On this episode, we look at how to craft a successful innovation strategy. Among the topics we discuss are why strategy and planning are decidedly not the same thing, how the future impacts strategy and vice versa, and why you have to be comfortable incorporating change into your innovation strategy. Dr. Max McKeown , award-winning author of The Strategy Book and The Innovation Book , joins us to discuss those topics and more. Dr. McKeown works with some of the world’s most successful global bra...
Jun 22, 2015•29 min•Ep. 67
Looking to turn your company into an innovation factory? Scott Anthony, Managing Partner of Innosight , joins us on this week's episode to discuss how to build your company's very own innovation engine. We talk about the 4 component pieces that drive an innovation factory, what the first 90 days of building your innovation engine should look like, and why it's important to kill "zombie projects" that drain valuable time and resources. In addition to serving as Manager Partner at Innosight, Scott...
Jun 15, 2015•37 min•Ep. 66
"Riding the innovation cycle" is the topic of discussion on this week's episode of the podcast. Dr. Christopher Wasden, Executive Director of the Sorenson Center for Discovery & Innovation at the University of Utah , joins us to talk about: Why fast, frequent, frugal failure can be a recipe for innovation success The types of brain waves necessary for any of us to innovate successfully What to expect from the next wave of innovation in the world of health care. As a global thought leader on ...
Jun 08, 2015•42 min•Ep. 65
On this week’s episode of the podcast we take a look at why it’s important to get past some of the most common myths surrounding creativity in order to drive innovation. Among the topics we discuss are why creativity isn’t merely limited to those with “the creative gene,” the 4 conditions that must be met for creativity to flourish, and why the quest to build a better mousetrap is a mousetrap in and of itself. David Burkus joins us to discuss those topics and many more. David is the author of Th...
Jun 01, 2015•34 min•Ep. 64
On this week's episode of the podcast, we look at our collective obsession with "screen-based thinking" and how to get past it. Among the topics we talk about are: Why “There’s an app for that” are the 5 most insidious words in the English language 3 principles anyone can follow to create products that don’t force us to interact with yet another screen Why it's important to establish and understand the difference between User Experience and User Interface. Golden Krishna, author of the recently ...
May 26, 2015•39 min•Ep. 63
Organizing for innovation is the topic of discussion on this week's episode of the podcast. We talk about why corporate innovation is fundamentally broken on a number of levels, what you can do to fix that within your own organization, and what a typical “innovation team” should look like. David Bland joins us this week to discuss those topics and more. David is a Principal at Neo, a “full-stack innovation consulting firm,” where he advises corporations and startups alike on how to create and de...
May 18, 2015•33 min•Ep. 62
On this week’s episode of the podcast we look at innovation and haptic touch. We talk about why touch is a powerful untapped sense, how touch technology may eventually enable entirely new forms of communication, and why you shouldn’t be alarmed to hear that your clothes may soon reach out and touch you. Chris Ullrich, Vice President of User Experience at Immersion Corporation , joins us to talk about these topics and more. Immersion is one of the worldwide leaders in haptic touch technology. At ...
May 13, 2015•31 min•Ep. 61
Managing innovation is the topic of discussion on this week's podcast. We discuss what network science tells us about corporate hierarchies, how to know what kind of innovation your company is best equipped to pursue, and what “given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow” means. Greg Satell joins us to talk about these topics and more. Greg's work is published frequently on sites like Forbes.com and InnovationExcellence.com, and in publications like the Harvard Business Review . He also blogs of...
May 03, 2015•34 min•Ep. 60
On this week's episode, we discuss why we'll soon find ourselves in the “post-development language” world, what it means when we talk about being in an age of micro-framework systems, and what skill sets will be most important for developers, product managers, marketers, and members of the C-suite to possess 5 years from now. 3Pillar's Adi Chikara joins us to talk about these topics and more. Adi is part of the Advanced Technology Group at 3Pillar Global. In his role with the Advanced Technology...
Apr 27, 2015•26 min•Ep. 59
Entrepreneur, innovator, and MIT Sloan Fellow Stephanie Rowe joins us on this week's podcast to talk about creating organizational change that lasts. We talk about why it's important that companies be able to implement change successfully at scale, the role of design thinking and human-centered design in bringing about lasting organizational change, and what anyone in the government space should know about affecting change at government organizations. Stephanie Rowe is the founder of the Design ...
