Killer Innovations with Phil McKinney - A Show About Ideas Creativity And Innovation

Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group joins us to discuss Digital Twins, the Metaverse, and the hybrid work model innovations. Metaverse and Digital Twins Recently, Rob has been engaging in the Metaverse and Digital Twin technology. Everybody is trying to figure out the use of the Metaverse. One interesting use has to do with demolished cities like those in Ukraine. The Metaverse can potentially offer the opportunity to revisit these places virtually. I recently discussed Digital Twins and the auto industry with Rob Tiffany. Ford is using this technology to run various simulations. The combination of Digital Twins, the Metaverse, and autonomous vehicles brings potential. Human Digital Twins will soon copy one’s appearance, voice, opinions, etc., to virtually interact on their behalf. The issue remains the fidelity of Digital Twins and the Metaverse and its effect on decision making. EV Industry Challenges Mustang, Tesla, Ford, Rivian, Cruise, etc., are in on the EV/autonomous car game. These vehicles have two modes: chauffeur and guardian angel, and there is an industry divide between the modes. Guardian angel mode comes free with most electric vehicles, while chauffer mode comes with a subscription. Most of the drivers in the EV world Greg has spoken to don’t care for the chauffeur mode. When people buy a high-performance car, they want to drive it. In the U.S, people love their cars, and I think the culture must shift a lot before people self-driving vehicles become the norm. Video Conferencing and the Hybrid Work Model Greg has advised HP, Dell, IBM, etc., on PC and mobile phone technology. Recently, his involvement has been in improving mobile phone and PC integration. Leading companies like SYSCO are working heavily on this convergence. Video conferencing is a key area of focus. With the growth of the hybrid work model, companies are seeking to create better virtual collaboration. The behavioral and interpersonal aspects are still lacking. That unplanned interaction that sparks innovation is also missing. Many areas need some innovation to improve virtual workspace interactions. About Our Guest: Rob Enderle Rob Enderle is the President and Principal Analyst of the Enderle Group, where he provides perspective for the leaders in today’s technology. For over 20 years, Rob has worked for and with companies like Microsoft, HP, IBM, Dell, Toshiba, Gateway, Sony, USAA, Texas Instruments, AMD, Intel, Credit Suisse First Boston, ROLM, and Siemens. Rob developed world-class IT industry analysis skills from DataQuest, Giga Information Group, and Forrester Research, which he leverages through his work at the Enderle Group.   To know more about Rob Enderle, the Metaverse, and digital twins, listen to this week's show: Rob Enderle of Enderle Group on Metaverse and Digital Twins. RELATED:   Subscribe To The Newsletter and Killer Innovations Podcast  

Stephen Key joins us to discuss how inventors can successfully license inventions— their most valued ideas. Licensing Inventions Stephen has an extensive following on YouTube, where he coaches, mentors, and advises inventors. His channel focuses on those who have ideas but don’t want to start a business. Creative people want to do what they are good at but don’t always want to do the heavy lifting. This is where the licensing business model comes into play. The first part of the process is recognizing that companies must keep innovating to stay alive. Then you need to deeply understand a specific company’s culture, business model, etc., and sell them an invention that fits what they are looking for. Licensing is all about finding that perfect partner that has everything in place today. If you come up with an idea, it is not copy-proof. When you market your product to an established leader, they can get it to market fast, protecting you. Where Inventors Go Wrong Most inventors who approached HP didn’t understand our product lines, strategies, customer segments, etc. If an inventor who had done their research came to me, the conversations would have been different. Product developers need to understand the company’s mission, vision, supply chain, costs, etc. Most inventors look at things only from their perspective, resulting in failure. Inventors need to invest time with potential licensees. In my ten years at HP, the winners at this were the ones who knew our mission, technologies, and competitors and had a plan of attack. The 10G Challenge, InventRight TV and inventYes There are many contests and programs to help inventors win. CableLabs is hosting a contest called the 10G Challenge, based on new services that will run on multi-gigabyte broadband networks. The prize is $50,000 in four different categories: Health, education, work, and entertainment. The best overall idea wins $100,000. At the end of it all, the inventor keeps their idea. Stephen started his YouTube channel, InventRight TV, to give people a roadmap on how they can license their inventions. He also created inventYes, a free program that teaches kids how to license their inventions. It’s all about giving people the opportunity to see how they can change the world.   Check out Stephen’s YouTube channel here. Check out his LinkedIn page here.   About our Guest: Stephen Key Stephen Key is an author, writer, and leading expert in licensing consumer product ideas. The innovative packaging solution he brought to market has more than 20 patents and received 15 industry awards, including two Edisons. InventRight, the coaching program he cofounded in 1999, has helped people from more than 60 countries license their product ideas. Stephen has a popular YouTube channel inventRight TV, and writers for Forbes, Inc., and Entrepreneur. In 2017, he cofounded Inventors Groups of America to educate and empower inventors and inventing group leaders. He is also the co-founder of inventYES, a free program for high school students worldwide. In 2020, he became a founding member of the United States Intellectual Property Alliance to help educate entrepreneurs and inventors on intellectual property.   To know more about Stephen Key and licensing inventions, listen to this week's show: Stephen Key of InventRightTV on Licensing Inventions. RELATED:   Subscribe To The Newsletter and Killer Innovations Podcast

Greg Shepard of BOSS Capital Partners joins us to discuss autism, neurodiversity, and entrepreneurship. The School System and Learning Styles Growing up, Greg struggled with learning in school and communicating. He had a different style of learning that schools did not teach. He scored very high in some areas but struggled in others. Greg’s kids go to the Winston School, which specialize in neurodiverse students. The school teaches students their learning styles before they do anything else. Once the kids understand how they learn, they can know which type best fits them. My three kids also had different learning styles when they were growing up. My wife and I homeschooled each of them through different curriculums. The school system fails students when they don’t match teaching styles to learning styles. Autism, Neurodiversity, and Entrepreneurship Greg says starting a business is like a GPS. When using a GPS, you must know your current location and where you’re going. He connects that way of thinking to the acquiring of businesses. Most people jump into things before knowing where they are going and end up in the wrong place. Greg chooses to define the destination ahead of time and plan accordingly. It is not a matter of intelligence but rather the lens you see things through. Most people learn things one way and look at things that way. Neurodivergent people look between and around, seeing things differently naturally. This ability has greatly attributed to Greg’s career success. Organizations and Neurodiversity In most organizations, neurodivergent people cannot get through the application process. To change this, organizations need to get rid of certain obstacles. Job applications often ask the wrong questions to those with different ways of thinking. Interviewers need to focus on areas these people are passionate about. This process will highlight their capabilities rather than getting overlooked. Additionally, neurodivergent people do not operate well with things that are not direct and specific. They need targeted things, and many interviewers fail to provide direct questions. About our Guest: Greg Shepard Greg is a 20-year startup veteran and serial entrepreneur with 14 liquidity events— selling two as part of a $925M transaction that won 4 PE awards for transactions between $250M-$1B. He is a ForbesBooks author and has written over 100 articles published in 25 national and international publications. Hie is also a TEDx speaker and keynote speaker for universities, associations, and conferences worldwide. He is the Host of Meet The BOSS Forbes Radio show and guested on over 25 popular podcasts and numerous network TV and radio shows. Greg co-founded BOSS Capital Partners, a global syndicate for investing in tech startups worldwide. He also Co-Founded BOSSStartupScience, the learning center based on Greg’s Business Operating Support System (BOSS). BOSS is an open-source methodology developed to empower entrepreneurs while increasing startup success rates. To know more about Greg Shepard, autism, neurodiversity, and entrepreneurship, listen to this week's show: Greg Shepard with BOSS Capital Partners on Autism, Neurodiversity and Entrepreneurship. RELATED:   Subscribe To The Newsletter and Killer Innovations Podcast

