The Innovation Show

Rob Fitzpatrick is author of "The Mom Test, How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you" His book shows us how customer conversations go wrong and how we can do better. They say you shouldn't ask your mom whether your business is a good idea, because she loves you and will lie to you. This is technically true, but it misses the point. You shouldn't ask anyone if your business is a good idea. It's a bad question and & everyone will lie to you at least a little. As a matter of fact, it's not their responsibility to tell you the truth. It's your responsibility to find it and it's worth doing right. Talking to customers is one of the foundational skills of both Customer Development and Lean Startup. We all know we're supposed to do it, but nobody seems willing to admit that it's easy to screw up and hard to do right. Win one of 2 copies by signing up to the show here: www.theinnovationshow.io and find Rob on ww.robfitz.com

The world around us is changing rapidly. There is now more pressure on established companies to innovate. The challenge most companies face is how to develop new products for new markets, while managing their core business at the same time. The principles and practices outlined in this book provide companies with a blueprint of how to manage innovation while they execute on their core business. The Corporate Startup provides frameworks, visualizations, templates, tools and methods that can be easily applied to develop new products and business models. We welcome author of “The Corporate Startup: How established companies can create successful innovation ecosystems”, Dan Toma, welcome to the show A reminder to sign up to the newsletter on www.theinnovationshow.io and you will be in with a chance to win one of 2 prizes, Dan has kindly offered us a copy of the Corporate Startup Book and access to the Corporate Startup video course worth €480 on https://thecorporatestartupbook.com, ends July 30th 2020

More agility. More energy. More genius. Why do some companies always seem to have the best ideas, the most engaged people and the most profitable growth? Based on 10 years of research, today’s book goes behind the scenes of some of the world's most innovative companies and decodes the tools, hacks and approaches that help their managers systematically spark ingenuity, agility, and profitable creativity at scale. It presents a pragmatic 'how-to' guide for any team or organisation that needs to adapt its culture, processes, leadership and decision-making for an age of increasingly unpredictable and rapid change. We welcome author of “Be Less Zombie How great companies create dynamic innovation, fearless leadership and passionate people” Elvin Turner https://www.elvinturner.com

We've reached a point in time when everyone wants innovation, but most people don't know how to actually attain it. It's not easy, which is why there are so many failed brands and companies. In our era of AI, rapid change, disruption, and possibility, there are so many great opportunities within our grasp. However, smart, successful people consistently miss out. Their capabilities are limited by seven traps, and they rely on and repeat past decisions. They miss out on the potential of what could have been. If we could remove these traps, what could we accomplish? How much more successful could we be? Today’s book teaches us how to think disruptively, providing specific steps to create real innovation and change. It combines our guests high energy provocative thinking with tactics that have been battle tested through projects with leading innovators like Disney, Starbucks, Amex, IBM, Adidas, Google, and NASA. CEO of Trendhunter and author "Create the Future + the Innovation Handbook: Tactics for Disruptive Th

Being awarded a leadership role within an organization may feel like an amazing accomplishment, but that is only half the battle. The second, and arguably most important half, lies in building and maintaining a highly effective team. However, according to a recent survey conducted on UK workers, managers are failing miserably at this task, and are instead fostering feelings of hate and resentment among their workers. The survey states that while 22% of the UK public say they hate their boss, a staggering 52% identify their boss as their primary source of job dissatisfaction. So, where is it that managers are going wrong, and what can they do to improve their employees’ perception of them? Interesting research during the 1970s–found that managerial failure had little to do with IQ or personal attractiveness. Rather, it was linked directly to interpersonal competence. And, since personality is at the core of interpersonal competence, our guest today developed one of the globe's leading personality assessments

As a business leader, you need to make decisions that set your company up for success, now and in the future. The challenge is In this fast-changing world, the rules of strategy are being rewritten and the go-to solutions you once relied on are no longer enough. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is here. As emerging technologies like AI and blockchain become ubiquitous, they will unleash unprecedented levels of disruption. Drawing on his broad global experience, our guest delivers the essential guide to strategy for this new era. His CLEVER Framework will help you understand the deep strategic drivers of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, reflect on how they affect you and your business, and respond effectively. If you’re ready to fulfil your potential as a leader and create a future-ready business, it’s time to get Clever. We welcome Alessandro Lanteri, the author of CLEVER: The Six Strategic Drivers for the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Innovators need to communicate their concepts. Organisations have 5 generations working together in the workplace. We must be able to respectfully challenge ideas. This is why I asked our guest Gill Hasson to join us. Every day, you have the opportunity to interact with people in different areas of your life; in public, at work and at home, with colleagues and clients, with friends and family. Your ability to exchange ideas and opinions with other people, understand their thoughts and feelings, their point of view and solve problems between you depends on how effectively you’re able to communicate. But being understood, and understanding others is not always easy!  Communication is a dynamic, complex process, influenced by all the complexities and differences in human motivation and behaviour. Communication: How to Connect with Anyone will help you connect with others, build friendships and develop better relationships with colleagues and clients, friends and family. Todays episode shares what we need

