[MUSIC] Hello, my name is Julio Ottino. I'm the Dean of the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science here at Northwestern. Leadership requires the ability to look at complex problems and to uncover root causes. To see the central idea in a sea of issues. However, leadership is more than chasing and solving problems. To either see new possibilities where others are not looking. And recognize when new ideas can have broad implications. These two core skills, problem solving and imagining the future, can be addressed through one process, design innovation. At it's core, most basic level, design innovation starts with a clear understanding of the end user. It uses as systematic process to uncover the real problem behind the perceived problem. In design, the majority of the time is spent on building understanding, because there is no big price for solving correctly what turns out to be the wrong question. Through the design process we build, test and iterate, all while keeping the end user in mind. Design innovation empowers leaders to develop meaningful solutions, create value, and envision new possibilities. At the very highest level, design unlocks creativity and the ability to imagine a new future. Design also serves as an important counterbalance to an overly analytical mindset. It is not an either or proposition. You need both analysis and creativity. But combining these two will empower the development of transformative ideas. At Northwestern, it is something that we call whole brain thinking. I'm very pleased to be able to share it with you. >> I'm Brad Hamm, Dean of Medill, and our 15,000 alumni are among the best in the world. The foundation of Medill's expertise has always been reporting and storytelling. Journalist Walter Lippmann once said, we depend upon the media for an accurate view of the world, so we can act. We need accurate information to make decisions, and we need to communicate well to be leaders. Our Medill faculty in this specialization, we'll talk about how storytelling can be a powerful tool for leadership. Your story, how you connect with internal and external groups, can be a key to the success of your organization. Great brands, like great journalists tell other stories well. And great story tellers can lead groups through challenges, away from conflict, and toward innovation. We're glad you joined this specialization on leadership, and specifically Medills course, to learn about how storytelling can change your leadership path. We look forward to hearing your stories about the change and innovation that results. I'm Barbara O'Keefe and I'm the Dean of Northwestern School of Communication. My colleagues and I are very pleased to have joined with three other Northwestern schools to build this specialization in leadership. It's the kind of topic that requires inter disciplinary study and teaching. But at the same time, it's a wonderful showcase through the research we do in our field. As a social scientist who studies communication processes and practices in the workplace, I'm acutely aware of the connection between well-executed communication and effective leadership. As a leader you need to be able to articulate an effective vision for your organization, and help others adopt and implement it. And while these days a leader has many possible ways of sharing ideas with others in his or her organization. In the end a leader's effectiveness will turn on the ability to influence others through persuasion. In the social influence course the specialization requires, Daniel O'Keefe will present the best contemporary scholarship on changing attitudes, beliefs, and behavior. This research helps a leader think through communication tasks and identify what does and what does not need to be changed, in order to implement a new vision for the organization. If you know what your real communication task is, naturally you can make better decisions about how to accomplish it. And now we have a wealth of research on how to best pursue each of the distinctive types of objectives you might have, as you attempt to influence your community. The social influence course will also take you through all of these options. Our course on communication thus provides you with a robust schema for deciding first, what you need to change to accomplish your goals and second, which of the available tactics is best for meeting your needs. This is the foundation for success and persuasion, and that in turn is the foundation for success in leadership. [MUSIC]
