Innovation Talks - SoundSage

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Innovation takes place all over the world, but a few places have earned a reputation as certified innovation hubs. One of these places is Munich, Germany. I recently went on a trade mission delegation to Munich, and some of the things I saw blew my mind, especially in the automobile industry. The innovations I saw made me think about what’s in store for the future of cars and space aeronautics.

In this episode, I recount my trip to Munich and elaborate on why it’s one of the best places on Earth if you want to see innovation and futuristic concepts. I describe my experience touring the BMW factory and how efficient their building process is. I explain what their robots do and why BMW still makes its own seats. I discuss IHK and why it’s the future of talent. I also highlight a new type of aerospace engine that’s still in the development stage.

"Munich is positioning itself as a knowledge and innovation hub." - Paul Heller

This week on Innovation Talks:

● What I learned during my mission delegation to Munich

● What I saw when we toured the BMW manufacturing plant

● The efficiency of BMW's automobile factory

● Why BMW still makes their own seats

● The IHK and why it's the future of talent

● Exploring the Urban Co-Lab

● Innovations in aerospace engines

Resources Mentioned:

● Urban Colab

● IHK

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners like you.

For additional information on new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter, where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Brian Utz is the Director of Product Management at Sopheon. His responsibilities include defining and communicating Sopheon’s core product strategies, encompassing idea generation, setting goals, and marketing and launching products. Before joining Sopheon, Brian was the Director of Digital IT Practice at Highmark Health Solutions and VP of Product Management Consumer Lending at PNC Financial Services.

Brian joins me today to discuss product management, goal setting, and what it means to only have one big goal per product. He recounts where his passion for innovation started and what led him to work in product management. He explains the critical difference between a tool that does the job and a tool that does the job better. He describes how goals can inform your team of the product’s overarching purpose. Brian also shares the worst thing that can happen when you’re nearing product launch day.

"Having the goal behind your product allows you to instill that purpose in your whole team." - Brian Utz

This week on Innovation Talks:

● Brian's professional experience before joining Sopheon

● How Brian got started in product management

● The worst thing you can do when nearing product launch

● The difference between an "okay" and "great" tool

● Brian's thoughts on generating product goals

● What the SMART acronym means

● How many goals a product should have

● Why you should have one clear "Northstar" for your product

Connect with Brian Utz:

● Brian Utz on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Daniel Elizalde is a product executive and climate tech product team advisor. He provides support and consultations on the creation of digital solutions that accelerate the energy transition. He specializes in smart grids, energy efficiency, virtual power plants, renewable integration, electric vehicles, and charging infrastructures. Daniel is also the author of The B2B Innovator's Map, [...]

The post B2B innovation in energy and climate with Daniel Elizalde appeared first on Sopheon.

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Ketan Jahagirdar is Sopheon’s Director of Product Management and has been with the company since December 2021. Before joining Sopheon, Ketan founded ROI Blueprints, which provides cloud-based project management software for various businesses. He has over 25 years of experience in technology strategy, program management, and enterprise architecture. Ketan specializes in telematic solutions, IT strategy, [...]

The post The role of project management in innovation with Ketan Jahagirdar appeared first on Sopheon.

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Mike Belsito is the Co-founder of Product Collective, an independent online community for product management professionals. The community serves over 40,000 product management professionals in helping each other create the best products for their consumers. Mike has over ten years of experience in various startup companies, having held positions as an employee and [...]

The post Roadmapping Dos and Don’ts with Mike Belsito appeared first on Sopheon.

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Alex Castro is the CEO of M Corp, an IT services and consulting company that partners with businesses to help them achieve long-term modernization through improved data and technology. Alex is driven to bridge the gap between ideas and execution in the modern world, which explains why he took it upon himself to [...]

The post Shifting Strategies with Alex Castro appeared first on Sopheon.

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Noel Sobelman is a partner at Accel Management Group. Accel Management is a business consulting and services firm that helps high-tech and life sciences companies boost speed to market, increase profitability, and drive costs down. As a partner, Noel works with corporate leaders in growth strategy, portfolio management, and innovation capability building. He [...]

The post Project governance do’s and don’ts with Noel Sobelman appeared first on Sopheon.

