Idea To Value - Creativity And Innovation

In this episode of the Idea to Value podcast, we speak with Olympic Gold Medallist, Ben Hunt-Davis MBE. Ben competed at multiple Olympic Games for the British Rowing Team, won the Gold Medal in 2000, and now works with leaders and companies around the world to help them understand how to make their boat go faster. See the full episode at https://wp.me/p6pllj-1Dd #olympics #tokyo2020 #olympicgames #podcast #leadership Topics covered in this episode: 00:01:30 - Ben's history with rowing and learning that training harder doesn't result in success 00:04:00 - How to make your power work more effectively 00:06:30 - Making sure you can make better decisions, and understanding how to manage your mental horsepower effectively 00:13:30 - How leaders can create an environment where people can produce their best work 00:16:00 - Finding clarity and direction, by learning and adapting 00:20:00 - The importance of focusing on your strengths 00:23:00 - The importance of continuously looking for ways to improve 00:24:00 - Fi

In this episode of the Idea to Value podcast, we speak with a cornerstone of the creativity research field, Prof Dean Keith Simonton. He is Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology at the University of California, Davis as well as author of some of the most important books and hundreds of pieces of research around genius and creativity. See the full episode at https://wp.me/p6pllj-1Bn #genius #creativity #research In today's wide-ranging interview, we speak about the history of Genius, how creative geniuses produce their best work, and what hope there is for the "normal" people who do not consider themselves to be a genius but want to be more creative. Topics covered in this episode: 00:01:30 - Dean's history in creativity research and how it brought him to studying Geniuses 00:05:00 - Why there are Golden Ages of multiple Geniuses, interspersed by periods of lower creativity, and the importance of predecessors 00:10:00 - The difference between craftsmanship and creativity 00:12:30 - The re

In today's episode of the Idea to Value Podcast, we speak with Professor Marcus du Sautoy. Prof du Sautoy is widely known for his work to popularise mathematics, is the Charles Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and author of the bestselling book The Creativity Code: Art and Innovation in the Age of AI. See the full episode at https://wp.me/p6pllj-1Bm #ai #artificialintelligence #creativity #code We speak about the link between Artificial Intelligence and Creativity, and how these two worlds are coming closer and closer together. Topics covered in this episode: 00:01:30 - Prof du Sautoy's history with Mathematics and Science 00:03:30 - Can Artificial Intelligence be creative? The example from the game of Go 00:07:30 - The new way of coding, based on machine learning, which no longer requires the rules which humans program into software 00:11:00 - The realms of the arts are now being taught to software, which allows code to generate output which humans never would have 00:15:00 - How

In this episode of the Idea to Value podcast, we speak with head of Incumetrics and innovation author, Robin Gaster. See the full episode at https://wp.me/p6pllj-1Bl #innovation #amazon #jeffbezos We talk about the giant that is Amazon, how it manages to innovate and whether this is a sustainable model of innovation for other companies. Topics covered in this episode: 00:02:00 - Why Robin thinks that Amazon is the most important innovator of our times 00.05:15 - The major turning points and innovations in Amazon's history (Marketplace, Prime, Logistics and AWS) 00:15:30 - Where his insights came from when Amazon are so secretive 00:17:30 - People don't realise that Amazon's retail business made a loss of $32 Billion 00:22:00 - The company is obsessed with growth, and serving the customer, no matter what 00:26:00 - How Amazon is treating their workers like robots 00:28:00 - When it comes to a culture of driving innovation, do the ends justify the means? 00:30:30 - Amazon's next big business: Healthcare Links

In this episode of the Idea to Value podcast, we speak with bestselling author, serial entrepreneur and innovation keynote speaker Diana Kander. See the full episode at https://wp.me/p6pllj-1Bk #innovation #curiosity #leadership We discuss what keeps companies and leaders from reaching their full potential around delivering innovation, and the importance of curiosity to find the truth. Topics covered in this episode: 00:02:00 - Diana's diverse background starting successful (and failed) companies, and how this was distilled into her bestselling book "All In Startup" 00:04:15 - The danger of going "All in" on an idea you've fallen in love with, before you know your problem is a "migraine level" problem 00:08:30 - The importance of Curiosity and how this was distilled in her latest book "The Curiosity Muscle" 00:11:15 - When was the last time you were surprised by customer or employee feedback 00:14:15 - The importance of honest, true feedback by becoming curious 00:19:30 - Don't ask your customer what they wa

In today's episode of the Idea to Value podcast, we speak with Christina Wodtke, author and lecturer at Stanford. Her resume includes re-design and initial product offerings with LinkedIn, MySpace, Zynga, Yahoo! and others, as well as founding three startups. See the full episode at https://wp.me/p6pllj-1Bj #OKR #focus #productivity #creativity We speak about the value of Radical Focus and Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). Topics covered in today's episode: 00:02:30 - How she began using OKRs and discovered their value 00:04:30 - When and how to use OKRs 00:09:00 - The challenges of setting OKRs, and how important Psychological Safety is 00:13:00 - What prevents people from meeting their goals 00:17:30 - The similarities of creativity in an Arts School and Startups 00:20:30 - Real creative people are productive Links mentioned in today's episode: Book: Radical Focus: https://amzn.to/3wzClud Christina's website: https://cwodtke.com/ Elegant Hack: https://eleganthack.com/ Bonus: This episode was made pos

In today's episode of the Idea to Value Podcast, we speak with bestselling innovation author, facilitator and award winning innovation podcast host Aidan McCullen. See the full episode at https://wp.me/p6pllj-1AM #disruption #innovation #podcast #reinvention #metamorphosis We speak about reinvention and how it applies to innovation, as well as the power of using metaphors. Topics covered in this episode: 00:01:30 - Aidan's history playing professional rugby, and how this led to him having to transform and reinvent himself 00:04:00 - The difference between choosing to change, and being forced to change (mental models) 00:09:00 - The half life and careers in organisations is becoming disrupted. What it means to become Undisruptable 00:11:45 - Experiences from youth can make someone developed a fixed view of themselves, and how instead we can create a growth mindset by changing the stories being told 00:14:30 - The fascinating biology of metamorphosis, imaginal disks and overcoming the immune system 00:18:30 -

In this episode of the Idea to Value Podcast, we speak with author Mark Herschberg, helped to start the Undergraduate Practice Opportunities Program at MIT, dubbed MIT’s “career success accelerator,” See the full episode at https://wp.me/p6pllj-1Ao #softskills #innovation We speak about the skills which are necessary to succeed in the future, but which aren't taught well enough at college. Topics covered in this episode: 00:01:30 - The types of skills which are required to become a good leader and manager but are lacking at universities 00:05:30 - Is it possible to improve soft skills? 00:08:15 - How to become more innovative by building different thinking modes 00:11:45 - Using mental models from one discipline and using it in a completely different field 00:14:00 - A case study showing the different ways which teams communicate, when not everyone has all the details 00:19:00 - The difference between rewarding outcomes, and rewarding making the right decision based on the information available at the time

In this episode of the Idea to Value podcast, we speak with John Saunders, author of the Optimizer: Building and Leading a Team of Serial Innovators, former Wall Street sales leader and serial investor. See the full episode at https://wp.me/p6pllj-1An #incremental #innovation #change #optimisation We speak about what it takes for innovators to optimise their processes, and how small incremental improvements can lead to lasting impact. Topics covered in this episode: 00:02:30 - How leaders are responsible for change 00:04:00 - The value of incremental change and how small changes compound over time 00:07:30 - How to break down big changes into smaller, manageable pieces and involving the people who will be affected 00:10:15 - Writing down what changes individuals and teams expect to achieve 00:13:30 - How to speak about change with someone who is really resistant to change 00:16:15 - What if one individual is the one resisting the change? Links mentioned in this episode: Book: The Optimizer: Building and L

In today's episode of the Idea to Value podcast, we speak with professional magician Butzi. See the full episode at https://wp.me/p6pllj-1Am  #magic #creativity #podcast #innovation We speak about his history in magic, what it takes to be creative, and the difference between skill and originality. Topics covered in this episode: 00:01:30 - How Butzi got started late in magic 00:03:30 - The importance of learning the trade before you can start becoming creative 00:07:30 - The difference between old, established tricks and putting new creative twists on these through stories 00:12:45 - When Butzi feels creative 00:14:45 - Some magicians want to invent new tricks, while others prefer to work on strong performance 00:17:15 - Is it possible for him to watch other people perform magic while still having a beginners mind 00:20:30 - The three pillars to developing a creative spirit Links mentioned in this episode: Butzi's website: https://butzi-speaker.com/ Crazitivity podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podca

