After going through a series of routine heart exams the other day (EKG, Echocardiogram, cholesterol check, etc.), the cardiologist comes in and says:

“Based on all your lab results, and calculating all your risk factors, you have about a 5% chance of having a heart attack within the next ten years.”

Getting weak in the knees, heart pounding through my chest, and feeling like I am about to pass out from the shock of this death sentence, I pause long enough to say:

“Wait. Doesn’t that mean that there’s more than a 95% chance that I WON’T have a heart attack within the next ten years???”

To which he replies: “Yes…I guess that’s another way of looking at it.”

Um...yeah.

In fact, he goes on to say that my results are excellent and that my heart is in perfect shape. As it turns out, statistically, 5% is the odds of ANY 50-plus-year-old male having a heart attack within the next ten years! So, despite the temporary panic he caused, it turns out that I am completely normal…heart-wise, anyway.

So what can we take from this near-fatal incident in terms of communicating numbers?

Everything!

Businesspeople communicate in numbers almost every single day. Regardless of what function you work in, numbers are, typically, how we gauge -- and explain to others -- how we’re doing. And it's how most managers manage.

As management guru Peter Drucker famously put it, “It you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”

But a crucially important point to keep in mind – whether delivering a presentation, or writing a report, and whether communicating to your boss, employees, or customers – is that it’s not the numbers themselves that matter; it’s the story the numbers tell…and the message you intend to deliver.

Numbers without context are absolutely meaningless and confusing...and, worst case, potentially damaging.

A few examples:

• If I tell you that I have “a 250 average” is that good or bad? The answer – as is the answer to most questions (*my students all know this :) is: “It depends”! If that “250” number is my baseball or softball batting average, it’s not too great. If 250 is my bowling average, you can sign me up right now for the Pro Bowler’s Tour!
• When the iPod first came out way back in 2001, if Steve Jobs had announced with great fanfare that it had a 5GB hard drive, how many non-techies would have been impressed with that and raced out to buy one? Not too many, probably. But by saying that this tiny little gadget will fit “1000 songs in your pocket,” well, communicating it to a global audience in that way changed the world.
• Let’s say we’re discussing high school graduation rates and I show you a complicated, detailed graph that indicates that, nationwide, 30% of high school students end up not graduating. Is that impactful? Maybe...once you’ve deciphered it. But what if, instead of saying “30%” I show you a photo of ten bright-faced high school students…and then put X’s across the faces of three of them, while stating: “See this group of ten kids? Three of them will not graduate from high school. Now that we know this…what are we going to do about it?” Which of those two scenarios do you think will have a greater emotional impact? 

So, again, it's not the NUMBERS that matter, but the story, and the meaning, and the humanity, and the emotion behind those numbers. That’s what moves people and spurs them to action.

And when communicating numbers (whether spoken or written), keep in mind that it’s not just WHAT we say (the facts and figures), but HOW we say it (tone of voice, body language, facial expression, framing).

So, going forward, when communicating numbers, I urge you to consider your listeners or readers, by putting yourself in their shoes and using empathy and emotional intelligence to visualize and anticipate how your message may, ultimately, be received.

Otherwise, failure to do so can, literally, give someone a heart attack.

A lot of people use the words “innovation” and “creativity” interchangeably, but my favorite definition helps to clearly differentiate the two:

“Innovation is the value-added application of a creative idea.”

In other words, ideation is great, but it’s not actually “innovation” until ideas are applied in the real world…and, in some way, add value.

Of course, talking about definitions is one thing; putting ideas into action to generate results is another. If you’re struggling to ideate and innovate, or if you just want to trigger your creative mojo, this list of some of my favorite books is a good place to start. It’s an eclectic mix of exciting recent releases combined with a few all-time favorites. Each of the books on this list will help you to think more creatively, generate new ideas, gain new perspectives, communicate and present your ideas more effectively, and/or foster a culture of innovation within your organization.

Plus, they’re all highly entertaining and enjoyable to read.

Written by some of the top thought-leaders out there today, some of whom you may already know and others you most definitely should. As my company’s mission and motto is “Educate, Engage, and Excite,” I assure you that every book on this list meets this requirement with flying colors. They will inform you, capture and hold your attention, and inspire you to new heights.

100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People and 100 Things Every Presenter Needs to Know About People
Susan M. Weinschenk Ph.D.
These two beautiful, colorful, companion books take a fascinating, psychology-based (and yet extremely practical) approach to both technology design and presentation design based on how people see, listen, think, feel, learn, and act. Here’s a fun video sample from the author (otherwise known as the “Brain Lady”), as well as a link to her blog.