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Planning a strategy and executing it are two different beasts. When planning a strategy, you assume variables and prepare contingencies, while executing them means you have to make decisions on the fly. Quite frankly, many companies struggle with strategy execution. How do you avoid strategy execution woes? What are some factors to note [...]

The post Executing on strategy appeared first on Sopheon.

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Mike Belsito is the co-founder of Product Collective, an online hub that serves over 30,000 technology product management professionals. The community provides tools and resources—and hosts virtual and in-person meet-ups—for those in the innovation industry. Mike is also the co-host of Rocketship.FM, a podcast for product managers, entrepreneurs, and anyone in tech. They discuss various [...]

The post Getting started with JTBD (jobs-to-be-done) and more with Mike Belsito appeared first on Sopheon.

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Hannah Keartland is the Outsourced Chief Impact Officer at Keartland & Co., a consulting service that helps businesses utilize sustainability as their competitive advantage. She helps organizations develop an actionable roadmap, create a budget and resource plan, and identify quick wins to make sustainability part of their business identity. Hannah also finished a [...]

The post Integrating Sustainability to Make an Impact with Hannah Keartland appeared first on Sopheon.

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Derek Osgood is the Founder and CEO of Ignition, the first dedicated go-to-market (GTM) platform built for product marketing and product teams. Their services centralize launch plans, assets, and executions that make launches easier to manage. Derek has over a decade of experience working with the industry's biggest names, including a role as [...]

The post GTM processes and product launches with Derek Osgood appeared first on Sopheon.

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Michael Reubold is the Publishing Manager and Editor-in-Chief of CHEManager, a business newspaper for the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. CHEManager is under Wiley, a publishing company that focuses on research, education, and technology. With over 25 years of experience in publishing and editing, Michael specializes in editing articles, executing interviews, and moderating conferences [...]

The post External Innovation in the Chemical Industry with Michael Reubold appeared first on Sopheon.

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Pieter Leijten is the Vice President EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) at Sopheon. Pieter is in charge of representing Sopheon’s interests and spearheading its projects across these regions. He specializes in mapping and quantifying associated benefits that promote investments in various innovative solutions and initiatives. Pieter has over 30 years of experience working [...]

The post Value of Digitizing with Pieter Leijten appeared first on Sopheon.

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Roadmaps are what we use as a reference to tailor our projects and various investments in the business. It’s essentially our guide—a compass to where we want to be with all the details of getting there. However, many are confused by road mapping, especially regarding how it starts and who should be spearheading it. [...]

The post The road-mapping process appeared first on Sopheon.

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Andy Hannah is the President and Co-founder of Othot, a web-based and AI-driven company that provides analytics services focused on the education sector. They help organizations in the higher education sector optimize relationships with students and alumni at an individual level. As President, Andy creates strategies that achieve the company’s visions and build cultures with [...]

The post Innovation in education technology with Andy Hannah appeared first on Sopheon.

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Bill Beane is the Senior Director of Parker Technology Center and Innovation Systems. Parker is a Fortune 250 global leader in motion and control technologies. If it moves, Parker’s either involved or close to it. As Senior Director, Bill provides leadership to Parker’s Technology Center, focusing on developing new and sustainable business solutions. He also serves as a corporate sponsor for the company’s Engineering Leadership Development Program and Manufacturing Engineering Leadership Development.

Bill joins us today to discuss what Parker is, their services, and the ubiquity of their products. He shares how he wound up in innovation and reveals what being in the military taught him about it. He describes the challenges regarding innovating in a tech-oriented company and its “Winovation” program. Bill also dissects the benefits and drawbacks of supply chain disruption.

"Innovation has to start on the focus of the customer." - Bill Beane

This week on Innovation Talks:

What Parker is and what they do
Bill’s military background and how he got involved with innovation
The challenges of innovating in a tech-oriented company
What “Winovation” is
How to convey your passion for technology to your consumers
The advice Bill would give to someone confused about local or global alignment
Dealing with supply chain disruption all over the world
The pros and cons of supply chain disruption

Connect with Bill Beane:

Parker
Parker on LinkedIn
Bill Beane on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Huub Rutten is one of the founding members of Sopheon and is currently its Vice President of Product Research and Design. He has over 20 years of experience working in the linguistics and language management sector. Before joining Sopheon, Huub taught linguistics and communication at several higher education institutes. He is currently concerned with sustainability and digitization and how they intervene with each other.

