Roger Firestien Ph.D. – Solve the Real Problem

Our 34th episode of the Creative Flow: Thinkers and Change Agents Podcast Series features Roger Firestien, Ph.D., who has proudly trained more people to lead the creative process than anyone else in the world. He is a Senior Faculty member at the Center for Applied Imagination at SUNY Buffalo State, President of Innovation Resources, Inc., and Author of Create in a Flash: A leader's recipe for breakthrough innovation. Roger discusses how he came to creativity through music and a desire to help his students become more creative and enjoy their music lessons more. Research led him to the Center for Applied Imagination, where he was the seventh person to graduate with the degree. He discusses his work facilitating, teaching, and creating resources such as offering a breakthrough lab for clients facing a challenging problem to solve. You will feel his passion and fire as he describes a legendary career: "It's just extraordinary to have been in this business for 40-plus years and still just having a blast.” Roger describes three success stories that stood out in his long and impressive career. Working with Clorox, the team solved a problem that plagued the company for 70 years in 15 minutes. He helped Mazda Motor Manufacturing USA combine creative problem-solving with quality techniques, resulting in the plant coming up to speed faster than any other plant in the automobile maker's operation. His work with the New York State Economic Development Council, the Western New York division, helped Buffalo, New York, secure a billion dollars in economic development funding. Now Roger works at the University of Buffalo School of Medicine, teaching residents and medical students to ask creative questions to get better diagnoses. Roger is a prolific author and shares a preview of his new book that will be coming out in the Summer of 2023 called "Solve the Real Problem." His creative flow is writing, and he shares his knowledge in his courses, free videos, and numerous books. Don't miss this discussion of the future of creativity and the insights of a leader who has positively impacted the field of Creativity in many ways. Find our podcast today on all of your favorite platforms.