Innovation isn't about chasing the latest framework - it's about building a muscle that works across your entire organization.

In this episode, Barbara Salopek, founder of Vinco and author of Future Fit Innovation, breaks down why frameworks alone won't save you and how to create innovation cultures that actually last. We dig into the concept of the "innovation muscle" - how it requires both top-down understanding from leaders and bottom-up participation from everyone in the organization.

Barbara shares why diversity isn't just a checkbox but a genuine asset for innovation, how to break through functional fixedness (the invisible barriers that keep us stuck), and why "fridge innovation" might be the most powerful form of everyday creativity.

Whether you're a solopreneur building your own creative practice or leading a team, this conversation will shift how you think about innovation from a toolkit to a way of being.

A few insights from this episode:

• Innovation requires the whole ecosystem - individuals, groups, and organizational structures all moving in the same direction. You can't just train a few people in frameworks and expect transformation.
• Functional fixedness keeps us locked into seeing things only one way. School doesn't kill creativity, but it does reinforce how things "should" be used. Breaking that means decomposing objects into features and assigning new functions, like Apple did when they made the screen the centerpiece of the phone.
• The "Lone Hero" trap is real. Appointing one innovation manager to save the company puts impossible pressure on a single person. Real innovation culture is everyone's responsibility.

Resources:

• Barbara's book: Future Fit Innovation — available on Amazon (paperback, hardcover, Kindle) with bonus worksheets and resources at BarbaraSalopek.com
• Connect with Barbara: Her Website | LinkedIn
• More episodes + resources: Head to Everyday Innovation

Chapter Markers:

• Why Future Fit Innovation? (00:01:55)
• The Three Levels: Individual, Group, Organizational (00:03:30)
• Breaking the Creativity Myth (00:04:15)
• Functional Fixedness and How to Overcome It (00:13:50)
• Fridge Innovation: Everyday Creativity in Action (00:18:40)
• Diversity as an Innovation Asset (00:09:40)
• Psychological Safety and the Leader's Role (00:11:08)
• Sustainability Driving Innovation (00:25:44)
• The Lone Hero Trap (00:30:20)
• Exploration vs. Efficiency (00:35:42)
• How to Define Everyday Innovation + Closing (00:37:10)