Books by Jeff DeGraff

The Art of Change: Transforming Paradoxes into Breakthroughs

Berrett-Koehler Publishers

The culminating work in Jeff’s trilogy, The Art of Change provides a comprehensive framework for navigating organizational transformation through paradox. Rather than trying to resolve contradictions, this book teaches leaders to harness opposing forces as the engine of breakthrough change.

Key Insights:

• The Paradox Cycle: How transformation emerges from tension
• Embracing contradictions as creative fuel
• Leading through ambiguity and uncertainty
• Building organizations that thrive on paradox
• Real-world case studies of paradox-driven transformation

Who Should Read This:

Senior executives, change leaders, and anyone navigating complex organizational transformation. Essential for leaders who recognize that the challenges they face aren’t problems to be solved but paradoxes to be managed.

The Creative Mindset: Mastering the Six Skills That Empower Innovation

Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Creativity isn’t magic—it’s a set of learnable skills that anyone can develop. The Creative Mindset provides a practical framework for building the capabilities that enable innovation at individual, team, and organizational levels.

The Six Skills:

• Observing: Seeing what others miss
• Connecting: Linking disparate ideas
• Creating: Generating novel solutions
• Thinking: Reasoning through complexity
• Experimenting: Testing and learning
• Collaborating: Harnessing collective intelligence

Who Should Read This:

Anyone seeking to enhance their creative capabilities. Perfect for team leaders, product managers, and professionals who want evidence-based approaches to creativity development.

The Innovation Code: The Creative Power of Constructive Conflict

Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Innovation isn’t born from consensus but from productive tension between competing values and approaches. Drawing on the Competing Values Framework, The Innovation Code shows leaders how to harness creative conflict to drive breakthrough results.

Key Insights:

• The four competing values that drive different types of innovation
• How to diagnose your organization’s innovation profile
• Strategies for balancing competing priorities
• Tools for managing creative tension productively
• Real-world examples of organizations mastering multiple innovation practices

Who Should Read This:

CEOs, innovation leaders, and anyone responsible for driving change in complex organizations. Perfect for those who recognize that innovation challenges aren’t just about having better ideas, but about creating the right conditions for innovation to flourish.

Leading Innovation: How to Jump Start Your Organization’s Growth Engine

McGraw-Hill

A comprehensive roadmap for building and sustaining innovation capabilities. This book translates cutting-edge research into practical strategies that leaders can implement immediately to accelerate organizational growth.

Key Insights:

• Assessing your organization’s innovation readiness
• Building innovation portfolios that balance multiple time horizons
• Creating structures and processes that enable innovation
• Developing leadership capabilities for innovation
• Measuring and managing innovation performance

Who Should Read This:

Senior executives, strategy leaders, and innovation managers seeking systematic approaches to building innovation capabilities. Essential for organizations moving beyond ad-hoc innovation to sustainable innovation systems.

Innovation You: Four Steps to Becoming New and Improved

Ballantine Books

Co-authored with Staney DeGraff

Innovation isn’t just for organizations—it’s for individuals too. Innovation You applies innovation principles to personal development, showing how anyone can reinvent themselves and unlock new possibilities.

The Four Steps:

• Understanding your personal innovation profile
• The transformation process for personal change
• Overcoming fear and resistance
• Building support systems and sustaining momentum

Who Should Read This:

Anyone at a career crossroads, seeking personal transformation, or interested in applying innovation principles to their own development. Particularly valuable for mid-career professionals reassessing their path.

Competing Values Leadership

Edward Elgar Publishing

Co-authored with Kim S. Cameron, Robert E. Quinn, and Anjan V. Thakor

This comprehensive volume explores how the Competing Values Framework applies to leadership challenges across diverse organizational contexts. Drawing on decades of research and practice, the authors show how mastering competing values is essential for effective leadership. Available in three editions.

Key Insights:

• The foundational Competing Values Framework explained
• Applications across leadership, culture, and change
• How values compete and complement each other
• Developing versatility as a leader
• Case studies from diverse industries and contexts

Who Should Read This:

Academic researchers, executive education participants, and senior leaders interested in comprehensive frameworks for leadership development. Essential reading for those seeking deeper theoretical understanding alongside practical application.

Creativity At Work: Developing the Right Practices to Make Innovation Happen

Jossey-Bass

This book demystifies the creative process and provides practical tools for individuals and teams to enhance their creative capabilities. Based on extensive research and real-world application, it shows that creativity isn’t magic—it’s a skill that can be developed.

Key Insights:

• The five practices of highly creative organizations
• Individual creativity profiles and how to leverage them
• Techniques for generating breakthrough ideas
• Overcoming organizational barriers to creativity
• Creating environments that foster creative thinking

Certified Professional Innovator Workbook

The Jeff DeGraff Innovation Library

A practical workbook for participants in the University of Michigan’s Certified Professional Innovator (CPI) Program. Includes exercises, frameworks, and tools for developing innovation capabilities.

Additional Works

• The Enlivened Self
• Making Stone Soup – The Jeff DeGraff Innovation Library