Outthinkers

Tony O’ Driscoll is a Professor, Research Fellow and Academic Director at Duke University. His central message emphasizes that the key digital-age differentiator is not technology, but people. Tony is the co-author of the new release, Everyday Superhero: How You Can Inspire Everyone and Create Real Change at Work. His role as adjunct professor at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and Pratt School of Engineering afford him the unique opportunity to apply cutting-edge academic research to increasingly complex business challenges. He has spent the bulk of his professional and academic career at the nexus of business, innovation, technology, change, and learning, creating and implementing strategies that enable organizations to realize the full potential of their most valuable asset: human beings. There are few people in the world who have thought as deeply about the interface of technology and human organizations and imagined what the future models might be for how organizations will evolve than Tony. In this podcast, he shares:Why AI is going to transform the way we organize in ways we have never experienced in history The key reasons why strategy execution fails and some tips for addressing them Why attempts at organizational and digital transformation so often create resistance and how you can help mitigate that response_________________________________________________________________________________________"I started to realize at the end of the day, organizations are nothing without humans. The humans literally breathe life into every organization on this planet. And if they don't understand the why behind something or as they disagree with the premises or assumptions upon which any strategy has been formulated, you're going to have a really hard time. It'll be executed in the wrong way; it'll be killed rather than done. And that's where I became really interested in the human part of the system."-Tony O'Driscoll_________________________________________________________________________________________Episode Timeline:00:00—Short preview of Tony's episode00:58—Introducing Tony + The topic of today’s episode2:37—If you really know me, you know that...3:55—What's the difference between productive learning vs. creative learning?5:10—How AI has changed the new capabilities to change the human-machine interface7:13—Why is this level of technological revolution with AI and machine learning happening now, and how is it different, and how can we learn what will unfold?10:15—Why do 60-70 percent of strategies fail?11:39—Why humans are at the center of systems and technology12:53—What should strategists be thinking about human-centered transformation?15:48—How do you build accountability alongside trust?19:00—Could you explain how we are shifting paradigms as a global culture?20:39—How can people connect and learn from you?__________________________________________________________________________________________Additional Resources: Personal Page: http://tonyodriscoll.com/Linkedin: Thank you to our guests, thank you to our executive producer, Karina Reyes, our editor, Zach Ness, and the rest of the team. If you like what you heard, please follow, download, and subscribe. I'm your host, Kaihan Krippendorff. Thank you for listening.Follow us at outthinkernetworks.com/podcast

John Mullins is an Associate Professor of Management Practice at the London Business School. He earned his MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and his Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota. An award-winning teacher and scholar and one of the world’s foremost thought leaders in entrepreneurship, John brings to his teaching and research 20 years of executive experience in high-growth retailing firms, including two ventures he founded and one he took public. Since becoming an entrepreneurship professor in 1992, John has published five books, dozens of cases and more than 50 articles in a variety of outlets, including Harvard Business Review, the MIT Sloan Management Review, and The Wall Street Journal. His research has won national and international awards, and he is a frequent and sought-after speaker and educator for audiences in entrepreneurship and venture capital. John has authored and co-authored three widely-recognized books: The New Business Road Test: What Entrepreneurs and Executives Should Do Before Launching a Lean Start-Up, Getting to Plan B: Breaking Through to a Better Business Model, and The Customer-Funded Business: Start, Finance or Grow Your Company with Your Customers’ Cash. John’s newest book, Break the Rules! The Six Counter-Conventional Mindsets of Entrepreneurs That Can Help Anyone Change the World (released January 2023), identifies what makes entrepreneurs “entrepreneurial” and provides a road-map for how anyone can adopt and master these mindsets to challenge assumptions, overcome obstacles, and mitigate risk. John has done executive education on five continents for a variety of organizations both large and small, including the Young Presidents’ Organization, Endeavor, the Entrepreneurs’ Organization, Kenya Airways, Merck-Serono, 3M, among many others. He has served on the boards of fast-growing entrepreneurial companies in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia. You can also listen to John on the From Founder to CEO podcast at London Business School. In this podcast, he shares:Why it's better to get customer funding than venture funding or getting your company to fund the new business Five ways to get customers to fund your business Six mindsets of successful entrepreneurs_________________________________________________________________________________________Episode Timeline:00:00—Introducing John + The topic of today’s episode2:34—If you really know me, you know that...3:41—What is your definition of strategy?4:00—What drove you to develop your current career path, after your original one?5:26—What was the topic you were known for that propelled you into becoming a London Business School professor?6:51—Could you tell us a little about your book, Getting to Plan B?8:49—Could you tell us about the story that illustrates the points in Getting to Plan B—it's so relevant to entrepreneurs?10:08—Your next book is about next book, The Customer-Funded Business?13:40—You say your most recent book, Break the Rules, is the most important book. Why is that?15:53—Could you describe the six mindsets of entrepreneurs you describe in your most recent book?20:59—Any last thoughts you'd like to leaveThank you to our guests, thank you to our executive producer, Karina Reyes, our editor, Zach Ness, and the rest of the team. If you like what you heard, please follow, download, and subscribe. I'm your host, Kaihan Krippendorff. Thank you for listening.Follow us at outthinkernetworks.com/podcast

Efosa Ojomo is the Director of the Global Prosperity research group at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, an innovation-focused think tank based in Boston. Efosa is also on the faculty of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management where he teaches the course, Entrepreneurship and Market Creation in Emerging Markets. Efosa was selected as one of 30 thinkers in the 2020 Thinkers50 Radar list. He researches and writes about how innovation can transform organizations and create inclusive prosperity for many. In January, 2019, alongside the late Harvard Business School professor, Clayton Christensen, he published the book, The Prosperity Paradox: How Innovation can Lift Nations Out of Poverty. Christensen was the world’s foremost thinker on Disruptive Innovation and was a mentor to Efosa Ojomo. Over the past several years, his work has been published and covered by the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, The Guardian, Quartz, Forbes, Fortune, The World Bank, NPR, and several other media outlets. He speaks and consults often on how organizations can develop a culture that fosters market-creating innovations, and has presented his work at TED, the Aspen Ideas Festival, the World Bank, Harvard, Yale, Oxford, and at several other conferences and institutions. His TED Talk on Innovation and Corruption has garnered over 2 million views. Efosa graduated from Vanderbilt University with a degree in computer engineering and received his MBA from Harvard Business School. In this podcast, he shares:How to apply disruption innovation theory to prosperity and poverty Three types of innovation: efficiency, sustaining, and market creating Five barriers to consumption which, if you can remove them, can open up new customers, sales, adoption, markets _________________________________________________________________________________________Episode Timeline:00:00—Introducing Efosa + The topic of today’s episode2:27—If you really know me, you know that...3:08—What is your definition of strategy?5:55—How did working with Clayton Christensen impact your career?7:33—Can you talk about disruption theory in the context of prosperity, as you developed it?10:31—Could you describe the three types of innovation?15:55—What are the reasons—that we can address—to unlock non-consumption?19:38—How can people connect with you and keep learning from you?__________________________________________________________________________________________Additional Resources: Personal Page: http://efosaojomo.com/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/efosa-ojomo-95b74710Twitter: https://twitter.com/EfosaOjomoThank you to our guests, thank you to our executive producer, Karina Reyes, our editor, Zach Ness, and the rest of the team. If you like what you heard, please follow, download, and subscribe. I'm your host, Kaihan Krippendorff. Thank you for listening.Follow us at outthinkernetworks.com/podcast

