Minds Worth Meeting

Can large companies successfully innovate? The popular narrative is the bigger firms become, the less nimble and dynamic they are. Small startups are the disruptors, while big companies are doomed to being static and inflexible. But according to Gary Pisano of Harvard Business School, this is a myth: large businesses can be just as innovative as startups. But to reach that point, you need to understand the four distinct types of innovation, how to devise a strategy for implementing transformation and, crucially, the importance of an innovative culture. In this episode, Minds Worth Meeting speaks with Pisano about his recent book, “Creative Construction: The DNA of Sustained Innovation” (PublicAffairs, January 2019). In “Creative Construction,” Pisano criticizes both the fatalism about the ability of Big Business to innovate and the overly simplified notion that to be dynamic, companies need to “be like Uber.” Large, established firms are entirely different from those born as startups; they need to think about innovation in terms of how best to leverage existing strengths rather than undertaking a wholesale (and potentially destructive) disruption of their own business models. Accordingly, Pisano urges leaders to determine which of the four types of innovation – disruptive, architectural, routine and radical – best suit a company’s position. And, drawing on his widely cited Harvard Business Review cover story “The Hard Truth About Innovative Cultures,” Pisano urges business leaders to recognize the key trade-offs between dynamism and stability that make for successful transformations. He offers a warning specifically to financial services firms about how failing to consider the role of new technologies can impede their ability to innovate. For more information about innovation, growth and Pisano’s work as discussed in this episode, visit the links below: • The Hard Truth About Innovative Cultures (Harvard Business Review) • Large Businesses Don’t Have to Be Lousy Innovators (Strategy + Business) • Fostering an Innovation Culture: Talent, Discipline and Leadership (The Wall Street Journal) Visit Pisano’s website: gpisano.com Follow Pisano on Twitter: @motogp61 Gary Pisano is available for speaking engagements and advisory/consulting services through exclusive representation by Stern Speakers, a division of Stern Strategy Group®. For more from Minds Worth Meeting, follow us on social media @sternstrategy, @sternspeakers and visit https://sternstrategy.com/minds-worth-meeting/.

Despite progress over the past few decades, women still face immense barriers to advancement in the workplace – both systemic and psychological. Women continue to command lower salaries and are under-represented in senior leadership roles across corporate America. How do women not only challenge their organizations to give them their due, but overcome their own uncertainties about being able to succeed in male-dominated companies and industries? In this episode, Minds Worth Meeting converses with Kimberly Ramalho, vice president of communications and public Affairs for Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS). As a high-ranking executive with the world’s largest defense contractor, Ramalho has more than 25 years of experience in navigating obstacles to climbing the corporate ladder within an industry that is – historically – overwhelmingly male. Women in business, says Ramalho, must ensure they bring their own expertise to the top table and are heard by their colleagues on the issues that matter. Unconscious or deliberate, bias often causes male counterparts to ignore female voices, reinforcing uncertainty and insecurity. To succeed, women must overcome their own doubts and voice their opinions consistently and effectively, as well as not be timid in demanding equal treatment. In doing so, women can change the narrative of gender in the workplace, getting what they need, want and deserve. There is still a long way to go in achieving gender equality, whether in the corporate world or in society more broadly. But that journey hinges on individuals’ courage in standing up for themselves and their fellow women. Women truly can “have it all” as leaders – and Kimberly Ramalho helps show you how that’s possible. Follow Kimberly Ramalho on Twitter: @kimberlyramalho and on LinkedIn. For more from Minds Worth Meeting, follow us on social media @sternstrategy, @sternspeakers and visit https://sternstrategy.com/minds-worth-meeting/.