Rob Tiffany joins us to discuss innovations around digital twins and where the technology is making an impact. Digital Twins Rob is an industry analyst working around wireless communications, IoT, digital twins, etc. Digital twins are digital representations of a physical object. These representations arose with NASA when they used them as digital models of spacecraft. GE started using them for aircraft engines in the early 2000s. As the pace of innovation accelerates, things become more complicated. Rob likes to think of them as “asset avatars.” For example, if you have a 2018 Ford F-150, you build the digital twin to have the same properties as the car (oil, PSI in tires, engine, etc.). The digital twin holds all the elements that make up the object. Digital twins change the whole process of building products and improving them. Rob believes digital twin technology is in the early days because of low fidelity. The first person out of the gate usually doesn’t win with any innovation. Google was not the first search engine, for example. Electric Vehicle and Train Innovations One current issue affecting digital twins is the amount of data that an electric vehicle generates. Data is collected when the vehicle reacts to traffic, changing signs, the weather, etc. When people plug their cars in, a lot of data is jammed in and sent to the digital twins, stressing data servers. While at Hitachi, Rob’s team had a platform called Lumada, which held their digital twins and analytics. In 2016 the UK government put out an RFP as they were looking to replace all the inter-city trains in the country. Hitachi had no footprint in Europe at the time but ran Lumada on Hitachi bullet trains. They won the deal. The digital twin technology was put into a real-life situation. About Our Guest: Rob Tiffany Rob Tiffany is Founder and Managing Director at Digital Insights. Rob served as Vice President and Head of IoT Strategy at Ericsson, driving 5G connection management for IoT devices. As CTO and Global Product Manager at Hitachi, he received the Presidential “Product of the Year” award for designing the Lumada Industrial IoT platform, which landed in Gartner’s “Leaders” Magic Quadrant. Spending most of his career at Microsoft, Rob was Global Technology Lead for the Azure IoT cloud platform and co-authored its reference architecture. Before Microsoft, he co-founded NetPerceptor developing one of the industry’s earliest Mobile Device Management (MDM/EMM) platforms for smartphones. A bestselling author and frequent keynote speaker, Rob serves on multiple boards. He is routinely ranked as one of the top IoT experts and influencers globally by Inc Magazine, Onalytica and others. To know more about Rob Tiffany and Digital Insights, listen to this week's show: Rob Tiffany of Digital Insights on Digital Twins. RELATED:   Subscribe To The Newsletter and Killer Innovations Podcast  

Scott Crowder of IBM joins us to discuss quantum computing and its potential to change the world of technology. Quantum Computing and Its Impact Scott leads the quantum computing efforts at IBM. Quantum computing is an entirely different information science than what is considered classical computing. Quantum scales exponentially, whereas classical scales linearly. Data with structure, especially machine learning, and simulating quantum mechanics can't be done on a classical computer. Because of advances in technology, energy efficiency has dramatically increased over the last 70 years but still isn't linear. With quantum computing, every time a cubit is added to a system, the space that can be explored is doubled. This means that computing power is immensely more significant and more efficient. As Scott put it, it's “sci-fi come to life.” Areas of focus To win in the quantum space, several things need to be done. The technology needs developing, as there is a ton of innovation required. Quantum computing needs to be simplified, which is one of IBM's goals. They also want to make the technology available to as many people as possible. IBM believes they will be the first to market quantum computers as doing more than classical computers.  IBM and Collaboration IBM has one of the largest userbases of people exploring quantum computing. There are over twenty quantum computers available on the cloud today, with systems worldwide. They have a more open-access platform for exploration. They also have a platform with higher quality and capacity systems they provide to their partners for more profound research. They collaborate with over 175 industry, academic, and research institutions to identify ways to leverage the technology. IBM has adopted the attitude of “not doing everything on their own.” Scott says if they understand the problem better, they will create better technologies. About our Guest: Scott Crowder  Scott crowder is the Vice president of IBM Quantum and the CTO of IBM Systems, Technical Strategy & Transformation. Scott has his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. To know more about Scott Crowder and quantum computing, listen to this week's show: Scott Crowder of IBM on Quantum Computing and Its Impact. RELATED:   Subscribe To The Newsletter and Killer Innovations Podcast Innovation doesn't happen by accident. It takes planning, action, and the right tools to achieve game-changing innovations.