Erica Orange is Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of The Future Hunters, one of the world’s leading futurist consulting firms. She evaluates emerging social, technological, economic, political, demographic and environmental trends—and identifies the strategic implications (the “So what?”) of those trends for several of the most influential Fortune 500 companies, trade associations and public sector clients. Erica’s ability to identify patterns, think critically and analytically, and translate that into actionable strategies is what has made her an invaluable asset to clients. Erica frequently speaks to a wide range of global audiences about the macro trends that are shaping and impacting today’s landscape. She has spoken at TEDx and keynoted over a hundred conferences around the world, including across Europe, Latin America, and Asia. She has authored numerous articles and industry white papers on a variety of future-focused topics, and has been featured in news outlets including NPR, Time, Inc, Yahoo Singapore, WWD, Bloomberg, and CBS This Morning. In 2020, she was named by Forbes as one of the world's 50 Top Female Futurists. In this podcast, she shares:Why the big opportunity of metaverse is not on the all the B2C marketing side that we tend to talk about The number one future trend that keeps her up at nightWhat competencies will be necessary in the future of AI__________________________________________________________________________________________" "-Erica Orange_________________________________________________________________________________________Episode Timeline:00:00—Introducing Erica + The topic of today’s episode2:17—If you really know me, you know that...2:55—What is your definition of strategy?4:59—How did you become a futurist?6:59—For the individual what does it look like to think about these trends and extrapolate?8:20—Could you elaborate on the trends you've seen in artificial intelligence, and what we should be thinking about?12:08—What are the implications for AI in terms of what it will affect, e.g. hiring, training...14:57—What keeps you up at night?18:35—Could we dig into the concept of "digital twins"?21:50—How do we balance reaching too far in the future with what's immediately possible?22:59—How do you get companies ready for the permutations of the future?25:46—Where can people follow you and keep learning from you?__________________________________________________________________________________________Additional Resources: Personal Page: https://thefuturehunters.com/speaking-engagements/erica-orange/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericaorangeTwitter: https://twitter.com/erorangeThank you to our guests, thank you to our executive producer, Karina Reyes, our editor, Zach Ness, and the rest of the team. If you like what you heard, please follow, download, and subscribe. I'm your host, Kaihan Krippendorff. Thank you for listening.Follow us at outthinkernetworks.com/podcast

Dr. Simone Ahuja is the founder of Blood Orange, a global innovation and strategy firm headquartered in Minneapolis, USA. She is co-author of the international bestseller, Jugaad Innovation, called “the most comprehensive book yet on the subject” on frugal innovation by the Economist. This practical innovation playbook makes clear how and why leaders must support the passionate and purpose-driven “intrapreneurs” inside their organizations to drive innovation and achieve sustainable growth. Dr. Ahuja has served as an advisor to MIT’s Practical Impact Alliance and Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge. She provides innovation and strategy advisory and consulting services to organizations including 3M, UnitedHealth Group, Procter & Gamble, Target Corp, Stanley Black & Decker, and the World Economic Forum. Dr. Ahuja is a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and a practitioner of improvisational comedy. In this podcast, she shares:Why severe resource constraints often activate intrapreneurship and innovationThree things you need to put in place to unlock greater levels of internal innovationWhy bottom-up innovation is so important to include in your portfolio of innovation approachesThe mindset shift leaders and intrapreneurs should make to unlock greater levels of internal innovation__________________________________________________________________________________________""-Simone Ahuja_________________________________________________________________________________________Episode Timeline:00:00—Introducing Simone + The topic of today’s episode2:05—If you really know me, you know that...3:14—What is your definition of strategy?6:24—Simone's biggest pet peeve6:54—Where do you see the link between strategy and innovation being broken?9:28—Could you talk about your idea of intrapreneurship?11:50—Could you explain the concept of "juugad"?15:06—Can you give us examples of these internal intrapreneurs who practice juugad innovation?18:33—What is something I haven't asked you'd like to talk about?22:02—How do you solve for intrapreneurial experience to encourage their abilities?24:32—Where can people follow you and keep learning from you?__________________________________________________________________________________________Additional Resources: Personal Page: https://simoneahuja.com/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-simone-ahuja-6b93a52/Twitter: https://twitter.com/simoneahuja?lang=enThank you to our guests, thank you to our executive producer, Karina Reyes, our editor, Zach Ness, and the rest of the team. If you like what you heard, please follow, download, and subscribe. I'm your host, Kaihan Krippendorff. Thank you for listening.Follow us at outthinkernetworks.com/podcast

