Better Innovation

In this episode, Jeff is thrilled to speak with Tendayi Viki, PhD, Partner at Strategyzer, and author of Pirates In The Navy: How Innovators Drive Transformation. Jeff and Tendayi dive into the role of the “intrapreneur” within organizations, and the ways in which their ideas and innovations can gain greater traction with key organizational decision-makers. Tendayi talks about how “raising the pirate flag” can lead to great things. But, for innovation to succeed, it often requires layers of buy-in from executives and heavy collaboration. Jeff and Tendayi discuss the importance of asking the right questions at the right time, and key ways innovation teams can benefit from some degree of separation from the core business, without becoming isolated. We hope you enjoy this in-depth discussion on the power of channeling innovation within organizations.  

This week, Jeff sits down with FinTech expert, and friend from Davos, Lawrence Wintermeyer, Co-Chair of Global Digital Finance. They deep-dive into a wide range of topics, including digitization of products and services, and the opportunity for governments to utilize digital currencies for relief in times of crisis. Lawrence was the CEO of Innovate Finance, an NGO established by U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron with the goal of promoting FinTech by openly collaborating with regulators, technologists, and other key members of the FinTech ecosystem. Now, among other important efforts in the world of digital finance, Lawrence strives for greater adoption of technical standards and the use of digital assets. Jeff and Lawrence tackle subjects like how FinTech can become a driving force behind more resilient industries and why asking governments to solve things on their own actually might not work. They also discuss topics like the emergence of stablecoins as friction-less digital currencies, the rising tide of digital identification, and opportunities for commercial and government institutions to collaborate on resiliency initiatives. 

This week, we’re thrilled to speak with Sandra Ro, CEO of the Global Blockchain Business Council, and one Jeff’s favorite collaborators in the innovative technology community. Sandra’s positive influence in the blockchain community is significantly helping this potent technology flourish and illuminating how people and organizations can improve their resiliency. As we watch digitalization flourish and accelerate at an unprecedented speed fueled by the pandemic, there is an acute need for better data management across old and new networks. This surely includes improved data privacy and security, smart government regulation, and mass education of the many participants in these new innovative technology systems. Sandra discusses how blockchain could be of the highest utility to the world within the healthcare sector; notably, to improve access to health records, and vastly improve the patient experience.  Join Sandra and Jeff as they discuss the many dimensions of this transformative technology.    

Rumi Morales has seemingly done it all . . . she has worked at traditional financial institutions, advised blockchain startups, and at one point was even a lounge singer! She knows so much about the power of reinventing oneself. Rumi has adopted this unique philosophy of reinvention throughout her career. Over the years she has played the part of a forward-thinking innovator at century-old traditional organizations, while also venture investing in artificial intelligence, deep learning, predictive analytics, and quantum computing. Institutional Investor said Rumi was one of the “most powerful dealmakers in financial technology” two years in a row, and Crain’s recognized her in their esteemed “40 Under 40” list. How did Rumi achieve this success? On this episode Jeff and Rumi talk about the power of reinvention; in financial systems, businesses, and frankly life in general. Rumi shares her thoughts on how institutions can reinvent themselves to better prepare for disruption through innovative technologies. Jeff and Rumi dive deep into some of the lessons that Rumi has learned from surviving various economic crises, and how reinvention becomes particularly necessary following a crisis, as an important step on the path to recovery.

In this episode, Jeff talks tech governance with Shelia Warren, Head of Blockchain, Data, and Digital Assets at the World Economic Forum. While tech leaders often think that governance hinders innovation, Warren argues that a basic governance framework can help solution developers think more deliberately about their products and build more inclusive experiences for users, which ultimately translates to higher adoption. Warren also posits that good governance practice increases public confidence in new technologies, in sharp contract from the negative aspects of largely unregulated technologies or crypto assets (think, bitcoin). Jeff and Sheila also discuss the implications of “self-governance” in decentralized systems like blockchain, and the need to align tech developers and policy specialists. Join us for an in-depth conversation that just may change the way you look at governance in tech.

