Innovation inside large, established companies is hard. So we made a podcast to help you overcome obstacles and create change at your organization.
Subscribe to Innovation Answered on your podcast platform of choice, or scroll through past episodes below. If you’re inclined, give us a rating or review, too. To suggest a topic or send feedback, email editor@innovationleader.com.
Season 8
12The AI Experiment: How Corporate Innovation Will Change in 2025
For this ep, we looked at all of the AI tools that could possibly help us create a podcast episode — and then leveraged a handful to summarize some of our best content from 2024, and also hone in on some of the important dynamics that will impact corporate innovation work in 2025.
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11Innovating Disney’s Theme Parks
In this podcast episode, we talk with Bob Weis, the former president of the legendary Imagineering division at Disney, and author of the new book “Dream Chasing: My Four Decades of Success and Failure with Walt Disney Imagineering.”
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10How LG Electronics Brings Outside Ideas In
In this episode, we connect with Dr. Sokwoo Rhee, EVP of Innovation at LG Electronics and Head of the LG Nova Innovation Center in Silicon Valley. Rhee shares his advice about making change happen in big organizations, including the government.
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09AI and Innovation Converge at Harvard Business Publishing
In this episode, we talk to Laura Northridge, Senior Director of the AI Innovation Lab at Harvard Business Publishing. As is the case with many corporate innovators, she’s helping shape AI strategy and policy for the Boston-based nonprofit, an affiliate of Harvard Business School. It’s one of small number of organizations we’ve been tracking where the innovation lab shifted its focus entirely to AI earlier in 2024.
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08Steve Blank on Why ‘Innovation Heroes’ are a Bad Sign
In this episode, we talk with Steve Blank about why celebrating innovation heroes is symptomatic of a problem in large organizations. Blank also talks about the significance of AI: “I think this is as important as anything we’ve seen in tech in probably the last 50 years.”
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07GenAI Hits the Road with Mercedes-Benz
In this episode, we connect with James Liu, the Head of MB.OS Customer Experience at Mercedes-Benz. Liu oversees a team responsible for human-machine Interface concepts, UX design, front-end engineering, speech, and AI platforms. That includes prototypes that leverage generative AI technologies like ChatGPT and Stable Diffusion.
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06‘AI Springs,’ Automotive Futures, and Silicon Valley Innovation Labs
Evangelos Simoudis, author and investor, delves into the future of cars, what has happened to Silicon Valley innovation labs, and the latest “AI spring.”
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05Innovating Coffee, with Starbucks Veteran Mesh Gelman
In this podcast episode, we talk with Starbucks veteran Mesh Gelman about coffee trends; developing a new product from scratch; the difference between big organizations and start-ups; and his past work as an innovation consultant.
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04Geoffrey Moore on Generative AI: This is ‘Digital Transformation, Act 2’
If you’ve ever talked about a technology “crossing the chasm” from the realm of early adopters into the early majority, or your company has put a high-potential project into “the incubation zone,” you’ve been using language given to us by Geoffrey Moore. He joins us to talk about generative AI, AR, VR, and more.
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03Podcast: Driving Innovation in Biopharma and Other Regulated Industries
“No.” In regulated industries, there are a lot of well-paid people in legal, compliance, and risk roles who are very good at saying that word. Dan Seewald, the former Head of Worldwide Innovation at Pfizer, compares them to goalies on a soccer pitch: They “don’t get rewarded for scoring that many goals,” but rather they […]
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02Podcast: Who is Leading the Charge on Gen AI in Big Companies?
Paul Baier, CEO, and co-founder of GAI Insights, answers questions about the shifts in corporate structures, the challenges faced by leaders, the fascinating use cases that are reshaping industries, and more.
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01Podcast: What Does Act Two of Corporate Innovation Look Like?
Act One of corporate innovation is over, says Todd Dunn. What happened? “Many organizations have not developed innovation as a strategic and ongoing source of competitive advantage,” he writes in a recent LinkedIn piece.
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03Podcast: A Beginner’s Guide to Design Thinking
As part of our bonus series, “A Beginner’s Guide,” we caught up with experts on design thinking from Harvard, BCG BrightHouse, and Blue Origin, who shared what design thinking is, the biggest mistakes innovators make with the framework, and more.
