What is Innovation?

Ted Ladd, Dean and Professor of Entrepreneurship at Hult International Business School, and a recognised top learning and HR influencer for leadership development. In this episode, we explore how innovation creates value for anybody, including how we can innovate with respect, affirmation, and confidence, tapping into the minds of platform natives and drawing inspirations from past innovations.

More about our guest:

Ted Ladd teaches innovation at Harvard Universit and has participated in six different start-ups in Silicon Valley, the most recent acquired by Google,. You can learn more about him on his LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/tedladd/

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Episode Guide:

0:56 - What is Innovation?

2:43 - Personal and professional background

3:43 - Book: innovating with impact  

6:33 - Respect, Affirmation, and Confidence

8:11 - Affirmation in Innovation

10:48 - 2-step formula  

12:35 - Platform natives

13:38 - Palm Pilot, Google, and IPO

15:47 - The mobile internet

17:52 - Innovation impact on an internal basis

20:12 - Innovative ideas from university studies

21:24 - Process-driven innovation

23:52 - Empowering and the effectivity of idea-generation

26:43 - What isn't innovation?

28:16 - Radical innovations

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OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

Ahmad Thomas, CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, the region’s most dynamic business association.  In this episode, he shares his view of innovation as paradigm-breaking ideas, and he discusses the impact of innovation on personal career growth.

More about our guest:
Ahmad Thomas,  partners with the organization’s member companies to promote entrepreneurial solutions to strengthen Silicon Valley business competitiveness, bolster its innovation ecosystem, and create shared economic value throughout the greater Bay Area. A hallmark of his leadership is in catalyzing industry-leading initiatives to operationalize change around diversity, equity, and inclusion from the Boardroom to the C-suites and beyond. A former investment banker and senior Congressional aide, he brings nearly 20 years of experience working both in and on behalf of non-profit social enterprises, governments, and businesses, where he has honed a deep understanding of the essentiality of public-private partnerships and the intersection of equity, policy, and technology that drives Silicon Valley’s innovation infrastructure. Thomas holds a B.S. from Cornell University, Master’s degree from the London School of Economics, and M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

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Episode Guide:

1:50 - What is innovation?  

3:13 - Professional background

4:34 - What isn't innovation?

5:38 - Paradigm breaking

8:41 - 2023, the year of grace

12:44 - High burnout work

16:37 - Innovation impact to personal career

18:41 - Progress in lived experience

23:43 - Advice to innovators

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OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

Dr. Britt Andreatta  CEO, Brain Aware Training, former CLO of Lynda.com (LinkedIn Learning) , and a recognised top learning and HR influencer for leadership development. In this episode Dr. Britt delves into the different aspects that make up innovation, including the importance of psychological safety. 

More about our guest:

Dr. Britt Andreatta is an internationally recognized thought leader who uses her background in leadership, neuroscience, psychology, and education to create brain-science based solutions for today’s workplace challenges. Britt is the former CLO for Lynda.com (LinkedIn Learning) and has over 10 million views worldwide of her online courses. She regularly consults with organizations on leadership development and learning strategy. Britt is the author of several books on the brain science of success including Wired to Grow, Wired to Resist, and Wired to Connect. In 2021, she was named a Top 20 Learning Influencer and a Top 20 HR Influencer for Leadership Development and in 2022, a Top 10 Learning Influencer. You can learn more about her on her website, https://www.brittandreatta.com/

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Episode Guide:

1:29 - What is Innovation?
3:29 - Expounding 'work'
5:08 - Walking the talk: A sense of purpose
7:03 - Breaking down Incremental Innovation
9:20 - Insight driven innovation
10:49 - Technology-driven innovation
14:22 - Defining "viable"
16:08 - What isn't innovation?
17:30 - Flashes of insight
21:13 - Psychological safety in innovation
23:09 - Investing in innovation
25:48 - Viability: Innovation process and execution
28:43 - Life outside work
31:50 - Advice to innovators

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OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

Raji Rajagopalan, Author of "Daring to Be Different" and a Partner Director of Software Engineering at Microsoft. In this episode, Raji shares her unique perspective on successful innovation, emphasizing the importance of creating value for humanity.

More about our guest:

Raji Rajagopalan believes that your 'differentness' is your differentiator. She is author of the book "Daring to be Different: Stories and Tips from a Woman Leader in Tech", a collection of stories to help you build the most important skills to have a meaningful career. In the last 20 years in the tech industry, her work has spanned building startup teams, turning around unsuccessful projects, driving engineering rigor, scaling online services, growing global teams, and innovating on products used by a billion+ customers. She currently runs an organization across five countries and four continents. You can learn more about her on her website, https://www.rajiraj.com

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Episode Guide:

1:32 - What is innovation?  

