Tech Leader Talk

John is a thought leader on the topics of digital strategies and innovation strategies. He is an advisor to companies and leaders who want to innovate and compete with more agility and effectiveness. John is also a keynote speaker on leadership for the digital era. John is a former Amazon executive who was a leader in launching and scaling the Amazon Marketplace business and ran the enterprise services business at Amazon. He is the author of three books, including The Amazon Way: Amazon's 14 Leadership Principles. John is an expert at leveraging the Amazon leadership principles to help people innovate, compete, and win in the digital world. "Continually transform your business by making small tangible changes, learn from those changes, and continue with more changes." – John Rossman Today on the Tech Leader Talk podcast: - How companies can improve their Digital Transformation effectiveness - What inspired John to write "The Amazon Way" - What tech leaders can learn from the Amazon leadership principles - Why "Customer Obsession" is the first principle discussed in John's book - What is the "diving deep" principle Resources John's Book: The Amazon Way - https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Way-Amazons-Leadership-Principles/dp/173497916X John's Newsletter: The Digital Leader Newsletter - https://thedigitalleader.substack.com/ Book: The Founders by Jimmy Soni - https://www.amazon.com/Founders-Paypal-Entrepreneurs-Shaped-Silicon/dp/1501197266 Connect with John Rossman: Website: http://rossmanpartners.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-rossman/ Thanks for listening! Be sure to get your free copy of Steve's latest book, Cracking the Patent Code, and discover his proven system for identifying and protecting your most valuable inventions. Get the book at https://stevesponseller.com/book.

William is an award-winning Diversity & Inclusion innovator, an engineering trailblazer, and a philanthropist. He is also a busy husband and father of three children. William was named the first Technical Advisor to the CTO at Microsoft after helping develop critical code for many of Microsoft's core products. William is also the co-founder of the LEAP apprenticeship program, which was named Microsoft's Diversity & Inclusion program of the year in 2020. Early in William's software engineering career, he was one of the first black entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. He is also the philanthropic founder of The EV3NT, which is a collaborative, community-based hackathon designed to use technology to address critical needs for people of color. "Company leaders must understand the value in creating a diverse team of people with different perspectives." – William Adams Today on the Tech Leader Talk podcast: - The best way for tech companies to hire more people of color - Why it is important for people of color to have an ownership stake in technology development - Trends that are impacting DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives - How The EV3NT is positively impacting communities Connect with William Adams: Website: https://www.william-a-adams.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thewilliamaadams/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/LeapToTech Thanks for listening! Be sure to get your free copy of Steve's latest book, Cracking the Patent Code, and discover his proven system for identifying and protecting your most valuable inventions. Get the book at https://stevesponseller.com/book.

On this episode, Tony Ulwick and I discuss his innovation process that's been used by companies around the world. Tony is the inventor of the Outcome-Driven Innovation® (ODI) process and founder of strategy and innovation consulting firm, Strategyn. He has applied his ODI process at some of the world's leading companies and across nearly all industries to create breakthrough innovations - achieving a success rate that is five times better than the industry average. Tony has been credited with bringing predictability to innovation. He has been published in the Harvard Business Review and the MIT Sloan Management Review. Tony is the author of two best sellers: What Customers Want and Jobs-to-be-Done: Theory to Practice. Tony is also an inventor with 12 patents granted on his inventions. "First discover unmet needs, then create solutions for those unmet needs." – Tony Ulwick Today on the Tech Leader Talk podcast: - How companies can improve their innovation success rate - The Jobs-to-be-Done process - IBM's billion dollar mistake - How the ODI process is different from other innovation systems - Yes, you can bring predictability to innovation Resources:Free book: https://jobs-to-be-done-book.com/ Tony's blog: https://jobs-to-be-done.com/ Connect with Tony Ulwick:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonyulwick/ Website: https://strategyn.com/ Thanks for listening! Be sure to get your free copy of Steve's latest book, Cracking the Patent Code, and discover his proven system for identifying and protecting your most valuable inventions. Get the book at https://stevesponseller.com/book.

