The Innovation Engine Podcast

Modev founder Pete Erickson joins us for the 42nd episode of the podcast to discuss Modev's recent Wearables + Things conference, their upcoming ModevCon event, and the evolution of the DC tech scene since Pete started Modev in 2008. We discuss some of the hacks that came out of the Wearables + Things Hackathon, Pete's own experience with wearable devices like the Pebble Watch, and the dif...

We look at innovation and breakthrough thinking on this week's episode of the podcast. We'll talk four great ways to make breakthroughs when you find yourself stuck in neutral, why "expertise is the enemy of innovation," and what we can all learn from the thought process of magicians when it comes to innovation.  Stephen Shapiro joins us to discuss those topics and more. Stephen is...

The Future of Payments is the topic of discussion on the 40th episode of “The Innovation Engine” podcast. Kenal Shah and Brian Oh join me to discuss how the payments ecosystem will change over the short and long term and how technology will fuel consumer adoption of new payment platforms. We talk about the hot and heavy battle currently taking place between Apple Pay and the Merchant Customer Exch...

Gill Haus, CTO of Paid Services at AOL, joins us to talk about the commonalities he has seen on high-performing teams. We talk about the concept of the pivot and how to manage it appropriately, the next steps in the evolution of agile, and the Jeff Foxworthy approach to determining if the team you're working on or with is truly innovative. In addition to AOL, Gill has held leadership positions...

On this episode of the podcast we look at innovation lessons that companies of all shapes and sizes can take from the groundbreaking animation studio Pixar. We talk about why the black sheep in your company may just be the keys to unlocking innovation success, the importance of lifelong learning in creating a culture that thrives on innovation, and the 4 common proficiencies to making art - and in...

Innovation & the Laws of Subtraction is the topic of discussion on this episode of the podcast. We talk about how companies and individuals can engage in addition via subtraction by employing tools like "stop doing" lists instead of to-do lists. The episode covers 6 simple rules for winning in the age of excess everything, why multi-tasking isn’t just ineffective but may be downright h...

On this week's episode of "The Innovation Engine," we look at the neurophysiology of innovation with Dr. John Kenagy. In Dr. Kenagy's 2nd appearance on the podcast, we talk about what's really going on behind the scenes during the decision-making process and why humans are often anything but rational, how that impacts the ways to influence change in any organization, and why ha...

On this week’s episode of the podcast we look at ways companies can make the innovation process simple. We discuss the key structural elements that all innovation efforts should include, the importance of nurturing the front end of innovation and where innovative ideas should come from, and why it's important to create a balanced innovation portfolio. Dr. Kevin McFarthing joins us to discuss t...

Lisa Bodell joins us for the 34th episode of "The Innovation Engine" podcast. On this episode, we talk about the concept of “killing the company” and how it can lead to an innovation revolution. We discuss some unconventional ways you can ensure your company does the work that really matters - including regularly killing the meetings, processes, or habits that make the least sense. Lisa ha...

Dr. Kevin Freiberg joins us for the 33rd episode of the podcast to talk about innovation and the power of cause. On this episode of the podcast, we talk about why it’s important for everyone in your company to know exactly what your cause is, why we fear living insubstantial lives more than we fear dying, and why it still pays to be a little nuts in the airplane industry. Along with his wife, Dr....

On this week’s episode of the podcast we’ll be looking at why innovation should be everyone’s job – how leaders can create a culture where everyone owns innovation, why you should empower all employees to become part of the innovation process, and pitfalls and roadblocks to avoid when doing so. Dr. Jackie Freiberg joins us to discuss these topics and more. Dr. Freiberg, along with her husband Dr....

Chief Research Officer and Principal Analyst at Innovation Excellence Doug Williams joins us to talk about the language of innovation on the 31st episode of "The Innovation Engine" podcast. We discuss what companies stand to gain by creating a common language for innovation, the top sources of waste created by uncertainty around innovation endeavors, and the difference between ideas, inven...

