Innovation Calling

Goldstar has been in business for over 18 years, selling tickets to live entertainment, including concerts, theater, sports, and comedy shows.

Co-Founder Jim McCarthy discusses watching his industry go from basically being at the top of their game to nothing in a matter of, literally, 36 hours when the Coronavirus basically shut down the nation.

We also talk about their platform Stellar and that although this may be the end of concerts as we know them, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s time to up the game of the virtual experience, and this technology will be critical long after we’re back to a post-COVID world.

Discussion Breakdown:

3:22 - Jim discusses the background of Goldstar, and their footprint in the concert

10:49 - Jim talks more about what was happening in his business in that week when the world started to shut down, and how they were trying to plan for a future that wasn’t known at all.

14:15 - So as we go forward, will people turn back to in-person concerts, or will the landscape change as we know it. Will we always have to have a hybrid option going forward?

19:04 - As we enter into this new normal in the concert world, what makes a great online experience, and how does the online version maintain the connection that makes concerts so special.

21:45 - This is where we jump into what Goldstar is in addition to their product Stellar, and what makes it so different from other online event experiences.

24:15 - Does the need for screen exhaustion need to be considered, and how are they overcoming it by creating experiences vs just one more video to watch.

25:56 - What kind of technical requirements are there to make something like Stellar happen? Jim breaks down the technology and what it’s run on.

29:53 - What about massive hurdles that needed to be overcome to bring this product to life. Is everyone on board with this? Is there any pushback that they have to deal with?

33:20 - The biggest opportunity in entertainment right now and the mindset shift required to have everyone take advantage of it.

34:06 - Who has to be able to jump on this bandwagon to truly make it work? Is it the venues? Or is it the artists, or is it a combination of both?

38:03- When it comes to pushback, what’s causing it? Is it simply just a matter of logistics?

45:03 - What’s on the horizon for Stellar as the online concert experience continues to be the only thing we can look forward to for a while.

You can find out more about Goldstar and Stellar visit:

https://www.goldstar.com/

https://www.stellartickets.com/

Every podcaster has experienced the issue of recording online only to find that the audio quality is extremely lacking. Zach Moreno and Rock Felder, Co-Founders of SquadCast.fm saw this exact need and decided to do something about it.

How did they go from start-up to having some of the brightest minds in podcasting refer to SquadCast.fm as “the industry standard” to record your show remotely? They share their story in this episode of Innovation Calling. From start-up to a huge increase in users thanks to the pandemic, these co-founders have continued to focus primarily on not just filling a need, but making sure their quality is the industry standard.

Join us as these co-founders discuss their mission to empower creatives to continue to engage in meaningful conversations without having to think twice about technology.

5:00 - Where the idea for SquadCast came from, and why it was so important to find a higher quality option for remote recording

10:10 - The ultimate question of when you see a gap, that’s great, but where do you begin to figure out how the gap can be filled, and how you find the right people to actually fill that gap.

11:47 - Why it’s not just about finding an unmet need but focusing to become the absolute best in the world at it.

12:24 - When it comes to creating a new product, how did the feature list get created, and how did you determine what was absolutely non-negotiable for features?

14:04 - Even though the technology is important, what goes into the customer service side? Erin shares a story of how SquadCast.fm came to the rescue after a first time recording disappeared.

15:47 - When it came to launching, what type of MVP did you release, and what were the hiccups/issues that you had to overcome?

20:40 - With the pandemic hitting, there were businesses that thrived, SquadCast.fm being one of them. How were they able to handle the sudden uptick in usage, and was this something they were ready for in their business?

23:31 - When adding something like video capability, what does it take from a technology side to make that happen? How much infrastructure needs to be added?

26:18 - Comparing here you are now, to where you want to go, what are some of the obstacles you’re having to overcome in order to get there?

31:52 - With podcasting being typically a straight audio format, what is SquadCast.fm seeing in terms of the demand for video?