3:56 - Micrsoft's leadership principles

4:36 - Career skills  

7:13 - Innovation: Software engineer perspective  

10:50 - 2nd principle of leadership  

14:29 - What isn't innovation?  

17:23 - Career advice from mentors

23:55 - Measuring life success

27:44 - Advice to innovators

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OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

Ethan Karp, President and CEO of MAGNET sheds light on the different pillars of innovation and emphasizes the critical importance of people and talent in driving successful innovation. As a millennial CEO, Ethan also shares his insights on navigating the current work culture and leveraging the strengths of a diverse and dynamic team.  

More about our guest:

Dr. Ethan Karp is an expert in transforming companies and communities. He’s a committed change-maker and community builder: Board Chair of the Cleveland/Cuyahoga County Workforce Development, and serves as a Director on the boards of; the American Small Manufacturers Coalition, the Cleveland Leadership Center, MidTown Cleveland, Inc., Cleveland Jewish Publication Company and the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland. Dr. Karp is a recognized thought leader on manufacturing issues and a frequent media commentator on the future of manufacturing in America. Prior to joining MAGNET in 2013, Dr. Karp worked with Fortune 500 companies at McKinsey & Co. He received undergraduate degrees in biochemistry and physics from Miami University and a Ph.D. in Chemical Biology from Harvard University. Dr. Karp lives in Cleveland with his wife and three young girls.

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Episode Guide:

1:46 - What is innovation?

5:07 - Four buckets of technology

6:53 - Technology and Innovation: The people (talent) side

8:52 - Technology and Innovation: The company side

9:57 - Technology and Innovation: Culture

11:50 - Assessing Risk Profiles

16:49 - Case Study: Giant Red Barn of Cleveland

20:35 - What isn't innovation?  

25:26 - Continuum in innovation

28:40 - Philosophy of leadership  

31:14 - Advice for innovators

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OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

Derek Lawson, the Founder - Owner of Navigate Financial in Suwanee, GA. Since becoming a Financial Advisor in 2007, Derek has helped his clients, their families, and friends achieve financial confidence by developing strategies focused on their specific financial goals and needs. In this episode, Derek shares his three-part definition of innovation. This episode also dives into the innovation in the world of financial advisory services. 

More about our guest:

Derek and his team seek to always maintain a high level of confidence with their clients as a basis of building trust and reinforcing value. Derek believes that planning is much more than the accumulation of assets for a particular goal but more so a process of helping his clients avoid avenues of failure on the road to goal achievement. Derek is passionate about continuous learning to further advance his planning and investment. Derek earned his MBA from Georgia State in 2012. He is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ holding the CFP® designation and also a Retirement Income Certified Professional holding the RICP® designation. Derek is the proud father of two sons, Lamarrius and Derek II, and two granddaughters, London and Ryleigh.

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Episode Guide:

1:44 - What is innovation?

2:19 - Defining: Unconstrained

3:18 - Defining: Risk

4:50 - Defining: Timing

7:55 - risk in everything

8:43 - Innovation as a Financial Adviser

13:08 - What isn't innovation?  

14:52 - Microsoft and Apple: Combination and it's importance

20:47 - Metrics, companies, C-level, and innovation

21:20 - Understanding business models

23:43 - Consumers and Branding

24:57 - The big players: Walmart, Amazon, UPS

29:56 - Advice for innovators

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OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

Jeff Goins is a writer, keynote speaker, and entrepreneur with a reputation for challenging the status quo. He is the best-selling author of five books including The Art of Work  and Real Artists Don’t Starve. In this episode, Jared and Jeff Goins shares on how places and locations bring out innovation. They also dive into the value of humility and importance of attention. 

More about our guest:

His award-winning blog, Goinswriter.com, is visited by millions of people every year, and his work has been featured in the Washington Post, USA Today, Entrepreneur, Forbes, Psychology Today, Business Insider, Time , and many others. He is the creative force behind the ghostwriting agency, Fresh Complaint.  

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Episode Guide:

1:12 - What is innovation?

