Better Innovation

Jeff Wong, EY’s Global Chief Innovation Officer and technology enthusiast joins Better Innovation host Jeff Saviano for a fascinating and fluid conversation about the Metaverse.    Some predict the Metaverse could soon become a $1 trillion+ industry. Jeff Wong explains the importance of distinguishing between hype and value curves when assessing emerging technology trends. The pair of Jeffs explore helpful definitions of the Metaverse and discuss the current limitations of VR/AR, the alignment to De-Fi (decentralized finance) and digital currencies, and the likely increased regulation for related Web3.0 tech solutions. Listen-in as Jeff Wong shares his belief in the Metaverse’s incredible potential for good, ultimately transcending commercial applications to help solve humanity’s biggest challenges – from climate change to social justice.

How will innovative technologies influence the Citizen - State relationship? In this episode, Jeff is joined by Nick Davies, an innovation and technology leader within Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC), the UK tax authority. Jeff and Nick discuss the role of innovation and advanced tech in the changing economy, perhaps manifested in a new (digital) social contract. Technologies such as AI and blockchain are supercharging the State’s participation in the digital economy. Governments are playing an increasing role in the development and regulation of new tech, along with new incentive mechanisms to foster fresh growth opportunities.

In this episode, Jeff is joined by Jeremy Allaire - technologist, internet pioneer, and serial entrepreneur. Jeremy is the founder of Circle, a global financial technology firm enabling a multitude of organizations to harness the power of digital currencies for payments, e-commerce and a wide variety of financial applications. Jeff and Jeremy talk about the fast-moving digital currency revolution, the evolution of money itself, and Web 3.0 ideals to create an open internet of value. Jeremy and Circle itself are changing the relationship between commerce and currencies. The conversation concludes with the exciting opportunities afforded by the programmability of money through smart contracts. If you're interested in the future of finance, this episode is a must-listen!

This episode is about the friction we face as innovators. Jeff is joined by David Schonthal, Clinical Professor of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, and co-author of The Human Element: Overcoming the Resistance That Awaits New Ideas. Jeff and David discuss the headwinds that stand in the way of innovation; the four frictions that, unless overcome, will prevent new ideas from succeeding. We’re hard-wired as humans to focus on new product features and functions. While important, Jeff and David had a rich conversation about the inevitable friction and resistance that innovators inevitably face when designing and bringing new ideas to market. We all face friction; David offers a creative roadmap to get past it.

As we kick off a new season, Jeff speaks with Rita McGrath, Professor of Management at the Columbia Business School and author of Seeing Around Corners, How to Spot Inflection Points in Business Before They Happen. Rita has received the #1 achievement award for strategy from the prestigious Thinkers50, and has been consistently named one of the world’s Top 10 management thinkers. Rita shares her unique perspective on how to spot leading trends, what to do about them, and practical tips to align your organization to important change events. Rita credits a line in Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises for inspiring her book. A character in Hemingway’s novel answers a question about how he went bankrupt by saying, ‘two ways, gradually, then suddenly.’ What a perfect metaphor for explaining how important change events impact organizations.  

Marcello Estevão, Global Director of Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment at The World Bank knows the importance and impact of public debt management. In this episode, Marcello takes Jeff through the process of debt intervention for national economies, the role of debt in tax policy making, and how emerging technology can materially enhance public finance (including tax) systems. Marcello also offers some insights on economic development as the pandemic recovery continues.

Susan Garfield, Chief Public Health Officer at EY, believes we’re at the precipice of a transformational moment in health equity, leveraging innovative technology to make a difference in the lives of millions. Jeff and Susan chat about the cascading effect of technology in healthcare, its impact on the democratization of high-quality care, and how the public sector can learn from the pandemic to improve resiliency and the overall quality of healthcare. 

One episode was not enough, so we broke it in two. Here's the second part of Jeff's interview with Dave Duncan. Dave is the author of The Secret Lives of Customers: A Detective Story About Solving the Mystery of Customer Behavior. Through a very engaging parable, Dave dives into what motivates customers across the functional, social, and emotional spectrum, with an emphasis on the important questions you're asking about your customers. Whether your customer is a coffee shop or large enterprise, Dave’s principles will help you better align your product or service to what matters most to your customers. In this fascinating two-part discussion, Jeff and Dave dive into the key messages from The Secret Lives of Customers to help you discover new ways to meet rapidly changing customer needs.

Dave Duncan, author of The Secret Lives of Customers: A Detective Story About Solving the Mystery of Customer Behavior, investigates what customers truly care about most. Through a very engaging parable, Dave dives into what motivates customers across the functional, social, and emotional spectrum, with an emphasis on the important questions you're asking about your customers. Whether your customer is a coffee shop or large enterprise, Dave’s principles will help you better align your product or service to what matters most to your customers. In this fascinating two-part discussion, Jeff and Dave dive into the key messages from The Secret Lives of Customers to help you discover new ways to meet rapidly changing customer needs.

Are you incorporating “digital trust” into your digital transformation efforts? Hank Prybylski breaks down what it means to incorporate mission-critical trust elements into a successful digital transformation endeavor. In his role as Global Vice Chair of Transformation at EY, Hank helps business leaders approach innovation through an emphasis on courage and curiosity, with insights they need to build resiliency – especially important as we emerge from the global pandemic. Jeff and Hank cover a wide range of transformation and innovation topics, from digital governance and maximizing AI effectiveness, to mitigating biases within data. Take a listen, we think you’ll really enjoy their free-flowing innovation conversation!