Building a Foundation for Principled Innovation,
The book: Building a Foundation for Principled Innovation
Available now in print and as a free digital edition.
Arizona State University has released a new book, Building a Foundation for Principled Innovation, designed to help readers understand and engage with Practicing Principled Innovation, the university’s framework for placing character and values at the center of decisions and actions.
Since becoming a university design aspiration in 2023, ASU faculty and staff from dozens of colleges and units have used Principled Innovation (PI) to better understand the values driving their work and to intentionally develop character through practice. The book is a timely resource as PI is increasingly used to enhance courses, professional development programs, community partnerships, and collaborations with other institutions. It serves as both an introduction for those encountering PI for the first time and as a resource for practitioners seeking to deepen their understanding of PI’s underlying principles, practices, and approach to character development. The book is co-edited by Ted Cross and Jacqueline Smith and includes a foreword by ASU President Michael Crow.
Building a Foundation for Principled Innovation introduces the ideas that shape the PI framework, including its four character domains, eight practices, and the role of practical wisdom in navigating complex situations. Practical wisdom develops over time as people repeatedly apply the principles and practices of PI to real decisions, relationships, and challenges. Rather than presenting character as a fixed trait or abstract ideal, the book explores how it can be intentionally developed through reflection, experience, and action. Examples from ASU students, faculty, and staff illustrate how Principled Innovation takes shape in practice, showing how individuals and groups’ character deepens as they wrestle with competing priorities and learn from difficult situations.
PI practitioners are seeking solutions that are both creative and responsible. Throughout the book, readers are encouraged to consider how innovation is shaped not only by what we create and the impacts we make, but also by the character we develop and the practical wisdom we cultivate over time.
- Download a copy of the e-book here.
- To request a print copy of the book, email Kaley Bontrager.
Available as an early demonstration e-version.
The workbook is the practical companion to the book. Where the book explains, the workbook provides activities for putting PI into practice. It follows the same four domains of character, using plain names (Purpose, People, Process, and Performance) and eight skills you build along the way, such as naming what matters, widening the circle, and anticipating impact.
The workbook begins with where you come from and who you are today, then guides you through short activities that draw on your own values, roles, and real projects. In the full version, each section will include:
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Activities you can do on your own, with a User Guide for each
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Group activities with Facilitation Guides, for when you’re ready to bring PI to your team
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Case studies from ASU and partner institutions, so you can practice outside your own context
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Short videos that bring each domain to life
Shorter activities live right in the workbook. Longer ones and their guides are online, so we can keep improving them as we learn. When it’s published, the print version will include QR codes for accessing digital resources and provides space for writing directly on the pages.
This demo version is a work-in-progress and is in beta-testing. We appreciate any feedback or insights you gain from using it. Please feel free to share them with Matt Nock at mrnock@asu.edu.