On this episode, Kelli Lucas and I discuss her experience as a UX (user experience) designer. Kelli has 12 years of experience creating beautiful, engaging products for startups and enterprise clients alike. She has designed mobile and web products for FinTech, healthcare, publishing, sports, social media, advertising, education, logistics, and more. Kelli is a co-founder and Chief Design Officer at Lunar Lab, a UX Design and Product Strategy firm. Lunar Lab empowers dreamers to create meaningful, impactful products through collaboration and innovation. "Design decisions need to be aligned with your business decisions." – Kelli Lucas Today on the Tech Leader Talk podcast: - Why you should involve end users in the design process- How to design ethical products- Creating meaningful, impactful products through collaboration and innovation- Aligning design decisions with business decisions- How to make technology more human Resources: Book: Ruined by Design (Mike Monteiro) – Available at: https://www.ruinedby.design/ Book: Mismatch (Kat Holmes) – Available at: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/mismatch Connect with Kelli Lucas: Website: https://lunarlab.io LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelliklucas/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/LunarLab_IO Thanks for listening! Be sure to get your free copy of Steve's latest book, Cracking the Patent Code, and discover his proven system for identifying and protecting your most valuable inventions. Get the book at https://stevesponseller.com/book.

In this solo episode, I discuss the importance of building a portfolio of patents that provides strong protection, a competitive advantage, and increases your company's valuation. This episode covers Step 3 of my 3-step system to identify and protect your most valuable inventions (described in my book, Cracking the Patent Code): Step 1: Identify All Inventions Step 2: Evaluate and Prioritize Inventions Step 3: Protect the Right Inventions Listen to this episode so you understand how to build a valuable portfolio of patents that provide broad protection for your business. "Create 'future inventions' based on today's industry trends and technology trends." – Steve Sponseller Today on the Tech Leader Talk podcast, I discuss the four categories of patents you want to include in your patent portfolio: - Core Technology - Critical Must-Have Features - Future Inventions - Defensive Patents Questions? If you have any questions about building a strong portfolio of patents, contact me to schedule a Free Introductory Call so I can help you with your next steps. Contact me via email: Steve@SteveSponseller.com Or visit my website: https://www.SteveSponseller.com Thanks for listening! Be sure to get your free copy of my latest book, Cracking the Patent Code, and discover my proven system for identifying and protecting your most valuable inventions. Get the book at https://stevesponseller.com/book.

On today's episode, Miguel Heinonen and I discuss his experience as a tech entrepreneur who has worked in the startup community across the United States and the United Kingdom. He grew up in a variety of countries, including: Peru, Switzerland, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, UK, and the US. Miguel is the Founder and CEO of Heirizon, which is a global employment platform that he bootstrapped and built from the ground up. He is also an advisor to multiple tech companies located in Europe and the United States. As an advisor, he helps tech companies accelerate their lead generation and marketing processes into a hyper-growth mode. "Today you can build an MVP for about $500." – Miguel Heinonen Today on the Tech Leader Talk podcast: - Developing your MVP (minimum viable product) - Experiences with bootstrapping a company - Lead generation strategies - How to protect your company's domain name from being flagged as a spammer Connect with Miguel Heinonen: Website1: https://www.heirizon.com/ Website2: https://www.miguelheinonen.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miguelheinonen/ Thanks for listening! Be sure to get your free copy of Steve's latest book, Cracking the Patent Code, and discover his proven system for identifying and protecting your most valuable inventions. Get the book at https://stevesponseller.com/book.

