Preview: A Different Kind of Innovation Podcast

A Different Kind of Innovation Podcast

(Read on LinkedIn)

Have you ever had your boss walk into a meeting and proclaim, “We need to innovate!” Innovation has become the buzzword of the decade. To create new products and services. To find new customers and markets. To work smarter, not harder. Innovation isn’t optional; it’s an imperative. If you don’t innovate, you’re dead in the water.  Many people talk about innovation, but few have done it. So how do you separate the signal from the noise?

As CEO of Cree, I had the opportunity to witness innovation up close and personal almost every day. I saw what worked, and more importantly, what did not.  Innovation was part of the company’s DNA.  Since I retired, I have been asked by many people to share what I learned at Cree. I decided to assemble some slides about my experiences, and I gave a few talks on the subject.  One thing led to another, and eventually I was encouraged to write a book about leading innovation by two very convincing people: Kate Trevey and Dr. Kris Ropella at Marquette University.  

Those original concepts became the basis for my upcoming book, The Innovator’s Spirit. While researching and writing the book over this past year, I realized there are many incredible stories that never get told. Stories about amazing people who found ways to innovate in places we don’t often associate with innovation. People more relatable than the rock star technology CEOs we so often hear about.  I wanted to find a way to share those lessons in a way that would help others become better leaders and innovators.

I created Innovators on Tap to tell those stories. On this podcast, I sit down with innovators across a wide variety of fields to dig deep into what truly fuels innovation. The show is not about recipes, but about ingredients and the people who put them together in new ways that solve problems and create value. The show is focused on understanding how and why these people were able to overcome the challenges that stop others.  The weekly show is set to launch on September 25, and throughout the first few episodes some consistent themes have already emerged.

Innovation is fundamentally a leadership problem 

Management is designed to encourage people to follow rules or procedures in order to achieve defined objectives.  This approach runs counter to creating something new -something that’s never been done before. Leading innovation requires getting people to work together to break the rules in pursuit of something bigger than themselves. 

Innovation is about people, not process

You often hear about “innovative” processes, but innovation is ultimately about people. Processes assume there are boundary conditions - that there is a box. But innovation requires people who approach problems without constraints and with the assumption that there is no box. Process is based on structure and order, while innovation is often messy because it requires connecting the dots in new and different ways.  The best processes will not bear innovative results if the right people are not utilizing them.

Innovation is a mindset

Innovation is rooted in beliefs that enable the behaviors that make innovation possible. Like the belief that anything is possible—and stopping at nothing to make it happen. Innovation requires a burning desire to find a way to solve a problem or achieve a goal, even if you seem to be the only one who recognizes it. You know there must be a better way, and you’re willing to do whatever it takes. It’s about someone’s emotions, character, and willingness to get his or her hands dirty. 

These are just a few of the takeaways I have had recording the first ten episodes. I’ve talked with guests about a range of topics that are in need of innovation – from bicycles to higher education, from trauma to drug development, and from big box retail to brewing beer.

I am excited for you to join me on this innovation journey when the podcast is released on September 25. You can also listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.