Neither poverty nor prosperity are permanent conditions for societies; poor countries have risen from hardship to wealth within decades. But, by and large, we lack an understanding of how that transformation takes place. In a recent, critically acclaimed book, “The Prosperity Paradox: How Innovation Can Lift Nations Out of Poverty” (HarperBusiness, January 2019), authors Clayton Christensen, Efosa Ojomo and Karen Dillon provide the missing framework. Prosperity, the authors argue, is generated by market-creating innovations – products and services that create consumers where none previously existed – and these which have the potential to not only uplift entire nations from poverty but allow innovative businesses to reap enormous returns on investment and dominate markets for years and even generations to come. In the latest episode of the Minds Worth Meeting podcast, co-author Efosa Ojomo, Senior Research Fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, reveals what constitutes market-creating innovations and how businesses can use them to prosper in unexpected places. Drawing on the examples contained in “The Prosperity Paradox” ranging from the Ford Model T to Tolaram instant noodles, Ojomo offers a blueprint for companies seeking a new way to invest and thrive in frontier markets. Often, according to Ojomo’s framework, the key is not to go where the money already is, but to where it isn’t. Only then can you develop the kind of innovative product or service that transforms the way of life for millions of people – and launches your company to the status of a household name. For more information about “The Prosperity Paradox” and Efosa Ojomo’s work as discussed in this episode, visit the links below: • How Innovative Companies Help Frontier Markets Grow (Harvard Business Review, February 2019) - https://hbr.org/ideacast/2019/02/how-innovative-companies-help-frontier-markets-grow • Want to Foster Prosperity? Focus on Market-creating Innovations (Knowledge at Wharton, February 2019) - https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/prosperity-paradox-clayton-christensen/ • “The Prosperity Paradox” Review: A Better Way to Fight Poverty (The Wall Street Journal, January 2019)- https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-prosperity-paradox-review-a-better-way-to-fight-poverty-11548890942#comments_sector • How 1 Company – and Its Insanely Popular and Cheap Noodles – Transformed Nigeria (Inc., January 2019) - https://www.inc.com/leigh-buchanan/clayton-christensen-prosperity-paradox.html • Visit Efosa’s website: https://efosaojomo.com/ • Follow Ojomo on Twitter: @EfosaOjomo Efosa Ojomo is available for speaking engagements and advisory/consulting services through exclusive representation by Stern Speakers, a division of Stern Strategy Group®. For more from Minds Worth Meeting, follow us on social media @sternstrategy, @sternspeakers and visit https://sternstrategy.com/minds-worth-meeting/.

From declining rural villages to the inner cities of the world’s great metropolises, ruined buildings and abandoned spaces stand waiting to be repurposed and revived. Doing so not only restores function to these structures but can potentially reinvigorate entire communities. In this episode, Minds Worth Meeting sits down with Dan Barasch, leading expert on the future of architecture and design and co-founder and executive director of New York’s The Lowline, a technology-enabled underground park inside a long-unused Manhattan trolley terminal, the first of its kind in the world. Barasch’s insights can inspire not just designers, architects and urban planners but community leaders and real estate developers. Drawing on his experiences conceiving and directing the ongoing Lowline project, Barasch reveals how to reimagine and rebuild in abandoned spaces in a way that strengthens community bonds, honors the historic character of neighborhoods and towns and contributes to the aesthetic inheritance of humanity. Barasch also discusses his new book, “Ruin and Redemption in Architecture” (Phaidon Press, April 2019), and how it can provide examples and creative motivation to those seeking to resurrect buildings and spaces which have been destroyed or allowed to decay. For more information about the future of design and urban planning and Dan Barasch’s work as discussed in this episode, visit the links below: • The Big Business of Ruins • From Ruin to Redemption: Incredible Before-and-After Images Show How Abandoned Buildings Have Been Given New Leases on Life • The Upside Down: Inside Manhattan’s Lowline Subterranean Park Follow Dan on Twitter: @kineticdb and @thelowlinenyc Dan Barasch is available for speaking engagements and advisory/consulting services through exclusive representation by Stern Speakers, a division of Stern Strategy Group®. For more from Minds Worth Meeting, follow us on social media @sternstrategy, @sternspeakers and visit https://sternstrategy.com/minds-worth-meeting/.

More people from lower-income backgrounds may be going to college, but they continue to drop out at higher rates than their higher-income peers. They also struggle to manage both work and academics and face enormous levels of student-loan debt whether they graduate or not. One problem is that educators and policymakers have been focused only on access – getting students into college – rather than on success, or what happens to them once they’re there. How can we ensure that more people, especially those from lower-income backgrounds and disadvantaged groups, not only get into college but thrive once they are there, and graduate with minimal (or no) debt? In this episode of Minds Worth Meeting, we speak with Melissa Fries, executive director of the College & Alumni Program (CAP) at the Making Waves Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports students of the Making Waves Academy charter school. Serving the underprivileged students of the Richmond, California area, Making Waves emphasizes long-term college planning for students as early as fifth grade, providing financial education and career advice in addition to the basics of a K-12 curriculum. Once students go on to college, the CAP program maintains continuous communication and support, ensuring that the mission of student success does not end with their acceptance letter at the age of 18. Fries reveals how Making Waves and its CAP program have pioneered a new approach to education that can be replicated, and how it has demonstrated success in promoting not just college enrollment but graduation and career success for underprivileged young people. As we struggle to address issues like inequality, lack of social mobility and the skills gap at the national and global levels, a solution may be found in a local organization – and with philanthropists like Melissa Fries.

Minds Worth Meeting, a podcast produced by Stern Strategy Group®, connects you with experts and thought leaders at the forefront of today’s issues and tomorrow’s trends – from artificial intelligence to strategies for business growth. Featuring the broad Stern Strategy Group client roster of influential innovators, researchers, thinkers, doers and practitioners, Minds Worth Meeting illuminates the advancements in a wide range of topics, industries and disciplines.

