Ep. 136 - Simone Ahuja, Author, Disrupt-It-Yourself: Eight Ways to Hack a Better Business

Simone Ahuja, Author of Disrupt-It-Yourself: Eight Ways to Hack a Better Business---Before the Competition Does, researches barriers that are preventing large companies from innovating internally. Brian Ardinger, Founder of Inside Outside Innovation talks with Simone about these innovation barriers and what managers and leaders can do to support innovators.  Highlights from the discussion: Why is it so hard to innovate? - Lack of alignment - Disconnect between senior leaders and feet on the street. Lack of knowledge in the middle. Innovation is a relatively new discipline. There's a difference in metrics and incentives. Need to establish new metrics at all levels, creating space for innovation. - Innovation is different in companies that are large and older, where culture is deep. Not specific to the industry. - Need to encourage people to put forward innovative ideas (Value-creation innovation). It’s the pathway to innovation, but not everyone has to be an innovator or intrapreneur. Innovation Principles - Who is innovating inside large organizations or as a side hustle? How do we harness that? Engage people so they feel satisfied and want to stay around. Only 14% of college grads want to work in large corporations e.g., Medtronic. - How do you identify those people? Managers seem to know who they are. Action-oriented and risk-taking. Don’t know how to support them. Need to provide “air cover.” Built on trust, autonomy, and space. Assisting people in transitional innovation.  - Managers need to have the Idea of fluid and agility. How do you manage info and change? How do we create flexibility in our organizations? What’s exciting you about this space? - Optimistic that innovation is becoming more of a discipline. - The human side of innovation. Passion and purpose and why to harness it.  To find out more, you can purchase Simon’s book Disrupt-It-Yourself: Eight Ways to Hack a Better Business---Before the Competition Does or learn more at www.Blood-orange.com or on Twitter @simoneahuja. If you enjoyed this podcast, you might also enjoy: Ep. 124 - Amy Radin, Author of The Change Maker's Playbook & FinTech Guru, Ep. 109 - Greg Larkin, Corporate Entrepreneur and Author of “This Might Get Me Fired, and Ep. 78 - Katherine Manuel w/ Thomson Reuters. Find this episode of Inside Outside Innovation at insideoutside.io. You can also listen on Acast, iTunes, Sticher, Spotify, and Google Play FREE INNOVATION NEWSLETTER Get the latest episodes of the Inside Outside Innovation podcast, in addition to thought leadership in the form of blogs, innovation resources, videos, and invitations to exclusive events. SUBSCRIBE HERE For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy