Elmar Mock is the Founder of Creaholic, but he began his career as an engineer in a deteriorating watch industry. Elmar approached top-level management within his company with an insane idea, a new way to completely innovate the industry and improve sales. Everyone thought he was crazy and his co-workers distanced themselves from him, but that turned out to be a good thing.
Caroline is the CEO of Sevenshift, a firm that shows people how to leverage behavioral science to improve their working life. Caroline is also the author of How To Have A Good Day, which has been published in 16 different languages, in more than 60 countries. Some of the topics Mark and Caroline cover on this week’s show are: The secret manifesto Caroline has hidden in the book, which is shared by the Innovation Ecosystem, the 100-plus tools Caroline uses, all of which are scientifically proven, and operate independent of context, culture, or industry, and what you can do to hack reality in service of having a good day.
Marc Vollenweider has spent over 15 years guiding Evalueserve to become a global research, analytics and data management solutions provider. In this week’s episode he discusses his transition from being a McKinsey partner to founding a business employing over 3,500 people as well as the counter-intuitive benefits arising from simplification and automation.
Michael Gervais is a high-performance psychologist who works in the trenches of high-stakes environments, he is a recognized speaker on optimal human performance, and he is the host of the Finding Mastery podcast. What can Michael teach us about success in the corporate world? Well, just a few of the important topics Mark and Michael discuss on this week’s episode are: Why is an understanding of the space between hesitation and commitment so fundamental to raising performance? What is micro-choking, and how can you dissolve pressure? A definition of failure that challenges us to step up.
Professor Robert Cialdini has spent his entire career researching the science of influence. This has earned him an international reputation as an expert in the fields of persuasion, compliance, and negotiation. On this week’s episode, Robert discusses how to enlist the support of your senior managers prior to making an important presentation, how companies can boost their sales productivity by up to 60%, and what we can learn from Warren Buffett on communication.
They say creativity loves constraint. In fact, if you ask professional, creative people about their “limitations” they naturally see them as exciting and stimulating. Engineers and software designers for instance see constraints as absolutely fundamental to problem solving. So why does constraint get such a bad wrap? Why do so many people see them as things to be managed and talked around and spun? In this week’s episode, Adam Morgan delves deep into this topic and explains his process for creating a framework to understand constraint and a process to help people successfully manage it.
Paul Brody is a Global Innovation Leader in BlockChain Technology and a Solution Leader in the Industrial Internet of Things at EY. Paul has spent more than 15 years in the electronics industry and has done extensive research for his clients on technology strategy. Paul understands that technology is deeply rooted in strategy, but it gets complex as new technologies and disruptions arise in our modern world. For example, the moment self-driving cars are perfected, it will cause a huge disruption in our economy, so how can we navigate through it?
Michael Bungay Stanier, Founder of Box of Crayons, teaches the principles of how to do less hard work and more good work to managers around the world. In this interview he explains why coaching can transform not only the person receiving the coaching, but also the coach; he reveals what he believes is the best coaching question in the world, and why it is so powerful and AWEsome. And finally, he unpacks habits, how to develop new ones, and their importance in the world of work.
When Céline Schillinger looked around her workplace she saw that the system didn’t value the diversity of competencies that different people could bring. They were being wasted. The system was focusing on a very narrow bandwidth of talents and always promoted the same kind of people, coming from the same background, and with the same kind of thinking. She decided to do something about it. Céline was called a troublemaker by her bosses, but thanks to her passion to grow and improve on rigid corporate systems, she was awarded Woman of the Year — La Tribune Women’s Awards in 2013. Céline is now the Head of Quality Innovation & Engagement at Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of the multinational pharmaceutical company Sanofi.
Are we still stuck in the innovation processes of the last century? On this week’s episode, Alexander Osterwalder looks at some of the fundamental problems in industries such as banking or pharmaceuticals and why the value propositions of today are not very satisfying for customers. Alex explains why the time has come to create new organizational structures and add a space where new business models and new value propositions can thrive.
Trish Malarkey is the Head of Research and Development at Syngenta, a company that has become a global leader in agribusiness by bringing farmers improved crop solutions. Trish has extensive technical knowledge in biology, chemistry, and biotechnology. Combining her expertise with her leadership position at Syngenta, Trish offers highly valuable insights that are both unique and eye-opening. Discover how to manage and create an innovative environment for a talented team of scientists on this week’s episode.
Pamay Bassey is a multi-talented professional with deep expertise in learning theories derived from artificial intelligence research and practical experience designing and developing highly-rated learning solutions. In this week’s episode of the Innovation Ecosystem Podcast Pamay discusses how she went from employee to entrepreneur to intrepreneur, and how to provide engaging opportunities for employees where they feel like they’re being challenged or learning new things on a regular basis.
David Bruno is Head of Innovation for a large Swiss Bank, and the co-founder of YNOME, a transparent marketplace that rates your financial management providers and helps you assemble your own private bank. David is innovating the fintech industry and discusses how he builds trust and transparency in an industry that’s notoriously very hush-hush and filled with regulations. He also provides insights into how he builds a diverse, multifaceted team to successfully innovate for the millennial market.
Amantha Imber is the Founder of Inventium, a company that uses science-based innovation to help organizations unlock their growth. Amantha has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry such as Coca-Cola and Disney, and is the author of The Creativity Formula: 50 Scientifically-proven Creativity Boosters for Work and for Life. On this episode, Amantha discusses how to encourage a risk-taking company culture that isn’t afraid to fail in the name of innovation, as well as what she personally looks for in a new hire.
Switzerland – a tiny country with few natural advantages – has become incredibly successful in the world of banking, pharmaceuticals, machinery, and more. James Breiding, author of the bestselling book, Swiss Made, explores the enabling factors for innovation in Switzerland. He makes the point that when an entrepreneur comes up with a new and innovative method or product, there will be resistance from those who have accepted the status quo. Entrepreneurs as well as intrapreneurs need to have thick skin if they wish to disrupt the market.