Back of the Napkin, The: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures and Unfolding the Napkin: The Hands-on Method for Solving Complex Problems With Simple Pictures 
Dan Roam
Cave drawings (and, therefore, visual communication) existed long before the written word was invented. These books (especially the fun and interactive “Unfolding the Napkin” workshop-in-a-book) will teach you how to think, problem-solve, and communicate more visually, and master the art of napkin-sketching, whiteboard-drawing, and more. Tons of great resources on the website as well.

Design For How People Learn
Julie Dirksen
The simple and straightforward title pretty much says it all. But what it doesn’t tell you is how extremely creative, visually appealing, and entertaining this amazing book is. For people who design and/or deliver training or facilitate workshops of any kind, this book is my new #1 recommendation. Even if you don’t do training, it will help to make you a smarter thinker and learner.

Doodle Revolution, The: Unlock the Power to Think Differently
Sunni Brown
The Beatles sang, “You say you want a Rev-o-lution, we-ll you know, we all want to change the world.” Well, visual thinker Sunni Brown IS changing the world through her Doodle Revolution by single-handedly shifting the paradigm from thinking of doodles as useless scribbles to giving the doodle its rightful place as a powerful and under-appreciated catalyst for innovation. Warning: If you visit her website, just know that you will be entering a wonder-filled world of color and creativity that you may never want to leave.

Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success

Adam Grant
While this book is not necessarily about innovation, per se, the creative and powerful storytelling by Wharton professor Adam Grant teaches us how being a “giver” rather than a “taker,” and and how selflessly cultivating a climate of generosity can help foster a culture of collaboration and innovation. One of the best business books of the past year, by a terrific guy who definitely practices what he preaches.

Icarus Deception, The: How High Will You Fly?
Seth Godin
No book list on the topic of innovation would be complete without a selection by the brilliant and prolific thought leader Seth Godin. Last year it was Linchpin; this time around it’s Icarus. Impossible to describe in a sentence, the basic premise is: you are an artist and your work – whatever it is that you do – is your art. So now that you realize that, the question is: “what are you going to do about it?” If you don’t know Seth Godin yet, or don’t yet subscribe to his blog, you must. You just must. Take my word for it.

Idea Stormers: How to Lead and Inspire Creative Breakthroughs
Bryan W. Mattimore
Staring at a blank screen, flip chart or whiteboard is no way to come up with new ideas — especially as a team. So ideation specialist Bryan Mattimore generously shares with us a number of his time-tested ideation and innovation secrets, including his simple but powerful (and energizing) “brainwalking” process, as well as numerous other idea-generating facilitation techniques and an array of inspirational and entertaining real-world innovation success stories.

Liquid Leadership: From Woodstock to Wikipedia — Multigenerational Management Ideas That Are Changing the Way We Run Things
Brad Szollose
In a world where Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Gen X, and Millennials are thrown together and expected to work side by side in peace and harmony, the question becomes: “how can we leverage the power of this generational diversity to cultivate a climate of collaboration, creativity, and innovation?” Internet entrepreneur and keynote speaker Brad Szollose tells us how through humorous and insightful research and storytelling.

Naked Presenter, The: Delivering Powerful Presentations With or Without Slides
Garr Reynolds
To gain buy-in for your ideas, you need to be able to communicate and/or present them to your listener or audience. And this book is, without question, the single best book on public speaking I’ve ever read. And I’ve pretty much read them all. Written by Garr Reynolds, who I consider the king of presentations, this simple, aesthetically beautiful book is a resource that you will refer back to time and time again.
  
Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery
Garr Reynolds
About how many business books can you say, “This book, literally, forever changed my life and the way in which I see the world?” This awe-inspiring, Zen-based piece of work  will take your breath away — and make you unable to sit through (or produce) another horrible PowerPoint presentation ever again. His website and blog are amazing resources, as well.

Quick and Nimble: Lessons From Leading CEOs on How to Create a Culture of Innovation
Adam Bryant
Innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum. So what can business leaders do to “build and foster a corporate culture that encourages innovation and drives results?” In his brand new book, New York Times business columnist and author of The Corner Office, Adam Bryant, identifies six key drivers that help companies to stay quick and nimble, as well as innovative.

Resonate: Present Visual Stories That Transform Audiences and Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations
Nancy Duarte
If Garr Reynolds is the king of presentation design and delivery, then Nancy Duarte is the queen. There is no way to put it other than to say that these two amazing – and amazingly beautiful – books will blow your mind. While Slide:ology is all about creating more effective visual presentations, Resonate is about telling more visual and impactful stories. Together, these two awesome works will transform you and help you transform your audiences. Great resources on her site as well.

Unstuck: 52 Ways to Get And Keep Your Creativity Flowing At Home, At Work & In Your Studio
Noah Scalin
Do you ever feel stuck when trying to come up with new creative ideas? This fun, colorful, visual, interactive book by Noah Scalin provides you with page after page of exercises intended to kick-start your creativity and help you generate new ideas. Whether you read it cover to cover, or simply open it to a random page, this stimulating do-it-yourself guidebook will help jump-start your creative flow.