In this episode, Huub explores digital twins, their applications, and how they started. He describes his linguistics background and why he’s interested in the concept of digital twins. He explains the untapped potential of digital twins and why he calls the idea “meta.” He discusses how Meta-Facebook is similar to other metamodels like digital twins. Huub also describes why China is a digital twin prison.

"People still don't understand the power of digital twin and the potential of it." - Huub Rutten

This week on Innovation Talks:

Huub's background in linguistics and his definition of a digital twin
How the Internet of Things gave birth to the concept of the digital twin
The prerequisites of a digital twin and its real-world applications
Getting the most out of your data with a digital twin
How Meta-Facebook relates to digital twins and metamodels
How digital twins interact with each other and what it means for product development
Huub’s predictions for the future of digital twins and quantum computing
Why China is a digital twin prison

Connect with Huub Rutten:

Huub Rutten Website
Huub Rutten on LinkedIn
Email: huub.rutten@sopheon.com

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Innovation is more than just bringing in the latest tools and technology to keep your product and service relevant. Before making sure your offering to the market is up to date, you must first understand your market, the industry’s needs, and which features to add or what upgrade to make. To properly understand what it means to innovate, you must define your product’s six W’s.

In this episode, I explain the six W’s in innovation. I describe the importance of knowing your consumers. I discuss why having too many features can be detrimental to innovation. I share the value of asking “why” before implementing any additions or changes to your product. I also share various examples of each “W” and how you can apply them to your organization.

"You should know your customers better than they know themselves." - Paul Heller

This week on Insert:Human

What the six W's are regarding product innovation
Determining the "who" of innovation and the people behind it
Knowing where to market your product or where to innovate
Launching your product in the right time
Why your product shouldn't have too many features
Understanding the reasons to start with "why"

Resources Mentioned:

Simon Sinek - Start With Why

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Huub Rutten is the Co-Founder and VP of Research at Sopheon. Before founding the software company, Huub spent over 15 years teaching linguistic disciplines and communication skills. He would then be a strategic development consultant and business processes engineer in several studies. Huub’s focus for the last two decades has been on innovation management and its respective methodologies.

Huub joins me today to discuss product refactoring and the many challenges associated with it. He shares his thoughts on bidding Covid-19 farewell and seeing the Russia-Ukraine war from a food supply chain point of view. He explains the risks involved in refactoring and why he doesn’t recommend it. Huub also describes how organizations should plan their innovations.

"You cannot be innovative in an uncontrolled and uncoordinated way." - Huub Rutten

This week on Innovation Talks:

What product refactoring is
Who Huub is and his role at Sopheon
Huub's opinions on old times coming back and the crisis in Ukraine
The economic crisis the Russia-Ukraine war is bringing and what it means for the global food supply
Assessing certainties and uncertainties when you develop a product
The risks associated with refactoring
Why Huub says companies should avoid refactoring as much as possible
Planning innovation with control and coordination

Connect with Huub Rutten:

Huub Rutten on LinkedIn
Email: huub.rutten@sopheon.com
Business Contact: info@sopheon.com

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Paul O’Connor is the Founder of The Adept Group, a consulting firm that provides product development, product line strategy, and product management services to clients worldwide. Paul has extensive knowledge of relational database management and working with SQL Server. He is the author of The Profound Impact of Product Line Strategy: Your Guide to Highly Productive Innovation and Product Management, which explores the process of turning poor product lines into great ones.

Paul joins me today to discuss productivity and how it applies to corporate innovation. He describes how productivity has become more of an industry focus in the last decade and extrapolates its influence across industries in the years to come. He reveals why our economy is about to go into a state of “Stagflation,” and offers advice on escaping it. Paul also explains the best way to deal with uncertainty in corporate innovation.