In this episode of the Idea to Value podcast, we speak with Fabienne Jacquet, scientist, author of "Venus Genius" and founder of Innoveve. See the full episode at https://wp.me/p6pllj-1zB  #diversity #feminism #innovation We touch on what feminine energy is, and how important it is to understand and harness diversity of thinking in order for innovation teams to succeed. Apologies for the audio quality of this episode, there were issues with the recording. Topics covered in this episode: 00:03:00 - Her story which led her to her book "Venus Genius" 00:06:00 - Why women used to not be involved in innovation 00:09:45 - What is the difference between masculine and feminine traits, and where do these differences come from? 00:13:00 - How do these traits relate to innovation? 00:17:30 - What it takes to overcome these challenges 00:22:00 - How to self-identify traits, and see areas for improvement 00:25:00 - Do we need to actively promote women into innovation leadership roles? Links mentioned in this episode:

In today's episode of the Idea to Value podcast, we speak with Stefano Mastrogiacomo. He is from Strategyzer and a Professor, as well as the author of High Impact Tools for Teams: 5 Tools to Align Team Members, Build Trust, and Get Results Fast  See the full episode at https://wp.me/p6pllj-1zA #teamwork #teams #productivity We speak about what it takes for innovation teams to achieve their highest levels of performance. Topics covered in this episode: 00:01:15 - The start of his work with a dissertation on distributed team, and team alignment and the evolution of communication 00:05:00 - What prevents innovation teams working at their optimum level, based on failed interactions between team members 00:07:45 - The importance of Psychological Safety 00:10:00 - Research shows teams feel most meetings are a waste of time 00:11:15 - Only 10% of team members agree who is on their team 00:12:30 - the Team Alignment Map 00:16:15 - the Team Contract 00:19:15 - The challenges of distributed teams, and the importance

In today's episode of the Idea to Value podcast, we speak with #1 hit music producer and composer Pascal Guyon about his creative process. See the full epsiode at https://wp.me/p6pllj-1zz #music #musicproduction #creativity #flow Pascal has worked with music artists like Leona Lewis and Anthony Hamilton, as well as smaller groups like Jazz musicians in Cuba. Topics covered in this episode: 00:01:30 - How Pascal's creativity and music started at a young age & his big break in Los Angeles 00:06:15 - How he is now focused on several different creative endeavours, including coding and finance 00:07:30 - What a music producer actually does, and how he composes music 00:09:30 - How he has no interest in using pre-produced beats, as he seeks the moment of creation 00:11:30 - How he gets into flow in his creative process, and overcomes blocks 00:12:45 - How he fuels his creativity with new knowledge 00:15:15 - What is success? Especially when your biggest hits are behind you Links mentioned in this episode: P

See the full episode at https://wp.me/p6pllj-1B8 #creativity #psychology #research #jpguilford Very rarely do we come across a specific moment where we can see an entirely new field of research begin. However, on Sep 2-8, 1950, Joy Paul Guilford gave an impassioned speech as new president of the American Psychological Association where he introduced the need for more formal research into the previously vague field of creativity. It was this speech which kickstarted the field of creativity research, pioneered by himself and other researchers like Paul Torrance, and led us to the world where we now have a much better understanding of what is happening when we have ideas. In this podcast, I read the entire Journal article of his 1950s speech, titled "Creativity", so you can see where it all got started. I warn you, it is nearly an hour long. And some of the thoughts in it are very much of the time period he was in (for example, listen to how often Guilford mentions "he" and "him" instead of "she"...). But it is

In today's episode of the Idea to Value podcast, we speak once again with Simon Hill. #openinnovation #innovation See the full episode at https://wp.me/p6pllj-1zy The last time we spoke with Simon, he was the CEO of Wazoku. Since then, he has also taken over the Open Innovation platform Innocentive. We speak about synergies in the Open Innovation world, and what is coming in the future. Topics covered in this episode: 00:03:00 - Why Wazoku acquired Innocentive, and the two-sided Marketplace they helped launch 00:06:15 - How Innocentive used outsider insights to solve the challenge of removing oil spills from freezing water 00:09:30 - The future of Open Innovation 00:14:00 - The convergence of purpose and profit 00:15:45 - Consulting and SaaS do not mix, but some services may be valuable 00:19:00 - The backlash against innovation theatre 00:23:00 - How best to incentivise innovation for teams Links mentioned in this episode: One Smart Crowd book: https://amzn.to/3sIXFuy Simon's Linkedin profile: https://w