Our third season of Better Innovation was like no other. COVID-19 caused us to refocus our strategy; we took our own advice and had a series of ‘innovation pivots’ along the way. This led to a season filled with diverse topics - from artificial intelligence, to technical convergence, and ultimately a deep dive into what it means to innovate during a crisis. In this wrap-up episode, Jeff recaps a season of thought-provoking interviews from a truly memorable group of guests. We introduce emerging trends - such as, advanced technology governance, proliferation of private / public partnerships, and sharing data through new cooperative and trust models. In early March, we paused our artificial intelligence theme, and focused the remainder of the season on COVID-19 and Crisis Innovation. We had fascinating interviews with leaders who are innovating for the next phase of this crisis and beyond; those change-agents who are making it a safer and prosperous world for all of us. To close out the episode – and the season - Jeff distills his three key insights from this season to help you along your own unique innovation journey. As always, thank you for listening to our show! We can’t wait to share the new ideas we’ve been cooking up for season four. Until then, please take good care everyone.    

In a few short years, there will likely be 10x as many IoT devices on the planet than humans. We’ve never had more data, but how do we utilize it without compromising privacy? This week, Jeff is joined by Dr. David Bray, inaugural Director of the GeoTech Center with the Atlantic Council. David knows how to innovate in a crisis. He has been on the front lines of the response to 9/11, anthrax attacks, SARS and now COVID-19. These crisis experiences exhibit the importance of data to help solve and prevent the world’s most difficult problems. Join us for an insider’s look at the future of data sharing through new trust and cooperative models.

This week, we’re joined for the second time by Steve Blank—innovator, educator and founder of lean start-up theory. Organizations of all types are seeking a return to growth. Steve has applied his lean theory to institutions reemerging from the pandemic; in search of unique ways to accelerate innovation. Steve and his team are running multiple 5-day virtual workshops at Stanford, called ‘Hacking 4 Recovery,’ designed to develop new business models for this new economy emerging. Steve provides practical tips from these workshops, designed for institutions – public and private - to reconfigure and reinvent their strategies. Join Steve and Jeff as they break down what leading organizations can do to thrive in our new world.

This week, we’re talking to Pete Newell, retired U.S. Army Colonel, CEO of BMNT (a government consulting/innovation firm), and close collaborator of former guest Steve Blank. Pete has helped entrepreneurs and organizations across the globe apply the innovation lessons he learned in the Army to better perceive when significant – and disruptive - change is near. Now, amidst a global pandemic, those lessons are needed more than ever to respond to the demands of this crisis for a better, safer future. We learned from Pete that to successfully innovate through a crisis, we must be incredibly prepared and nimble - ready to adapt to a rapidly changing environment. Successful crisis innovators react and respond well to signals . . . those flares in the sky signaling that distress is near. Pete’s lessons from his time innovating in the military are important to all of us COVID-19 crisis innovators. Tune-in for lessons on adapting in a storm, and stay tuned for next week’s return guest—Steve Blank!

This week, we’re back with the Safe Paths team as Jeff sits down with its founder, MIT Associate Professor Ramesh Raskar. Jeff and Ramesh explore the inspiration for Safe Paths and Ramesh’s vision for establishing Path Check, a nonprofit committed to developing leading technology to slow the spread of COVID-19.   Ramesh’s inspiration for the Safe Paths technology stems from his experience at Burning Man in 2017, where he was asked to be on the receiving end of a phone booth experience called “Talk to God.” As dozens of strangers shared intimate personal details with Ramesh, he realized that it wasn’t God they were looking for, but instead an impartial broker to receive their most personal information - free of judgment and repercussion. What if technology - and AI in particular - could be that impartial broker?   Join this free-flowing conversation exploring, among other topics, the dichotomy between data privacy and its utility, through the lens of Safe Paths’ revolutionary platform.