Alex Budak is a social entrepreneur, faculty member at Berkeley Haas, and the author of Becoming a Changemaker. He teaches, speaks, and writes to help people make a positive impact in their lives, career, communities, and society. At UC Berkeley, Alex created and teaches the transformative course, “Becoming a Changemaker,” and is a Lecturer and Faculty Director for Berkeley Executive Education programs. As a social entrepreneur, he co‐founded StartSomeGood.com, ran Sweden’s most prominent social innovation incubator, Reach for Change, and helped Change.org scale globally. He has given talks on leadership, entrepreneurship, and changemaking around the world from Cambodia to Ukraine to the Arctic Circle, and at the White House, UN Agencies, and leading companies. A graduate of UCLA and Georgetown University, Alex loves travel adventures (39 countries and counting), rooting for the underdog, and spending time with his two favorite changemakers: his wife, Rebecca, and their toddler son. In this podcast, he shares:Why leadership is not about power, but rather about embracing "moments of micro-leadership"The three key aspects of being a changemaker—and a formula on how to multiply these aspects to be an effective changemakerSome practical advice on something you can do with your team and organization to help people embrace learning opportunity of taking risk __________________________________________________________________________________________""-Alex Budak_________________________________________________________________________________________Episode Timeline:00:00—Introducing Alex + The topic of today’s episode2:05—If you really know me, you know that...4:12—What is your definition of strategy?4:26—Could you explain your concept of micro-leadership?6:00—How did you create your incubator "start some good," and was it related to micro-leadership?7:17—Why have you dedicated so much of your career to teaching people to become a changemaker?8:32—What are the elements of being a changemaker?10:30—How do you get people to experience failure and take it effectively to learn from?12:54—How can leaders encourage the willingness to fail?14:48—What is a big misconception of leadership or power?17:09—How do you know what kind of change you want to commit to?20:25—Where can people follow you and take the next step in the journey with you?__________________________________________________________________________________________Additional Resources: Personal Page: https://www.alexbudak.com/Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/alexbudakTiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexbudakThank you to our guests, thank you to our executive producer, Karina Reyes, our editor, Zach Ness, and the rest of the team. If you like what you heard, please follow, download, and subscribe. I'm your host, Kaihan Krippendorff. Thank you for listening.Follow us at outthinkernetworks.com/podcast

Derek Lidow is unique in having successful careers as CEO of a global publicly traded semiconductor company, a founder and CEO of an innovative and valuable startup, and now as a teacher and scholar of entrepreneurship and innovation. Derek is a professor of the practice at the Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education at Princeton University. He is the author of Startup Leadership: How Savvy Entrepreneurs Turn Their Ideas Into Successful Enterprises , Building on Bedrock: What Sam Walton, Walt Disney, and Other Great Self-Made Entrepreneurs Can Teach Us About Building Valuable Companies, and THE ENTREPRENEURS: The Relentless Quest for Value, as well as more than a hundred articles on innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership. Lidow graduated summa cum laude from Princeton and received a PhD from Stanford as a Hertz Foundation Fellow. In this podcast, he shares:What it really takes to be a successful entrepreneur—and the history of these individualsWhat people often get wrong when they think about entrepreneurshipLessons for you to apply to become a successful entrepreneurThe positive and unexpected negative consequences of entrepreneurship in society__________________________________________________________________________________________""-Derek Lidow_________________________________________________________________________________________Episode Timeline:00:00—Introducing Derek + The topic of today’s episode2:23—If you really know me, you know that...2:54—What is your definition of strategy?3:29—What is your definition of entrepreneurship?5:14—Could you talk about the history of corporations and their structures, and how entrepreneurs fit into that?7:01—How were business people like the Elon Musks and Jeff Bezos perceived 4,000 years ago, and who were they?8:15—What would the world look like without entrepreneurs within the business mix?9:39—What are the less desirable impacts of entrepreneurs?11:51—How do we incentivize entrepreneurs to lean toward positive endeavors?14:14—Do you believe there is a shift toward entrepreneurs being focused on societal problems rather than self-interest focuses?15:44—What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur (qualities, characteristics, etc.)