The Innovator’s Heart

Show Notes:

• 3:50Jim’s interest focus on improving education began when his son struggled in school due to ADHD, and he set out to create a school to support kids with learning differences.
• 6:15Calgary Academy is a specialized school that was founded in 1981 to support students with learning differences and it has grown due to its willingness to take risks and try new things.
• 7:40Everything is changing at such a rapid pace that innovation is the norm; the status quo is dead.
• 9:15Education is fundamental to our freedoms and how we develop the skills for dialogue and listening respectfully to contrary opinions.
• 11:15The quality of your life is more important than the quantity of your life. Quality is defined by unbridled curiosity and the connections with those around us.
• 12:50To cultivate curiosity schools must create a culture of “What if…?” where people are welcomed to challenge ideas respectfully.
• 16:00Exercise impacts our cognitive faculties, including those required in learning and navigating trauma. We were built to move, and this is especially true for students in school.
• 19:30“Caste” by Isabel Wilkerson is a book that fed Jim's curiosity about why the white, middle-class of America is so angry and supported a president like Donald Trump.
• 23:00You don’t get anywhere talking to people who agree with everything. Navigating our way out of our current problems involves understanding those with opinions different than our own.
• 24:00Jim created the “7 over 70” list in Calgary to encourage senior citizens to not just retire, but to continue to change and grow.
• 26:10When you pair the money and contacts of seniors with the ideas of the youth, incredible things can happen.
• 27:00We need to build bridges with others before we need them.
• 29:00How we respond to someone sharing an idea can either build or break their confidence, and confidence is the most precious commodity of an innovative culture.
• 33:30The complexity of most work today demands the diverse skills of a team. We must build teams and then get out of their way to avoid micromanaging.