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02Podcast: A Beginner’s Guide to Artificial Intelligence
Matt Baker, Head of Corporate Strategy at Dell Technologies, answers the basics about AI: how it will be adopted; how jobs will be affected by AI; why generative AI should be on your company’s radar; and more.
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01Podcast: What’s Changing About Innovation Spaces?
With input from leaders at CME Group, AARP, and Entergy, we dive into four big questions: What is an innovation space? What are the pros and cons of physical versus virtual spaces? What are the qualities great spaces possess? And what common mistakes do people make in setting them up and running them?
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The Persistent Innovators
05Podcast: Who are the Unsung Persistent Innovators?
In this bonus episode of the Persistent Innovators miniseries, InnoLead covers six more persistent innovators in various industries – including food and beverage, manufacturing, and telecom.
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04Podcast: What Makes Novartis a Persistent Innovator?
In the fourth and final episode of the “Persistent Innovators” miniseries, Wade Roush dives into Novartis, the Switzerland-based healthcare company, to explore how long-term innovation can thrive in the world of pharmaceuticals.
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03Podcast: What Makes LEGO a Persistent Innovator?
Through the power of the simple, yet famous, LEGO brick, the LEGO company built an international phenomenon that includes theme parks, hundreds of storefronts, and a feature film franchise. However– the path to LEGO’s success wasn’t always so linear. In the latest installment of the “Persistent Innovators” miniseries, Wade Roush takes listeners through the innovative highs and plummeting lows of one of the most well-known toy companies in the world.
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02Podcast: What Makes Disney a Persistent Innovator?
With an innovative streaming project in Disney+, multiple award-winning film franchises, and some of the most well-known theme parks on the planet, The Walt Disney Co. is deeply ingrained in American culture – and deeply ingrained in the realm of innovation. How has Disney sustained long-term success, and become a model for other companies? Wade Roush tackles that question and more in the second episode of our Persistent Innovators miniseries.
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01Podcast: What Makes Apple a Persistent Innovator?
Apple has set the pace for the tech sector for decades, from the original Apple I personal computer to the modern-day iPhone. In the first episode of our “Persistent Innovators” podcast miniseries, Wade Roush takes a deep dive into Apple, the first company in the world to attain a $3 trillion market capitalization, to find out what has kept it on the cutting edge — despite occasional setbacks and leadership changes.
Listen to episodeSeason 5
Inside the C-Suite
10David’s Bridal CEO on Styling the COVID Wedding
David’s Bridal CEO Jim Marcum discusses how he’s navigating the future of the wedding business. That includes building an omnichannel experience to help brides shop from anywhere.
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09Lundbeck’s CEO on Developing Breakthrough Medications
How do CEOs determine focus areas and allocate budget to R&D initiatives? Deborah Dunsire, CEO of Lundbeck — a phamaceutical company specializing in neurology and psychology — explains.
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08How Herman Miller’s Chief Strategy Officer Sets Priorities
How does Herman Miller’s Chief Strategy Officer look for opportunities outside of the core? Megan Lyon shares best practices and tips for other innovators in charge of strategy.
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07Sonesta Hotels’ COO on Growth During a Pandemic
How did Sonesta grow from 58 hotels in November of 2020 to 1,200 locations today? Vera Manoukian, Chief Operating Officer, explains and shares how innovators can work with operation teams.
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06Takeda’s CTO on Building Technology Roadmaps
How do Chief Technology Officers build roadmaps to implement new technologies? And, how do they leverage data to innovate? Leo Barella, Chief Technology Officer at Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, explains.
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05How CSAA’s Chief Innovation Officer Approaches Disruption
How do Chief Innovation Officers build a strategic pipeline of innovation activities? And, what do they do to influence culture? CInOs from CSAA and PA Consulting explain.
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04Pivoting the Fan Experience at the Portland Trail Blazers
How did the Portland Trail Blazers innovate to keep close to fans throughout the COVID-19 pandemic? The team’s Chief Commerical Officer explains.