33:33 - With many people thinking they need video, is the return on investment really there or is it many times where great audio production is enough?

35:15 - When it comes to podcasting, what are some of the more unusual podcasts the team at SquadCast.fm has come across?

39:27 - Are more and more businesses using podcasting as a way to grow their audience and customer base?

41:53 - Exploring the standard startup conversation about to get investors or not. SquadCast.fm chose the later, and what as the reason behind that decision? As they grow their company is this a decision that they still feel solid in?

Want to learn more about SquadCast? Visit SquadCast.fm

You can also listen to their podcast Between 2 Mics here: https://between2mics.simplecast.com/episodes/

In a world where we freely give our basic data way, it's hard to know if we truly understand the impact of giving away so much will one day have on our lives. In this episode of Innovation Calling, we sat down with Digital Identity Expert, Max Kirby. Max helps breakdown this extremely complex topic and helps the every day person understand how technology is changing and how that could directly impact our principals.

In this episode we discussed how policy could change as more data is collected, the value of data to other companies, what data we should and shouldn't be giving away, and is it possible to delete our digital footprint forever.

We hope you enjoy this episode.

Here is the full breakdown:

5:20 - Are data privacy issues based on the lack of laws that are currently around them, or are they driven by something else?

8:35 - Are we at a place where Big Brother is already watching us, or do we still have a ways to go before we get ‘there.’

10:19 - Is it just over social media where we’re willing to give up our rights to our data just so we can feel connected to those around us.

15:18 - How dangerous do these issues become when we’re willing to give up even more privacy for the sake of ‘safety’ - as in sharing our medical data, sharing our locations, etc, so people know who are in certain places, and how healthy they are.

19:12 - Are we leading down a path where robots can actually have free will?

25:14 - When data is becoming an even more valuable currency, how do we begin to slow down the collection of data when it’s become more valuable than ever?

29:31 - When we give data to other humans, they forget, and the problem is that computers don’t forget. However, can we ever get computers to forget? Can we ever wipe our data from the internet?

32:50 - When it comes to data, can we ever be more specific of what goes out to the world, but yet be okay with other data? What’s the data that you should be most worried about?

35:18 - When it comes to the fact that we give away our data, should we be getting paid for it since the companies are using it to their advantage?

38:16 - If our identity does become our currency, what does our future look like, and how does Max guide is clients to stay ahead of the curve?

42:17 - What does Max do to protect himself?

Want to learn more about Max? Visit:

https://www.publicissapient.com/

MaxAbstracts.com

We’re watching the need for IoT devices change right in front of our eyes as new use cases for this technology come up due to COVID, and it’s more important now more than ever to allow IoT applications to become easier to build and deploy. Plus it must also be available in areas where cellular networks aren’t as prevalent.

In this episode of Innovation Calling, we had the opportunity to sit down with Alistair Fulton, VP and GM, Wireless & Sensing Products of Semtech. Semtech’s LoRa Technology helps IoT devices by connecting the sensors to the cloud and allowing the opportunity for real-time communication fo data and analytics. These statics can be utilized to enhance efficiency and productivity.

In this discussion, we talked about the basics of IoT, and how Semtech’s LoRa Technology fits within the IoT ecosystem. We also talked about what makes Semtech unique, and how their ability to connect within rural markets is a game-changer. In addition, we covered lots of various use cases and examples of IoT solutions, in addition to what will be on the horizon in the post-COVID world.

Here is the official episode breakdown:

6:49 - We’re starting it basic and defining IoT, in addition to why it’s become such a complicated definition.

8:57 - How does a semiconductor business become such a big player in the IoT community, and why it was so important to make IoT applications and technology easier to use?

13:00 - Why location is one of the most crucial components of IoT.

16:44 - What is it that really makes Semtech unique? Is it just about connecting gadgets or allowing the software on top easier to build?