"When you get into corporate innovation, you know you're dealing with loads of uncertainty." - Paul O’Connor

This week on Innovation Talks:

Exploring "The Linking of Corporate Innovation"
Why productivity has become more impactful in the last decade
Stagflation and inflation: how to escape them
What research says about major innovations in existing product lines
The difference between corporate innovation and entrepreneurship
Dealing with uncertainty in corporate innovation
When screening can be helpful and when it is not beneficial for innovation
Discussing the Great Divide
Paul's advice to younger people on bridging the long-term and short-term divides

Resources Mentioned:

Single versus Multi-Product Mindsets: What's The Difference and Why It Matters
The Cynefin framework

Connect with Paul O’Connor:

The Adept Group Limited, Inc.
The Adept Group Limited, Inc. on LinkedIn
Book: The Profound Impact of Product Line Strategy: Your Guide to Highly Productive Innovation and Product Management
Paul O’Connor on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

The Profound Impact of Product Line Strategy: Your Guide to Highly Productive Innovation and Product Management

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HC Eppich is the Business Development Director at Sopheon, an innovations solutions company that works with clients to provide customized innovation performance tools and expertise. As Business Development Director, HC specializes in competitive strategies, business improvement opportunities, and diverse DACH market experience. HC also obtained certificates from the MEDDIC Academy and LinkedIn’s Unconscious Bias course.

HC joins me today to discuss Excel and homegrown systems and the best time to move away from them. He explains the challenges of scaling with a focus on legacy systems. He describes the problems involved in going for a checklist business model. He deliberates over the right mindset regarding methods and other tools. HC also shares what you can learn throughout the course of a new project, especially when it fails.

"If you want to rig up a playbook or an innovation system, you need many ingredients." - HC Eppich

This week on Innovation Talks:

Why Excel is the number one tool for management
The drawbacks of relying on checklists for your business goals
What paralyzes the development of new projects
When to stop using Excel for your business
The difficulty of changing templates in a large company
HC's opinions on homegrown systems used for innovation
The mindset innovators need to have regarding the system their company starts with
HC's advice regarding migrating toward a better system

Resources Mentioned:

Lotus Notes

Connect with HC Eppich:

Sopheon
HC Eppich on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Cris Beswick is the Co-founder of Outcome, a consulting business that offers innovative strategies to its clients. He is the author of the book, Building A Culture Of Innovation, where he teaches leaders to embed a culture of innovation in their organizations. The book includes a blend of personal stories, experiences, and case studies from international organizations.

In the second part of this series, Cris joins me to discuss the difference between culture and leadership and why we should not separate them. He explains how innovators and non-innovators can work toward innovation. He describes the shift in priorities the pandemic has forced, the companies that emerged more robust, and companies that couldn’t adapt fast enough. Cris also shares why your organization needs to be human-centered from your customers' viewpoint.

"The closer we are to our customer, the more we can solve and build things for them—and ultimately innovate for them." - Cris Beswick

This week on Innovation Talks:

Defining culture and why it shouldn't be separated from leadership
How to let non-innovators uphold innovation in your business
What the pandemic allowed industries to achieve
How innovation enables an organization to analyze risk better
Figuring out how your organization can become more human-centered

Connect with Cris Beswick:

Outcome
Book: Building A Culture Of Innovation
Book: The Road To Innovation
Outcome on LinkedIn
Outcome on Facebook
Outcome on Instagram
Outcome on Twitter
Cris Beswick on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Cris Beswick is an accomplished speaker and adviser, as well as the Co-founder of Outcome, an innovation consultation business that offers a variety of strategies that innovate not just systems and processes, but also the corporate culture. Cris authored the book, The Road To Innovation, where he describes the seven core areas of innovative focus: strategy, community, people, environment, creativity, risk, and leadership.

In this episode, Cris joins me to discuss his role in Outcome and what made him pursue a career in innovation. He shares the reason why culture and leadership shouldn’t be prescriptive. He explains what readers can expect from The Road To Innovation. He describes why claiming to be innovative does not always lead to sales. He identifies the hurdles the innovation industry needs to get over. Cris also divulges why he didn’t like the position of CEO.

"Innovation is not a thing or something you do—it's an outcome." - Cris Beswick

This week on Innovation Talks:

Who Cris is and his role in Outcome
How Cris got into innovation as a career
Why leadership and culture shouldn't be prescriptive
What Cris wants to see tackled in the innovation industry
Why new products don't always sell despite claiming to be innovative
Why Cris was desperately unhappy as a CEO
What his book, The Road To Innovation, is about

Resources Mentioned:

Podcast: Innovation Accounting and Corporate Startups with Dan Toma

Connect with Cris Beswick:

Outcome
Book: The Road To Innovation
Outcome on LinkedIn
Outcome on Facebook
Outcome on Instagram
Outcome on Twitter
Cris Beswick on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Innovation is what every company aims to practice to keep up with the fast pace the pandemic set over the last two years. While having an innovation program set up is a standard business strategy, many organizations have difficulties getting everyone involved and engaged outside of just ticking boxes. What would the ideal innovation strategy look like?