Alan Proithis of Capstone Partners joins us to discuss private 5G networks and the importance of innovation collaboration. 5G Innovation Allen and I have worked together at different companies since the mid-90s. He is currently focused on private 5G networks. There is an unprecedented amount of investment and interest in the mobile space. People want to apply 5G to some crazy areas. The consumer market around it has created some misconceptions about the technology. Allen believes consumers won't benefit from it in the short term. Enterprises, on the other hand, can potentially benefit significantly from it. Even with the need for public networks, 5G brings in a new dynamic. You can tune virtual slices of a private network to do exactly what you want, where you want, all on-demand. This process can all be done securely, which is appealing to many. Innovation collaboration Allen's firm, Capstone Partners, was part of a team that delivered the first private 5G network for the Department of Defense. Cisco, Federated Wireless, JMA Wireless, the Marine Corps customers, and various smaller partners played a vital role in the project. There was a high level of collaboration, and this project wouldn't have worked without it. Collaborating with the right set of partners is key to reaching end goals. Innovation without collaboration is doomed for failure. Defining the Problem Within the practice of collaboration lies the critical task of defining the problem. Understanding the problem is a lot harder than most people think. Allen says understanding the problem requires getting your hands dirty. If you don't take the time to do this, you'll never understand the customer's problem deeply enough. As a result, you will not adequately solve their problem. No matter what the innovation is, it is vital to define the problem you are trying deeply About our Guest: Allen Proithis Allen Proithis is the CEO of Capstone Partners, a strategic advisory firm for clients in the mobile, IoT, software, and technology industries. Before Capstone, Allen was the President of Sigfox, North America. He created a high-performance team that built an Internet of Things business with top enterprise companies and verticals while providing wireless coverage for over 70M people in the US. Before Sigfox, he created a $155M IoT joint venture (Convida Wireless) with Sony, InterDigital, and Stephens Capital and served as Chairman. In 2014, Allen raised $15M to launch an Internet of Things spinout focused on accelerating value produced by the data generated by IoT. At InterDigital, Allen oversaw all market development activities, including commercializing IoT, Wi-Fi, shared spectrum, and video content management solutions. Allen was on and recognized by: CNBC, Fortune, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Fierce Wireless, MWC, and CES. To know more about Alan Proithis on Innovation Collaboration, listen to this week's show: Alan Proithis of Capstone Partners on Innovation Collaboration. RELATED:   Subscribe To The Newsletter and Killer Innovations Podcast Innovation doesn't happen by accident. It takes planning, action, and the right tools to achieve game-changing innovations. Need help? Check out the aids/help over at innovation.tools.

Peter Lierni of Solutioneering joins us on the second episode of Season 18. The Solution Engineering Tool (SET) is a framework that takes an engineering-based approach to win competitive deals. The Solution Engineering Tool As a Navy officer, Peter lived on a ship, which he described as a system of systems. After leaving the Navy, he started consulting in the Pentagon, assessing complex weapons systems. Peter connected building a complex system and doing business development and capture and proposal planning. Peter began using different mental models he developed from his experiences to win deals. He was eventually encouraged to develop this into a framework, and the Solution Engineering Tool (SET) was born. SET is a tool of tools, holding sixty-one tools that companies of all sizes can use and for deals of all sizes and timeframes. The Importance of Critical Thinking Innovators often fail to think enough about their innovation's value critically. This critical thinking failure is where SET comes into play. SET starts with an issue and key factor analysis. The goal is to understand the problem, why it's a problem, and identify the critical problems and why they are problems. After that, it's a matter of showing the value your innovation offers. The Engineering Behind the Framework When SET is used, it stores a data lake of competitive intelligence. SET provides a digital and visual blueprint that federates all the thinking behind how you got to a win. Many companies can't repeat successes because they didn't document the process behind them. SET collects strategies behind wins to be built upon and repeated in the future. SET's root cause analysis helps identify areas of success and areas that need improvement. In the case of a loss, the compiled data can see where things went wrong. Peter says no matter what innovation tool you use, it's not the tool that makes you successful. It is how you use it. SET is meant to facilitate collaborative analysis to help you make decisions on strategies you apply, potential teams to partner with, who you should hire, and give reasons as to why your company should win a deal. To know more about Peter Lierni and the Solution Engineering Tool (SET) framework, listen to this week's show: Peter Lierni of Solutioneering on Innovating Frameworks for Critical Thinking. RELATED:   Subscribe To The Newsletter and Killer Innovations Podcast Innovation doesn't happen by accident. It takes planning, action, and the right tools to achieve game-changing innovations. Need help? Check out the aids/help over at innovation.tools.