In this solo episode, I discuss the importance of evaluating inventions created throughout your organization. Some inventions are not worth protecting. To avoid patenting inventions with minimal value, it's important to evaluate each invention based on the needs of your organization. This episode covers Step 2 of my 3-step system to identify and protect your most valuable inventions (described in my book, Cracking the Patent Code): Step 1: Identify All Inventions Step 2: Evaluate and Prioritize Inventions Step 3: Protect the Right Inventions Listen to this episode so you understand how to properly evaluate all of the inventions created by your team. "You can't afford to protect every invention, so you must evaluate and prioritize." – Steve Sponseller Today on the Tech Leader Talk podcast: - How to identify inventions worth protecting - Defining evaluation criteria that's unique to your company - Prioritizing inventions based on your evaluation criteria - How to create a diverse invention evaluation committee - Identifying inventions with high ROI (return on investment) Questions? If you have any questions about evaluating and prioritizing your critical inventions, contact me to schedule a Free Introductory Call so an important invention doesn't fall through the cracks. Contact me via email: Steve@SteveSponseller.com Or visit my website: https://www.SteveSponseller.com Thanks for listening! Be sure to get your free copy of my latest book, Cracking the Patent Code, and discover my proven system for identifying and protecting your most valuable inventions. Get the book at https://stevesponseller.com/book.

On this episode, Omar Akhtar and I talk about his current work advising companies on digital marketing innovation. He focuses on content strategy, data-driven personalization, customer experience technology, and multi-channel marketing with technology companies. Omar recently led the development of a new report: The 2021 State of Digital Transformation, from Altimeter. This study looks at the differences between businesses that succeeded at digital transformation and those that are struggling. We discuss the results of this study during this episode. Omar graduated with a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University and has been a writer for Direct Marketing News, PR Week, and Fortune Magazine. "Digital transformation is adapting to change that's driven through innovation in the digital world." – Omar Akhtar Today on the Tech Leader Talk podcast: - Key findings in The 2021 State of Digital Transformation report- How to implement digital transformation in your company - Who should lead a company's digital transformation activities- The next phase of digital transformation- Prioritizing customer experience & employee experience Resources: Report: The 2021 State of Digital Transformation. Link to report: https://www.prophet.com/download/the-2021-state-of-digital-transformation/ Connect with Omar Akhtar: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/omarbilalakhtar/ Website: https://www.prophet.com/altimeter/home/ Thanks for listening! Be sure to get your free copy of Steve's latest book, Cracking the Patent Code, and discover his proven system for identifying and protecting your most valuable inventions. Get the book at https://stevesponseller.com/book.

On this episode, Jayant Chaudhary and I talk about his current work with technology companies. Jayant is an Innovative CTO who works in the areas of ecommerce, marketing, payments, logistics, and team building. He has 30 years of technology and leadership experience, and enjoys helping businesses make better technology decisions as they bring in new solutions. He's been a tech leader at startups and Fortune 50 companies. Jayant has led teams of over 300 people and managed budgets of over $40 million. Today, he is the CTO of eProxim, which provides technological expertise to solve complex ecommerce and middleware problems. "Most technology projects run into trouble due to a lack of good communication." – Jayant Chaudhary Today on the Tech Leader Talk podcast: - How to improve communication in tech startups- The importance of developing trust with your team- Tips for building a strong ecommerce platform- How to grow your ecommerce platform as your company grows- How to build a strong communication system in your organization Connect with Jayant Chaudhary: Email: jc@eproxim.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jchaudhary Website: https://eproxim.com/ Thanks for listening! Be sure to get your free copy of Steve's latest book, Cracking the Patent Code, and discover his proven system for identifying and protecting your most valuable inventions. Get the book at https://stevesponseller.com/book.

On this episode, Mark Kerzner and I talk about his current work in artificial intelligence. Mark is an expert in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cybersecurity. He is a co-founder of Elephant Scale - a training and consulting company for Big Data, AI, and Machine Learning. Mark is also a co-founder of Scaia AI. "Technology changes, but people and relationships often stay the same." – Mark Kerzner Today on the Tech Leader Talk podcast: - What is scalable artificial intelligence - How can tech companies best use artificial intelligence - Determining meanings within documents using AI - Artificial intelligence tips for small companies Connect with Mark Kerzner:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markkerzner/ Website: https://elephantscale.com Thanks for listening! Be sure to get your free copy of Steve's latest book, Cracking the Patent Code, and discover his proven system for identifying and protecting your most valuable inventions. Get the book at https://stevesponseller.com/book.