In this episode, I discuss common mistakes companies make when starting an innovation strategy. I explain the need to have a checklist when making decisions and the importance of not just settling with ticking boxes. I share why some systems can appear intimidating to users and why some strategies don’t engage people. I also describe how to best assess the qualities of the innovations made.

“It's one thing to look at a checklist of 30 items and say we've done them all and a different thing to review key outputs of those 30 items.” - Paul Heller

This week on Innovation Talks:

A challenge I see organizations make when trying to innovate
The benefits of having checklist items in your decision-making
Why a system can be daunting to its users
Assessing the quality of work through a decision-making process
Establishing a system that has value for the users outside of just ticking boxes

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Dan Toma is an author and innovations expert as well as the Co-founder of Outcome, an innovation consultancy focused on supercharging leadership and corporate innovation performance. He wrote The Corporate Startup, a practical guide for companies that want to sustain innovation capabilities, and Innovation Accounting, a book that helps companies track the critical metrics associated with growth and innovation. Dan also holds a dual Master of Business Administration degree from Bradford University and TiasNimbas Business School.

Dan joins me today to discuss how large organizations can grow through innovation and how they can track whether their innovations are effective. He shares how he stumbled upon the innovation industry and how the hiring process used to work. He explains the importance of innovating for relevancy and marketing. Dan also describes the benefits of installing an ecosystem for your business.

"The organizations doing innovations the best are the ones that talk less about it." - Dan Toma

This week on Innovation Talks:

How Dan got started in innovation
The complexities of the hiring process
The purpose of a CV in the job-hunting industry
Why companies need startup-like thinking and innovations
Understanding whether an innovation is working for your company
The purpose of metrics in innovations
The benefits of having an ecosystem in place
Dan's advice for those who want to propose innovation, but are not getting support from their leaders

Resources Mentioned:

Book: Eat, Sleep, Innovate: How to Make Creativity an Everyday Habit Inside Your Organization by Scott D. Anthony, Paul Cobban, Natalie Painchaud, and Andy Parker

Connect with Dan Toma:

Outcome
Blog: Stop Chasing Unicorns
Book: The Corporate Startup: How Established Companies Can Develop Successful Innovation Ecosystems
Book: Innovation Accounting: A Practical Guide For Measuring Your Innovation Ecosystem's Performance
Outcome on LinkedIn
Outcome on Facebook
Outcome on Instagram
Outcome on Twitter
Dan Toma on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

The Corporate Startup: How Established Companies Can Develop Successful Innovation Ecosystems

Eat, Sleep, Innovate: How to Make Creativity an Everyday Habit Inside Your Organization

Innovation Accounting: A Practical Guide For Measuring Your Innovation Ecosystem's Performance

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Steve Rogers is the Principal Solutions Architect at Sopheon, a tech company that provides solutions to clients that want long-term revenue growth and profitability. Their products help business leaders make smarter and faster decisions for anything regarding product, business, and operations. As Principal Solutions Architect, Steve is leading Sopheon’s product innovation processes and product lifecycle management. Steve has been part of Sopheon for over 27 years.

Steve joins me to discuss how innovation can still happen in an innovation-saturated market. He shares what life was like as a young professional in Europe and why he pursued a career in innovations. He explains why he doesn’t believe in deleting emails and how companies can provide their customers with a “coffee machine” experience. Steve also describes why small companies will play a significant role in future innovations.

"Being able to find and capture knowledge in a way that is reusable is a challenge that is still with us." - Steve Rogers

This week on Innovation Talks:

Who Steve is and what life is like in Europe during winter
How Steve got started with innovations
Steve's definition of innovation
What it means to be innovative when everything has been “over-innovated”
Why Steve never deletes his emails
What it means to provide a “coffee machine” experience with a product
Getting on and off the knowledge management bandwagon
Why progress in the innovation industry will come from small companies

Connect with Steve Rogers:

Sopheon
Sopheon on LinkedIn
Steve Rogers on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Dan Adams is the Founder and President of The AIM Institute, which provides growth tools and services that cater to B2B product development needs. They also developed a free video course consisting of 50 two-minute videos to help B2B leaders drive organic growth. Dan wrote the book, New Product Blueprinting: The Handbook for B2B Organic Growth, to show B2B leaders that having a more knowledgeable customer base gives them an advantage when it comes to growth.

