April 01, 2025

S11-Ep7: Cultivating W.O.N.D.E.R. - A Futurist on Unleashing Innovation in Your Business

36 minutes

Guest: Theo Edmonds, Culture Futurist®

We explore the declining state of American innovation in this episode, focusing on the pivotal role of wonder and creativity in driving growth and innovation in the workplace. Our guest, futurist Theo Edmonds, has identified the key innovation barriers: fear, frustration, and fragmentation. He also identifies solutions to overcome them. It taps into something he calls “The Wonder Economy.”

.Here's what Theo and Maureen cover:

Why innovation in business requires much more than simple creativity;

The economic benefits of innovation (and how most American companies are missing out); and

How to implement the six elements to awaken innovation with W.O.N.D.E.R.

Other episodes you'll enjoy:

- Amazon Execs Share How Innovation Delivers Your Future with Dave Carbon, John Love, Dr. Vin Gupta, & Tye Brady

- The Creative Mindset: Mastering the Skills that Empower Innovation with Jeff DeGraff

- Fostering a Culture of Innovation with Mastercard’s Chief Innovation Officer, Ken Moore

For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn. We’re onTikTok, Threads, and Twitter, too!

RESOURCES:

Learn more about Theo’s work at https://www.theoedmonds.com/. Details on his Creativity America initiative are at https://www.creativityamerica.com/.

Theo recommends these books for more detail:

The Handbook of Organizational Creativity (two volumes) – Ronnie Writer Paulman, editor; specifically its chapter on the cognitive neuroscience of creativity (Roger Beatty), and the chapter on organizational creativity (Paulman).

Robert Schiller’s Narrative Economics; it’s in paperback at https://amzn.to/4jfPWPr and as an audiobook at https://amzn.to/3FMqVge.

Our host Maureen Metcalf posts a newsletter every week on LinkedIn. You can subscribe here.

Maureen’s latest book is Innovative Leadership & Followership in the Age of AI. You’ll find details about it at https://bit.ly/LeaderInAI, or check out the Kindle version at https://amzn.to/44buVz8. The audiobook version is now available at https://amzn.to/4dTCleZ.

Her other 10 books are available on Amazon here.

NOTE: As an Amazon partner, we may make a small commission from books you buy through these links.

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OUR PODCAST TEAM:

Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf

Editor & Executive Producer: Dan Mushalko

Graphics: Stacia Rogan

Booking Producer: Jenna Reik

CONNECT WITH US:

YouTube: @InnovatingLeadership

LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ILI-LinkedIn2

Website: InnovativeLeadershipInstitute.com

Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating!

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About Our Guest:

Theo Edmonds is a Culture Futurist®, entrepreneur, artist, and poet reshaping the future of innovation by uniting the best of culture, commerce, and brain science. Over the last 30 years, he has spearheaded transformational projects for Fortune 100 companies, governments, and universities. In 2024, he launched Creativity America, a multi-year initiative to build America’s Wonder Economy. This groundbreaking collaboration with top pioneers in cognitive neuroscience, industrial psychology, business, and the arts aims to increase America’s Creative Brain Capital by 25% within a decade. Recognized as an unconventional trailblazer, Theo is a sought-after speaker and executive advisor in strategic foresight, leading organizational creativity and culture change management.

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