Welcome to season 18 of the Killer Innovations podcast! We are thrilled to kick off the 18th year of Killer Innovations. This episode is dedicated to answering your questions about the podcast. Ask Me Anything: Killer Innovations Q&A What was the original impetus for the podcast? My mentor Bob Davis, who I attribute much of my success to, inspired me to pay it forward What was your inspiration for the format and structure of the podcast? I used to listen to a motivational speaker, Earl Nightingale's Insight Audio Magazine cassette tapes. How did you produce the first podcast? I recorded it in a Marriott bathroom, using a $5 microphone attached to my laptop. How did the podcast get traction? Adam Curry, an MTV VJ who had a podcast called Daily Source Code, promoted my show. What would be some surprising “podcast history” that others would find interesting? Odeo was a podcast directory that promoted my podcast on their show. Not too long after, the Apple podcast came out, killing Odeo. Odeo pivoted and eventually became Twitter. What was the original audience for the podcast? – The original audience consisted of mostly tech people. Has the target audience for the podcast changed over time? Yes, most early listeners were podcasters. Now people from all sorts of backgrounds are listening. What makes your show different from other podcasts? Longevity (averaged 40-45 episodes a year for seventeen years) and staying consistent with the content. How have you produced the show over such a long period? This show is my creative outlet. What are some of your favorite episodes? Geoffrey Moore or Peter Guber. What has been the biggest challenge with the podcast? Dealing with personal issues that impact getting a show out and maintaining consistency What is your advice to today's podcasters? Don't chase the numbers. Focus on your content, be consistent, and collaborate with other podcasters who you like. How can someone who listens to the podcast benefit from it? The podcast is encouraging and holds timeless content with a long/deep archive of episodes – take advantage of it. What would you say is your most significant achievement with the podcast? Inspiring others to podcast, inspiring creatives to create, and inspiring innovators to invent Is there something you experienced that was unexpected about your podcast? Fans were becoming friends – Woody, Seth (designer), and many others. What was the most incredible experience with fans of the podcast? The listeners of the show threw me a party in London. To know more about the Killer Innovations Show, listen to this week's show: Ask Me Anything Q&A. RELATED:   Subscribe To The Newsletter and Killer Innovations Podcast Innovation doesn't happen by accident. It takes planning, action, and the right tools to achieve game-changing innovations. Need help? Check out the aids/help over at innovation.tools.

COVID-19 greatly impacted technology efforts and continues to do so rapidly. Tim Bajarin joins us from Silicon Valley to discuss work from home shifts and the newest innovations from Apple. Tim Bajarin On WFH Shifts Over the last eighteen months, businesses have realized that bringing everybody back to the office isn’t realistic. People are comfortable with the flexibility that working from home provides. Creative Strategies did several studies on this topic and discovered that people establish sophisticated work from home set-ups. Because people want consistency with their office and work from home, IT directors face new challenges. Even when in-office, people are still connecting with clients and colleagues virtually. Because people now want studios in their homes for work, homeschooling kids, etc., the housing demand has skyrocketed. Architects are currently designing new custom homes that include studios. We are moving towards the hybrid environment being the norm. Large and small companies have been investing in sprucing up their offices for their employees to match their WFH settings. Shifts in Technology COVID has opened room for more innovative technologies. People want better cameras, pushing laptop makers and other tech companies to make heavy improvements. Intel competitors have evolved, such as AMD and Qualcomm. Apple’s introduction of the M1 Chip has immensely shaken things up in the valley. The demand for Macs has increased immensely as well. Apple is innovating on so many fronts and has the patience to stay in it for the long run. Regulatory Pressures Government regulation has become more prevalent, specifically with the European Union, as it attempts to harness the growth of companies like Apple and Facebook. Tim says that Washington D.C does not understand technology, which has caused some issues. While