3:38 - Humility and Audacity in Innovation and Innovators

5:57 - Innovation, humility, and breakthroughs

11:15 - The necessity of 'place'  

13:24 - Real artists don't starve; Place in creative work

17:00 - Creating scenes and life-connections

20:15 - Serendipity and Attention: Innovation views

23:04 - Innovation: a root system

24:28 - Role of Music

29:52 - Art imitates life - Life imitates art: Lessons in Attention

32:45 - Music is not a metaphor for innovation

36:12 - Boredom and Attention: reading the signs

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OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

Steven Blue is President & CEO of Miller Ingenuity, an international manufacturer of high technology products that save lives and preserves the environment. In this clip, Steven offers his advice on how senior leaders can destroy their own echo chambers and create an environment where people are comfortable sharing "the whole story," a critical element of a culture of innovation. 

More about our guest:

Steven Blue has also has published five books that teach senior leaders and CEOs how to increase profit, take market share, and destroy competition. He created and authored the League of Extraordinary CEO series, a monthly CEO advice column in the American City Business Journals. Steven is a highly-acclaimed keynote speaker and has addressed audiences at Harvard Business School, The United Nations, Carnegie Hall, The Safe America Foundation, Industry Week, The World Safe Summit, CEO Clubs International and Medtronic Corporation. His leadership insights have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Fox Business Channel, CNN, CNBC, Forbes, Fortune, CEO World, Business Week and Success Magazines. 

Steven serves as CEO-in-Residence at Winona State University. He holds a B.S. Degree from the State University of New York and an MBA from Regis University.

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Episode Guide:

1:15 - What is Innovation?  

3:17 - Innovation as a best-selling author

5:10 - Structure and Discipline in Innovation

9:37 - 'Permission' to Innovate  

11:54 - Making processes succeed

13:00 - Creating a self-sustaining culture of innovation

14:36 - Culture in 'most' airlines

15:10 - Culture in the heart of innovation

17:20 - What isn't innovation?

18:32 - Having 'multi-dimensional balance'

23:13 - Echo Chambers in companies

24:48 - Destroying personal echo chambers

27:35 - Building foundations

28:35 - Advice for innovators

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Resources Mentioned: 

• Book: 
  • Metamorphosis: From Rust-Belt to High-Technology in a 21st Century World

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OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

Riggs Eckelberry is the CEO & Founder of OriginClear Inc, a public company that aims to rescue business owners faced with fast-rising water bills and build a new investment market in the process.  In this episode, we dive into the ways that experience teaches us lessons and how podcasts impact innovation. 

More about our guest:

Riggs Eckelberry has spent decades refining a very fast process of doing and learning, that he calls Mistake Based Marketing™.  And he used it to achieve multiple software exits during the dot-com boom.  Now he’s achieving badly needed change in the massive water industry, to help the most vital – but threatened – resource on the planet: water. As founding CEO of a OriginClear Inc, Riggs has found a completely novel way to rescue business owners faced with fast-rising water bills and build a new investment market in the process. He’s even begun to build “water stablecoins”. Riggs is uniquely qualified to disrupt this industry, having learned management in the nonprofit space, captained oceangoing ships, and a personal passion for rowing crew.

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Episode Guide:

1:30 - What is Innovation?  

2:20 - What is the 'Future'?

3:43 - The Sirius Report and the West's unipolar world

5:50 - Lessons and Advantages of the Past

6:27 - Pentagon's Lessons Learned Department

10:14 - Value of Podcasts

11:13 - What isn't Innovation?

16:30 - Personal Career Impact: 2 Categories of Innovative People

18:30 - Keeping fresh thoughts in innovation  

22:38 - Innovation: shaping careers

27:02 - Transformative technology: dot-com era  

33:18 - Advice to Innovators

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OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

Abi Okeowo is an experienced Strategic Adviser and currently, a  General Manager at Capital One. In this episode, they discuss innovation through the lens of internal and external facing aspects of Fintech. 

More about our guest:

Abi is an experienced Strategic Adviser that leverages over 15 years of experience from McKinsey and bulge bracket Investment banks (Goldman Sachs, Citi & Morgan Stanley). 
Through her company Okeowo & Company, she acts as a strategic & financial partner in quantitative, strategic, and execution oriented roles with Senior Executives and start-up CEOs. Her clients have ranged from large Fortune 100 organizations to small socially focused start - up enterprises that differ in size, maturity, geography and industry.

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Episode Guide:

2:25 - Difference between Digital and Technical Fintech

5:01 - External Innovation in Fintech

6:50 - What is Innovation?

8:10 - Improvement or Innovation: A consumer standpoint

10:39 - Internal Innovation

14:23 - Facial Recognition: A value-add?  

16:13 - Shampoo lather: external vs internal innovation

17:04 - Technology: Driving external innovation

23:15 - Innovation vs Invention

24:28 - Advice to Innovators

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OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.