Welcome to Innovators in Focus: a series of short video interviews I conducted with some of the creative, inventive and entrepreneurial individuals we profile in my book, The Innovation Mindset.
These Innovators represent a wide range of industries and perspectives. But they’re all driven by curiosity and an urge to problem-solve; to create new and better ways of doing things. I’ve linked each of these seven profiles to one of my Laws of Innovation. These guiding principles of innovation are at the core of my book, and they are exemplified in the achievements of our Innovators in Focus.
We hope you will find the series informative — and inspiring:
Our first Innovator in Focus is Leslie Aisner Novak, founder of HowdaDesignz.
“Howda” is the Hindi name for a kind of seat or covered pavilion used to ride camels and elephants. Leslie adapted the word to help describe both her HowdaSeat, a lightweight, portable seat that gives ideal posture and back support for adults, and the children’s version, the HowdaHUG, which provides a calming, rocking motion and is used in classrooms around the world.
While Leslie is an artist and designer, she’s also a realist. That’s our Law of Innovation #3–and it stresses the importance of a principle that good designers know: The value of simplicity.
In the book and in our brief interview, Leslie has a great story to tell about simplicity in concept and design; but also, about resilience. Like many would-be innovators, not everyone in her family encouraged her pursuits. And yet, she persevered, and succeeded in a big way!
I hope you find Leslie’s Innovator Insights interesting and inspiring. And don’t forget, you can read more about her in The Innovation Mindset!
Pre-order your copy here.
