Curious & Cuirky

Watch and listen to the replay of Curious & Cuirky, Caltech CTME’s monthly live webcast. This live webcast unites provocative thought leaders from Caltech Executive Education as they unpack innovation and explore fresh takes on how to turn creativity into business growth. This isn't your grandfather's podcast. We poke fun at conventional wisdom while sharing insights on the hottest happenings in b...

Curious & Cuirky, our monthly live webcast, unites provocative thought leaders from Caltech Executive Education. Together they unpack innovation, and explore fresh takes on how to turn creativity into business growth. This isn't your grandfather's podcast. We poke fun at conventional wisdom while sharing insights on the hottest happenings in business, technology, culture and current events. In our...

Curious & Cuirky, Caltech CTME’s monthly live webcasts unpacks innovation and shares fresh insights on the most vital trends in technology-driven environments, always getting to the big why—examining thought processes, choices and implications. We ask the important questions like: 🔎 How do neologisms shape what we notice and influence what we talk about? 💻 What is the most epic chip building exe...

Welcome to Curious & Cuirky, our monthly live webcast hosted by Caltech CTME (Center for Technology and Management Education) where we explore what truly makes moments of inspiration happen. In our March 20, 2026 edition, our Caltech CTME Education Experts (Tom Spitale, Bryan Mattimore, Tim Boyd, Ginny Ertl, Alan Dunn) and special guest Kevin Noertker presented emerging ideas on trending business,...

n these fascinating round-table webinars, our education experts present emerging ideas on compelling business-related topics in talks of 5-10 minutes each. Then in an open discussion, they expand on their topics, inviting questions from attendees. This month we explore how small signals turn into big shifts: 1. 🌭 How a hot dog built an empire: Why Costco’s smallest promise became its strongest st...

Curious & Cuirky, crafted by Caltech CTME, is an engaging monthly live webcast series bringing curious thought leaders from Caltech Executive Education together to share fresh insights on the hottest and most innovative news in business, culture, technology, enterprise, and creative expression. In these fascinating round-table webinars, our education experts present emerging ideas on compelling bu...

Curious & Cuirky, crafted by Caltech CTME, is an engaging monthly live webcast series bringing curious thought leaders from Caltech Executive Education together to share fresh insights on the hottest and most innovative news in business, culture, technology, enterprise, and creative expression. In these fascinating round-table webinars, our education experts present emerging ideas on compelling bu...

Curious & Quirky unpacks innovation and gives you a fresh take on what leaders and teams get right...mostly. Our webcast series unites provocative thought leaders from Caltech Executive Education as they share fresh insights on the hottest happenings in the technology-driven business to get to the big why—examining thought processes, choices, and implications. In our November 21 livestream webcast...

Bridging the Gap Between Research and Leadership Welcome to the Making AI Possible Podcast—your monthly deep dive into the latest breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and how they’re shaping the world around us. Produced at Caltech in Pasadena, California, this series features in-depth conversations with the people driving AI innovation forward. This podcast series features the latest AI advan...

Curious & Cuirky, crafted by Caltech, is an engaging monthly Zoom series bringing curious thought leaders from Caltech Executive Education together to share fresh insights on the hottest and most innovative news in the business world. In these fascinating round-table webinars, our education experts present emerging ideas on compelling business topics in lightning talks of 5-10 minutes each. Then i...

Curious & Cuirky, crafted by Caltech, is an engaging monthly Zoom series bringing curious thought leaders from Caltech Executive Education together to share fresh insights on the hottest and most innovative news in the business world. In these fascinating round-table webinars, our education experts present emerging ideas on compelling business topics in lightning talks of 5-10 minutes each. Then i...

One Product, Many Jobs In today’s economy, the most profitable growth isn’t coming from more customers—it’s coming from doing more for the ones you already have. We’ll explore the rising trend of multi-functional B2B solutions, why they're newsworthy now, and how to unlock hidden value by building your product to do more for your customers.   Learning from Misfits The Wild, the Wise, and the Wonde...