18:00 - When it comes to the rural market, how does Lora help create a game-changing service for IoT products, and does the introduction of 5G change any of the advantages that they have?

25:21 - How does the cost factor in a product like Lora, is it a cheaper solution because of a lower user of bandwidth? Then we discuss the three types of cost with IoT, the physical cost, the power cost, and the cost of operation.

27:55 - With IoT being such a huge component in Smart Cities, has the need for IoT, and the use cases for IoT changed at all because people are now staying at home more with quarantine?

30:30 - The interesting use cases of IoT in a post COVID rule and how standard procedures used to be okay, will no longer be acceptable when trying to navigate this new world.

34:31- Another great use of body temperature sensors, being able to monitor temperatures and statuses in real-time.

38:07 - What fine lines are we crossing, and where does the liability lie if we begin to monitor the health of people who enter buildings, etc? And why solutions that anonymize data will be crucial.

45:21 - Do Telco companies look at this service as a competitor or an ally?

You can learn more about Semtech by visiting Semtech.com.

In times of crisis, you'll see the rise of amazing companies, and Xenex, a company that is the world leader in UV technology-based infection prevention strategies and solutions, is one of them. You may not have heard of Xenex, but the next time you visit a hospital, there's a good chance a Xenex robot will have cleaned your room before you checked-in.

Xenex's Robots are making the world a better place by destroying the microorganisms that cause hospital acquired infections, and have seen a huge increase in demand since COVID-19 became an everyday word in the United States.

In this episode of Innovation Calling, we talked with Xenex's Co-Founder, Mark Stibich to talk about this amazing technology, and what makes it so unique and effective, in addition to learning more about what's changed for this business since this pandemic struck, and where we can see their robots outside of hospitals, plus so much more.

Here's the official episode breakdown:

5:36 - Understanding Xenex’s background, and where the idea was first born.

8:14 - Digging deeper into the technology, and why this product is so amazing. Who was able to determine that this type of light could actually kill bacteria at a deeper level?

11:35 - When it comes to understanding a higher frequency, is that the wavelength is lower, which allows it to penetrate smaller organisms, or what is it exactly that makes it so much more successful?

13:09 - With the emergence of COVID, how has demand changed, and what’s been one of the biggest obstacles that Xenex has had to overcome to keep up?

17:49 - When it came to supply chain issues and part issues suddenly not becoming available, how were they able to overcome with the new issues?

19:10 - Does this then change the trajectory of the business, and when you’re in the midst of a pandemic with a product that can make such a huge difference, how do future products change?

21:19 - With the main product using light at such a high frequency does it cause harm to humans?

23:47 - Are Xenex’s robots meant to replace the cleaning staff, or is this something that simply enhances the cleaning experience?

28:47 - What makes Xenex’s disinfection techniques so unique, and what kind of rate can they clean rooms in addition to the quality of the cleanliness?

31:42 - Is it possible technology like this will go past the hospital especially as we see companies taking sanitizing more seriously?

34:25 - What kind of lifespans do the robots have?

36:03 - As the light bursts out, is there a limit on the efface over distance or is it like a lightwave where it can go miles and miles?

36:47 - Can something like this be used in sports stadiums?

40:17 - Xenex was actually invited to participate in an incubation program at the Houston Technology Center. What was that experience like for starting and growth?

42:30 - How important was it for someone to find the partners who understood the technology and could grow with it?

43:08 - When first growing, what kind of objections were hospitals providing as they were trying to implement the product?

47:08 - The great story about how all of the robots get named, and how some people get creative with the names.

Want to learn more about Xenex? Visit xenex.com or contact Mark directly at mark@xenex {dot} com.

The good and bad news is that no perfect leader exists. So as much as every leader wants to strive for greatness, the reality is that they’re going to hit some obstacles and make messes along the way. Failure isn’t the end, though, and it’s crucial to understand the qualities that the great leaders possess that help them endure through the difficult times. How do they stand after a failure? How can they learn to not just lead through crises like pandemics and recessions, but how can elevate a team and a company through them?