Our guest’s Business Model Canvas changed the way the world creates and plans new business models. It has been used by corporations and startups and consultants around the world and is taught in hundreds of universities. After years of researching how the world’s best companies develop, test, and scale new business models, he has produced his definitive work. Today's book explains what every organization can learn from the business models of the world’s most exciting companies. The book explains how companies such as Amazon, IKEA, Airbnb, Microsoft, and Logitech, have been able to create immensely successful businesses and disrupt entire industries. At the core of these successes are not just great products and services, but profitable, innovative business models--and the ability to improve existing business models while consistently launching new ones. "The Invincible Company" presents practical new tools for measuring, managing, and accelerating innovation, and strategies for reducing risk when launching

, it helps grow the show. Today’s guest teaches business leaders about the importance of relationship building in the digital age. He argues that in spite of (and because of) the advances in tech, we've become a less connected society. We have dramatically evolved away from face-to-face communication, and the skill of building rapport is evaporating. This means that customer personalisation and relationships are more important now than ever--and they will be the key to success for businesses moving forward. As he aptly states, "Being able to build true sustainable relationships is the biggest competitive advantage in a world where automation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning are eliminating the human experience, which is what creates the emotional connections that build true customer loyalty." This book reminds readers of the importance of personal connections and shows them how to attain meaningful, lasting relationships with their customers. We welcome John R. DiJulius, the author of The Relati

Companies spend millions on legal compliance training and initiatives to eliminate workplace drama and the resulting low morale and lawsuits, but don't always get the results they want. Most organisations understand that simply checking legal compliance boxes around sexual harassment, bias, etc. isn't enough, but are at a loss on how to implement solutions, especially in today's post-#MeToo world. Our guest today is an attorney, HR expert, trainer, and former state regulator, who has conducted over 1,200 workplace investigations. In her book, she explains the secret to avoiding all forms of drama, legal exposure, and low morale: A healthy workplace culture. She combines the lessons learned from 25 years of professional experience with robust data from behavioural science research to debunk common myths, including the belief that a focus on legal compliance leads to a healthy workplace culture. (In fact, it increases the likelihood of getting sued). More about Patti here: https://persuasionpoint.com/the-d

Complex problem solving is the core skill for 21st Century Teams Complex problem solving is at the very top of the list of essential skills for career progression in the modern world. But how problem solving is taught in our schools, universities, businesses and organisations comes up short. Our guest today shares the seven-step systematic approach to creative problem solving developed in top consulting firms that will work in any field or industry, turning you into a highly sought-after bulletproof problem solver who can tackle challenges that others balk at. If you want to become a better problem solver, you can do so with only a modest amount of structure and numeric ability. Individuals make decisions that have lifetime consequences—such as career choice, where to live, their savings plan, or elective surgery—often without due consideration. These are among the examples you walk us through in the book to illustrate the value of a structured process to improve your prospects of better outcomes in your ow

This episode is about the creation of a new global currency. Unlike traditional currencies, such as the dollar, yen, or euro, this currency strives to be a risk-free store of value. And unlike bitcoin, which tethers to a finite number of units, this store of value tethers to zero risk. As a result, it is constrained not by an arbitrary number of units, but by market forces of supply and demand. The foundational ideas are not new and not unique. A privately controlled, market-based currency striving for zero risk is arguably the holy grail of multiple influential thinkers and Nobel laureates and the basis for many monetary and investment theories. What is new is that advancements in capital markets, when combined with new technologies, make it possible for society to facilitate old ideas in new ways. We welcome author of Money Without Boundaries, How Blockchain Will Facilitate the Denationalisation of Money, Thomas Anderson welcome to the show Money Without Boundaries is about bringing some of the greatest

Your job is at risk-if not now, then soon. We are on the leading edge of a Smart Machine Age led by artificial intelligence that will be as transformative for us as the Industrial Revolution was for our ancestors. Smart machines will take over millions of jobs in manufacturing, office work, the service sector, the professions, you name it. Not only can they know more data and analyse it faster than any mere human, but smart machines are free of the emotional, psychological, and cultural baggage that so often mars human thinking. So we can't beat 'em and we can't join 'em. To stay relevant, we have to play a different game. Our guest offers us that game plan. We need to excel at critical, creative, and innovative thinking and at genuinely engaging with others--things machines can't do well. The key is to change our definition of what it means to be smart. Our guest calls it being NewSmart. The crucial mindset underlying NewSmart is humility -not self-effacement but an accurate self-appraisal: acknowledging you