In this 45-minute session, our education experts present emerging ideas on compelling business topics in lightning talks of 5-10 minutes each. Then in an open discussion, they expand on their topics, inviting questions from attendees. Always interesting, always "cuirky" and curious. You'll walk away with a unique perspective on how to manage business challenges and stimulate your creativity. You w...

In this 45-minute session, our education experts present emerging ideas on compelling business topics in lightning talks of 5-10 minutes each. Then in an open discussion, they expand on their topics, inviting questions from attendees. Always interesting, always "cuirky" and curious. You'll walk away with a unique perspective on how to manage business challenges and stimulate your creativity. You w...

Episode Summary In this episode we discuss:   • An Innovative Way to Retain Top Talent How can organizations bring a future-focused, innovative mindset to their recruiting and retention efforts? One answer may be using a new ideation technique created to invent "jobs that don't yet exist."   • Election Campaigns & B2B Marketers What can B2B marketers learn from election campaigns? By examining bot...

In this episode we discuss:     *Why (and how) is gamification being increasingly used in B2B marketing and sales? *Innovating the Olympics! There are 390 medal events at the Paris Olympics. Could we make it an even 400 at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028? And if so, what are some criteria we might consider for creating – and including – a future event? Curious? Let’s imagine together what might b...

In this episode we discuss:     *What’s Love Got To Do With It?  How Microsoft is using the principles of B2B storytelling to connect emotionally with business buyers of their Artificial Intelligence offerings - and how you can take a page out of their book.   *Raising AI to the Third Power: AI & AI (Acquisition Integration) & AI (Acquisition Innovation) . In the news: Conoco Phillips announced it...

In this episode we discuss:   *Do you own a pair of ON running shoes, even if you’re not a runner? If you are launching a new product - what can ON teach us about disrupting a market using the Magnetic Effect of Focus?   *“Intelligent failing” is a critical success factor in any successful innovation initiative. But what about “unintelligent failing”… as we’ve seen recently at Boeing? Let’s take a...

*Baseball is Back!  Everyone’s talking about the Dodgers $1.21 billion spend on players in the offseason:  But A “Little Team That Could” is out-strategizing the competition and B2B strategic marketers can learn a lot from them.     *The Post-Covid Workplace Revisited - Where are we now? What does this mean for future skills in the workplace?   *March Madness Fever! Everyone is talking about Caitl...

In this episode, we discuss the following:   *Ozempic & other weight loss drugs are having such a significant impact that company heads are calling Novo’s CEO for advice on what to expect for their industry. How might this trend impact your business?   *What can we learn about building more productive – and innovative – teams from Google’s Project Aristotle research study? And how might AI be used...

In this episode, we discuss:   *Looking backward to innovate forward? Highlights from Time Magazine’s list of the 200 Best Inventions of 2023 tell us that taking inspiration from the past can be an effective creative strategy for inventing the future. Curious? Let’s find out!   *There is an enormous shortage of supply chain professionals able to tackle known supply chain issues. This supply chain...

In this episode we continue with our AI theme and discuss the following:   *What type of impact is AI already having on Strategic Marketing? How are different industries utilizing AI to develop and deploy their strategies?  What ideas can you apply to your business immediately? *What were some of the highlights from Time Magazine’s list of the 200 Best Inventions of 2023? (Part 1). Could the creat...

*How AI Can Help B2B Marketers Differentiate Their Products - when it comes to AI for B2B marketers, most of the conversation is about content creation and customer service applications. However, the biggest impact for strategic marketers could come from using AI to create needs-based, customer-centric offers and value propositions that are truly unique in the marketplace.     *How AI Can Help Cre...

In this episode we discuss: *There’s a lot B2Bs can learn from Taylor Swift about strategies for intellectual property (IP) and business relationships. *Want to be more productive, complete tasks quicker, and produce significantly higher quality work? A new, joint Harvard Business School and Boston Consulting Group study of 758 BCG consultants has found that with the help of AI programs, you can....

In this episode, we discuss:   *Storytelling is one of the hottest topics in business over the last couple of years.  Strategic Marketers are embracing the topic as a way to differentiate their brands, gain the attention of buyers, and convince investors and managers to fund their plans.  Find out why storytelling works and how to do it for both external and internal audiences.    *Seasonal Innova...