| Term | Connection to Jeff DeGraff’s Work |
| 1. Competing Values Framework (CVF) | Co-developed by Robert Quinn and Kim Cameron, the CVF was significantly extended and popularized by Jeff DeGraff through The Innovation Code™ and his innovation teaching practice. DeGraff adapted the quadrants (Collaborate, Create, Compete, Control) into actionable innovation roles (Sage, Artist, Athlete, Engineer) and built tools, assessments, and pedagogical methods to apply them across military, corporate, academic, and mission-driven contexts. |
| 2. Paradoxical Thinking / Paradox Mindset | Central to DeGraff’s The Art of Change, his Paradox Cycle articulates how real change is driven by contradictory forces (e.g., stability and disruption, vision and revision). He teaches leaders how to navigate paradoxes not by resolving them, but by using them generatively through hybrid solutions—a practical extension of dialectics rooted in systems theory, creativity research, and pragmatist philosophy. |
| 3. Creative Mindset Theory | In The Creative Mindset, DeGraff identifies six core creative competencies (Clarify, Replicate, Elaborate, Associate, Translate, Evaluate) and embeds them into team and organizational development. This framework offers a practical way to cultivate individual and collective creativity and ties directly to his broader goal of democratizing innovation through accessible tools and practices. |
| 4. Applied Innovation Ecosystems | DeGraff has operationalized the concept of innovation ecosystems through real-world programs like Project Mercury and AIM HI. His approach focuses on building interconnected “cultures, competencies, and communities” across Academia, Industry, and the Military (the “3Cs”). These ecosystems support scalable, sustainable innovation in complex adaptive systems—bridging silos and fostering decentralized experimentation. |
| 5. Adaptive Leadership Development | DeGraff’s See-One/Do-One/Teach-One methodology and his work with high-potential military leaders, government agencies, and civic institutions embed adaptive leadership as both a mindset and method. His work moves beyond the Heifetz model by using innovation team diagnostics, paradox navigation, and quadrant-based development to prepare leaders to act in volatile, uncertain environments. |
| 6. Action Learning / Experiential Pedagogy | DeGraff’s innovation programs—used in universities, executive education, and military environments—are grounded in experiential design. His “See-One / Do-One / Teach-One” model, mastery portfolios, and smart experiments extend Kolb’s experiential learning cycle into real-world team transformation projects. These methods are now embedded in flagship capstone courses and certificate programs. |
| 7. Innovation Typologies (e.g., Artist, Engineer, Athlete, Sage) | DeGraff reimagined the CVF’s quadrant types as four creative personas—Artist (Create), Engineer (Control), Athlete (Compete), and Sage (Collaborate)—providing leaders with a vivid and practical typology to compose diverse innovation teams. These archetypes form the foundation of tools like the Innovation Genome™ and TalentForge. |
| 8. Civic and Mission-Driven Innovation | DeGraff’s recent work through the Intellectual Edge Alliance and PBS Books extends innovation practice into churches, libraries, performing arts, and public television. His Making Stone Soup digital series and AIM HI programs help purpose-driven institutions jumpstart innovation while honoring their values and constraints—democratizing creativity for the common good. |
| 9. Innovation Culture and Capability Building | At the heart of DeGraff’s consulting and educational work is the idea that innovation is not just about ideas—it’s about building the “3 Cs”: Culture, Competencies, and Community. His jumpstart models, capability assessments, and ecosystem design tools are used to create environments where innovation can thrive and scale. |
| 10. Innovation Cosmology (as a metaphysical and strategic framework for transformation) | In Shaping the Invisible, Creativizing, and his philosophical essays, DeGraff constructs a “cosmology of innovation,” integrating metaphors, paradoxes, and system dynamics into a worldview of transformation. Drawing from classical philosophy, psychology, and spirituality, this framework links practical innovation tools to deeper questions of meaning, emergence, and transcendence. |
