Creative Problem Solving Institute 2025

This presentation will explore the transformative power of effective questioning in creative problem-solving. Attendees will learn advanced techniques for crafting probing questions that uncover deeper insights and drive innovative solutions. Through practical exercises and real-world examples, participants will enhance their inquiry skills and stretch their capabilities to new heights.

Illuminators shine a light on others. They make people and their ideas come alive.

With their distinct blend of skills, they excel as facilitators and relationship builders. Illuminators make others feel seen, heard and appreciated. Their curiosity invites richer stories and deeper insights. They see and celebrate others’ strengths.

In this session you’ll work with a partner to cultivate illuminator skills and instincts. You’ll see what distinguishes an illuminator from a diminisher and learn a variety of illuminator “moves”:

• Genuine Curiosity: Asking surprisingly simple questions that reveal richer stories
• Active Listening: Using your eyes and body (and silence) to make others feel heard
• Celebration of Strengths: Expressing your partner’s unique qualities to create a deeper connection

Brain Storming is often a process of using our sense of sight and sound, but we often ignore the influence of taste, smell and touch. This session is going to challenge participants to notice all five senses and how the influences can broaden our creativity. We will use a variety of activities that engage the sight, sound, taste, smell and feel experiences to broaden our thoughts and ideas.

In this session, we'll discuss how relentless curiosity can bring you face-to-face with the unknown, sometimes unearthing fear and usually requiring the opening of the vault of vulnerability in your mind. We'll discuss what works--and share what hasn't worked--as we face ambiguity and all that it brings. Ultimately, we will strive to shine a light on the pathway to freedom to take risks and achieve more even more than we hoped.

Problem solving implies a linear experience with a series of independent issues to be solved and moved on from. Life (and work) is messy, with changing variables and shifting priorities in the everyday systems we live and work in. Spotting patterns will stretch your change game from solving one problem that may be a success for today, to uncovering opportunities for shifting patterns for more sustainable change with broader impact.

A sense of belonging is powerful and critical to us as humans. During this session, we will tap into the power of creative problem solving to explore how we can collectively unlock Belonging.

- You Will Unpack What Belonging Means to You
- You Will Have Opportunity to Identify Ways to Increase Belonging
- You will Foster New Creative Connections

Imagine this: a room buzzing with energy, walls covered in vibrant sticky notes, and a community of like-minded individuals ready to push boundaries and ignite transformation!
Whether you’re searching for your next big breakthrough, feeling a little stuck, or just craving a fresh, innovative approach to personal development, this session is designed just for Y-O-U! 
Imagine stepping into the CEO suite of your own life. In this hands-on, game-changing workshop, you’ll learn how to take charge of your personal and professional journey, unlock untapped potential, and create a vision for a future YOU can’t wait to lead.
With nothing more than a stack of sticky notes and the power of your imagination, you’ll master a fun, visual methodology that top executives use to strategize their business empires—now reimagined to help YOU strategize your life. This isn't just another self-help session; it’s a fast-paced, interactive experience that will leave you energized, inspired, and equipped with actionable insights to become the architect of your destiny.
What Awaits You:

• Unlocking Hidden Patterns: Piece together the story of your life—its successes, surprises, and lessons learned—to reveal your strengths and unique value.
• Setting Audacious Goals: Dream boldly and then break those dreams into a step-by-step action plan you can start implementing today.
• Designing Your Vision: Create a personalized "CEO roadmap" that aligns with your core values and sets the course for your next chapter.

Why Should You Attend?
Let’s be honest—there are dozens of ways to “think about your future,” but very few are as dynamic, creative, and downright fun as this. You’ll leave this session with a wall of colorful ideas, your very own strategic life plan, and a renewed sense of excitement about your journey ahead. Plus, you’ll pick up insights and ideas you can use over and over again to stay at the top of your game. Your future CEO self is already RSVP’ing.
Bring your curiosity, your creativity, and maybe even a friend. Let’s make those sticky notes work as hard as you do!

What if the key to realizing your most impactful ideas wasn’t so much in what you do, but in how you align with the idea first? In this session, we’ll explore the often-overlooked creative alignment or “phase of being” so beneficial in the creative process—the inner work of engaging deeply with your idea(s). You’ll gain a new approach, practical tools and techniques to reflect on and strengthen your relationship with your idea, uncovering what excites you, what holds you back, and what support you need. Because aligning with your ideas isn’t just about creativity—it’s about fostering joy, clarity, and purpose along the way.

These days its a stretch to take a pause; usually a photo is a quick “snap” of the moment. In this workshop, we will learn how current practitioners of contemplative photography blend their taking of photos with photographic techniques that inspire pausing and reflecting. We will use our phones to practice a contemplative approach to taking photos and use reflection questions to deepen our Contemplative Photography experience.

How often do we have the chance to reflect on our lives? On what we have accomplished, what is important, and what may seem inconsequential. This workshop will give you the opportunity to pause for a few minutes and reconsider your journey so far. You'll be able to create a book using practical, seamless binding techniques (using only paper folds). This exercise will allow you to write, draw, and also bring printed photographs to include in your book. It provides you with the opportunity to share these moments in the workshop and later with others.

We all know self-care is important, but finding time for it often feels impossible. In this session, we'll break down the myths around "self-care" and dive into the essential elements of rest, renewal, and review—and why each one is crucial for keeping our creativity and energy flowing. Using creative problem solving tools, you’ll develop personalized strategies that actually fit into your life, so you can recharge, reignite your creativity, and avoid burnout.

What if you could create time — what would you do with it? Time is the stuff your life is made of, the most precious commodity you have, and the only one you can’t create more of—or can you? In this session you will create time where there was no time, so that you have more time to create.

Steve Shama

If you are a member of a committee, head of a business or organization or simply a person who has difficult people in your life, like a colleague, friend, family member, who are e.g. angry, controlling, demanding, this course is for you. You'll experience creative ways of dealing with difficult people so you make peace not war. Bring your difficult people scenarios and we’ll generate, thru role playing, many powerful and practical approaches to solving these frustrating situations and you'll leave with a time-tested handout of tools and techniques, in a session that will be filled with humor and poignant moments.

Jen Verbakel

After an enlightening and stimulating conference, participants have the chance to give themselves the gift of time for pausing and reflecting, so they can be more effective at implementing change when they get home. This workshop serves as an opportunity for participants to consider what they've learned and how they will implement their new ideas. This session will incorporate collaboration, mindfulness, reflection, and planning.