This is just some of what we discussed in this episode of Innovation Calling with Franklin Covey’s Executive Vice President of Thought Leadership, Scott J. Miller.

Scott is a 20+ year veteran in the Leadership Space, Wall Street Journal Best-Selling Author, and Podcast Host.

We dug deep into understanding what makes great leaders great (and it’s not a 100% success rate), how to have the hard conversations in times like this, yet still confidently lead your team. Plus stay til the end where Scott provides two important pieces of advice. Learn what ‘friending-up’ means, in addition to one simple thing co-founders/partners can do to create a lasting business.

Interested in learning more about Scott’s Book, Management Mess to Leadership Success: 30 Challenges to Become the Leader You Would Follow, click here to grab your copy.

Here’s The Full Episode Breakdown:

5:26 - Learning more about Scott, and the start of his career at Disney, and how that shaped him into who he is today

7:21 - What’s the difference between being fearless and being reckless, and how can leaders embrace that things might be messy, yet harness fearlessness without being reckless? How does vulnerability play a role in leadership?

10:29 - Why leaders shouldn’t focus on being a genius, but should instead focus on being a genius maker, and why this is crucial to leading great teams. Plus what it means to be an active listener.

16:11 - Why great leaders must possess empathy and a high EQ

19:02 - Can leaders actually learn to be empathetic?

22:04 - In times like we’re living in today, how can leaders learn to approach hard conversations with grace. Plus why it’s important to show as leaders that we don’t have all the answers, and why we can ask permission to have real conversations, which we may get wrong.

27:57 - Why every leader should learn to declare their intent before any conversation begins, and how it can help to diffuse any situation.

31:10 - How does having a strong personality hinder or help people in leadership roles?

33:34 - How to find the balance of family of business, and do we live in a world where there is no longer a separation of personal and professional lives?

37:29 - When it comes to creating a vision, what can leaders do to not just bring a vision to life, but can actually build a legacy where the vision can continue long after the creator is gone.

41:16 - Why leaders must be able to disrupt themselves, detach their egos, and empathic listen, and ask one of the most important questions ‘Am I in the right role.’

44:33 - Why friending up is such an important concept, and why Scott believes this is one of the best pieces of advice he can give.

49:38 - What one of the most important things partners can do to help their business thrive?

Many people can come up with a business idea and start something, but to build and maintain large companies, leadership is the true key to success. We had the opportunity to sit down with former Chairman of JetBlue Airways, Joel Person. Joel also is a Consulting Professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Chairman and Founder of Peterson Partners, and the former CEO of Trammell Crow Company.

Joel talks about his experience as a leader in various roles from being a CEO of a large company to Chairman of a publicly-traded company, and as an investor of 200+ companies. We discussed his five key types of leadership, what it takes for companies to teach their workforce to embrace failure, some of the biggest lessons he has learned during his amazing career, and so much more!

Make sure to grab your copy of Entrepreneurial Leadership here: Entrepreneurial Leadership: The Art of Launching New Ventures, Inspiring Others, and Running Stuff

Official Episode Breakdown:

5:05 - The age-old question of entrepreneurship, are they made or born. Plus we discuss Joel’s perspective of being a professor at Stanford, and what his students discover

6:10 - At what point in Joel’s career did he move from being an entrepreneur to a business leader?

8:40 - Why Joel believes it's so important for aspiring leaders to take on service jobs at a young age, and how they can teach perseverance.

10:10 - When it comes to perseverance, Joel shares a moment where he was knocked down, and the lessons he learned by a mentor who taught him how to move forward

13:20 - The importance of optimism as a leader, and why that is crucial now more than ever

14:20 - The five different types of leaders (5-Tool Leader) that Joel defined in his book, and the specific traits are more important now, in times of a pandemic and a looming recession

18:10 - There are people who are lucky and have those five naturally but is it possible for someone to have a few, but the others are impossible to get to?

