning and implications of the Feedback Phase

Explain the distinctions in the Feedback Phase that drive innovation or hinder it
Understand how to develop the personal attributes needed in the Feedback Phase, why they’re important for successful innovation, and how they fit into the Innovation Cycle

Understand why innovation requires openness and a willingness to rethink what we believe to be true

Understand the distinctions, goals, risks and potential biases in the Feedback Phase
IM Dashboard: Feedback PhaseRevealing students’ personal results in the Feedback PhaseGain personal feedback and guidance in the Feedback Phase and understand how to interpret and apply that feedback
Video: Open Habits of an Innovator 3:39Explain the Open habits of successful innovatorsLearn the habits that drive innovation success in the Feedback Phase
Exercise: Sorting Between Two CyclesSort Feedback Phase activities into the Status Quo and Innovation CyclesReadily distinguish between approaches that favor the Status Quo or Innovation Cycles
ReflectionsJournaling self-reflectionsPrompt students to reflect on the feedback from their IM Snapshot in the Feedback Phase
Mindset GuidanceDevelop a personal plan for cultivating these habitsBegin developing and practicing the habits of an innovator

Optional Instructor-led Exercise: Creating a Personal Narrative in the Feedback Phase

Prompt students to develop narratives for their Snapshot results.

Understand how to interpret and apply IM Snapshot feedback in the Feedback Phase

Exercise: Mom and CandyUsing a brief scenario to illustrate how easily and subconsciously we form assumptionsAppreciate how easy it is to make hidden assumptions, and how hard it can be to identify them

Exercise: Nine Dots Variation

Using a familiar puzzle to illustrate how our assumptions can become self-imposed barriers to finding solutions

Trail 11 – Balancing Your MindsetExplain why all Phases of the Innovation Cycle are neededUnderstanding the importance of completing all four Phases of the Innovation Cycle
Video: What is Mindset Balance?
IM DashboardReveal students’ personal results for each IM Profile across all four PhasesGain personal feedback on how students’ IM Profiles are in or out of balance
ReflectionsJournaling self-reflectionsPrompt students to reflect on the balance feedback from their IM Snapshot
Trail 12 – Retaking IMProvide an opportunity to retake the IM assessmentGain personal feedback on what shifts students may have been made in their mindset.
Retake the IM Assessment
ReflectionsReveal any changes in students’ IM scoresPrompt students to reflect on what progress they have may made in developing their innovativeness
Your FeedbackHave students fill out a feedback surveyGather input into the design and usefulness of Innovator Mindset and Mindset Trek
Closing ThoughtsExplain that to be effective, mindset needs to become an internalized set of habits, and encourage students to develop those habitsMotivate students to continue to develop their innovativeness

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