Leadership innovation

Text book :
Creative Approaches to Problem Solving
A Framework for Innovation and Change
Scott G. Isaksen, K. Brian Dorval, Donald J. Treffinger
3rd ed.
Hospitality, and Financial Activities industries. There is an enormous overlap of data between Leisure and
Hospitality, but we have identified multiple unique challenges to discuss. The following narratives will discuss a
challenge each sector is facing and how they can utilize creative problem solving to identify potential innovative
solutions. LEISURE: The struggle to find creative approaches in addressing the effects of COVID-19 on
Tourism, Travel and Lodging The Leisure and Hospitality industry employs about 16.5 million people in the
United States (Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 2020a). According to the Department of Labor and
Regulations of South Dakota (2015), the Leisure and Hospitality industry sector comprises a variety of serviceoriented fields such as lodging, food services, theme parks, transportation, entertainment and other tourismoriented products. “The travel sector is bracing itself for the collapse of yet more holiday companies as
businesses continue to struggle to meet the challenges of the Covid-19 crisis” (Choat, 2020, para. 1). With
travel being put on hold and families being advised to stay at home, many businesses have been finding it
difficult to make ends meet. “Outside Kennedy International Airport’s Terminal 4, the long line of New York City
yellow cabs that in years past rotated like a conveyor belt to meet the demand of passenger arrivals has
disappeared” (Yeginsu & Norman, 2020, para. 1). Tourism-oriented businesses such as amusement parks and
theatrical shows have all been closed, creating a domino effect for other businesses which support the tourismoriented sectors. This has led to many people being left without a job as their places of employment are not
considered essential. Today the unemployment rate in the leisure and hospitality industry is around 16.3
percent, down from 39 percent in April of 2020, but still three times higher than 2019, when unemployment
rates in 2019 hovered around 5 percent (BLS, 2020b). Though many leisure and hospitality businesses have
reopened their doors with a modified business model, “the U.S. economy is projected to lose $155 billion in
2020 – or $425 million per day – because foreign visitors are kept at home by the pandemic and international
travel bans, according to the U.S. Travel Association, a trade group” (Gilbertson, et al., 2020, para. 12).
Discussion Question #1: Select either Question #1A or Question #1B for your initial response. You do NOT
need to answer both questions. Please repeat the bolded portion of the question at the top of your post, so that
your classmates can easily respond to you. Question #1A: “The primary emphasis of the Understanding the
Challenge component is to use the language and tools of CPS to focus on the results you want” (Isaksen et al.,
2011, p.55). Many businesses that operate perfectly in large cities like hotels, cabs, Uber, and Lyft depend on
tourists in order to continue operating. Isaksen et al. states that “creative approaches to problem solving enable
you to better use the knowledge and skills you already have” (p. 22). By utilizing their existing skills and
industry knowledge, what would be one creative approach, that leisure industry leaders can use to help find a
solution for their business that depends on travel and tourism? Identify and discuss one business example, (i.e.
taxi, or amusement, or arts, etc). Directly cite (quote) either our Isaksen et al. or Magretta textbook at least
once in your initial response, in APA format. Question #1B: Rich Lesser from BCG (TED Talks, 2020), a
business strategy consulting group, talks about the rapid changes that the business world is experiencing and
what to expect in the upcoming years. Lesser (TED Talks, 2020) advises that big shifts will happen across all
industries and that one of those shifts is the acceleration of digital transformation, or digitalization. Bloomberg
(2018) defines digitalization as “the use of digital technologies to change a business model and provide new
revenue and value-producing opportunities” (para. 11). Use what you learned from Chapter 7 of Isaaksen,
Dorval & Treffinger (2011) and describe one creative way, in which you can use the “people as creative
problem solvers” concept (p. 163) to help with the accelerated digitalization within the Leisure industry. Will
digitalization of the processes lower, or increase the unemployment rates in the Leisure industry? Give one
specific example, and explain why. Directly cite (quote) the Isaksen et al. textbook in your response, in APA
format. HOSPITALITY: How to stand out in the volatile Service industry Within the Leisure and Hospitality
industry, Hospitality is a subsector of the service-providing umbrella market, which is inclusive of arts,
entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and food service. The largely private hospitality industry currently
employs approximately 13 million Americans, accounting for 8.5% of the working class (U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, 2020c). The Hospitality sector is defined under Accommodation and Food Services. “The sector
includes both accommodation and food services establishments because the two activities are often combined
at the same establishment” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020e, para. 1). The hospitality industry has been 
hurting for several months already, due to COVID-19, and many of the sectors of the industry have been forced
to shut down in California and across the country. According to Holmes (2020), “a study by the U.S. Travel
Association reports the hospitality and leisure industries have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
That sector — which includes restaurants, bars, clubs, hotels, and cafes — endured over one-third of all job
losses in the United States, even though it comprises just 11 percent of the country’s workforce” (BLS, 2020a,
para 1). Hospitality, and specifically the hotel business, is characteristically influenced by seasonality and
tourism. Customer behavior is highly susceptible to external factors such as economic downturns, travel
restrictions, buyer nerves, and other social uncertainty (Flemming, 2020). As a result, developing customer
loyalty through delivering exceptional experiences is vital to driving repeat business and word of mouth
endorsements. In her TEDx Talk “Service Isn’t The Same As Hospitality,” Anna Dolce explores the qualities that
are needed to stand out in the hotel business. She cites that 40% of satisfied customers don’t return to a
business, so owners need to seek out the differentiating factors that make their hotel memorable. She attests
that Service is the mechanics of “delivering acts, tasks and procedures with consistency” while Hospitality is
the “positive emotional response elicited in our guests while service is being delivered,” and hospitality is the
differentiating factor that breeds loyalty, sentimentality, and repeat business (Dolce, 2018). Discussion
Question #2: Select either Question #2A or Question #2B for your initial response. You do NOT need to answer
both questions. Please repeat the bolded portion of the question at the top of your post, so that your
classmates can easily respond to you. Question #2A: Consider how businesses compete. According to
Magretta (2012), “competition focuses more on meeting customer needs than on demolishing rivals. […]
Because there are so many needs to serve, there are many ways to win”(p. 22). Consider you are an
entrepreneur with a struggling boutique hotel. Explain why elevated hospitality standards (vs. service
standards) can benefit the bottom line for a new or struggling business. Directly cite the Magretta textbook (a
phrase, sentence, or key words) in your response, along with any other references you discover, in APA
format. Question #2B: According to Beckett (2019), “As the COVID-19 outbreak became more and more
serious, companies learned a valuable lesson: the difference between success and failure is creativity” (para
1). Identify 2 creative ideas that another industry can use to specifically resolve the loss of revenue due to
COVID 19? Directly cite (quote) either of our two textbooks in your response, along with any other references
you may have identified, in APA format. FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES: Bringing technology into an old-fashioned
industry The Financial Activities Industry encompasses the Insurance Marketplace as well as Real Estate
Rental and Leasing. Establishments in this sector engage in “financial transactions involving creation,
liquidation or change of ownership of financial assets” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020d, para. 1).
Insurance is the pooling and underwriting of risks (health, casualty, property, life, mortgage) and the building of
reserves for when a contractual payment must be made to an insured or a claimant. Insurance dates back to
Lloyd’s of London in the late 1600s, providing insurance for sailors, merchants, and ship-owners and has
transformed over the years to the insurance marketplace we have today. Insurance has not changed much
over the last few decades, with little to no innovation. Recently, though, Insurtech companies have started up,
proving a more modern approach to insurance, especially in the Property & Casualty marketplace (home, auto,
renters types of insurance…). Many insurance carriers try to separate themselves from their competition based
on price or service, but new Insurtech companies have been able to become more tech savvy, youthful and
cool to keep up with the needs of the consumer today (Drabik, 2018). These insurance carriers have found
ways to be unique, rather than being the best at the same things their competitors provide (Magretta, 2012).
Discussion Question #3: Select either Question #3a or Question #3b for your initial response. You do NOT
need to answer both questions. Please repeat the bolded portion of the question at the top of your post, so that
your classmates can easily respond to you. Imagine you are a new executive at an old, long run, established
insurance company. The company is profitable and able to help their customers during a loss and the company
pays their employees well. Many of your customers are Baby-Boomers or Gen X but you are not attracting the
younger generation, and growth has plateaued.