What The Jesuits Can Teach Us About Innovation w/ Father Nicky Santos

When you think of innovation, what comes to mind?

It might be a company, like Tesla.

A founder, like Steve Jobs.

Or even a location, like Silicon Valley.

But what is unlikely to come to mind is a religious order that has been around since 1540 and each member takes a vow of poverty.

But that is exactly the focus of today’s episode: The Jesuits. A religious order of the Catholic Church founded by Ignatius of Loyola, who today are often most known for their focus on education and the founding of many world class universities across the United States.

Today’s guest is Father Nicky Santos, a Jesuit priest who also has a master’s degree in moral theology, an MBA and a PhD in Marketing. He explains that it’s not only education that the Jesuits are pioneers in, but they also have been on the frontier of innovation.

I like to say that innovation starts with imagining a better future, and Fr. Nicky explains that’s exactly what the Jesuits have been trained to do.

“The early Jesuits were going all across the world and getting people to imagine possibilities that they have never imagined before.”

Our conversation touches on Fr. Nicky’s journey from India to Priesthood and the multiple degrees he has gotten along the way, his theory of GRAMS, which are Jesuit principles that he believes also drive innovation, and what he thinks the future of Jesuit education and innovation will be.

You can follow the podcast and host Chuck Swoboda on Twitter for further exploration and discussion on innovation.

The episode is also available wherever else you listen to podcasts. Enjoy!