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Ask "What if?" and
everything changes.

Leslie Grandy

Most organizations wait for "aha moments" or rely on a few "creative people" to drive innovation. But that's not a strategy, it's just hope.

My approach is different.

I help corporate leaders shift from optimizing to reimagining. By asking "What if?" you move beyond small improvements toward unexpected breakthroughs, replacing "a little better" with "completely different." Creativity should be an organizational skill, not limited to a single department. It's a strategic skill that drives every breakthrough in business—from product innovation to risk management to operational transformation.

I believe in four core principles:

Most innovation coaches focus on chasing the next big idea. My approach is different:

I translate creative thinking into repeatable systems that leaders can trust and teams can use immediately and regularly on real business problems, from strategic planning to product innovation to organizational transformation.

creative journey

From Hollywood to Silicon Valley: An Unconventional Journey

Lead Executive in Residence University of Washington, Foster School of Business

Launched

The Product Guild

Product and Innovation Advisory Services

Patent Co-Author USPTO #US10257551B2

“System and method for providing integrated media”

Member of Directors Guild of America

Launched Tech Career at Visio Corp

​For most of my career, I didn't think I was creative. I was the problem-solver, the strategist, the person who got things done. Then I discovered that creativity isn't a talent—it's a skill. And it belongs everywhere.

 

My journey began on Hollywood film sets as a member of the Directors Guild of America, where I learned the power of storytelling and how to bring bold visions to life under impossible constraints. That foundation led me to executive roles at Amazon, Apple, T-Mobile, Best Buy, and Discovery, where I spent 25 years building teams, launching first-to-market products, and co-authoring a patent for one of the earliest digital media subscription services.

But here's what really shaped my work: I watched brilliant people in finance, operations, legal, and HR get left out of innovation conversations. Not because they lacked ideas, but because organizations treated creativity like a department instead of a competency.

 

I saw teams make incremental improvements when they were capable of exponential breakthroughs. I watched companies react to disruption instead of creating it. And I realized the biggest competitive advantage wasn't better technology or faster execution—it was asking "What if?" when everyone else was asking "how?"

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That's when I founded The Product Guild and wrote Creative Velocity—to help leaders embed creativity across every function of their business and partner with AI as a creative collaborator, not a replacement.

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​Today, I serve as Lead Executive in Residence at the University of Washington Foster School of Business's Product Management Leadership Accelerator and mentor through the University of Michigan's College of Engineering Center for Entrepreneurship.

LESLIE GRANDY

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