Fiona Stevenson and Shelli Baltman, The Idea Suite’s Presidents and Co-Founders, discuss their new children’s book, and explore how to unlock the creative potential of the next generation of innovators.
Our mission at The Idea Suite is to unlock the creative potential of people and businesses through innovation - but that mission goes beyond just business, and the day to day work of our company. We also share a strong and deeply-rooted belief that every child deserves to learn the creative problem solving, design thinking and entrepreneurship skills that will help to prepare them for a future evolving at an unprecedented pace.
Unlocking the next generation’s creative potential
With that in mind, we’re thrilled to announce that we’ve written a picture book designed to unlock the creative potential of the next generation of innovators.
The book, The Greatest Helmet of All Time, tells the story of a group of animals who notice their friends with horns can’t participate safely in sports requiring head protection, because helmets aren’t designed for horns. They join forces and go through a six-step creative innovation process resulting in the creation of the “Greatest Helmet of All Time”—a universal helmet that fits every kind of horned head.
Through the story, we expose young readers between the ages of five and 10 to the same design thinking skills and frameworks that we use with our clients – some of the most innovative companies in the world.
Skills designed for an uncertain future
Today’s youth face an uncertain future full of complex global challenges. We believe that gaining a solid foundation in creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation from a very young age will help prepare the youngest generation for the challenges they will likely face. Empowering children with entrepreneurial and creative problem-solving skills will allow them to adapt and thrive, regardless of market conditions - and help them recognize that their innate creativity is one way to help them realize their potential.
We hope the book helps to teach kids to identify problems or opportunities around them and gives them the confidence that their curiosity and a simple design thinking framework can truly help them solve any problem they might face throughout the course of their lives. To help to put those values into action, twenty-five per cent of the royalties from the book will be donated to Free for All Foundation, whose mission is to make productive citizens of children who are at risk of not realizing their full potential.
The Greatest Helmet of All Time, $19.99, will be available on Amazon Canada or Amazon USA starting November 1, 2022. To ensure access for every child, The Greatest Helmet of All Time is also available as an e-book for $1.99.
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