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Jeff DeGraff
Travels From TRAVELS FROM
Michigan, USA
Speaker Fee Range SPEAKING FEE RANGE ** Please note that while this speaker’s specific speaking fee falls within the range posted above (for Continental U.S. based events), fees are subject to change. For current fee information or international event fees (which are generally 50-75% more than U.S based event fees), please contact us.
$25,000 to $30,000
Book This Core Agency Speaker BOOK JEFF DEGRAFF
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PROFILE
Jeff DeGraff
Travels From TRAVELS FROM
Michigan, USA
Travels From SPEAKING FEE RANGE*
$25,000 to $30,000
Email Core Agency Book Jeff DeGraff
speakers@coreagency.com
  • The “Dean of Innovation,” a global thought leader in business innovation.
  • Founder of the University of Michigan’s cutting-edge "Innovatrium," a laboratory for innovation.
  • Co-creator of the Competing Values Framework, a formula for companies ready to take on the cultural changes that will lead to sustainable innovation and growth.

Jeff DeGraff adopted Walt Disney’s mantra of “keep moving forward” early in his life. Doing so enabled DeGraff to forge a career as a thought leader that has spurred colleagues and admirers to dub him the “Dean of Innovation.” A longtime clinical professor of management and organization at the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business, DeGraff enjoys sharing the wisdom he has gained with the innovators of both today and tomorrow.

The centerpiece of DeGraff’s evangelism of innovation is his groundbreaking Innovatrium at the University of Michigan. This innovation institute provides what DeGraff firmly believes every great innovator needs: a laboratory for experimenting with new ideas and creating tangible prototypes that can test these innovations. DeGraff’s students learn and test concepts in a space specifically designed to organically stimulate inspiration.

DeGraff is eager for others to benefit from the same wisdom he offers his students. He’s advised many of the world’s leading corporations using the Competing Values Framework he co-created. Clients call on him when they’re ready to take on cultural changes that will lead to sustainable innovation and growth. A prolific speaker and author, DeGraff is happy to provide the unorthodox, inspiring stimulus for these exciting changes. His successful books include Creativity at Work, Leading Innovation, and Innovation You: Four Steps to Becoming New and Improved, and he also contributes regularly to leading business periodicals. Those who experience DeGraff’s energy and insight personally will see why he’s known as the “guru to the innovation gurus” of many Fortune 500 companies.

VIDEOS
TESTIMONIALS

Select Client List:

Eaton
GM
SPX
3M
Apple
American Airlines
Coca-Cola
GE
Johnson & Johnson
LG
Pfizer
Toyota

PROGRAMS

Jeff DeGraff’s presentations distill the complex ideas born of his years of research into readily accessible advice for today’s business leaders. His sage reflections upon personal and business innovation, creativity, and growth provide real-world opportunities for immediate application. DeGraff developed his Innovatrium at the University of Michigan with the intention of demonstrating how business innovations can develop traction and momentum in a short span of time, and he enjoys sharing this wisdom with his audiences.

DeGraff peppers his speeches with concrete examples of how quickly the world of business is changing – and how companies and individuals might take on the cultural changes that will help them capitalize upon these transformations. No business – or individual – operates truly alone, and DeGraff carefully explains how to thrive within the “webs in which we are contained” and take advantage of networking opportunities. A practical thinker skilled at bridging academic insight with on-the-job application, DeGraff will leave audiences inspired to put his advice into action.

A very engaging and exciting speaker, Jeff has headlined many international conferences in various industries for clients such as General Electric, Visa, Tetra Pak, and American Airlines, among others. He brings his experience as a world renowned thought leader, executive and innovation expert to his speeches, focusing on how to achieve growth through developing organizational capabilities to innovate. His expertise is in connecting the dots of innovation: how pieces of the puzzles fit together to create a sustainable growth in organizations.

Jeff′s speaking engagements usually revolve around the following topics:

  • Leading Innovation: How to Jump Start Your Organization′s Growth Engine
  • Creativity at Work: Developing the Right Practice to Make innovation Happen
  • Innovation You! How We Grow
  • Custom topic with regards to growth and innovation

BEST-SELLING BOOKS

Innovation You: Four Steps to Becoming New and Improved
In today’s frenetic, uncertain world, the “same old, same old” routines are perfect ways to go nowhere fast. What has worked for you before—professionally or personally—no longer gets results. Whether you’ve been downsized, reached the end of a long relationship, or found yourself questioning where you are in life, it’s clear you need to change. To innovate. Make it new. Make yourself new. Now, in this invaluable book, the world-renowned “Dean of Innovation,” Jeff DeGraff, shares his tried-and-true techniques on how to reinvent yourself—creatively and with maximum impact.

Innovation You reveals DeGraff’s unique four-step program to bolster your ingenuity and remake your life. From forging ahead in a new career to losing weight to finally pursuing that long-held dream, DeGraff’s strategies are effective and easy to follow. Inside you will learn to:

  • Rethink Innovation: Find ways to think outside the box, seek out diverse opinions, and pay attention to the next great trend.
  • Rethink Your Approach: Use the Competing Values Framework to identify your natural innovation profile—do you compete, collaborate, create, or control?—and then deliberately draw from the other styles to augment your usual tactics.
  • Rethink Your Methods: Put your reinvention plan in motion—set specific, realistic, and meaningful targets, cultivate relationships with relevant mentors and experts, and try alternate methods to achieve your goals.
  • Rethink the Journey: Understand that innovation is a process and that progress comes in cycles rather than a quick straight line. Accept uncertainty, question assumptions, and acknowledge areas where you can improve.

Full of invigorating ideas, engaging anecdotes, practical wisdom, and inspiring success stories, Innovation You is your personal road map to reach your highest potential—and experience a bold new way of living.
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Leading Innovation: How to Jump Start Your Organization′s Growth Engine / Edition 1
Leading Innovation presents a unique, holistic approach to creating innovation at all levels of your organization. Authors Jeff DeGraff and Shawn Quinn have created a real-world, how-to playbook of integrated creativity tools and techniques for understanding where innovation comes from and harnessing its power to create a culture where real growth happens on a constant basis.

Based on DeGraff′s proven methods-which he teaches in his innovation program at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and has applied at Fortune 500 companies around the world-this breakthrough guide focuses on systematically integrating business practices and connecting them to the value propositions they produce. You′ll discover how to diagnose obstacles to innovation, realistically assess your options, and develop an integrated program of action that can be adjusted to meet the needs of any group, department, or business unit throughout your organization.

You′ll learn the 7 key steps to double-digit growth, sparking innovation in your:

  • Leadership-teams, development, and behavior
  • Strategic planning-identifying emerging opportunities
  • Organizational culture and competency development
  • Performance management processes-resource allocation, portfolio management
  • Innovation incubation processes-stage-gate development processes, innovation networks
  • Human resource management-staffing, team building, organizational learning

Throughout, insightful case studies demonstrate how these results-driven methods are supported by senior leadership at GE, Reuters, Coca-Cola, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Eaton, and other leading innovators.
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Creativity at Work: Developing the Right Practices to Make Innovation Happen / Edition 1
Although many leaders acknowledge and invest in creativity, we seldom see it hold a credible place in the business development process. Creativity at Work takes a practical approach to creativity, showing how to select practices to produce results and add value. The authors explain how to:

  • Understand the creative preferences of organizations, departments, work groups, and individuals
  • Identify and compare the different creativity profiles that describe specific purposes, practices, and people
  • Produce the desired results by developing the right practices
  • Blend creativity practices to meet the complex needs that characterize most work situations o Develop required creative abilities in a team and in oneself

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