they talk significantly about clamping down on things, the reality is that great economic challenges will arise if governing bodies step in. About our Guest: Tim Bajarin Tim Bajarin is one of the most recognized and sought-after global technology analysts, futurists, and consultants. His fifty years in Silicon Valley have made him a voice that moves the market. “With his writing and analysis being at the forefront of the digital revolution, Tim was one of the first to cover the personal computer industry and is considered one of the leading experts in the field of technology adoption life cycles. He is president of a technology-focused company, Creative Strategies, and a regular podcaster on Tech.Pinions (also broadcasted on The Innovators Network). He is a futurist and credited with predicting the desktop publishing revolution three years before it reached the market and multimedia. Been with Creative Strategies since 1981, Tim has served as a consultant to most of the leading hardware and software vendors in the industry (IBM, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, AMD, HP, Xerox, Compaq, Dell, AT&T, Microsoft, Polaroid, Lotus, Epson, Qualcomm, Toshiba, and numerous others). Tim Bajarin is on the technology advisory boards of IBM, Compaq, and Dell. (from Wikipedia)” To know more about Tim Bajarin, Work from Home (WFH), Apple, and Silicon Valley, listen to this week's show: Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies on Work from Home (WFH), Apple and Silicon Valley RELATED:   Subscribe To The Newsletter and Killer Innovations Podcast

It's no mystery that COVID-19 disrupted the technology industry. Bob O'Donnell joins us to discuss the innovation impacts of broadband and 5G. Innovation Impacts of Remote Work COVID-19 dramatically changed how we communicate, increasing the need for fast, consistent broadband. The broadband industry globally builds around two and a half years of capacity ahead of time. High internet usage spikes from COVID resulted in broadband capacity exhaustion 14 days after March 1, 2020. The spikes were due to people working from home and kids being home from school. Zoom, WebEx, Microsoft, etc., all came together to improve the problems. A strong work-from-home environment is the byproduct of the shift from in-person to remote. To build out their mobile workstations, people invest in high-quality PCs, monitors, cameras, platforms, etc. Bob believes there will continue to be an “explosion of installs” of different video calling platforms. The Accelerated Pace of Technology Innovation Competition in the tech world has seen accelerated growth since COVID-19 started. There are four or five video conferencing platforms most people are currently using. Zoom, for instance, released 320 new features last year. When it comes to microchips, things have never been more competitive. Intel and AMD are working with global governments on semiconductor and supply chain issues. Technological innovations are continuously rolling out. 5G Innovation Growth When it comes to 5G innovation, most of the world started out using mid-band frequencies. The U.S started with low and high-band frequencies. Mid-band turned out to be the fastest, leaving U.S 5G efforts off to a slow start. Like Y2K, everybody knew 5G was coming but did not plan for it properly. However, things are now starting to pick up. The world's leading proponents on 5G private networks, Vodafone Germany recently unveiled a private network at Porsche's main factory. Everything at the factory runs on a 5G network, which does real-time tuning on the car while it's on a test track. Bob is currently working on a study of private 5G and how companies are implementing it. Everybody is talking about private 5G and its potential impacts from chip manufacturers to software, devices, and networks. About our Guest: Bob O'Donnell Bob O'Donnell is the President, Founder, and Chief Analyst of TECHnalysis Research. The firm's research and O'Donnell's opinions are also regularly used by major media outlets, including Bloomberg TV, CNBC, CNN, Investor's Business Daily, the Wall Street Journal, Yahoo Finance, and more. O'Donnell writes regular columns for USAToday and Forbes and a weekly blog for Tech.pinions.com published on TechSpot, SeekingAlpha, and LinkedIn. Before founding TECHnalysis Research, Bob served as Program Vice President, Clients, and Displays for industry research firm IDC. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame. To know more about Bob O'Donnell and innovation impacts, listen to this week's show: Bob O'Donnell of TECHnalysis Research — What Innovation Will Impact You? RELATED:   Subscribe To The Newsletter and Killer Innovations Podcast