Invisible Solutions

25 Lenses that Reframe and Help Solve Difficult Business Problems

Solve Any Problem Faster, with Less Risk and Lower Cost

Unprecedented access to infinite solutions has led us to realize that having all of the answers is not the answer. From innovation teams to creativity experts to crowdsourcing, we’ve turned from one source to another, spending endless cycles pursuing piecemeal solutions to each challenge we face.

What if your organization had an effective and systematic approach to deal with any problem? To find better solutions, you need to first ask better questions. The questions you ask determine which solutions you’ll see and which will remain hidden.

This compact yet powerful book contains the formulas to reframe any problem multiple ways, using 25 lenses to help you gain different perspectives. With visual examples and guidance, it contains everything you need to master any challenge.

This book will help you:

  • Discover why we are hardwired to ask ineffective questions and learn to work through those barriers.
  • Understand the power and importance of well-defined questions.
  • Reframe any problem multiple ways to help you find the optimal solution.
  • Move from idea-based innovation to question-based innovation that drives higher ROI.

Apply just one of the lenses and you will quickly discover better solutions. Apply all of them and you will be able to solve any problem—in business and in life.

$24.95
ISBN: 978-1-64543-186-2
SKU: 08-642-01
Categories:Amplify Publishing, Business and Finance, Entrepreneurship, Thought Leadership

“Using 25 lenses, Stephen Shapiro shows the innovation community how they can solve important problems using commonsense solutions hidden in plain sight!”—Navin Kunde, innovation leader, The Clorox Company 

“Sometimes the best solutions are right in front of your nose. This book will help you see solutions that you may have missed.”—Matthew Von Ertfelda, Senior Vice President, Global Operations (Food and Beverage), Marriott International 

“This book is a gift for leaders and innovation professionals everywhere! With Invisible Solutions, you will stop solving problems that don’t matter and start getting the results you want and need.”—Jack Elkins, former Director of Innovation, NBA’s Orlando Magic

“Invisible Solutions is an exceptional tool to help uncover solutions that might well otherwise remain unexplored, untapped, and hidden.”—Adam Burke, Chief Operating Officer, Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board

“Invisible Solutions is a must-read for anyone tackling complex and seemingly impossible business problems. Read this book and you will learn how to uncover amazing solutions you didn’t know were possible.”—Daniel Burrus, New York Times bestselling author of seven books including Flash Foresight 

“Stephen’s book offers a myriad of outside-the-box solutions for everyday problems that will make you a better leader or business owner. Start reading this book now!”—Jeffrey Hayzlett, primetime TV and podcast host, speaker, author, and part-time cowboy

Stephen M. Shapiro

Innovation Keynote Speaker and Management Consultant

Stephen’s career started after he earned a degree in industrial engineering from Cornell University. His focus was on improving manufacturing productivity. Although Stephen didn’t know it at the time, this was the perfect field of study for the work he would eventually do.

Right out of college, Stephen joined Arthur Andersen’s Management Consulting Division (now Accenture, the global management consulting firm). His first big career opportunity came in 1993, when he helped run their Business Process Reengineering practice. This optimization work was a natural build on Stephen’s industrial engineering work. Instead of improving manufacturing productivity, they focused on improving business productivity.

After a few years of promoting this work, he experienced an existential crisis when he realized that their process improvement work had led to massive downsizing. During a leave of absence, Stephen evaluated what he wanted to do with his life and he realized he wanted to help companies grow. And, since 1996, innovation has been his focus.

Stephen was lucky to be given the opportunity to lead a twenty-thousand-person process and innovation practice. He gave speeches and workshops to consultants and clients around the world, promoting their perspectives on innovation.

In 2001, he made another shift: he wrote his first book, 24/7 Innovation: A Blueprint for Surviving and Thriving in an Age of Change (McGraw Hill), left Accenture, and branched out on his own.

Since then, he has written seven books. Stephen’s previous book, Best Practices Are Stupid: 40 Ways to Out-Innovate the Competition (Portfolio Penguin), was named the best innovation and creativity book of 2011 by 800-CEO-READ (now Porchlight). Personality Poker®️ (Portfolio Penguin), which is both a book and a card game, has been used in twenty-five countries around the world to create high-performing innovation teams.

Stephen has had the great luxury of traveling the world and giving speeches in more than fifty countries. He is a Senior Fellow with The Conference Board. In 2017, he was a judge and mentor on the TLC innovation reality television show, Girl Starter. And, in 2015, he was bestowed one of the highest honors of the speaking profession: he was inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame.

When not speaking on stage, Stephen enjoys practicing magic and making the impossible possible. Stephen lives in Orlando, Florida, where he gets to enjoy the most amazing life with his wife.