Innovation is not just making a buck :: Todd Khozein

🎙️ Join us for this week's episode with Katrin Zimmerman, CEO of TLGG USA, on "What is Innovation?"

Katrin shares her perspective on innovation types—evolutionary vs. revolutionary—and dives into innovation portfolios, values, and the delicate balance between investment and ROI. She also offers advice on navigating innovation cycles, confronting AI resistance, and applying innovation across various industries.

What's the impact of 'today's money' on innovation? Considering their innovation portfolios and values, how should companies balance investment and ROI?

--

Katrin launched TLGG’s New York office. As Managing Director, she is responsible for consulting services with global clients. At TLGG, Katrin has served and mentored clients on business strategy, digital transformation, marketing transformation and innovation up to the C-suite. Prior to joining TLGG, Katrin co-created the Lufthansa Innovation Hub (named as best digital lab by Capital Magazine in 2017 and 2018) with global responsibility for business innovation where she developed ventures in the services and mobility field from Seoul to Berlin. She has a deep knowledge of digital marketing and growth hacking techniques which enabled new ventures to scale quickly and incumbent players to strategically maximize their ROI.

Know more about her here:

• Katrin Zimmermann
• Company: TTLG

------------------------------------------------------------

Episode Guide:

00:49 - What is Innovation?

1:20 - Defining "New"

2:53 - Innovation portfolio and values: Investment vs ROI

4:33 - Innovation cycles and evolution

6:59 - Artificial Intelligence: resistance, fear, and legislation  

9:57 - Nuclear power, AI, and GMO

13:04 - Innovation for cross functional teams and environments

15:22 - Innovation cycles in modern large organizations

18:50 - Innovation in different industries, consumer expectations, and Wall Street expectations

24:28 - Katrin's impact to companies

26:44 - Money and Innovation

28:08 - Advice to Innovators
--------------------------

OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management

This week,  delve into the world of innovation with us on “What is Innovation?” together with Janice Fraser, an innovation expert and author. Explore the challenges of intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship, including imposter syndrome, and uncover the pivotal roles of courage and confidence in venture funding.  

More about our guest:

Janice Fraser built a storied career in Silicon Valley as a startup founder, product manager, and confidante for entrepreneurs and enterprise executives alike. From creating the second-ever personal interface to the web in the early days of Netscape, to leading the world’s first user experience firm, Janice has often found herself “sitting at the bleeding edge and making it boring” by figuring out how to make the latest evolutions repeatable, useful, and commonplace. 

Janice currently supports “VLOs” (very large organizations) including P&G in becoming more innovative and agile. She also guides several venture-funded startup companies, federal government entities, and non-profit organizations, helping them do more with less, make bold moves and achieve extraordinary results. She sits on the board of the Ohio University Entrepreneur Center and served on The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine workshop committee focused on the innovation ecosystem for NASA. 

Over the years, Janice has been a guest lecturer at Harvard Business School, Berkeley HAAS School of Business, Kellogg School of Management, and Stanford, among others. Drawing on her almost three decades of coaching hundreds of leaders and teams to achieve success, Janice is a sought-after speaker offering audiences around the world the opportunity to learn from her experiences and sharpen their leadership skills, build stronger teams, make meaningful progress quickly, and drive business transformation. Her exuberant big-stage keynotes and practical, empathetic brown-bag talks have become cult favorites. 

She is the coauthor of Farther, Faster, and Far Less Drama: How to Reduce Stress and Make Extraordinary Progress Wherever You Lead (April 2023), which outlines a groundbreaking framework for modern leadership that empowers greater alignment and quicker decision-making.

Know more about him here:

• Janice Fraser
• Book: Farther, Faster, and Far Less Drama: How to Reduce Stress and Make Extraordinary Progress Wherever You Lead

------------------------------------------------------------

Episode Guide:

0:54 - What is Innovation?

