The Innovation Engine Podcast

What do you do when changes in competition and customer expectations necessitate a radical change to your business model? Kevin Turpin is President of The National Journal, where he’s seen a complete overhaul of the company’s business model—from a traditional media advertising model to an advisory and information services company with an ever-growing number of digital products and services. He joins us to discuss the process of this digital transformation, how long new products take from idea to launch, adapting to your customers’ or members’ ever-changing needs, and how National Journal is continuing to evolve today.   Resources: Learn more at nationaljournal.com Connect with Kevin on LinkedIn     Learn more and get the full show notes at: 3PillarGlobal.com

It’s undeniable that Apple is at the top of its game—yet despite its overwhelming success, Apple has also fundamentally changed in the last decade without the innovative leadership of Steve Jobs. For this episode of the podcast, we speak with Tripp Mickle, a reporter with The New York Times and the author of 'After Steve: How Apple Became a Trillion Dollar Company and Lost Its Soul.' Tripp discusses how the absence of Steve’s balancing role led to an imbalance between Apple’s creative innovations and its operational excellence, and how the company’s incredible growth has necessitated a new approach to product design and product development.   Resources: Learn more about After Steve on Amazon Read Tripp’s articles in The New York Times Read Tripp’s articles in The Wall Street Journal  Visit Tripp’s LinkedIn profile: linkedin.com/in/trippmickle   Learn more and get the full show notes at: 3PillarGlobal.com

The pandemic forced a lot of innovation on corporations but didn’t give us much time to carefully consider how to best implement those changes. Now that it feels like we can take a step back, what can we do to utilize the recent digital transformations to their fullest potential? Ben Chodor is the president of Notified and host of the Insights with Ben Chodor podcast. He’s been guiding corporations as they adapt to the rapidly accelerating digital landscape forced onto them by the pandemic. He promotes how organizations can create engaging online experiences as the co-author of “Transitioning to Virtual and Hybrid Events.” And that’s our topic for the day; how companies can make the most of their forced innovations before higher expectations become the norm. Tune in.   Resources: Listen: Insights with Ben Chodor Read: Transitioning to Virtual and Hybrid Events Learn more and get the full show notes at: 3PillarGlobal.com

The cloud is the future, that much is clear. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t come with some bumps in the road along the way. Yun Freund is the Senior Vice President of Platform and Product at Equinix. Yun’s career has been spent bridging the gap between corporate physical infrastructure and its digital future. As a seasoned industry executive, she’s ushered in the cloud renovation of her engineering, communications, and data services employers, and is currently advising Google on hybrid multi cloud industry trends and platform strategy. Yun shares what companies can expect going through digital transformation, some of the hurdles that hold businesses back, and ensuring that the cloud future is safe, secure, and reliable.   Resources: Yun Freund on LinkedIn   Learn more and get the full show notes at: 3PillarGlobal.com

Ian Wright is Chief Insights Officer at Equifax. But what does that actually mean and what insights can he give us into the current (and future) state of the marketplace? Do you wish there was an easy way to access data and see insights into what it means all in one go? That’s one of Ian’s main roles along with keeping track of the market and its trends. When it comes to innovation, you have to know exactly where you are before you can decide where you want to go and how you want to get there.  Equifax provides marketing solutions to help businesses achieve more targeted, meaningful interactions across the customer journey. They believe that understanding household economics is critical to marketing success, and that’s where a Chief Insights Officer comes in.  Listen for a more thorough explanation of Ian’s role along with his view of the state of the market, and even his takes on things like getting the work/life balance right and handling imposter syndrome.    Resources: Ian Wright on LinkedIn Equifax   Learn more and get the full show notes at: 3PillarGlobal.com

