Success Stories
“It’s not about the training we do; it is about the lives we change and the people
Harry Vardis, Founder and Principal
we help.”
Creative Focus is an innovation-driven consultancy that practices - and enables others to practice creative problem-solving, design thinking, and innovation. Creative Problem Solving is a proven, human-centered process for addressing problems or challenges by generating and implementing new ideas with value. Our goal is simple: to help organizations, teams, and individuals arrive at creative ideas and innovative solutions.
We believe and practice the American dream: ordinary people doing extraordinary things. We lead by example and teach how to work smarter by collaborating empathetically with those in your team. We offer instruction, engagement, inclusive leadership, coaching, and practice – to help you discover new possibilities.
In the library, you will find the many pathways that form the ABCs of innovation. Please read them, share them, and discover the value we can bring to you and your business (or a non-profit that you wish to support). If you find value in these resources, we will be delighted!
Be well, stay healthy, and let us know if we can be of service to you.
Profiles
Harry is a veteran of the Advertising Industry, where he used creativity tools to solve client challenges in positioning, new product development, problem detection, getting trade buy-in, naming new products, and other critical marketing challenges.
In 1997, he founded Creative Focus, an innovation consultancy, to put the power of Creative Problem Solving and Design Thinking to work and to resolve most corporate and personal challenges. He applied these technologies to challenges for top corporations; and taught them at the MBA and EMBA level for seven major universities and at corporate training sessions.
As an Executive in Residence at Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University, and as a qualified trainer and consultant in the Creative Problem-Solving process at the Creative Education Foundation, Harry continues to research and teach what he loves most: applications of creativity in business from both process and human perspectives.
Because so many challenges involve people, he became a qualified practitioner of the FourSight Creative Thinking System which supports the people side of innovation.
thirteen years ago, he invented the Innovation Assessor in collaboration with the Bloomberg Business Week, an online instrument capable of measuring an organization’s potential to become an innovation powerhouse.
His formal education includes an undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Statistics, and graduate studies in Organizational Psychology with an emphasis on Consumer Psychology.
A sailor at heart, he also loves trekking and photography.
A passionate educator and lifelong learner, Kevin Gecowets has developed leaders and organizations for 30 years in higher education, government, and private industry.
He is a master instructor, facilitator, and coach, cultivating leaders and organizations to create innovative solutions, improve service, and achieve operational excellence.
Kevin is a Senior Consultant with Creative Focus, a creative problem-solving and innovation training and consulting team that collaborates with clients to solve complex problems with new ideas that deliver value.
He served as the Director for University Learning at Kennesaw State University and Director of Organizational Change for Georgia’s Governor’s Office of Customer Service. He also led training and organization development for Colony Homes, the Georgia-Pacific Corporation, and other private and public service organizations.
Kevin is a Part-time Instructor of Management with the Michael A. Leven School of Management, Entrepreneurship and Hospitality at Kennesaw State University where he teaches innovative approaches to solve “wicked” challenges. Previously he taught leadership certificate courses at the University of North Georgia, customer service & professionalism at KSU’s Academy of Inclusive Learning and Social Growth, and organizational behavior laboratories at Brigham Young University. Kevin has been a guest lecturer and keynote speaker for universities and professional associations.
Kevin is a Doctoral student in Learning, Leadership, and Organization Development at the University of Georgia with a Graduate Certificate in Leadership and Ethics from Kennesaw State University, an MS in Organizational Behavior from Brigham Young University, and a BS in Music Education from the University of Illinois. His research interests include how organizations and leaders support or restrain the creation of informal networks, trading in the marketplace of ideas (brokering), and other adaptive practices that drive innovation and change.
He has received awards for his service to the University System of Georgia, the Georgia Office of Child Support Services, the KSU Department of Public Safety, and the Boy Scouts of America. The National Association of State Personnel Executives recognized Kevin and his team as the most Innovative State Human Resource Management Program for their statewide employee satisfaction initiative.
Kevin volunteers as a Sunday School President for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Canton, Georgia. He and his wife Elaine are the parents of seven adult children and have recently become grandparents. They reside in Woodstock, Georgia.
Together we solve complex problems with new ideas that deliver value.