The Innovation Engine Podcast

Innovation & the Laws of Subtraction is the topic of discussion on this episode of the podcast. We talk about how companies and individuals can engage in addition via subtraction by employing tools like "stop doing" lists instead of to-do lists. The episode covers 6 simple rules for winning in the age of excess everything, why multi-tasking isn’t just ineffective but may be downright hazardous to your health, and why what isn't there is sometimes more important than what is. Matthew E. May, author, keynote speaker, and founder of EDIT Innovation joins us to talk about his book, Innovation & the Laws of Subtraction: 6 Simple Rules for Winning in the Age of Excess everything. 

On this week's episode of "The Innovation Engine," we look at the neurophysiology of innovation with Dr. John Kenagy. In Dr. Kenagy's 2nd appearance on the podcast, we talk about what's really going on behind the scenes during the decision-making process and why humans are often anything but rational, how that impacts the ways to influence change in any organization, and why habit and singular focus can be powerful tools for any business looking to improve overall performance.

On this week’s episode of the podcast we look at ways companies can make the innovation process simple. We discuss the key structural elements that all innovation efforts should include, the importance of nurturing the front end of innovation and where innovative ideas should come from, and why it's important to create a balanced innovation portfolio. Dr. Kevin McFarthing joins us to discuss those topics and many more around the structure and strategy of innovation. Dr. McFarthing is the founder of Innovation Fixer and a top innovation blogger who has 2 decades of experience at the heart of innovation. He spent 17 years in an innovation leadership position with Reckitt Benckiser (www.rb.com), one of the top 20 companies on the UK FTSE. Dr. McFarthing has led product development efforts in a variety of areas, including consumer healthcare, household products, prescription medicines, diagnostics, and molecular biology. For the last 3 years he has been named one of Innovation Excellence’s top 40 innovation bloggers.

Lisa Bodell joins us for the 34th episode of "The Innovation Engine" podcast. On this episode, we talk about the concept of “killing the company” and how it can lead to an innovation revolution. We discuss some unconventional ways you can ensure your company does the work that really matters - including regularly killing the meetings, processes, or habits that make the least sense. Lisa has helped thousands of senior leaders ignite innovation at organizations like the New York Stock Exchange, Pfizer, Google, Lockheed Martin, and many others. She is an inspiring speaker who has brings her message to nearly 100,000 people in more than 30 countries each year, and she was recently awarded the Top 5 Speaker Award by Speaking.com. She is also the author of the best-selling book Kill the Company: End the Status Quo, Start an Innovation Revolution, which won the 2014 Axiom Best Business Book Award and was voted Best Business Book by USA Book News and Booz & Co.  

Dr. Kevin Freiberg joins us for the 33rd episode of the podcast to talk about innovation and the power of cause. On this episode of the podcast, we talk about why it’s important for everyone in your company to know exactly what your cause is, why we fear living insubstantial lives more than we fear dying, and why it still pays to be a little nuts in the airplane industry. Along with his wife, Dr. Jackie Freiberg, Kevin has written numerous books about how some of the world’s most successful companies have built cultures that thrive on innovation. Their most recent book, "Do Something Now: Be the One Who Makes Something Happen," came out in June of this year. Kevin and Jackie are now working on their next book, "Company with a Cause: Live an Insanely Great Life While Doing Meaningful Work." In addition to being best-selling authors, the couple are sought after speakers on the subjects of innovation, execution, and corporate leadership development.  

On this week’s episode of the podcast we’ll be looking at why innovation should be everyone’s job – how leaders can create a culture where everyone owns innovation, why you should empower all employees to become part of the innovation process, and pitfalls and roadblocks to avoid when doing so. Dr. Jackie Freiberg joins us to discuss these topics and more. Dr. Freiberg, along with her husband Dr. Kevin Freiberg, has written numerous books about how some of the world’s most successful companies build cultures that thrive on innovation. She was recently named one of the Top 30 Best Minds on Leadership by Leadership Excellence Magazine. Her and Kevin’s most recent book, Do Something Now: Be the One Who Makes Something Happen, came out in June, and the couple is now working on their next book, Company with a Cause: Live an Insanely Great Life While Doing Meaningful Work. In addition to being best-selling authors, Jackie and Kevin are both sought-after speakers on the subjects of innovation, execution, and corporate leadership development.

Chief Research Officer and Principal Analyst at Innovation Excellence Doug Williams joins us to talk about the language of innovation on the 31st episode of "The Innovation Engine" podcast. We discuss what companies stand to gain by creating a common language for innovation, the top sources of waste created by uncertainty around innovation endeavors, and the difference between ideas, invention, and innovation. Innovation Excellence is the world’s leading online gathering place for innovation professionals, with more than 1.3 million page views per month and close to 25K members in their LinkedIn group. In his role at Innovation Excellence, Doug writes research reports like the one we discuss on this episode, "The Role of Communication in Successful Innovation." He also writes for Innovation Excellence on topics like New Product Development and innovation in the health care space, as well as for outside publications like the GE Ideas Lab website. Before joining Innovation Excellence, Doug was an analyst at Forrester who covered open innovation, co-creation, and new product development. 

For the 30th episode of “The Innovation Engine” podcast, we dug into the podcast archives to put together a hodgepodge of clips that have yet to see the light of day. Horace Dediu talks why designers and developers need to have a deep understanding of human psychology and rewards systems to build successful products. Warren Berger discusses the connection between Zen, the art of questioning, and the concept of “The Beginner’s Mind.” Best-selling author and keynote speaker Rowan Gibson talks about the importance of giving employees discretionary time to pursue innovation initiatives and strategies like the 70/20/10 rule. Innovation pioneer Russ Schoen shares some common elements of the most successful brainstorming sessions. 3Pillar CEO David DeWolf talks about what it was like to see the CEOs of some of the most well-known companies in the world take the stage at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference. 

Why creativity is necessary for innovation and how to channel your own creativity are 2 of the topics of discussion on this week's episode of "The Innovation Engine" podcast. Michael Gelb joins us to discuss his soon-to-be-published book, Creativity on Demand: How to Ignite and Sustain the Fire of Genius. Michael is the world’s leading authority on the application of genius thinking to personal and organizational development. He is an acclaimed speaker and the author of 14 books, including How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci.  

Gijs van Wulfen, top LinkedIn influencer and author of the innovation best-seller “The Innovation Expedition,” joins us for the 28th episode of "The Innovation Engine" podcast. On this episode, we look at what to take into consideration when planning your very own innovation expedition. We discuss the types of thinkers the Mayo Clinic recommends every innovation team have, why 12-14 is the perfect team size for innovation efforts, and what famous explorers throughout time can teach modern-day innovators. Gijs van Wulfen is the founder of the FORTH Innovation method, which is used to create new products, services and business models. The FORTH method has had more than 35 successful implementations in Europe. Gijs was one of the first 150 influencers chosen by LinkedIn, where he currently has close to 200K followers and posts frequently on innovation-related topics. For the last 2 years he has been named one of the top 40 innovation bloggers in the world by Innovation Excellence.