We’ve assembled some of the sharpest minds from 3Pillar Global for a discussion of everything to expect in the marketplace in 2022. What trends are we currently watching and what should we be looking out for as the year rolls on? Making up our panel are Scott Varho (Vice President of Product Development), Margaret Irons (Vice President of Global Marketing and Communications), Jamie Whitacre (Chief People Officer), and Kim Mirazimi (Senior Vice President of the Commercial Services Portfolio). Between them, you couldn’t ask for a more qualified group to explore where we’re headed. First, we look at the takeaways that leaders need to be aware of when it comes to product design and development. Then, we move into the three major differentiators of 3Pillar.  Other topics include working from home, how to get messaging effectively out into the marketplace, data collection, and the increasingly digital landscape businesses and their leaders must traverse on the way to employee wellness.    Resources: Scott Varho on LinkedIn Margaret Irons on LinkedIn Jamie Whitacre on LinkedIn Kim Mirazimi on LinkedIn   Learn more and get the full show notes at: 3PillarGlobal.com

Almost any stat you can find on the subject suggests that Americans are worryingly lacking in financial literacy. Only about 6% of the nation’s employees are positioned to prepare for retirement on their own and only half of those will succeed in doing so. That leaves 97% in need of help.  Financial education isn’t a new concept, but it’s only now that it’s finally starting to gain traction as a legitimate avenue for businesses to explore for their employees – in part thanks to the work of people like Whitney Queen and mindful financial brands like Mentoro. President of Mentoro, a turn-key financial wellness service provider, Whitney explains that the firm’s aim is to empower employees to focus on their financial journeys and, in turn, create a happier, more productive workplace for everyone. Our conversation covers financial literacy shortcomings we see on a day-to-day basis, actions that individual companies and organizations can take to cultivate financial wellness within their workforce, and the tangible benefits they’re likely to see by doing so.    Resources: Mentoro Whitney on LinkedIn   Learn more and get the full show notes at: 3PillarGlobal.com

One of the biggest, most visible impacts of the pandemic was the massive disruption of supply chains across the globe. It led to shipment delays and product shortages across multiple industries. The problem is that this data can be hard to visualize when you’re trying to solve complicated disruptions. We’re sitting down with a dynamic woman leading a dynamic company doing incredibly relevant work in the tech space, Jennifer Bisceglie. She’s the founder and CEO of Interos, a supply chain management company that developed powerful artificial intelligence tools which empower companies to quickly identify and respond to rapid changes in their supply chains. Instead of endless spreadsheets, Interos provides clients with a live, global visualization of their supply chains, making it that much easier to protect and improve them. We get her perspective on everything from modern logistical challenges, to what makes a successful leader, to women in technology. We also discuss Interos’ recent successful funding event where they raised $100 million in investments.   Resources: interos.ai LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jennifer-bisceglie-3328b2   Learn more and get the full show notes at: 3PillarGlobal.com

How do you take your disruptive ideas and quickly turn them into products consumers want?   Bob Moesta is a one-man innovation engine. He’s the principal architect of the jobs-to-be-done theory along with Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen. He’s Founder, President, and CEO of the Rewired Group, a consulting firm dedicated to helping companies innovate better, cheaper, and faster. They’ve done so for over 3,500 products and services across countless industries. We speak about the challenges he faces in helping companies rethink how they do business, and his new book, Demand-Side Sales.   Resources: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/bobmoesta Read: Demand-Side Sales   Learn more and get the full show notes at: 3PillarGlobal.com  

Few retail industries were disrupted by COVID as much as the fashion industry. And yet, many of the biggest brands out there have managed to weather the storm and create digital transformations that kept them agile and relevant. Joanne Joliet is currently Head of Worldwide Fashion and Apparel at Amazon Web Services and has had a long career in research and analytics in the retail industry. Previously, she was senior research director in retail at Gartner and has led digital innovation in executive roles at Belk and Family Dollar Stores, Inc. She shares her take on how retail has digitally transformed, how the COVID pandemic affected that transformation, and where we go from here.   Resources: linkedin.com/in/joanne-joliet-8b3815   Learn more and get the full show notes at: 3PillarGlobal.com