Stephen Lundin, PhD, the bestselling author of the FISH! series of books, with over 7 million copies in print, has an inventory of work experience ranging from dishwasher to think tank executive; teacher to business school dean; golf caddy to camp director; and small business owner to national sales manager. Today, Steve spends his time writing, speaking and film making. He has taken his powerful messages about FISH, Top Performer, and Innovation to audiences all over the world. Steve’s new project, CATS: The Nine Lives of Innovation, already a best seller in Australia where the book was first field tested, has been revised and expanded for release by McGraw Hill. CATS takes the position that organizations don’t innovate, people do. So if you want to have a more innovative organization, develop more innovative employees. The curriculum for this employee development is The Nine Lives of Innovation. CATS, while a content book, has an elegant simplicity reminiscent of FISH!

Over the years Steve has observed two things that provoked him to develop CATS. First of all, innovation isn’t taken as seriously as topics like change, strategy and leadership. There is a lot of talk about innovation, but very little action. He believes one reason is that we ask the left brained strategic minds in our organizations to engage in activities that cause them to feel uncomfortable. Without a compelling reason, people will avoid things that make them uncomfortable. Secondly, the landscape of innovation is littered with wonderful approaches and great talent but lacks structure. The Nine Lives provide both a structure for the universe of personal innovation and a compelling reason to engage in the process.