3:39 - Intentionality and routinization

5:08 - Progress and taking space

7:33 - Detrimental aggressive optimism

11:59 - Teaching, impassioned optimism, and the business bestseller lists

14:26 - Statistical data, capital control, and disruptive innovation

19:02 - Disruptive (authentic) innovation

22:49 - Early Innovation adopters and the bell curve

26:26 - Mutual problem between intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship journey 

29:53 - Courage, Confidence, Imposter Syndrome, and venture funding

32:09 - Enacting courage  

26:14 - Book:  farther, faster, and far less drama by Janice Fraser

39:06 - Advice to Innovators
--------------------------

OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management

More about our guest:

Peter Compo is the author of “The Emergent Approach to Strategy: Adaptive Design & Execution.” Unlike many strategy authors from universities and consulting firms, Compo’s professional experience was spent working in the “corporate trenches” at E. I. DuPont. Hired as a research scientist, he held leadership positions in product management, marketing, supply chain, business management, and integrated business planning. He left DuPont after 25 years to work full-time on developing the Emergent Approach.

Dr. Compo hails from a multi-generational family of musicians. However, he went on to earn a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the City University of New York before joining DuPont. His mission is to create a new level of clarity on strategy theory and practice to enable organizations in any domain to innovate and achieve their aspirations.

Know more about him here:

• Peter Compo
• Company: The Emergent Approach to Strategy: Adaptive Design & Execution

------------------------------------------------------------

Episode Guide:

00:39 - What is Innovation?  

4:00 - Evolution is Innovation

4:54 - Process to Innovation vs innovation process  

6:25 - Innovation direction in biology

8:00 - Exploiting an Innovation Opportunity

10:41 - Innovation, Evolution, and Business inspirations

13:18 - Innovation and risk management in organizations

16:58 - Practical Questions in Innovation

19:38 - Answering the 5-10 year plan questions

21:17 - Innovation, music, creativity, and cliches

24:39 - Innovation, Jazz, and Discipline

28:28 - South Americas' Mercado Libre

34:02 - Consistency and alignment in group goals

36:11 - Advice to Innovators
--------------------------

OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management

More about our guest:

Frederick Cary, a powerhouse entrepreneur and CEO of IdeaPros, a company that guides qualified entrepreneurs through the complexities and pitfalls of the startup world. With his entrepreneurial spirit, Fred started many businesses in different industries, created many successes, and acquired thousands of lessons along the way. His desire to give back to a community of like-minded eccentrics led him to create IdeaPros, the world’s first super venture partner – a company that could roll up its experienced sleeves and provide every entrepreneur with the opportunity to see their vision become a real company with a real product. He also produces a weekly show for entrepreneurs that has been viewed by over 4 million people. As a Top 1% Business Professional, Who’s Who in America, and top-ranked attorney for several years, Fred's personal brand can best be described as: “F *CK Average, Be Legendary.”

Know more about him here:

• Frederick Cary
• Company: IdeaPros

------------------------------------------------------------

Episode Guide:

00:54 - What is Innovation?

2:42 - Defining "personalized innovation"

6:50 - Teaching innovation

7:33 - Innovation: Changing perspectives through experiences

10:15 - Making yourself obsolete and market competition

15:15 - Road to Success: Being first in the market vs addressing the market

19:07 - Innovation, Investors, Founders, and Changing the world

22:07 - From revolutionary to evolutionary + breaking down company pitches

23:44 - Influencing pitches and investing  

25:42 - Company comparisons: Being the X to the Y

29:32 - Advice to innovators
--------------------------

OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

More about our guest:

Merrick Furst, Ph.D., is a Distinguished Professor and the Director of the Center for Deliberate Innovation (CDI) at Georgia Tech. In 2011, he founded Flashpoint, a first-of-its-kind deliberate innovation studio, to develop formative leaders and exceptional technology startups. Flashpoint was the thirty-sixth startup accelerator worldwide, very early in the development of business accelerators. Both at Flashpoint and at CDI, Furst works with hundreds of founders and innovators and is developing the discipline of Deliberate Innovation. 

To date, Furst has personally started eight start-ups. Furst has been teaching entrepreneurship in an innovative form since 2006. He was a professor and the President of the International Computer Science Institute at UC Berkeley, and previously, was a professor and Associate Dean in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Cornell University. Furst is known for seminal research in algorithms, complexity theory, and AI. He co-invented probabilistic circuit analysis and planning graphs, which are considered among the most influential breakthroughs in the field of AI planning.  