Apr 13, 2015•35 min•Ep. 58
Jane McDonnell & Trevor Knoblich of the Online News Association join us on this week's podcast to discuss the future of media. We talk about the myriad ways the media & entertainment landscape has changed in recent years, as well as how emerging technologies and social media platforms are changing the way we both consume and create the news. Jane McDonnell is the Executive Director of the ONA, where she manages the day-to-day operations of the world’s largest membership organization of d...
Apr 06, 2015•30 min•Ep. 57
Dr. Timothy Chou joins us to discuss his recently published Cloud Computing Trilogy . We talk about ways cloud computing is enabling a new breed of software applications and why he thinks you should know that "service is the delivery of information that's personal and relevant to you." Vince Vasquez also joins us for this episode of the podcast. Vince is the founder of Cloudbook , which published Dr. Chou's Cloud Computing Trilogy . Dr. Timothy Chou is an author, cloud computing expert, and lect...
Mar 30, 2015•33 min•Ep. 56
Mike Shipulski, the #1-ranked innovation blogger of 2014, joins us to talk about starting the innovation process. We discuss the concept of an Innovation Burst Event, why extreme time limits can spark creativity, and why the 2 most valuable phrases in the corporate lexicon are "Thank you for your amazing work" and "What kind of pizza would you like?" Mike Shipulski is a Product Development Executive with 15+ years of experience leading product development efforts. In 2014, Mike was named the #1 ...
Mar 23, 2015•31 min•Ep. 55
On this week's episode of the podcast we discuss "The Innovator's Method." We cover topics like how lean start-up principles and design thinking can help accelerate the innovation process, the 4-step process that makes up the innovator’s method, and the merits of using Minimum Awesome Products to test out concepts and validate ideas. Nathan Furr joins us to discuss those topics and more. Nathan is an author, speaker, and Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Strategy at Brigha...
Mar 16, 2015•34 min•Ep. 54
Best-selling author and innovation expert Rowan Gibson joins us for the 53rd episode of the podcast to discuss his latest book, The Four Lenses of Innovation: A Power Tool for Creative Thinking . Rowan shares examples of companies like Dell and Rolls Royce that have found success by challenging orthodoxies, talks about how the concept of seeing the future in the present applies to innovating successfully, and discusses the 3 distinct phases in the act of creation. Rowan Gibson is a world-renowne...
Mar 09, 2015•34 min•Ep. 53
Best-selling author and innovation expert Rowan Gibson joins us for the 52nd episode of the podcast to discuss his latest book, The Four Lenses of Innovation: A Power Tool for Creative Thinking . We talk about each of the four lenses and how they can be used to drive innovation, how the four lenses can be employed to emulate the mind of the innovator, and what we can learn about innovation from the greatest minds of the Renaissance. This is the first part of a 2-part interview, the 2nd half of w...
Mar 02, 2015•31 min•Ep. 52
On this episode of the podcast we look at the Internet of Things and how connected devices will change the way we interact with the world around us. We look at how the Internet of Things will eventually mean that the Internet as we know it fades into the background of our everyday lives, how mobile and the Internet of Things will feed off of one another symbiotically, and what a typical "day in the life" might look like thanks to the IoT in 5-10 years. Alex Besen joins us to discuss these topics...
Feb 23, 2015•29 min•Ep. 51
3Pillar Global CEO David DeWolf joins us for a very special episode of the podcast - episode number 50! David plays host on this episode of the podcast and interviews the regular host of the podcast, Will Sherlin. David and Will talk about the 3 main innovation lessons Will has learned from podcast guests, some of the highlights and lowlights from the first year of "The Innovation Engine" podcast, and what training to dunk a basketball and innovating successfully have in common.
Feb 16, 2015•36 min•Ep. 50
Tim Hurson, one of the world's leading experts on corporate innovation, joins us to talk about the power of productive thinking. Productive thinking is the innovation and problem-solving construct that Tim created and teaches alongside his colleagues at ThinkX , an innovation consulting firm that he co-founded. Among the topics we talk about on this episode of the podcast are why the act of thinking can actually be physically demanding, the 6 steps in the productive thinking process, and how to ...
Feb 09, 2015•38 min•Ep. 49
Nir Eyal joins us to talk about how to build habit-forming products. We discuss his recently published book Hooked , which debuted on the Wall Street Journal best-seller list. Among the topics we discuss are his 4-step process for building products that keep users coming back, how tools like the scarcity heuristic can be used to drive intended behaviors, and what the framing effect tells us about the importance of perceived value. In addition to his writing, Nir speaks frequently at industry con...