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03Empowering an AI-First Organization with Anthem’s Chief Digital Officer
How can AI and machine learning provide patients with personal, preemptive healthcare? Rajeev Ronanki, Chief Digital Officer and Senior Vice President of Anthem, explains.
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02Building a Culture of Innovation at Delta Dental
How can organizations build a culture of innovation and effectively create buy-in for change? Sarah Chavarria, the Chief People Officer of Delta Dental, explains.
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01Innovation Answered: Taking You Inside the C-Suite
Innovation Answered is back for its fifth season. And, we’re going inside the C-Suite of well-known, well-established organizations.
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09Leveling Up Customer Empathy at Fitbit & More
How can teams use empathy to understand their customers? Irina Kozlovskaya , Director of Industrial Design at Fitbit , shares how her team uses empathy to design better products.
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08How R&D Keeps the CPG Industry on the Cutting-Edge
In this episode, we wanted to find out: “How is the CPG industry innovating to meet consumer demands?” Ranjani Varadan, VP of R&D at Impossible Foods, discusses how her team gets consumers to buy in to their future-forward vision. Jodi Benson explains why her team had customers write break-up letters to Yoplait. Jeff George from Hain […]
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07Podcast: Why Corporate Innovators are Like Pirates in the Navy
In this installment of Innovation Answered: Essentials, Tendayi Viki offers a look at his most recent book and discusses the importance of the “privateer” attitude.
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06How AARP Keeps the 50+ Market at the Center of Innovation
How does AARP use innovation to empower people as they age? Vice President of Product and Startup Engagement Rick Robinson explains…
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05How Changemakers Innovate Within Government Agencies
In this episode of Innovation Answered, we wanted to know, “What does innovation look like in government? ” To get best practices, InnoLead’s Kaitlin Milliken sat down with Tanya Hannah, the former Chief Information Officer of King’s County Washington. Steve Rader, Deputy Manager of NASA’s Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation, also shares how the […]
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04Running High-Performance Innovation Labs
How have innovation labs shifted during this period of remote work? What sets labs up for success? Linda Elkins, Chief Technical Officer of W.L. Gore’s Silicon Valley Innovation Center, shares.
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03What Corporate Venture Funds can Learn From VCs
What are the risks when large companies dive into the venture capital game? How are venture teams responding to challenges posed by COVID-19? All that and more in this episode…
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02Creating Culture at Wayfair
How can digitally-native companies maintain their innovative culture as they grow? To find out, we visited Wayfair’s co-founder Steve Conine at the company’s Boston office.
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01Coming Soon: Innovation Answered Season 4
Innovation Answered’s fourth season starts May 5, 2020. Find out what you can expect to learn from the show’s producer, Kaitlin Milliken, and intern, Molli DeRosa.
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13Failure: The Other F-Word
Innovators often repeat the mantra, “Fail fast, fail cheap.” But is that the right approach to projects that flop?
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12Inside the Mind of Alex Osterwalder
“What’s the latest from the mind of Alex Osterwalder?” We sat down with Osterwalder to discuss business model innovation and the themes in his upcoming book.
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11Innovation Essentials: Revera Senior Living
“How can teams use co-creation to innovate?” InnoLead’s Kaitlin Milliken discusses how the team at Revera Senior Living navigates this challenge.
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10Inside the Supply Chain
How can supply chain innovation deliver serious value? Guests from Retail Business Services, J&J, and MIT’s Center for Transportation and Logistics discuss.
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09Getting Innovation Started
How can teams set innovation initiatives up for success? To get best practices, we sat down with guests from Marriott, Comcast NBCUniversal, and Innosight.
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08Fast Times in Quick Service
What can we expect from the future of fast food? We sat down with Jessica Anselmi, Panera’s Director of Innovation and Category Growth, to find out…
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07Innovation Essentials: The Nature Conservancy
”What can corporate innovators learn from the world of non-profits?” To find out, we break down one of our articles and read it aloud for you. Listen here…
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06All Your Innovation Questions, Answered
We answer questions on corporate innovation submtted by listeners. Get advice on H3 innovation, going from good to great, and spreading innovation company-wide.
