About Us

Keith McCandless, Co-Founder

Structured Improvisationalist

Those who say "No" to the offers life makes are rewarded by the safety that it brings;

those that say "Yes" are rewarded by the adventures that they go on. Viola Spolin

Keith helps people in organizations innovate and manage complexity by working with groups to unleash creativity, discover opportunities and build on momentum. A founding partner of the Social Invention Group, his eclectic skills are grounded in business management, organizational development, complexity science, strategy development, and graphic facilitation... all with an improvisational twist.

A short list of FABULOUS consulting and teaching partners include:

Brenda Zimmerman, Arvind Singhal, Henri Lipmanowicz, Curt Lindberg, June Holley, Lisa Kimball, Tony Suchman, David Gasser, Jerry and Monique Sternin, and others...

Pictured below (clockwise) the loose-yet-very-tight network of socially inventive colleages: Curt Lindberg (President, Plexus Institute); Linda DeWolf (President, VHA Health Foundation) and Keith; Brenda Zimmerman (professor, York University, Schulich School of Business in Toronto) with Tony Suchman, MD, (Relationship Centered Care); Keith and Henri Lipmanowicz (former CEO Merck International and board chair Plexus Institute); June Holley of Smart Networks and Lisa Kimbal, producer of Group Jazz; David Gasser, photographer/artist; Jerry and Monique Sternin, founders Positive Deviance Initiative with Keith; and, Arvind Singhal, professor of communication, Ohio University).

>>> start here

In the beginning... Three friends and former colleagues in San Francisco -- Wynne Grossman, Ellen Griffin, and Keith McCandless -- founded the Social Invention Group in 2001. We formed the group to share our expertise in collaborative learning, product development, and transformational leadership. With diverse individuals in organizational and community settings, we successfully designed and led innovative product development initiatives, cutting-edge leadership networks, and grass-roots-up strategic planning.

Our passion for unleashing the power of social invention brought us together. Wynne and Ellen left the group to take top leadership positions in Bay Area healthcare organizations.

Gyrfalcon drawing (pastels on paper)

Keith's bio sketch... Keith led executive learning initiatives for the Health Forum (HF) in San Francisco, where he was responsible for working with field-based learning collaboratives focused on market strategy, systems thinking, quality management, creativity, rapid prototyping, and transformational leadership.

Prior to the Health Forum, Keith founded and served as the executive director of the Foundation for Health Care Quality in Seattle. The foundation brought together business & health leaders in a unique partnership to improve quality and value in healthcare.

Born in Cincinnati Ohio, he holds a Masters in Management of Human Services from Brandeis University in Boston and a BA from Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington.

Keith lives in Seattle with his wife and two hounds.

Maurice and Tyrone pictured here...

Social Invention Group

Complexity Science Inspired Consulting~Coaching~Teaching~Facilitating