Intrigued by the title? I wanted you to read the foreword I wrote for our latest release, The Innovator’s Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity by George Couros…and both of those words are in the very first line(along with “decaying carcass,” by the way)! George is one of the top thought-leaders in education right now and his book is off the charts AMAZING!

My foreword is copied below. Enjoy!!

“Buzzwords crowd the educational reform movement like buzzards circling a decaying carcass. Many have become enamored with–and lost to–a culture of clichés and a penchant for platitudes. Perhaps no word is a better example of this than innovation. It’s frequent use and misuse has led to the loss of much of its power. However, a true spirit of innovation is exactly what our educational system needs to crush complacency, stomp the status quo, and forge a path into a future that is perpetually in flux.

The Innovator’s Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity by George Couros is the manifesto we have been waiting for to lead us out of this jungle of jargon and into the rarefied air of real change. Don’t be disappointed that there is no map, no step by step plan to take you to the educational Promised Land. Change isn’t something that comes with a checklist. We live in a world where the winds and the sea are constantly shifting and the treasure is never hidden in the same location twice.

Instead, what you hold is a compass. This book is about creating the mindset, the culture, and the relationships to empower the people in your system to be willing and able to trim the sails and set a new course in any kind of weather and in any kind of conditions.

This book is a starting point, the opening of a discussion, an embracing of the idea that we are all learners walking this path together, each of us with our own stories and unique challenges. George seamlessly weaves personal anecdotes, real-world examples from powerful practitioners, and though-provoking questions designed to push educators to question conventional wisdom into a tour de force that is, quite simply, a game changer.

If reading this book makes you uncomfortable, fantastic!

If reading it forces you to question long-held and dear beliefs, wonderful!

But, if you read this book and it does nothing to change your practice, we failed. Inspiration without implementation is a waste. The inevitability of change is not to be feared but embraced. As George so eloquently says, “Change is an opportunity to do something amazing.”
This is your opportunity to make innovation “go viral” system-wide. This is your opportunity to design schools that value creation over compliance and making over memorizing. This is your opportunity to connect with a community of colleagues who are committed to sharing their trials and triumphs, their problems and progress in the knowledge that we are all on the same team to help students win in the game of life.

I have heard George speak. I’ve seen how well his message resonates and the effect it has on his audience. My great hope for this book was that it approximates the impact of hearing him live and, in my opinion, mission accomplished. There is an authenticity to his message that is powerfully persuasive. Perhaps his greatest gift is how he can simultaneously prod you and pull you, forcing you out of your comfort zone while making you feel like he is holding your hand and walking with you the whole way.

The journey starts here. And yes, school can be amazing.”

You can pick up George’s book RIGHT HERE.

Of course, you can order quantities at bulk prices straight from us, as well.

It is HIGHLY recommended! I can’t imagine there is any possibility you won’t love it or that it won’t blow your educational mind. He has even made it easy to conduct a book study by putting together discussion questions for each chapter and a webpage of resources.

Join the discussion on Twitter at #InnovatorsMindset and you can join The Innovators Mindset Facebook group here.
Have a great week!!

Dave Burgess