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05High-Tech on the High Seas
Once you’ve identified some promising technologies, how do you test and deploy them in the real world? To find out, we went to Miami to visit Royal Caribbean.
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04Scouting Emerging Technology
How do you scout for new technology that’s the right fit for your business? Marc Lavallee, Head of R&D at The New York Times, shares best practices…
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03Does It Scale?
How do you successfully scale new ideas? To find out, we traveled to Shell TechWorks in Cambidge, Mass. Experts from ESPN and KPMG also shared their advice.
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02Finding Your Innovation Allies
How can you find innovation allies? We pull insights from our recent Benchmarking Innovation Impact 2020 Report, and head over to the Bose headquarters to find out…
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01Innovation Answered, Season Three
We’re back and better than ever. Listen to the trailer to see what’s in store, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts for new episodes starting next week on Tuesday.
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07Inside Silicon Valley’s Innovation Culture
We ask, “What makes FAANG (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google ) more innovative than other companies?” We ask Faisal Masud of Wing Aviation to find out.
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06Remaking R&D at the Kellogg Company
How is Kellogg reimagining their business through R&D? We sat down with SVP of Global Research and Development Nigel Hughes to find out.
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05Innovators vs. the Rulebook. Who Wins?
How do you get innovation wins in a highly regulated industry? Mohan Nair of Cambia Health, Steve Faktor of the McFuture Podcast, and Ludwig Melik of Planbox share…
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04Bringing Star Wars to Life at Lucasfilm’s ILMxLAB
What will the entertainment of the future look like? We sat down with Vicki Dobbs Beck of Lucasfilm’s Lucasfilm’s immersive entertainment ILMxLAB to find out.
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03Playing In the Startup Sandbox
Should big companies even try to plug in to the startup ecosystem? We talk with Arvind Purushotham, the Head of Venture Investing at Citi Ventures, and others to find out.
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02Can the Retail Industry Stay Relevant?
Can the retail industry stay relevant with today’s consumers? We went to New York City for NRF’s Big Show to find out. Guests work at Footlocker and Retail Minded.
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01Inside the Mind of Clay Christensen
How do Clay Christensen’s ideas apply in 2019? InnoLead’s Scott Kirsner discusses his coverage of Christensen. Clips from interviews with Christensen are played throughout.
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28Startup Culture in Big Companies
Can big companies behave like startups and capture their culture? To find out, we interviewed Steve Blank, a key player in the lean startup movement. This episode also features insights from Lyft COO Jon McNeill.
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27Innovating the World of Sports
What’s disrupting the world of sports, and how are teams adapting? To find out, we talked with Angela Ruggiero of the Sports Innovation Lab, and Jack Elkins of the Orlando Magic.
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26Moving Fast…Full Speed Ahead!
Can a big, slow company really move fast? And is faster necessarily better? To find out, we talked to Rachael Schwartz, formerly of Keurig. This episode also features Trip Advisor CEO Steve Kaufer.
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25What’s Digital Transformation, Anyway?
What’s the right strategy for making digital transformation? To find out, we interviewed Patrick Bass, the CEO at thyssenkrupp North America, and Marcelo De Santis, formely of Mondelez International and Pirelli.
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24(Better) Business Model Innovation
Can changing your business model make your company an innovation powerhouse? We sit down with Rick Paster of Walmart Global eCommerce and Mark Johnson of Innosight to find out.
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23The Ex-Files
What is it really like to head innovation at a large company? We talked to former innovation executives from Nike and Manulife John Hancock to find out — warts and all.
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22Those Darned Millennials
Are millennials really killing established brands? We sat down with Nondini Naqui, a millennial engagement consultant and former CEO of Society of Grownups, to find out.
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21The Innovation Survival Guide
What kills innovation initiatives at large companies? And what can you do to survive? To find out we talked to InnoLead’s Editor Scott Kirsner and Assistant Editor Kelsey Alpaio.
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20Busting Myths with the Head of Innovation and Science at Mars
Mars President of Innovation, Science, Technology, and Mars Edge Jean-Christophe Flatin discusses connecting with candy (and pet care!) consumers, and “myth busts” the top misconceptions he sees within innovation teams.