?17:16—What is something you'd like to share we haven't covered?17:58—How can people continue to learn from you and follow you?__________________________________________________________________________________________Additional Resources: Personal Page: https://dereklidow.com/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dereklidowTwitter: https://twitter.com/DerekLidowFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/derek.lidow1Thank you to our guests, thank you to our executive producer, Karina Reyes, our editor, Zach Ness, and the rest of the team. If you like what you heard, please follow, download, and subscribe. I'm your host, Kaihan Krippendorff. Thank you for listening.Follow us at outthinkernetworks.com/podcast

Andrew Binns is managing director and co-founder of Change Logic, a Boston-based strategic advisory firm. He works with CEOs, boards, and senior teams as they lead significant business change. He is the lead author of the new book Corporate Explorer: How Corporations Beat Startups at the Innovation Game and won the best article award 2020 for his article, with Charles O’Reilly in the California Management Review – "Three Stage of Disruptive Innovation."Andy has 25 years of consulting experience as both an external and internal consultant for McKinsey & Co., IBM, and Change Logic. He won an award for his work on the IBM Emerging Business Opportunity program. He is an Executive Fellow at the Center for Future Organization at the Drucker School of Management and a member of the Fast Company Executive Board. In this podcast, he shares:What a corporate explorer is and what it takes to become one What companies often get wrong why trying to unlock innovation Why you should think about the value of weaponizing your humility Why you should be wary of accepting a lot of money How to look out for silent killers _________________________________________________________________________________________Episode Timeline:00:00—Introducing Andrew + The topic of today’s episode1:47—If you really know me, you know that...2:44—What do you believe about the idea that things are never perfect, and there is always room for improvement?4:18—What is your definition of strategy?6:13—What are some key elements for a company to grow organically?7:30—How do corporate explorers work with with balancing the core of a company vs. exploring new options?8:47—What are the characteristics of someone who has the ability to do both core and exploring work?11:22—What does a "corporate explorer" look like? Is there a "type"?13:35—Could you talk more on the idea that corporate explorers "weaponize humility"?15:17—What do you think about the idea of "corporate antibodies," the idea that an explorer has to go outside the company to create something new?17:53—What are the first steps to developing a culture of "corporate explorers"?19:02—How can people continue to learn from you and follow you?__________________________________________________________________________________________Additional Resources: Corporate Explorer Page: https://www.thecorporateexplorer.com/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewjmbinnsTwitter: https://twitter.com/AJMBinnsThank you to our guests, thank you to our executive producer, Karina Reyes, our editor, Zach Ness, and the rest of the team. If you like what you heard, please follow, download, and subscribe. I'm your host, Kaihan Krippendorff. Thank you for listening.Follow us at outthinkernetworks.com/podcast

As an award-winning and globally recognised leader, executive coach, company director, writer and speaker, Kirstin Ferguson is one of Australia’s most prominent leadership experts. Kirstin is also making a global impact, with UK-based Thinkers50 naming her one of the world’s top 30 “Thinkers to Watch” and she was shortlisted for the Distinguished Award in Leadership in 2021. Kirstin’s career includes over a decade of experience on a range of company boards, including a previous appointment by the Australian Prime Minister as Acting Chair and Deputy Chair of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Kirstin currently sits on the boards of two technology companies. Kirstin has previously been the CEO of a global consulting company, a senior executive at a leading corporate law firm, and spent nearly 10 years as an Officer in the Royal Australian Air Force. Kirstin’s second book, Head & Heart: The Art of Modern Leadership has been described as an “indispensable companion for every leader” and “the book we need right now.” A passionate advocate for women, diversity, and inclusion, Kirstin was responsible for sparking a viral social media campaign called #CelebratingWomen, and is the co-author of award-winning book, Women Kind. Kirstin writes a popular weekly column for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age called Got a Minute? answering the nation’s work, leadership, and culture questions. In this podcast, she shares:Why great strategy begins with what she calls reading the roomWhat