White Space is Not Your Enemy: A Beginner’s Guide to Communicating Visually Through Graphic, Web, & Multimedia Design
Kim Golombisky and Rebecca Hagen

 This book is a wonderful introduction to design thinking for non-designers. For someone like myself who previously knew very little about design, this visually beautiful book opened my eyes to a whole new world of possibilities.

This list, at first glance, may seem a little overwhelming, but remember that, as Confucius said, a reading journey of a thousand (or even 14) books begins with a single book. Or something like that. So let the wonderful books on this list be the fuel that powers your innovation engine and speeds you down the highway of success.

What happens when an organization maintains a traditional, old-school, top-down, command and control, management-based culture rather than a more open and transparent, cutting-edge, bottom-up, leadership-based one?

One vivid example is the current crisis at Samsung as detailed in today’s New York Times article, “Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Crisis Signals Problems at Korea Inc.” – although better described by the article’s print edition title: “A Top-Down Breakdown: How a Rigid Culture May Have Helped Lead To a Crisis at Samsung.”

Among the key points mentioned in the article (summarized/paraphrased below) regarding how Samsung’s dysfunctional culture contributed to, if not caused, its current crisis:

• Samsung, like South Korea as a whole, fosters a rigid, top-down, hierarchical, micromanaging, hidebound [i.e., unwilling or unable to change because of tradition or convention] culture that stifles innovation, buries festering problems, and evades accountability;
• Samsung engineers and mid-level managers are seldom allowed to second-guess management goals set by senior-level leaders…and their “no questions asked” corporate culture has grown more inflexible in recent years;
• Managers constantly feel pressured – out of fear of losing their jobs – to prove themselves through the accomplishment of short-term goals at the expense of long-term objectives;
• Supervisors often use harsh and violent language when communicating with their staff, creating a climate of fear and intimidation;
• Racing to accomplish over-ambitious goals in order to get the Galaxy Note 7 to market, extensive product testing and other safety-related measures related to the design and manufacture of the modified batteries were disregarded;
• And in its race to beat Apple, Samsung, rather than innovating new products, pushed its existing technologies beyond their limits to the point of failure;
• South Korean culture encourages and expects top talent to enter and adopt the norms of companies like Samsung, rather than possibly launching their own start-up companies, thereby further inhibiting entrepreneurship and innovation. As the article states, they are trying to identify and appoint the next Steve Jobs, rather than creating a societal culture that would enable and empower the next Steve Jobs to emerge.

In one of my favorite business books, The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't (apologies for the language, but that’s the title) by Stanford management professor Robert Sutton, he tells this memorable story based on the research of Harvard’s Amy Edmondson (who coined the term “psychological safety”) regarding the impact a toxic organizational culture has on the behavior of its employees:

The results of a hospital leadership and productivity study determined that nurses who worked for administrators who had been identified as good leaders committed MORE (not less, but more!) mistakes than those who worked for bosses who were identified as jerks (i.e., a-holes). The initial conclusion: Managers who are tough jerks – even if it may be unpleasant to work for them – got the best results from their people.

Although, not quite.

Upon further analysis, what the results actually revealed was that the nurses who worked for good leaders did not MAKE more mistakes – they REPORTED more mistakes when they were made! This way they could be remedied, documented, learned from, and not repeated. They were encouraged to, and rewarded for, bringing mistakes out into the open rather than sweeping them under the rug.

The nurses who worked for the jerks lived in constant fear, and were so terrified of acknowledging or admitting mistakes when they occurred that they did everything possible to ignore them and/or cover them up for fear of the repercussions.

So the question is: What are you measuring and rewarding in your workplace: mistakes COMMITTED, or mistakes REPORTED? And are you creating a culture of openness and accountability and trust where people feel free to speak up and speak out…or are you the next Samsung waiting to happen?

Similar stories have been told about co-pilots who failed to speak up to more senior pilots when they could and should have, resulting in crashes; students not speaking up to teachers if/when the teacher may be wrong; children not feeling empowered to question their parents, etc. When there is hierarchy, when there is an imbalance of power and/or rules against questioning authority, when there is a culture of fear and intimidation, when there are penalties for speaking up, or for speaking out of turn, or for being wrong, you are potentially creating a recipe for failure…and even disaster.

As management guru Peter Drucker wrote: “What gets recognized and rewarded is what gets done.”

There are many lessons we can take from the Samsung story, but as my professional focus tends to be on management, leadership, teams, organizational development, and innovation, the question I’d like to leave you with is this:

What kind of culture and climate is your organization creating, through its norms and practices…and are you creating a culture of ownership, empowerment, accountability, and leadership at every level…or are you in the process of writing the next cautionary tale?