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19Venture Capital — Silicon Valley Style
We drove out to Los Altos Hills, California to sit down with Hemant Taneja, one of venture’s power players to understand what’s on his mind half way through this year. Marcus Daniels, Highline Beta’s Founding Partner & CEO, also shares his insights.
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18Trek Exec on Tackling a Bike Shortage and Early R&D
Chad Manuell, Director of Engineering at Trek Bicycle, discusses the surge in demand for bikes and how his team approaches early innovation.
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17Leaders from Lyft, Fitbit on How Diversity Drives Innovation
Leaders with experience at Fitbit, Lyft, and the Alliance for Smiles discuss hiring diversely and support talent in an equitable environment.
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16Essential Data for Finishing 2020 Strong
What does the data show about how corporate innovation is changing? InnoLead’s editorial team shares data from four recent reports.
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15Digital & Business Model Transformation at Rosetta Stone
Matthew Hulett, President of Language at the company, discusses how Rosetta Stone pivoted from a physical product to a subscription service…
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14Podcast: The Biggest Barriers to Innovation
David Lee shares how UPS has adapted to new demands in shipping and gives tips for innovators in 2020. He also reads his article “The Biggest Barriers to Innovation.”
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13Podcast: Bringing Higher Education into the Digital Age
Experts in higher education share how they’ve tackled the challenges of 2020. Guests include Barnard President Sian Beliock and the co-CEO of edX, Adam Medros.
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12How CVS, Carhartt & Elsevier Pivoted to Face COVID-19
How have teams pivoted to face the challenges of 2020? Rhett Alden of Elsevier discusses launching a COVID-19 Resource Center in four weeks. Innovators from Carhartt and CVS share insights.
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11What Comes Back and When? Exploring Life After COVID-19
What’s changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic? What’s likely to come back? And when? InnoLead’s ”What the Future Looks Like” report seeks to answer that question.
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10Pursuing Innovation During COVID-19
Experts share best practices for teams as they navigate uncertainty. Topics include shifting teams’ priorities, switching to remote work, and cultivating a “service oriented” mindset.
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09Podcast: Loonshots — Crazy Ideas that Just Might Work
How can companies embrace risky — but potentially revolutionary — ideas? Authors Safi Bahcall and Hugh Molotsi tackle this question at InnoLead’s 2019 Impact event.
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08Drones, Self-Driving Cars & the Silicon Valley Problem
In this episode, Chris Anderson — CEO of 3DR, a drone software company — shares insights from his career and entrepreneurial ventures. Harvard Business Publishing’s Chief Product and Innovation Officer Josh Macht facilities. To get best practices from other innovators, watch other videos from our Impact main stage. Additional Resources: Get insights from former CEO and inventor Bob […]
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07Inside the Mind of Bob Metcalfe
What’s the difference between innovation & invention? Bob Metcalfe shares. He also discusses founding 3Com and the company culture that allowed him to invent Ethernet…
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06At Experian, Data is an Innovator’s Best Friend
How are big companies working with data? Find out how Experian’s DataLabs spread innovative data solutions across the company. Listen to the full episode here…
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05The State of Innovation 2019
What are corporate innovators thinking about in 2019? We sat down with Professor Gary Pisano of Harvard Business School and InnoLead’s Scott Kirsner to find out.
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04TGI Fridays and AI? The Chains’ Chief Experience Officer Explains
How are companies implementing AI? We talked to Sherif Mityas, the Chief Experience Officer of TGI Fridays, to find out how AI helps the company stay relevant with customers.
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03Lyft, Tesla & the Future of Mobility
What will the future of mobility look like? We talked to Jon McNeill, COO of Lyft, about what consumers can expect moving forward. Jon also discussed his experience at Tesla.
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02Sports iLab’s Angela Ruggiero on Sports and Technology
How are sports and technology converging? Angela Ruggiero, CEO of the Sports Innovation Lab, talks about how technology can help teams avoid disruption…
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01Former Pirelli Exec on Digital Transformation as a Team Sport
What role should digital transformation play at your company? Former Chief Innovation Officer Marcelo De Santis shares advice in this podcast bonus episode…
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