20:50 - Is it typical for the MBA students at Stanford to have experience under their belt, or are they usually coming fresh out of undergrad?

23:30 - Talking more about his experience at Harvard Business School with business powerhouses like Ray Dalio.

25:00 - Joel’s strategy has been to invest in people over the business concepts and has had a lot of success by investing this way. He discusses what he looks for when deciding what kind of company he wants to invest in.

29:10 - When it comes to investing, is there a typical strategy to knowing when to invest vs bootstrapping your way to the top?

31:50 - When it comes to failing forward, what’s important for leaders to understand that as they transition away from a start-up that they keep that mentality?

34:00 - How can you find the happy medium of being able to ask for feedback from your team without losing your ‘power’ as a leader?

36:30 - How important are mentors when building a career, and when did Joel recognize that he needed to make sure he should always have a mentor?

37:50 - When it comes to being a great leader, quick decision making is a must. Joel discusses his decision-making process.

40:20 - Once a decision is made, how do you know when to change strategy vs letting more time gather results?

41:30 - Understanding the difference between instincts and emotions

44:12 - As a leader, are you hindered if you’re not an introvert by nature?

44:35 - Has the curriculum of the MBA changed drastically in the past 30 years, or are the core values still the same?

46:25 - Where is the future of leadership going?

When it comes to technology, it honestly doesn't matter what industry you're in, technology is a life thread to the company. In order to build something great, you have to be able to embrace and be agile in technology. We had the honor of sitting down with Gerry Mecca, CIO of DATASCAN, and former VP of IT at Keurig Dr. Pepper to discuss how important it is for organizations to learn how to take chances and be comfortable failing forward in the world of technology.

We also discussed how our work methods will change in the wake of COVID-19, and how working remotely will be adapted by a huge part of the workforce. Plus are we seeing the death of email as we know it?

If you would like to learn more and connect with Gerry, make sure you check out his podcast, The Mecca Minute at

https://marketscale.com/industries/podcast-network/the-mecca-minute/

and connect with Gerry on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerrymecca/

6:24 - Getting inside the mind of Gerry Mecca and understanding his straight shooter leadership style

9:24 - When Gerry started to break out from a technical role to taking on a role that put him on the path to the C-Suite

10:56 - When it comes to passion and getting excited about a job, is that something that we can learn or is just an innate quality? Plus what's one small thing you can do that can accelerate your career path.

13:04 - When it comes to technology, leaders many times don’t cultivate a culture of being okay with failure. How as a technology leader can you encourage that and build a team that’s focused on innovating vs. not failing?

20:14 - The story of RFID and when Gerry watched peers jump into technology that wasn’t quite necessary (or were still testing out)

22:46 - The importance of technology in any company, even if they’re technically not a technology company (and how Dr. Pepper took risks)

24:55 - How will COVID impact technology teams within companies and the way we work and communicate with each other?

28:40 - How much should we be advocating for remote work, and how will roles be impacted by this new shift?

32:45 - Does working remotely impact the ability to be promoted?

35:00 - Is email as a communication method dying, and what should we be looking at instead?

39:45 - Where does the business environment go in the next five years?

When it comes to companies researching emerging technology and innovation, it can be tempting to innovate for the sake of innovating rather than for the sake of what your users may actually want and need.

We are also living in a world where the leadership of companies is dominated by left-brain thinkers, who will sacrifice creativity for the sake of numbers, and not failing for the sake of continuing to do what's worked in the past.

Between these two issues, many companies are missing the mark on how to thrive. Now more than ever, it's important for companies to understand that what has worked in the past isn't going to get them very far. They must put innovation and user-centered designs first if they want to wow their customers and create a long-lasting company.

