Innovation-ish: Making Creativity Accessible in Higher Education

How do we make innovation less intimidating — and more human?

That’s the question at the heart of Innovation-ish, a new book by Harvard’s Tessa Forshaw and Stanford’s Rich Braden, who joined Dustin Ramsdell on The Higher Ed Geek Podcast to talk about their journey from classroom experiments to co-authored insight. Together, they’ve spent a decade teaching students, faculty, and professionals how to unlock creativity, dismantle innovation myths, and embrace the “ish” in innovation — the imperfect, iterative, deeply human part of making something new.

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The Creativity Gap: Why Students Stop Seeing Themselves as Creative

When Forshaw asks her Harvard students to raise their hands if they think they’re creative, fewer than 10% do. Ask a room of five-year-olds, and every hand shoots up — sometimes both. Somewhere around middle school, that confidence fades.

“Every student I’ve ever taught is creative,” Forshaw says. “But most don’t identify as creative.”

Innovation-ish was born out of a decade of teaching at Stanford’s d.school and Harvard’s Next Level Lab — and from a shared frustration that the education system often rewards rule-following over risk-taking. The book aims to reawaken that innate creativity and show that innovation isn’t about genius or luck. It’s about habits, iteration, and learning to stay steady when faced with ambiguity.

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Redefining Innovation: From Myth to Mindset

According to Braden, popular stories about innovation — the lone genius, the overnight success, the billion-dollar idea — have done more harm than good.

“Innovation isn’t hard,” he says. “It’s just hard work.”

Innovation-ish reframes innovation as an accessible skill rather than an unreachable ideal. Through their research in cognitive science and design education, the authors dismantle “innovation hesitation” — that fear of failure or inadequacy that stops people from trying new things.

Their goal? To replace intimidation with invitation.

“We added the ‘-ish’ to make it gentler,” Braden explains. “Innovation-ish is about welcoming everyone into the creative process — not just the few who already think of themselves as innovators.”

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Why Higher Ed Needs More “Ish”

In higher education, the tension between creativity and structure runs deep. Institutions value excellence and outcomes — but that often comes at the cost of experimentation and emotional safety. Forshaw calls it “innovation hesitation squared”: not just the individual fear of failure, but the institutional fear of risk.

“Higher ed cares deeply about students and outcomes,” she says. “That makes innovation feel even scarier — because mistakes feel like they carry higher stakes.”

Her advice? Start small. Innovate in low-risk areas — the expense reporting process, for instance — before tackling bigger, more complex systems. Building confidence in manageable spaces helps campuses normalize experimentation.

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Behind the Book: Practicing What They Teach

Forshaw and Braden didn’t just write about creativity — they used their own methods to write the book. Instead of taking a linear, chapter-by-chapter approach, they wrote a “terrible first draft” quickly, then iterated over and over, testing versions with real readers (not just editors).

“It was the worst book you’ve ever read,” Forshaw laughs. “But iteration made it better — just like in design.”

They rewrote, reordered, and reimagined sections until the structure itself embodied their philosophy: creativity thrives through cycles of feedback and refinement.

Their rule for collaboration?
If one of them wasn’t happy, it wasn’t done.
If they disagreed, it meant neither was right — yet.

That process of tension and trust, they say, mirrors the creative challenges students face when working in teams.

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Lessons for Higher Ed Leaders

As AI reshapes learning, uncertainty rises, and institutions struggle to adapt, Forshaw and Braden argue that teaching creative problem-solving is no longer optional — it’s essential.

“The skills you need to thrive in an ambiguous future are the same ones you need for innovation,” Forshaw explains. “Metacognition, empathy, navigating ambiguity, learning from others — those are the real skills of the future.”

Braden adds that higher ed must give students — and faculty — “space and grace” to process uncertainty.

“You can’t reprimand people into innovation,” he says. “You have to acknowledge their hesitation and design around it.”

Both believe the next generation of students won’t just need to use AI — they’ll need to co-create with it, embracing ambiguity as a creative partner rather than a threat.

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Takeaway: Redefine What It Means to Be “Innovative”

In a world that rewards quick answers and perfect outputs, Innovation-ish reminds us that creativity is messy, iterative, and deeply human. The most transformative ideas often begin with uncertainty — and that’s okay.

“You don’t have to be a genius to innovate,” Braden says. “You just have to start.”

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🎧 Listen to the Full Episode

Hear the full conversation with Tessa Forshaw and Rich Braden on The Higher Ed Geek Podcast, Episode 302, available now on the Enrollify Podcast Network.