It All Started When I Was 6 Years Old

Steve_in_first_gradeI don’t remember much about First Grade, but fortunately my mom saved this newspaper clipping of me “experimenting” with electricity.  Yes, that’s me on left side of the photo very focused on my project! This was the start of my innovation “career.”

At this same age, I liked to take things apart to discover how they worked. Then, I would take all of the pieces and try to reassemble the device to better understand how it operated. Typically I would get broken appliances or similar items to take apart. But, one day I ran out of broken items, so I started taking apart my mom’s working vacuum cleaner – I got in trouble for that experiment! Fortunately, my dad was an engineer, so he was able to put the vacuum cleaner back together, and it still worked.

Today, more than 40 years later, I still love to learn how things work and spend time helping creative people develop innovative ideas for their business. Those childhood activities helped shape the rest of my life – working as an Electrical Engineer, an Intellectual Property Attorney, and an Innovation Strategist. Every step of my life has involved innovation and creativity. I’ve upgraded from disassembling broken appliances to teaching entrepreneurs and business leaders how to leverage innovative ideas.

I have been fortunate to work with some amazing entrepreneurs and forward-thinking companies (from small start-ups to some of the largest corporations in the world). This allowed me to see first-hand how a team of creative people can solve problems and develop innovations that truly change the world. It’s exciting to be part of those projects and work in that type of environment.

Based on my experience, I have discovered that many businesses have a large number of valuable innovations hidden throughout the organization. These innovations are ready to be “discovered” by applying the proper techniques and educating everyone in the organization about an effective innovation process. One of my favorite activities today is helping businesses uncover and leverage these hidden ideas to accelerate business growth. As an entrepreneur myself, I apply these same techniques and processes in my own business.

Even though 40 years have passed, I’m still experimenting with electricity – and so much more. I still love being part of the creative process and helping companies gain a competitive edge by identifying, developing, and leveraging innovations.

What childhood experiences are still shaping your life today?

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(2) comments

cindyschulson December 21, 2016

Great article Steve! It’s so true that some of our greatest gifts have been with us since childhood. As a child, I always had a fascination with language. I was reading from a newspaper by age 3 (or so my mom tells me), was pretty fluent in 2 foreign languages by age 10, and was never without a book.

I ended up spending my Corporate Career in Strategic Communications and now help entrepreneurs with their messaging. Fancy that!

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    Steve Sponseller December 21, 2016

    Yes Cindy, you certainly identified your talents at an early age!

    Reply
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