Robert Niemiec joined us on this episode of Innovation Calling, and we talked in-depth about how his company Twisthink helps companies to create a different narrative when it comes to implementing technology and how to create a team of creative thinkers, who are also focused on wowing your customers.

You can find out more and connect with Robert at Twisthink.com

Here is the official episode breakdown:

5:25 - When it comes to Twisthink, what does it mean by implementing a human element within their design process?

7:26 - The three lenses that should be used for every project, and how those lend themselves into true innovation

8:34 - What are some of the projects that Twisthink has worked on to implement the three lenses, and how exactly it all comes together

15:34 - Knowing that people can sometimes be set in their ways, how hard is it to persuade teams when they are sold on something, yet the data is pointing to create a pivot?

18:30 - Are we doomed as humans to be stuck in our ways, and is left-brain dominated leaders hurting our ability to innovate?

21:30 - When it comes to technology and implementing new things, how can a company like Twisthink help to convince their clients of the impact and importance of usability and designing for the user and not just to add new technology?

25:35 - Are there specific industries that are embracing human design over others? (And why the response might surprise you.)

28:35 - How do companies start to think differently and foster creativity and risk within your workforce?

30:45 - If the bridge of innovation can’t be gapped quickly, is there a way to begin to get leaders seeing the opportunities they might be missing, even at a small scale?

33:58 - How much does psychology apply when having these human design centered discussions?

37:10 - The shock of how companies can be successful in spite of themselves, but how truly great leaders must learn how to fear easy

39:42 - The metaphor of a shed, and how having a separate space can help inspire a team to continue to innovate through their core, yet look at others areas of growth

In tales about the future, we hear of the world where robots take over the workforce, but the truth is a world with ‘robots’ isn’t just for science fiction readers. In fact, it’s here now. We sat down with some folks at Blue Prism, a company focused on creating Robotic Process Automation, and we had the opportunity to break down use cases for RPA and some of the amazing ways this technology is making a huge difference within companies.

Gone are the days where work forces are solely made of humans, but we are now adding digital labor to take over mundane tasks. There’s so much more to this technology than a straight-forward ROI, as it’s about not just creating a faster work force, but a happier one.

If you’d like to learn more about Blue Prism, Visit: https://www.blueprism.com/

Also, in this episode, we talked about the upcoming event Blue Prism World 2020, which has been moved to a virtual event. Visit https://home.blueprismworld.com/ for up-to-date information.

The Official Episode Breakdown:

4:56 - Learning more about what Blue Prism is and exploring the area of digital labor

6:39 - When it comes to working with companies, how is the ROI case made, and is there a general ‘sweet spot’ that companies can see where RPA could really pay off? This also isn’t necessarily a black and white answer, where numbers are the sole decision maker, and we discuss the other factors where RPA can have a huge impact on a company.

9:38 - Are digital workers and human workers mutually exclusive, or should companies consider looking at them from a different perspective?

12:04 - If you’re replicating a top talent, and you’re not replacing the top talent, then where does that talent go, and how exactly can a company consider utilizing them

17:18 - Does Robotic Process Automation take away from some of the human experience if information is getting handed to us as we need it, versus us having to work for it.

19:04 - What makes Blue Prism true A.I., and how does Machine Learning play into making applications smarter and faster?

21:46 - Is there a line that Blue Prism draws in what kind of companies they help, and how they can actually help them?

24:40 - We explore the new career paths and opportunities RPA can actually create for others versus solely taking away jobs.

28:04 - How large does a company have to be before they can truly utilize RPA technology, and what are some cool use cases for this technology?

31:05 - Can RPA technology actually be more accurate than a human, and what are the use cases that prove that?

33:20 - How useful is RPA if the data you’re working with is delayed?

35:10 - Is RPA’s main job to ‘tell people what to do’ or is it about providing the data to make the right decision?

36:22 - How does RPA change liability for things like the medical field? Should a digital worker be in charge of making decisions?