Michael Nichols

Venture Building from Idea to Scale with Michael Nichols

Michael Nichols, coauthor of the Corporate Explorer Field Book and Director of Corporate Ventures for MANN + HUMMEL, shares insights on the challenges of inside-out innovation within corporations, emphasizing the importance of validating business models beyond core business practices.

Rita McGrath and Aidan McCullen on The Innovation Show

Rita McGrath: Designing Organisations for Innovation and Growth

In this final of a 4-part episode, Rita McGrath discusses her upcoming book focused on how organisations can design structures that empower decision-making at all levels, embracing a ‘permissionless’ approach to innovation.

Simon Hill and Aidan McCullen

The Power of Collective Intelligence with Simon Hill

Harnessing Global Creativity for Innovat The Power of Collective Intelligence with Simon Hill

Rita McGrath Aidan McCullen Innovation

The Entrepreneurial Mindset Part 3 with Rita McGrath

In this extensive session with Rita McGrath emphasises the importance of continuous innovation, exploiting new opportunities, and building new competencies to stay competitive.

Rita McGrath

The Entrepreneurial Mindset Part 2 with Rita McGrath

In part 2 of The Entrepreneurial Mindset, Rita McGrath, discusses the concept of the entrepreneurial mindset and the power of consumption chain analysis for businesses seeking to differentiate and innovate. 

 

Rita illustrates how understanding each step of a customer’s journey, from need identification to product disposal, can unveil numerous opportunities for innovation and competitive advantage.

The Entrepreneurial Mindset Part 1 with Rita McGrath

A conversation with Rita McGrath, author of ‘The Entrepreneurial Mindset,’ exploring principles for thriving in rapidly changing environments. McGrath shares her personal journey from industry to academia, emphasising the importance of understanding practical business applications.

Transforming Ideas into Action with Stuart Laws

Innovating Within the Military: Challenge-Driven Innovation and Connected Intelligence

This episode of the Corporate Explorer, recorded in London during the launch of the Corporate Explorer field book and powered by Wazoku, features Stuart Laws from the UK’s Defense Innovation Unit. The discussion explores how challenge-driven innovation has transformed problem-solving within the military, moving away from a traditional idea-generation model to one that actively involves business units in framing their issues for more scoped and implementable solutions. Laws highlights the shift towards a more inclusive innovation approach, engaging employees, suppliers, startups, universities, and leveraging Wazoku’s connected collective intelligence of over 700,000 global problem solvers. The episode also delves into the human aspects of innovation, including the creation of stakeholder personas to better understand and influence decision-makers, and the serendipitous discovery of solutions through cross-sector collaboration and challenge-driven initiatives. Laws shares insights on the necessity of a collaborative mindset in innovation, bringing public and private sectors together for impactful outcomes. The successes of this approach are exemplified in real-world applications, such as providing 5G coverage in hard-to-reach areas through a partnership between Defence, BT, and academic contributions.

00:00 Welcome to the Corporate Explorer: Innovating with Wazoku
00:43 Introducing Stuart Laws: Innovating in the Military
01:41 The Power of Challenge-Driven Innovation
04:12 Cross-Sector Innovation: Bridging Industries for Better Solutions
09:14 Marketing Personas: A Game-Changer for Innovation
12:55 Finding Solutions in Unexpected Places: The BT Story
15:13 Wrapping Up: The Future of Innovation with Wazoku

Find Stuart here: https://ideashadowcoaching.com

Trails Less Travelled: Innovation Lessons from former CEO and Chairman of Pitney Bowes, Michael Critelli Part 1

In this episode of ‘The Innovation Show,’ host Aidan McCullen sits down with the former chairman and CEO of Pitney Bowes, Michael Critelli.

Through a deep dive into Critelli’s career, we explore his penchant for the road less traveled, his transformative leadership at Pitney Bowes, and his insights on innovation, strategy, and foresight. From humble beginnings to leading a staple communications company through times of intense change, including the internet era, 9/11, and the recession, Critelli shares lessons on valuing potential over qualifications, listening to dissent, and the importance of constant adaptation in business and life.

