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Stephen Shapiro
Stephen Shapiro is an American business author, consultant, and public speaker. He is best known for his expertise on business innovation, and he has written five books, including two best-sellers, on the subject. Shapiro’s work has been featured in several media outlets, including ABC News, CNBC, The Huffington Post, SUCCESS Magazine, Newsweek, Entrepreneur, The Wall Street Journal, The European Business Review, and The New York Times. (AU) Shapiro works with organizations in over 40 countries to help them increase innovation; his clients include Nike, Microsoft, Staples, NASA, USAA, Shell, Johnson & Johnson, The United States Air Force, Fidelity Investments, Pearson Education, Nestlé, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. (AU)

Career
Shapiro began his career in the mid-1980s, where he spent 15 years working for the consulting firm Accenture. While at Accenture, he delivered training on innovation to over 20,000 consultants, and helped the company establish its Global Process Excellence Practice. In 2001, Shapiro wrote his first book, 24/7 Innovation: A Blueprint for Surviving and Thriving in an Age of Change, which was published by McGraw-Hill. The book was a major success, being featured in Newsweek, Investor’s Business Daily, and The New York Times. This helped Shapiro further establish himself as an innovation expert. In 2006, Wiley published his highly acclaimed and controversial book, Goal-Free Living. (AU) The book, built on Shapiro’s corporate innovation work, outlined ways individuals can live more creative lives by eschewing society's overemphasis on goals. The book was featured on the cover of O, The Oprah Magazine. Shapiro further developed his theories on innovation, and in 2007, self-published his Little Book of BIG Innovation Ideas. That year he also launched Personality Poker®, a card game that helps organizations understand personality mixes and the impact they can have on creativity and innovation. In 2010 Portfolio Penguin published the Personality Poker book, which included a deck of Shapiro’s playing cards. The next year, Shapiro released his fifth book, Best Practices Are Stupid: 40 Ways to Out Innovate the Competition. That book was also published by Portfolio Penguin and became an international best-seller.

Innovation Philosophy
Shapiro established his philosophy based on the premise that old models of innovation are broken, and that fresh ways of thinking about almost everything is the surest way for an organization to increase its innovative output. He recommends dispensing with standard best practices in many business situations, and advises clients to adopt more unconventional practices, like hiring people they may not like, or seeking the opinions of individuals from different, even completely unrelated areas of expertise to help overcome business challenges.

Awards and Recognition
Shapiro has received recognition and several awards for his work. This includes:


 * His work was featured on the cover of O, The Oprah Magazine
 * Personality Poker was nominated for Best Innovation and Creativity Book of 2010 by 800-CEO-READ
 * Best Practices Are Stupid won the Best Innovation and Creativity Book of 2011 by 800-CEO-READ
 * Best Practices Are Stupid was the #1 best-selling business book in Canada according to the official Globe and Mail ratings