Know more about him here:

• Dr. Merrick Furst

------------------------------------------------------------

Episode Guide:

00:54 - What is Innovation?

2:30 - Falling apart vs Continuous innovation

3:18 - What makes a customer?

4:33 - The puzzle of innovation and indifference dilemma

9:03 - Getting Stuck and Unstuck: Only Yes situations

13:49 - Innovation, education, and interdisciplinary knowledge

17:11 - Creating "threads" in curriculum

19:58 - Innovation, Daniel Kahneman's influence, and economics

22:03 - Innovation, utility, and P&G  

25:27 - Getting people to reassess

28:38 - Drawing from personal experience on demand and supply

31:13 - Advice for Innovators
--------------------------

OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

🎙️ This week on "What is Innovation?" podcast, we're joined by Ajay Malik, CEO of Secomind.ai and AI thought leader

Ajay defines innovation as figuring out how and what to do better. Hear how he connects this definition to his deep knowledge of applying AI to businesses, seeing it as an enabler to that process.

Let us know what you think! 🎧✨

More about our guest:

Ajay Malik is a recognized thought leader in the field of AI and technology, with over 90 patents to his name and two influential books published. His extensive experience and deep technical knowledge make him a captivating speaker, capable of providing valuable insights on AI integration for businesses of all sizes. His appearance on a podcast could attract a large audience of tech enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, and business leaders interested in leveraging AI for business growth. 

Ajay's expertise in AI investment and strategic planning can provide valuable insights for listeners interested in financial planning, risk management, and wealth creation. His discussion on identifying the right opportunities and leveraging AI to stay ahead of industry trends could attract a significant audience of investors and business owners looking for guidance on incorporating AI into their business strategies. As the driving force behind Secomind, a company dedicated to seamlessly incorporating AI into products, workflows, and customer support processes, Ajay has demonstrated his ability to bridge the gap between hardware, embedded software, and cloud applications. His insights on the intersection of AI, technology, and business excellence could attract a large audience of listeners interested in retirement planning, wealth creation, and investment management.

Know more about him here:

• Ajay Malik
• Company: Secomind.ai

------------------------------------------------------------

Episode Guide:

00:48 - What is Innovation? 

3:41 - AI: an enabler of innovation

6:22 - AI beyond automation

8:27 - Applying AI in Secomind.ai

10:31 - AI: The seventh sense

13:33 - Removing bias in AI and innovation

15:47 - Role of AI in process of innovation

16:45 - Advice: Driving innovation adoption in organizations

22:24: - Book: Sapiens

24:41 - Advice to innovators
--------------------------

OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

🎙️ We are so grateful to have Joris Hensen, Co-Lead of the Deutsche Bank API Program, on the “What is Innovation?” podcast this week! Joris shares his perspective on innovation as evolution. His insights into how banking is evolving to meet customer needs are sure to spark ideas for how you can use innovation principles to delight stakeholders in your world as well.

Listen in and let us know what you think! 🎧✨

More about our guest:

Joris Hensen is responsible for the Deutsche Bank API Program, which he co-founded in 2015. The Developer Portal of Deutsche Bank gives partners quick and easy access to more than 40 API products, enabling them to connect personalized apps and services and thus open up new areas of value creation. Joris Hensen sees himself as an intrapreneur and is dedicated to exploring how Open Banking and Embedded Finance can change and improve people's lives.   In his more than ten years at Deutsche Bank, Joris Hensen has worked as a project manager on various international projects. Early on, he became enthusiastic about innovations and trends and set up a corporate foresight program, in which he developed future scenarios and innovation strategies for Deutsche Bank. He has also been a guest lecturer at the Zeppelin University in Friedrichshafen on the topics of foresight, innovation and design.

Know more about him here:

• Joris Hensen
• Company: Deutsche Bank

------------------------------------------------------------

Episode Guide:

0:45 - What Is Innovation?