00:00 Early Career and Joining Pitney Bowes

01:40 Climbing the Ladder: From Legal to Leadership

04:28 Reinventing Pitney Bowes: A Tale of Transformative Change

07:09 Embracing Agile Strategy: Lessons from the Front Lines

13:51 The Power of Listening and Adapting in Leadership

42:39 The Importance of Vision and Courage in Decision-Making 

44:47 Fostering a Culture of Continuous Learning and Innovation

Challenge-Driven Innovation with Bea Schofield

This episode of the Corporate Explorer series features a discussion with Bea Schofield, a specialist in Challenge-Driven Innovation (CDI), and various co-authors of the ‘Corporate Explorer Field Book’.

The podcast, supported by Wazoku, delves into how large organisations can foster innovation through a sustainable ecosystem using ‘Connected Collective Intelligence’. The conversation focuses on the principles of CDI, detailing a framework dubbed ‘LASSO’ for crafting effective challenges that stimulate creative solutions. It underscores the importance of setting clear boundaries to fuel creativity, ensuring challenges are actionable and specific, and aligning them with strategic goals to facilitate ownership and support within the organisation. The episode also covers strategic challenge framing, stakeholder engagement, solution evaluation, and prioritisation, offering insights into blending creativity with systematic processes for corporate innovation. Bea Schofield shares her perspective on the role of corporate innovators and the necessity of balancing ideation with execution to drive meaningful organisational change. 

00:00 Welcome to the Corporate Explorer Series: Launching the Field Book

00:15 Introducing Wazoku: Powering Sustainable Innovation

01:07 Diving Into the World of CDI with Bea Schofield

03:59 Exploring the LASSO Framework for Effective Challenges

07:44 The Importance of Support and Ownership in Innovation

17:19 Navigating Corporate Innovation: Strategies and Tools

20:41 Selecting the Right Channels for Innovation Challenges

21:58 Wrapping Up and Where to Find Bea Schofield

Corporate Explorer Series, Innovation Ecosystems, CDI (Challenge Driven Innovation), Connected Collective Intelligence, Ideation Process, Challenge Design, LASSO Framework, Problem Solving,  Collaboration,  Corporate Innovation

Ian Morrison Part 2 of The Second Curve

Ian and the host, Aidan McCullen, explore how companies past and present have navigated the transition from the ‘first curve’ – a state of established practices and security – to the ‘second curve’ of innovation and adaptation in the face of new technologies and markets. They discuss examples of organisations like HR Block, SGI (Silicon Graphics), and Volvo, and how they’ve managed to pivot or struggled with these shifts.

Ian offers profound insights into the societal move towards a knowledge economy, the importance of venture capital in disruptive innovation, consumer empowerment, and the geographical shift in economic power towards the Asia-Pacific region. Furthermore, they discuss the importance of organisational culture in adapting to change, the challenges of measuring success on the second curve, and the personal and societal impacts of these transitions.

The conversation concludes by emphasising the need for individuals and organisations to embrace uncertainty, leverage existing competencies, and prepare for a future that prioritises hyper-effectiveness and adaptive skills. 

 

00:00 Introduction to the Second Curve

00:31 Understanding the Shift from First to Second Curve

00:56 The Impact of the Second Curve on Organizations

01:44 The Second Curve and the Post-Industrial Economy

02:10 The Role of Knowledge in the Second Curve

02:48 The Power of Disruptive Innovation

03:03 The Shift in Consumer Power

03:34 The Geographic Transformation of the Second Curve

04:36 The Importance of People in the Second Curve

05:31 The Second Curve Mindset

06:25 The Dilemma of the Second Curve

09:02 The Role of Technology in the Second Curve

15:06 The Impact of the Second Curve on Individuals

18:24 The Future of the Second Curve

48:19 Conclusion: Embracing the Second Curve

 

Find ian here: http://ianmorrison.com

 

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