Feb 02, 2015•31 min•Ep. 48
Elliot Susel of AOL joins us to talk about agile, the Lean Startup movement, and the evolution of software development on this week’s episode of “The Innovation Engine” podcast. Among the topics we discuss this week are the "Three Ring Theory" of modern-day product development, the concept of validated learning and why it's so important to startups and, increasingly, large organizations, and why information radiators can be a powerful way to get a team to coalesce around shared goals. Elliot Sus...
Jan 19, 2015•32 min•Ep. 47
On this week's episode of the podcast, we look at keys to leading innovative companies. Among the topics we cover are why innovation leaders should be ringleaders and referees more than visionaries; the importance of creative abrasion, creative agility, and creative resolution to the innovation process; and why it's imperative to establish a company culture with a sense of community and psychological safety to foster innovation. Greg Brandeau is the co-author of Collective Genius: The Art and Pr...
Jan 12, 2015•38 min•Ep. 46
eTrans Systems CEO John Estrada joins us to talk about the coming revolution in the transportation space that will be brought about by connected cars. We discuss what barriers need to be overcome before driverless cars will be available to the general public en masse, when we can expect to start seeing connected cars hitting the highways, and how driverless transportation will impact our everyday lives in terms of safety, mobility, and the environment.
Jan 05, 2015•31 min•Ep. 45
Author and innovation guru Mitch Ditkoff joins us to talk about the power of storytelling and the parallels between being able to tell a story successfully and being able to innovate successfully. Among the topics we tackle on this week's episode are why it's important in the corporate world for you to be able to tell a compelling story, why humor is an effective tool for connecting with audiences of all shapes and sizes, and how to get started crafting your own personal narrative. Mitch Ditkoff...
Dec 19, 2014•35 min•Ep. 44
Innovation and business transformation is the topic of discussion on this episode of the podcast. We talk with Dr. Sunil Mithas of the University of Maryland about what companies can learn from the Tata Group's ascension to becoming one of the world's most well-known - and profitable - businesses in the world. Dr. Mithas has studied the Tata Group's success in-depth for his just published book, Dancing Elephants and Leaping Jaguars: How to Excel, Innovate, and Transform Your Organization the Tat...
Dec 11, 2014•29 min•Ep. 43
Modev founder Pete Erickson joins us for the 42nd episode of the podcast to discuss Modev's recent Wearables + Things conference, their upcoming ModevCon event, and the evolution of the DC tech scene since Pete started Modev in 2008. We discuss some of the hacks that came out of the Wearables + Things Hackathon, Pete's own experience with wearable devices like the Pebble Watch, and the different tracks available at ModevCon, which will take place on December 11th and 12th. See the following link...
Nov 28, 2014•34 min•Ep. 42
We look at innovation and breakthrough thinking on this week's episode of the podcast. We'll talk four great ways to make breakthroughs when you find yourself stuck in neutral, why "expertise is the enemy of innovation," and what we can all learn from the thought process of magicians when it comes to innovation. Stephen Shapiro joins us to discuss those topics and more. Stephen is a best-selling author and keynote speaker who has worked with companies like 3M, Procter & Gamble, Marriott, Nik...
Nov 21, 2014•32 min•Ep. 41
The Future of Payments is the topic of discussion on the 40th episode of “The Innovation Engine” podcast. Kenal Shah and Brian Oh join me to discuss how the payments ecosystem will change over the short and long term and how technology will fuel consumer adoption of new payment platforms. We talk about the hot and heavy battle currently taking place between Apple Pay and the Merchant Customer Exchange, how we’ll all be parting with our hard-earned money 5 years from now, the Poynt point-of-sale ...
Nov 14, 2014•32 min•Ep. 40
Gill Haus, CTO of Paid Services at AOL, joins us to talk about the commonalities he has seen on high-performing teams. We talk about the concept of the pivot and how to manage it appropriately, the next steps in the evolution of agile, and the Jeff Foxworthy approach to determining if the team you're working on or with is truly innovative. In addition to AOL, Gill has held leadership positions at companies that include BillMeLater, PayPal, and Taxi Magic. At PayPal, he served as Director of Deve...
Nov 07, 2014•33 min•Ep. 39
On this episode of the podcast we look at innovation lessons that companies of all shapes and sizes can take from the groundbreaking animation studio Pixar. We talk about why the black sheep in your company may just be the keys to unlocking innovation success, the importance of lifelong learning in creating a culture that thrives on innovation, and the 4 common proficiencies to making art - and innovation - a team sport. Bill Capodagli, author of Innovate the Pixar Way: Business Lessons from the...
Oct 31, 2014•32 min•Ep. 38
