Are conventional leadership mantras holding you back from innovating? Sometimes best practices and forward thinking don’t go hand in hand.

An article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review shares several typical management mantras that need some rethinking. Take this one, for example: “We need to define the problem we are trying to solve.” The author, Polina Makievsky, argues that an innovative thinker should focus not on the problem but on the positive goal she wants to achieve.

“To conduct a productive idea-generation process and motivate employees, it’s important to define an aspirational North Star for every innovation effort,” writes Makievsky. “In human-centered design, this is called a ‘positive goal statement,’ and it articulates the person or group you seek to influence and the behavior you want to see occur.”

The need for a “big idea” is another common management mantra, but Makievsky says small ideas can deliver big results: “Instead of trying to eat the whale in one swallow, organizations should tackle smaller, incremental challenges.”

Unforgettable Design

The Unique Way This Benefit Used Miles of Colorful Ribbons https://t.co/2ZI3cDVZlo #BizBash #eventdesign

— BizBash (@BizBash) May 15, 2018

One of the challenges of event planning is bringing an theme to life visually. This year, the American Cancer Society 12th Annual Discovery Ball in Chicago achieved it by using one simple element: ribbon.

This year’s theme was “Impact From Every Angle.” To illustrate it, design firm HMR Designs created a stunning visual display using colorful ribbon and height.

“We wanted to bring guests into an immersive environment that was essentially a faceted room created of millions of miles of ribbons,” Rishi Patel, vice president of sales and design for HMR Designs, told BizBash. “Each table served as the base for full bolts of ribbon, which were all tied to over 125 points in the ceiling to create a web-like, angular design.”

Other Links of Note

Is your workplace accessible to those with disabilities? CMSWire details ways your organization can improve the experiences of employees with disabilities.

Encourage donors to keep giving. Here are a few communication strategies that can help, from digital marketing expert John Haydon.

Are you being held back by conference “mythodologies?” Meeting designer and facilitator Adrian Segar sheds light on common event myths.

(BrianAJackson/iStock/Getty Images Plus)