Innovation-ish: How Anyone Can Create Breakthrough Solutions to Real Problems in the Real World
with co-authors Tessa Forshaw (PhD 2025 and Harvard Presidential Scholar) and Rich Braden (Harvard and Stanford lecturer)
Hosted by the Harvard Club of Victoria
Join us for a spirited online discussion with Tessa and Rich on their new book on innovation - Innovation-ish: How Anyone Can Create Breakthrough Solutions to Real Problems in the Real World. Drawing upon years of experience and research, including doctoral and postdoctoral research at Harvard, this session will offer practical, cognitive science-based approaches to innovation and creativity, including for those tackling complex challenges but who might not typically identify themselves as "creative" or "innovators."
Despite not officially launching until 3 September, the book has already been nominated for the Financial Times "Business Book of the Year" as well as topping Amazon’s best seller list in the Business Entrepreneurship category.
“Innovation-ish is an actionable playbook for every aspiring innovator. Its frameworks will help you succeed because they capture how real people solve real problems.”
—Stefanos Zenios, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Faculty Director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Stanford Graduate School of Business
“Braden and Forshaw draw on research and real-world experience to equip readers with accessible strategies for learning, leading, and adapting with purpose and vision. They skillfully blend fresh ideas and personal agency into a practical guide, making innovation accessible to everyone from students to policymakers. At a time when educational systems are navigating deep complexity.”
—Nonie K. Lesaux, Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education
Tessa's and Rich's new book (launching 3 September) is available in Australia here: https://1bpu4s-0t.myshopify.com/products/innovation-ish-how-anyone-can-create-breakthrough-solutions-to-real-problems-in-the-real-world. More information on the book is available at www.innovationish.com.
Biographies
Dr. Tessa Forshaw (PhD 2025) is a cognitive scientist and co-founder of the Next Level Lab at Harvard, where she studies how people work, learn, and innovate. She also teaches design thinking, creativity, and innovation at Harvard. Previously, she served on the teaching faculty at Stanford, worked as a Design Fellow at IDEO and in Accenture's Strategy, Insight, and Innovation team. Tessa has received multiple design awards, including a 2019 Fast Company Design Award for General Excellence, and two Core77 Industrial Design Magazine Design Awards.
Rich Braden teaches at Stanford's Graduate School of Business, Stanford's Institute of Design and Harvard Extension School. His firm People Rocket also works with organisations - including Airbnb, Deloitte, Google, Genentech, JP Morgan Chase, and The Federal Reserve Bank - to help their leaders inspire others to action, helping to transform their organisations. Rich's work helps to unlock team and entrepreneurial creativity to solve strategic problems and build resilient and agile cultures.
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Event Details
Date: Tuesday 19 August 2025
Time: 12 noon-1pm AEST
Venue: Zoom (link to be shared via email before the event)
Registration: Click here to book
Speakers: Tessa Forshaw and Rich Braden
Moderator: Justin Fung (MBA 2006), President, Harvard Club of Victoria