Innovation Answered

Innovation Answered returns for a fourth season on May 5, 2020. Producer Kaitlin Milliken and Intern Molli DeRosa share what listeners can expect in upcoming episodes. Upcoming topics include the future of food, inside Wayfair’s culture of innovation, innovation labs in Silicon Valley, and more. 

COVID-19 has transformed the way teams across the globe work. Stock markets have been in turmoil, and companies across industries have announced layoffs and furloughs.  In this episode of Innovation Answered, experts share best practices for teams as they navigate uncertainty. Topics of discussion include shifting innovation teams’ priorities, switching over to remote work, and cultivating a “service oriented” mindset. Russell Rogers, former Vice President of Global Innovations at Blue Shield of California; Christian Ponce, Director of Operational Transformation at LogMeIn; and Nancy Tennant, author and former Chief Innovation Officer at Whirlpool share insights. 

Ideas that have the potential to shape industries may end up stuck in the corporate basement. So how can companies embrace risky — but potentially revolutionary — ideas? Authors Safi Bahcall and Hugh Molotsi tackle this question in a main stage session at Innovation Leader’s 2019 Impact event. Bahcall also discusses learnings from his time as the CEO of Synta Pharmaceuticals, a company focused on developing new cancer treatments. Molotsi shares his experiences as a CEO of a startup and Vice President at Intuit. This session is moderated by Innovation Leader CEO Scott Kirsner. 

While drones present a world of opportunities, these unmanned aerial vehicles face regulations across different levels of government. Chris Anderson — CEO of 3DR, a drone software company — shared his experience building and deploying drones at Innovation Leader’s 2019 Impact event. During the conversation, Anderson also discusses use cases for autonomous vehicles and the problems with corporate innovation in Silicon Valley. This session is moderated by Harvard Business Publishing’s Chief Product and Innovation Officer Josh Macht.   

Innovators often repeat the mantra, “Fail fast, fail cheap.” But is that the right approach to projects that flop? To find out, we sat down with Rita McGrath, a professor of strategy at Columbia Business School. We also called Shaun Stewart, CEO of New Lab, to discuss how startups and entrepreneurs in the space approach failure.

How should teams pursue business model innovation? Why should companies “professionalize” innovation? Alex Osterwalder, creator of the Business Model Canvas and co-founder of Strategyzer, explains. Osterwalder also shares insights from his recently published book, Testing Business Ideas. His next book, The Invincible Company, will be out in the spring of 2020.  

In this installment of Innovation Answered: Essentials, we break down our article on co-creation at Revera Senior Living. Innovation Leader’s Producer, Kaitlin Milliken, shares what she learned from the company’s president of innovation. Want to read along? Get the latest issue of the magazine or visit our website. 

The supply chain can sometimes be regarded as a function far removed from the corporate headquarters. However, it's an essential part of most businesses, and it offers a massive opportunity for innovation to create new value. To learn more about supply chain innovation, we interviewed Aisha Nabiyeva from Retail Business Services, a logistics provider for Ahold Delhaize US. Gerry Collins from J&J and Josué Velázquez Martínez from MIT also share insights.

Getting innovation started at an established company can be fraught with challenges. So how can teams build the right foundation for new initiatives? To find out, we sat down with Executive Chef Robert Price, who founded Philadelphia Downtown Marriott’s 1201 Innovation Lab. Danielle Cohn, Vice President for Entrepreneurial Engagement for Comcast NBCUniversal, discusses launching LIFT Labs. Natalie Painchaud also shares best practices from the consulting company, Innosight.

What can we expect from Quick Service Restaurants of the future? We sat down with Jessica Anselmi, Panera’s Director of Innovation and Category Growth, to find out what her team is working on. We also explore innovation inside Chick-fil-A’s Hatch Innovation Center in Atlanta and get tips from a former Vice President of Innovation for Starbucks.