Andrew Razeghi is adjunct associate professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. As a writer, educator, and adviser to organizations on creativity, innovation and leadership, his work spans industries, from consumer packaged goods to healthcare, tourism to media, and non-profit organizations to professional sports teams.

 Andrew’s newest book on innovation is entitled "THE RIDDLE: WHERE IDEAS COME FROM AND HOW TO HAVE BETTER ONES" (February 2008, Jossey-Bass/Wiley). In "THE RIDDLE", professor Razeghi explains how the common pre-cursors to “Eureka moments” can be replicated in order to help people learn to become more innovative. FAST COMPANY magazine has selected "THE RIDDLE" as one of its "Smart Books for 2008.” 

   A few of his clients include Aurora Healthcare, Brinker International, Darden Restaurants, GE, GlaxoSmithKline, the Houston Texans, Motorola, Novartis, PepsiCo, Switzerland Tourism, and World Kitchen. Andrew speaks to thousands of people each year at trade association and organization events and has appeared in a number of media outlets including ABC-TV, Air America, The Chicago Sun-Times, China Daily, El Norte (Mexico), FAST COMPANY, NPR, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The San Jose Mercury News.

   Prior to joining Kellogg, Andrew taught the capstone MBA course on strategy and organization at The Graduate School of Business at Loyola University Chicago. Shortly after the fall of communism in Central Europe, he was invited to be among the first American professors to teach free market economics at The Prague University of Economics in Prague, The Czech Republic. In addition to his work as an educator and adviser, Andrew is a review panelist for The Wright Centers of Innovation at The National Academies of Science in Washington, D.C.; a Thought Leader with Knowledge Dialogue; and an Advisory Board Member of Americans for Informed Democracy (AID) – a non-partisan 501(c)(3) organization working to raise global awareness on more than 500 university campuses and in more than 10 countries.

Testimonials:  

"First of all, let me congratulate you for such a great conference in Cancun last week!!!  Your perspective was fresh and practical. Everybody loved it. In fact, we just received the meeting evaluations and you were one of the speakers with the highest scores (4.8 out of 5!).  I think your presentation was excellent!"  

PepsiCo

Andrew Razeghi is fantastic! He really motivated our team and gave us exercises that were helpful and insightful in order to apply his teaching. These exercises pushed our teams outside their comfort zones and resulted in creative, memorable learning. Our team loved not only his interaction with the audience, but also his hands-on participation with the crowd!”

Dean Foods

Speeches:

1) The Riddle: Where Ideas Come From and how to Have Better Ones

   Have you ever had a problem you couldn't figure out no matter how hard you tried? Someone likely advised you to "Take a break. Don't think so hard." And so you did. And then, on waking up, while in the shower, or while stuck in traffic, it happened. "Aha!" you said. "I've got it! I've figured it out!" Just when you least expected it, you became suddenly creative an instant innovator was born! In this fascinating keynote presentation, best-selling author and Kellogg School of Management professor Andrew Razeghi will share research from his book entitled "THE RIDDLE" whereby he takes readers on a journey into the precise moment of creative insight known famously as the Eureka moment. Professor Razeghi will explain why it happens, when it happens, and most importantly - what you can do to make it happen more often. As it turns out, "thinking differently" may be oversold. If you want to learn to be more innovative, you won’t want to miss this talk.

Outcomes:

• Learn why you have your best ideas when you are least likely trying to have them
• Learn how emotion, knowledge, memory, and ethnicity may help/hinder your creativity
• Learn how to improve your creativity by practicing common pre-cursors to Eureka!

2) How Triumphant Leaders Create The Future

   Whether businesses face uncertainty or meet the challenge of the constant pressure to innovate, leaders must dig deep to keep their focus and stay effective. In his best-selling book and keynote presentation, Kellogg School of Management professor Andrew Razeghi isolates the critical factor that is a core element of successful leadership in any climate. This book sheds new light on an ancient virtue by exploring why some leaders succeed while others fail. Using research from neuroscience and behavioral psychology along with real world stories of leaders across disciplines, Razeghi illustrates the role of belief systems as leadership tools. This keynote presentation is rich in inspiring stories from business, politics, science, sports, art, religion, exploration, and philanthropy. Professor Razeghi also presents a wealth of thoughtful questions to ponder to help you learn to turn your beliefs into actionable and tangible tools.

Outcomes:

• Learn the science behind the power of your beliefs over your performance and the performance of your team
• Learn how belief systems have been used by history’s greatest leaders to achieve the impossible
• Learn how to create a belief system that will improve your capacity to create, make decisions, and solve problems.