Artificial intelligence is advancing at a rapid rate – and it’s everywhere! From our smartphones to our wearables, AI is now a constant fixture in 21st century life. But while applications such as Alexa and Siri have the ability to answer basic questions, they still lack qualities that make them truly useful to us. In this episode, Minds Worth Meeting converses with Affectiva CEO and Emotion AI inventor Rana el Kaliouby, who reveals how, with AI, the way humans interact with technology is changing for the better. Loaded with cases of profitable applications of her technology, she tells us just how her work impacts business and society. Recently, Affectiva stepped into the self-driving car space – keep an eye out for how emotion AI will change the way we drive. Follow Rana on Twitter @kaliouby. For more information about how people and machines interact as discussed in this episode, visit the links below: • TED Talk - This App Knows How You Feel – From the Look on Your Face • PBS Nova Wonders • Affectiva Launches A.I. Tech to Help Cars Sense Your Emotions • An AI-Powered Design Trick Could Help Prevent Accidents Like Uber’s Self-Driving Car Crash • The Pursuit of Unbiased AI: Ethics in the Fourth Industrial Revolution • These Industries Can Benefit From Emotion AI Right Now • Enhancing Customer Experiences with Emotion AI Rana el Kaliouby is available for paid speaking engagements, including keynote addresses, speeches, panels and conference talks, and advisory/consulting services through exclusive representation by Stern Speakers, a division of Stern Strategy Group®. For more from Minds Worth Meeting, follow us on social media @sternstrategy, @sternspeakers and visit https://sternstrategy.com/minds-worth-meeting/.

In this episode of Minds Worth Meeting, we speak with social media expert Jeff Hancock about the new psychology of social media. It's 2018 and more than a billion people utilize social media. For companies, organizations and government bodies, these platforms offer a way to expand their reach to target audiences, and Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, to name a few, are weaved into many people's everyday lives. In this episode of Minds Worth Meeting, we speak with social media expert Jeff Hancock about the new psychology of social media. Keep an eye out for his new book, "Calling Bulls**t," which will help us navigate the disinformation on the Internet and in the media. Follow Professor Jeff Hancock on Twitter @jeffhancock. For more information about the new psychology of social media and Professor Hancock's work as discussed in this episode, visit the links below: " Jeff Hancock's speaker profile: https://sternspeakers.com/speakers/jeff-hancock/ " Building the Bridge of Trust: Deciphering the New Psychology of Social Media " Stanford Social Media Lab http://sml.stanford.edu/ Jeff Hancock is available for paid speaking engagements, including keynote addresses, speeches, panels and conference talks, and advisory/consulting services through exclusive representation by Stern Speakers, a division of Stern Strategy Group®. For more from Minds Worth Meeting, follow us on social media @sternstrategy, @sternspeakers and visit https://sternstrategy.com/minds-worth-meeting/.

When business leaders commit to solving big problems everyone wins, says Harvard Business School's Professor Rebecca Henderson. It creates happy employees, more revenue and stable economies. That's exactly what's happening now. Businesses are "waking up to the business case for social responsibility" and are starting to exert their powers for positive change; not dumping in rivers, or buying from those who tolerate poor working conditions or who burn fossil fuels. What was an unlikely scenario even just 10 years ago - businesses doing good because it's profitable in the long term - is now a viable business strategy, one that's laying the groundwork for systemic change. In this episode of Minds Worth Meeting, Professor Henderson shares stories of companies leading the way (Unilever) in sustainability efforts and of consortiums derived from the palm oil dilemma as she gives us a framework for how leaders can make change today to embrace and implement a long-term strategy for the future. Also, our guest host Mel Blake returns!

Technology is constantly evolving, shifting the ways of the world. Future forecasts have the power to educate business leaders and everyday people to make data-driven decisions and stay ahead of the curve. Minds Worth Meeting converses with futurist, best-selling author and NYU Stern professor Amy Webb, who discusses future trends and how technological change, such as the ubiquity of artificial intelligence, will impact businesses in the very near future. Keep an eye out for the paperback and audio editions of her book, "The Signals Are Talking," coming out later this year.

In a time when trust and transparency in business are in short supply, there's one leader working tirelessly to ensure our next generation of financial leaders are forward thinking, measured risk takers who operate ethically, transparently and with integrity. Minds Worth Meeting speaks with Jeff Thomson, CMA, CSCA, CAE, President and CEO of IMA (Institute of Management Accountants) about the future of the profession, globalization and the importance of partnerships to expand opportunities for everyone worldwide. True to his objective, Jeff advocates for offering leadership opportunities for a diverse set of stakeholders and partners including NABA (National Association of Black Accountants), ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), Robert Half International, COSO (Committee of Sponsoring Organizations), IFAC (International Federation of Accountants), and IIRC (International Integrated Reporting Council). Through these partnerships, Jeff and IMA are able to broaden the influence of IMA and participate in discussions affecting the global landscape of management accounting.