For the 30th episode of “The Innovation Engine” podcast, we dug into the podcast archives to put together a hodgepodge of clips that have yet to see the light of day. Horace Dediu talks why designers and developers need to have a deep understanding of human psychology and rewards systems to build successful products. Warren Berger discusses the connection between Zen, the art of questioning, and t...

Why creativity is necessary for innovation and how to channel your own creativity are 2 of the topics of discussion on this week's episode of "The Innovation Engine" podcast. Michael Gelb joins us to discuss his soon-to-be-published book, Creativity on Demand: How to Ignite and Sustain the Fire of Genius . Michael is the world’s leading authority on the application of genius thinking t...

Gijs van Wulfen, top LinkedIn influencer and author of the innovation best-seller “The Innovation Expedition,” joins us for the 28th episode of "The Innovation Engine" podcast. On this episode, we look at what to take into consideration when planning your very own innovation expedition. We discuss the types of thinkers the Mayo Clinic recommends every innovation team have, why 12-14 is the...

Physician, healthcare executive, and author Dr. John Kenagy joins us on this week’s episode of “The Innovation Engine” podcast to discuss using Adaptive Design as a means to fuel innovation efforts. Adaptive Design is Dr. Kenagy’s method for business improvement that puts the power to make change in the hands of those closest to the customer. Adaptive Design was influenced by tenets of the Toyota...

Author and journalist Warren Berger joins us for the 26th episode of "The Innovation Engine" podcast to discuss the transformative power asking the right questions can have for businesses. We take a look at the five most important questions any business leader should know the answer to and discuss examples of billion dollar companies that were borne from seeking answers to seemingly simple...

On the 25th episode of “The Innovation Engine” podcast, we discuss the future of software and how it will continue to be the driving force behind innovative new products and services. We look at how software is driving results in industries we never could’ve foreseen, the impact software will have on the next generation of smart products, and talk about trends that were being discussed at the rece...

Lecturer, author, and cloud computing expert Dr. Timothy Chou joins us for the 24th episode of “The Innovation Engine” podcast to discuss how advancements in cloud computing and the dramatically different economics will fuel the next generation of data-intensive software applications. We also look at how the cloud has already changed the way many current business and consumer applications are pack...

Author, investor, and innovation expert Whitney Johnson joins us to discuss how listeners can drive disruptive innovation both professionally and personally. On this episode, we discuss the meaning of disruptive innovation, the importance of taking market risk versus competitive risk, why it’s important to fight entitlement within corporations, and much more. Whitney Johnson is the author of Dare,...

Innovation and the future of mobile is the topic of discussion on the 22nd episode of "The Innovation Engine" podcast. Among the topics we tackle are what the "post-mobile" world will look like; how Apple, Google, and others are shaping the mobile experience of the future; and the next frontiers of mobile after health and fitness. Joining us to discuss those topics and more is Hora...

On the 21st episode of “The Innovation Engine” podcast, we look at the connection between innovation and customer experience. Among the topics we discuss are how to create the optimal customer experience in a world where interactions between company and consumer increasingly occur online; what customer experience means for companies in the services space, which account for 80% of the American econ...

Innovation pioneer Blair Miller  joins us for the 20th episode of “The Innovation Engine” podcast to discuss how companies can keep their product pipeline full of innovative offerings. Among the topics we discuss are how to keep a steady flow of innovative ideas flowing, the metrics that any company needs to track when launching new products to the market, and learning how to have the foresight to...

We are in a day and age where Gartner's so-called Nexus of Forces - cloud, mobile, social, and big data - is fundamentally changing the way we interact with the world around us and standing traditional industries on their heads. Shubber Ali, VP of Strategic Innovation at SalesForce, joins us on the 19th episode of "The Innovation Engine" to discuss some of the ways this "Nexus of F...

Renowned technology futurist and best-selling author Daniel Burrus joins us for the 18th episode of "The Innovation Engine" podcast to talk about why anticipating the future can be the difference between companies that stand the test of time and those that collapse over time. On this episode of the podcast, we discuss the difference between Hard Trends - trends that will happen - and Soft...