Most of us do not see ourselves as biased towards people of different races or genders. And yet in virtually every area of modern life disparities remain. Even in organisations, which have, for the most part, embraced the idea of diversity as a mainstream idea, but patterns of disparity remain rampant. Why is this? Breakthroughs in the cognitive and neurosciences give some idea why our results seem inconsistent with our intentions. Bias is natural to the human mind, a survival mechanism that is fundamental to our identity. And overwhelmingly it is unconscious. Incorporating anecdotes from today’s headlines alongside case studies from over 30 years as a nationally prominent diversity consultant, our guest today helps us understand how unconscious bias impacts our day-to-day lives and particularly our daily work lives. And, he answers the question: “Is there anything we can do about it?” For those of us seeking to understand and confront their own biases to human resource professionals and business leaders de

In his 14-plus years as a strategic communications trainer, the biggest obstacle our guests comes across - one that connects directly to nervousness, stammering, rambling, and epic fail - is that most speakers and writers don't have a point. They typically have just a title, a theme, a topic, an idea, an assertion, a catchphrase, or even something much less. A point is something more. It's a contention you can propose, argue, defend, illustrate, and prove. When we have a point, our influence snaps into place. We communicate belief, conviction, and urgency. Our guest shows us how to identify a point, leverage it, stick to it, and sell it and how to train others to identify and successfully make their own points. In a world of information over abundance standing out becomes even more difficult, yet so many of us don’t know how to make a point. As professional communications shifted from physical to virtual, he noticed firsthand both highly effective and utterly ruinous approaches to using video conference te

This episode aims to empower young women and give some tips to parents and mentors along the way. Recast yourself - Own your wins - Define your legacy - Leverage your success Written by Randy Patterson, the CEO of a multimillion-dollar startup, The Matriarch Rules provides you with guidelines that empower you to find personal success and growth in being the compassionate, powerful, and forward-thinking woman you are. Achieve success by becoming the change maker you were always meant to be. What is a matriarch? For one thing, you can tell she's in charge the second she walks into a room. She's bold, she's fierce, and she's got her own unique style. The matriarch isn't some crusty old lady dressed head-to-toe in black who sits at the head of the table barking demands at Sunday dinner. The modern matriarch is alive and vivacious. She's purposeful and deliberate about everything, from her career, to her home, to her family, to what she eats for lunch. She is not second guessing herself but moving herself and th

Unstuck, How to Activate and Unlock the Wisdom of Others with Craig Lemasters Today’s leaders are getting stuck at an ever-increasing rate as they reach outside their core capabilities in search of growth. After experiencing this himself, and observing countless other CEOs facing a similar battle, our guest decided to do something about it. Craig Lemasters leveraged his extensive leadership experience to develop a unique perspective around why this phenomenon keeps happening and what leaders can do to break free. His book guides readers through examples of some of the most common challenges preventing progress and teaches them how to intentionally tap into the vast knowledge and experience of others. More about Craig here:  https://craiglemasters.com https://gxg.co/ Craig Lemasters, Unstuck, Assurant, Innovation, Transformation

There are plenty of leadership how-to books, filled with advice such as “Just do this to get ahead!” Lots of books tell you how to become a leader, this book tells you how to stay successful once you’ve reached a leadership role. This episode and today’s book helps aspiring, early-stage, and experienced leaders alike answer a critical question: “How will I use my leadership power?” Being a good leader doesn’t require being a bad person, and if you know what to look out for, you can keep your ego and hubris in check and become (and stay) a leader who is effective, successful, and good. We welcome Bill Treasurer, the author of: “The Leadership Killer: Reclaiming Humility in an Age of Arrogance.” More about Bill here: https://www.giantleapconsulting.com/killer/

Kris Østergaard provides real-world advice and research-based information on how to grow innovation by employing new technologies, improving processes, and establishing a culture of creativity and forward momentum. Conventional business wisdom views innovation as the biggest advantage startups have over large, established organizations, often referred to as legacy organizations. This belief is false, especially when considering that 70% of all startups fail within 20 months of their first venture round. The truth is innovation initiatives of legacy organizations have far better chances of succeeding. Organizations with superior resources—money, customers, suppliers, data, employees, infrastructure—can overcome challenges from new entrepreneurial ventures: knowing how to leverage their underutilized advantage is key for achieving sustained, long-term innovation success.  More about Kris here: https://krisoestergaard.com/ https://su.org/about/faculty/kris-ostergaard/

Our bonus guest is a neuroscientist and pioneer in the field of NeuroLeadership. She trained at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research and is a McKinsey consultant, she delivers brain-based leadership programs to Fortune 500 executives and organisations around the globe to transform how they think, innovate, and navigate change. Her book “The Leading Brain: Neuroscience Hacks to Work Smarter, Better, Happier” has been translated into several languages and received numerous awards and that book was the focus of episode 86 of the Innovation show. Neuroscientist and author Friederike Fabritius shares how fear makes us think less effectively and changes both our physiology and our neurochemistry. We discuss: The Neuroscience of Fear The neurochemistry of fear How our thinking is less effective How the Covid-19 pandemic is affecting us Concerns for the post Covid-19 world More about Friederike https://www.fabulous-brain.com/ The Mice study I mentioned in the show: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-n