Each day comes with challenges that the world has never seen before. This requires a special kind of leader that prioritizes problem-solving skills over influencing others. Minds Worth Meeting converses with leadership expert and MIT professor Hal Gregersen, who discusses problem-led leadership and how it is changing the world. Keep an eye out for his new book, "Questions Are the Answer," coming out later this year (Harper Collins, 2018). Follow Professor Hal Gregersen on Twitter @HalGregersen and www.halgregersen.com. Hal Gregersen is available for paid speaking engagements, including keynote addresses, speeches, panels and conference talks, and advisory/consulting services through exclusive representation by Stern Speakers, a division of Stern Strategy Group®. Visit https://sternspeakers.com/speakers/hal-gregersen/ for more information.

Virtual reality is very close to becoming a major element of society. With its ability to alter perceptions of the real world, what implications does the emerging technology have for the future of business and society? Minds Worth Meeting chats with VR pioneer and Stanford University Professor Jeremy Bailenson, who discusses the possibilities, opportunities and dangers of using this new medium. Loaded with cases of companies and visionary leaders currently using VR, his new book, "Experience on Demand: What Virtual Reality Is, How It Works and What It Can Do" (Norton), hits book shelves on January 30, 2018. Also in this episode, meet guest host, Mel Blake! Follow Professor Jeremy Bailenson on Twitter @StanfordVR. For more information about the future of VR and Professor Bailenson's work as discussed in this episode, visit the links below: How VR Brings Companies and Customers Together Walmart is Using Virtual Reality to Train Its Employees The Very Real Health Dangers of Virtual Reality In Someone Else's Skin: NFL Considers VR To Give Players Empathy Training TED Talk: Can VR help create empathy around climate change? Jeremy Bailenson is available for paid speaking engagements, including keynote addresses, speeches, panels and conference talks, and advisory/consulting services through exclusive representation by Stern Speakers, a division of Stern Strategy Group®. For more from Minds Worth Meeting, follow us on social media @sternstrategy or visit https://sternstrategy.com/minds-worth-meeting/.

Take an off-the-record journey with our most recent guest, David Bell, to learn what he’d tell his 5-year-old self as well as his adolescent grocery store memories and his interesting circle of friends. All that and more After the Show. Are there other fun questions you’d like us to ask our guests? Email mindsworthmeeting@sternstrategy.com.

In this episode, digital marketing guru, best-selling author and Wharton School professor, David Bell, talks to Minds Worth Meeting about new marketing technologies, why both an online and offline presence is relevant in every industry today, and innovative practices of 21st century companies. David Bell is available for paid speaking engagements including keynote addresses, speeches, panels, conference talks, and advisory/consulting services through the exclusive representation of Stern Speakers, a division of Stern Strategy Group®.

Take an off-the-record journey with our most recent guest, Terry Garcia, to hear about his preferred super power, his stint in the construction world, and the most interesting people he’s met. All that and more After the Show. Are there other fun questions you’d like us to ask our guests? Email mindsworthmeeting@sternstrategy.com.

In this episode, explorer, innovator and conservationist Terry Garcia talks to Minds Worth Meeting about oil spills, climate change and his Middle Eastern treasure hunt! The former National Geographic Chief Science and Exploration Officer also helps us understand who is truly responsible for ensuring a healthy planet. Terry Garcia is available for paid speaking engagements including keynote addresses, speeches, panels, conference talks, and advisory/consulting services through the exclusive representation of Stern Speakers, a division of Stern Strategy Group®.

Take an off-the-record journey with our most recent guest, Julia Freeland Fisher, to hear about what she would tell her five-year-old self, the backstory on why grapefruits play a role in her first and worst jobs and hear about the most interesting person she’s ever met. All that and more After the Show. Are there other fun questions you’d like us to ask our guests? Email mindsworthmeeting@sternstrategy.com.

In this episode, Julia Freeland Fisher, director of education research at the Clayton Christensen Institute, talks to Minds Worth Meeting about the power of disruptive innovation in K-12 and higher education. Julia helps us understand why expanding students’ networks – their stock of “social capital” – will be a game changer for the future of education. Julia Freeland Fisher is available for paid speaking engagements including keynote addresses, speeches, panels, conference talks, and advisory/consulting services through the exclusive representation of Stern Speakers, a division of Stern Strategy Group®.

Take an off-the-record journey with our most recent guest, Kate Darling, to hear about what she would tell her five-year-old self, the backstory on her first and worst jobs, the most interesting person she’s ever met and, perhaps most importantly, whether she’s an Android or iPhone user. All that and more After the Show. Are there other fun questions you’d like us to ask our guests? Email mindsworthmeeting@sternstrategy.com.