2:28 - A state of being vs muscle-training

6:50 - Bank innovation:Explanations, transparency, and story-telling

8:37 - Hackathons and Professionalism vs (Stuffy) Corporate

12:32 - Internal Stakeholders and great tools

13:50 - Defining "developers"

17:53 - Unpacking "evolution"

22:00 - Changing Mindsets

29:28 - Advice to innovators
--------------------------

OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

🎙️ This week’s “What is Innovation?” episode brings us an engaging conversation with Doug Patton, renowned inventor and author.  Listen in as Doug expands on his simple definition of innovation—revolutionary change—and its connection with an inspiring environment. He highlights passion as the essential spark of innovation and discusses how cultivating the right atmosphere contributes to the creative process. 

More about our guest:

Doug Patton is a consummate inventor whose work has spanned over four decades, his efforts generating products in over 20 markets ranging from biomedical equipment to fragrance. He has garnered over 200 patents and design awards in having innovated for companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Mercedes-Benz, and Bausch + Lomb. Patton Design, his company, currently serves as the genesis of many products sold worldwide. He consulted with the USPTO as part of the Patent Public Advisory Committee and was the featured inventor in Simon Cowell’s American Inventor on ABC. His affinity for innovation led to his books Conquering the Chaos of Creativity, released in 2021, and Inspirations of Creativity, released in April 2023.

Know more about him here:

• Doug Patton
• Company: Patton Design

------------------------------------------------------------

Episode Guide:

1:09 - What is Innovation?

1:36 - Defining "revolutionary"

3:38 - Innovation and the environment of inspiration

5:45 - Book chapter: Incredible sensitivity of creative power

7:24 - Spark of Innovation: Passion

10:52 - Book: Conquering the chaos of creativity

18:23 - An environment of fun and the essence of listening

27:53 - Advice to innovators and change makers
--------------------------

OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

🎙️ Our innovation journey brings us perspective from Africa this week, as we talk with Tiisetso Maloma, a renowned South African entrepreneur and author, on the "What is Innovation?" podcast. Tiisetso shares his view of innovation as the process of making one or more things into something profoundly useful, enhancing efficiency in our daily lives. This leads to a discussion on the core concept of utility and the vital intersection of technology and innovation. He also shares his framework of a transformative path from material discovery to proprietary innovation and underscores the crucial distinction between innovation and creativity. Listen, like, subscribe, and share today! #innovation #entrepreneurship #technology #efficiency

More about our guest:

Tiisetso is a South African entrepreneur and the author of ten published books. His work centres around providing simple frameworks for understanding entrepreneurship, innovation, economics, and consumer behaviour. Maloma's books include "Innovate Like Elon Musk," "90 Days to Create & Launch," "The Anxious Entrepreneur," "The Future of Township Economies," "Innovate The Next," and "Forget the Business Plan, Use This Short Model." Tiisetso is also an experienced public speaker.

Know more about him here:

• Tiisetso Maloma
• Buy his books here

------------------------------------------------------------

Episode Guide:

0:46 - What is Innovation?

4:57 - What makes something useful?

6:31 - Technology and Innovation

7:55 - Intentionality in Innovation

9:51 - Importance of motion: efficiency and effectivity

12:43 - Material Discovery to Proprietary Innovation

17:19 - Importance of distinguishing what isn't innovation

19:28 - Advice for Innovators
--------------------------

OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

Nik Forelich, the Founder and CEO of Saritasa, leverages two decades of experience in construction-related services to drive the innovative software solutions that empower businesses for exponential growth. He defines innovation as using technology to enhance businesses.

More about our guest:

With a strategic blend of business expertise, technical aptitude, and forward-thinking vision, Nik transitioned to establish Saritasa, embodying his dedication to a technology-driven future. Accompanied by a supportive partner and accomplished children, his journey exemplifies entrepreneurial excellence.

Know more about her and her company here:

• Nik Froehlich
• Company: Saritasa

------------------------------------------------------------

Episode Guide:

0:50 - What is Innovation?

2:43 - Using technology to innovate

6:34 - Technology to create a business-innovative tool

7:46 - 2 Kinds of Business Owners

9:19 - Rundown on Categories for Business Innovation

11:48 - Case example on Business Innovation

13:56 - Customizing Solutions

15:18 - Solving Problems with Nik: Closed and Open Systems

18:10 - Impact of APIs

19:47 - APIs and real-world application

21:37 - Sara Tasa at work, relationships, and facing the challenges

28:30 - What is not innovation?

31:03 - Advice to innovators
--------------------------

OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.