her research shows are the eight key attributes of an effective leaderWhy being the smartest person in the room can often backfireMany other practical advice for becoming an effective leader__________________________________________________________________________________________""-Kirstin Ferguson_________________________________________________________________________________________Episode Timeline:00:00—Introducing Kirstin + The topic of today’s episode2:20—If you really know me, you know that...3:09—What is your definition of strategy?4:47—What got you interested in strategy?5:40—How can people at every level become leaders?7:06—Could you explain why you titled your new book "the head and heart"?9:16—Could you break down the eight attributes of "head and heart" leaders?11:39—What does it look like to have too much empathy?12:55—What is your perspective on having confidence vs. humility when it comes to strategic decision-making?15:29—Having experienced both military and business realms, how has that shaped your perspective?19:49—How do you help people who don't feel ready to "step up" feel comfortable taking on a leadership role?21:48—What is the importance or cost of good leadership?23:15—How can people continue to learn from you and follow you?__________________________________________________________________________________________Additional Resources: Personal Page: https://www.kirstinferguson.com/Linkedin: Thank you to our guests, thank you to our executive producer, Karina Reyes, our editor, Zach Ness, and the rest of the team. If you like what you heard, please follow, download, and subscribe. I'm your host, Kaihan Krippendorff. Thank you for listening.Follow us at outthinkernetworks.com/podcast

Hermann Simon is the Founder and Honorary Chairman of Simon-Kucher & Partners, today the world’s leading price consultancy with 41 offices and 1600 employees. From 1995 to 2009 he served as the CEO and is the firm’s Honorary Chairman today. He is an expert in strategy, marketing and pricing and the only German in the “Thinkers50 Hall of Fame” of the most influential management thinkers in the world. In German-speaking countries he has been continuously voted the most influential living management thinker. The magazine Cicero ranks him in the top 100 of the 500 most important intellectuals. Hermann was a professor of business administration and marketing at the Universities of Mainz and Bielefeld (and a visiting professor at Harvard Business School, Stanford, London Business School, INSEAD, Keio University in Tokyo and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology).Hermann has published over 40 books in 30 languages, including world bestsellers on Hidden Champions and Price Management. His most recent books are True Profit! No Company Ever Went Broke from Turning a Profit, and Hidden Champions in the Chinese Century: Ascent and Transformation, both published by Springer Nature, New York. The new book Beating Inflation will be out this fall of 2022. In this podcast, he shares:The number one thing most companies get wrong when setting their pricing strategies How to deal with inflation, and how to know when and by how much to raise your prices How new technologies are opening up the possibility of evolving to new, innovative pricing models that we should be considering today __________________________________________________________________________________________"How does the willingness to pay change for customers [during inflation]? Do you have the pricing power to increase your prices without losing volume and customers?"-Hermann Simon_________________________________________________________________________________________Episode Timeline:00:00—Introducing Hermann + The topic of today’s episode2:12—If you really know me, you know that...2:47—What is your definition of strategy?3:30—What do companies typically get wrong when it comes to pricing?4:35—How do you approach communicating value when you are competing against many other bidders in the same industry?6:09—What is a "hidden champion?"7:05—What do you do when your competitors are behaving irrationally and engage in price wars?8:56—What do companies get wrong when it comes to pricing in an inflationary environment?11:26—How do you know by how much to change prices given a change in input prices during inflation?13:06—Could you explain your term "phantom profits" that helps people understand if they're ahead or behind a wave?14:37—Could you explain any pricing models that come to mind that are emerging that you recommend to clients?17:57—What are your thoughts on transparency in pricing? Is it a growing trend?20:59—There is the question of "fairness" when it comes to pricing (who puts in value vs. how much they extract when many players are involved). What are your thoughts on the topic?24:47—Is there anything we hThank you to our guests, thank you to our executive producer, Karina Reyes, our editor, Zach Ness, and the rest of the team. If you like what you heard, please follow, download, and subscribe. I'm your host, Kaihan Krippendorff. Thank you for listening.Follow us at outthinkernetworks.com/podcast