In this episode of the Idea to Value podcast, we speak with renowned Science journalist David Robson, about his new book "The Intelligence Trap: Revolutionise your Thinking and Make Wiser Decisions". See the full article at https://wp.me/p6pllj-1zx #science #journalism #intelligence #trap #creativity We speak about what leads highly intelligent people to wrong conclusions, or why they sometimes stick with ideas when evidence suggests these are wrong. Topics covered in this episode: 00:01:15 - David's background in science Journalism, and his it led him to find examples of eminent scientists who believed in incorrect theories 00:03:15 - What is the intelligence trap? 00:05:30 - The need for checks and balances in thinking, even for highly intelligent people. 00:06:30 - Cognitive Miserliness and Motivated Reasoning 00:08:45 - The Dunning Kruger effect and Earned Dogmatism (Our self-perceptions of expertise mean we have gained the right to be closed-minded and to ignore other points of view) 00:10:00 - The curs

In today's episode of the Idea to Value podcast, we speak with serial entrepreneur and investor Jeff Wald. Jeff’s most recent company, Work Market, an enterprise software platform that enables companies to manage freelancers was acquired by ADP in 2018. See the full episode at https://wp.me/p6pllj-1zu We speak about some of research behind understanding how the job market has changed over the past decades, and what this says about how it will change in the future. Topics mentioned in today's episode: 00:02:30 - The myths about how the future of work will change, especially around remote workforces 00:08:00 - How workers and societies adjusted to the previous industrial revolutions, with more jobs being created than were lost 00:10:30 - The end of the job as we know it. We are moving towards fluid, team-based, work-from-anywhere work 00:14:30 - How to differentiate what different types of workers need and want 00:16:30 - The risk of automation and destroying low-skilled jobs, with examples of bank tellers and

In today's episode of the Idea to Value podcast, we speak with Dorte Nielsen, founder of the Centre of Creative Thinking in Denmark, and author of The Secrets of Highly Creative Thinkers. See the full episode at https://wp.me/p6pllj-1zv We speak about the successes and challenges she has had in bringing creativity into Danish classrooms. Topics mentioned in this episode: 00:01:00 - How Dorte got started in teaching creativity 00:02:30 - Why creativity training and skills are so important 00:04:00 - The importance of being able to see new connections and how this can be trained 00:07:30 - The brain is plastic, and creativity is a skill that can be taught 00:09:30 - Creativity in schools needs to go beyond art classes. Dorte explains the results of an experiment teaching creativity to primary school students and teachers 00:12:30 - Teachers sometimes see creativity as a negative trait. But through training this can also be improved 00:14:00 - Creativity training resulted in students and staff taking fewer sick

In today's episode of the Idea to Value Podcast, we speak with international creativity advocate Dr Robert Alan Black. We touch on his history working with the late, great Prof Paul E Torrance and speak about the history of creativity research. See the full episode at https://wp.me/p6pllj-1zt  Topics covered in this episode: 00:01:15 - Dr Black's history in architecture and advertising, leading him to the new field of creativity research 00:06:30 - Who was Prof Paul E Torrance and his impact on the field of creativity research 00:09:30 - How creativity tests were developed in the 1950s 00:12:30 - The differences between creativity and highly creative thinking, which is "generation of new (to you) ideas" 00:14:30 - The difference between analytical, intuitive and divergent thinking 00:19:00 - The challenge of develop creative thinking skills 00:22:30 - Moving away from studying sick people, to studying psychology 00:26:30 - How people can learn to improve their creative thinking skills, using the SPREAD frame

In this episode of the Idea to Value podcast, we speak with Co-Founder of Getkickbox at Swisscom, Ralph Hartmeier. See the full episode at https://wp.me/p6pllj-1zw Kickbox is a framework which aims to bring the benefits of open innovation to all companies, based on a system pioneered by Adobe. Topics covered in today's episode: 00:01:15 - Ralph's entrepreneurial history and how it brought him to Swisscom 00:03:00 - What is the Kickbox? And whether they still give out free $1000 credit cards to anyone who wants one 00:06:30 - How the process works 00:09:00 - How the process affects the decision making process around which innovations can get started, and reducing friction from decision makers 00:12:00 - The types of innovations for which kickbox works well 00:15:45 - The value of validating whether ideas should be shut down faster than with previous innovation processes 00:19:30 - How to validate ideas with less than $1000 Links mentioned in today's episode: Getkickbox: https://home.getkickbox.com/ Get th