Neature Challenge
Need a creative break? This post is for you. This is a part of YAY's #forgoodnessmake series. For those in the eastern and midwestern United States, the autumn foliage right now is on fire. I can't help but see the bounty of fallen leaves as a creative opportunity....
Stop the Meeting Madness
One of the unexpected delights of starting my own business was how my relationships with meetings changed. Some of this resulted from no longer needing internal meetings. What once would have required a team discussion was now simply a decision to be made....
How-To: Graffiti Wall Research Method
As a self-proclaimed research nerd, I really love the empathize phase of design thinking. Learning about other people's perspective using immersive and creative techniques = research heaven. Alas, one challenge is that many of the methods are time...
Intention
I’ve been working on my capacity to be intentional for quite a while. When I chose it as a core value for YAY, it was the most aspirational of the bunch. By that I mean I wish I were more intentional naturally, and I have to work at it. Yet I’m committed...
Professional Development Ideas
Talking innovation is much easier than taking action. Claiming it will not flip a switch and suddenly add innovation into an organization's DNA. People typically need new mindsets and ways of working. This is one of the biggest mistakes I see—an...
What’s in a Name?
We put a lot of weight on names to tell a story, be distinct, to feel "right" – even when it may be hard to articulate what "right" actually is. If that all didn't make naming hard enough, imagine how it feels to finally land on what you're sure is the...
Getting Started with Innovation
Over lunch recently, a new contact shared his struggle to make innovation happen within his company. Hundreds of people. Many different roles and skill levels, and a varying appetite for innovation. Getting everyone on the same page had become a wicked...
Living Values
Core values sometimes get a bad rap. There are plenty of companies who treat them merely as an item to check off the list. Once written, they go by the wayside, collecting dust in an annual report somewhere. But they can be an incredibly useful tool...
A Year of YAY
Not everyone knows this, but Yes and Yonder wasn’t the first time I worked for myself. Let’s take it back to 2009. We were two years into the Great Recession. My husband’s company asked if we would consider relocating from Evansville to Indianapolis. This meant I’d...
Regaining Focus
It will be holiday break before we know it. I can already feel the pull of family movie night with hot cocoa and marathon cookie baking. But I’m also looking at my to-do list, and there are a few important projects and tasks that just can’t wait until after break....