In part two of this series, Dan describes what people can expect when they read his latest book and how they can implement its lessons in their business seamlessly. He explains the explosion of cloud-based software and how it cut the gap for project collaborations. He discusses The AIM Institute’s Minesweeper Project De-Risking service and how it helps communicate project risks clearly to management. Dan also offers advice to leaders who want to find success in innovations.

"When you go into an unfamiliar market, you may be doing some transformational innovation." - Dan Adams

This week on Innovation Talks:

Dan's definition of market segments and innovating for them
What readers can expect from his latest book
What happens when you do blueprinting in familiar markets
What Minesweeper Project De-Risking is
Collaborations between industries and universities
How cloud-based software enables easier and smoother project collaborations
Dan's advice to people who want to be successful in innovation
What most business leaders want

Connect with Dan Adams:

The AIM Institute
Blog: Awkward Realities
Book: New Product Blueprinting: The Handbook for B2B Organic Growth
Video Course: B2B Organic Business Growth
The AIM Institute on LinkedIn
The AIM Institute on Twitter
The AIM Institute on YouTube
Dan Adams on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

New Product Blueprinting The Handbook for B2B Organic Growth

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Dan Adams is the Founder and President of The AIM Institute, a company that provides new product training workshops for large firms across five continents. Their focus is to give B2B suppliers the right tools and skills to enhance their product development and innovations teams. He is the author of the book, New Product Blueprinting, where he clarifies the fuzzy front end of B2B product development. Dan specializes in training and software product development, the voice of the customer (VOC), and organic growth.

Dan joins me today to discuss how The AIM Institute boosts organizations’ new product development and technology teams. He shares why he pursued a career in innovation, and what his book, New Product Blueprinting, is about. He explains how the pandemic enabled virtual conversations to be more engaging than a decade before. Dan also describes companies' challenges when understanding their markets from a B2B perspective.

"If you want to understand customer needs well in B2B, you can do it." - Dan Adams

This week on Innovation Talks:

Who Dan is and what New Product Blueprinting is about
How Dan got into innovation
What The AIM Institute is and the people they serve
B2B markets and understanding your customers
Why it's challenging for businesses to understand their customers
How to learn from B2B customers
The difference between technology development and product development
Shifting from being on-site to becoming entirely virtual
The best way to avoid errors of omission

Connect with Dan Adams:

The AIM Institute
Awkward Realities Blog
Book: New Product Blueprinting: The Handbook for B2B Organic Growth
The AIM Institute on LinkedIn
The AIM Institute on Twitter
The AIM Institute on YouTube
Dan Adams on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

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For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Vali Maria Bluma is the Transformation Office Lead in Operations Excellence at Evonik, one of the world’s leading specialty chemical companies. Her specialties include lean management, change management, idea management, and corporate culture—working with teams in Europe, China, and the USA. Vali Maria previously worked for Heraeus E.ON Ruhrgas and EnBW. She studied in Germany and the UK, and has a Master’s degree in Political Sciences from the University of Bremen.

Vali-Maria joins me today to discuss change management. She shares her definition of change management and highlights the emotional states people experience along the change curve. She reveals the challenges of change, including end-user communication and trust. She explains why it is vital to describe the scope, objective, and purpose of the program and leverage media. Vali-Maria also identifies future trends across diversity, management styles, and management structure.

“Change is not magic; you can make it happen. And, if I can do it, you can do it too.” - Vali-Maria Bluma

This week on Innovation Talks:

Defining change management and setting up measures to get from one state to another
Why you need to plan resources to approach and support change measures
The language that facilitates and helps people understand change
How to present a change program to stakeholders and management teams
Striving for continuous improvement and managing change impacts
Setting goals to achieve sustainability and the future of the chemicals industry
Changing your organization and driving diversity and different viewpoints

Resources Mentioned:

Podcast: Realm of Sustainability
Podcast: Sustainable Innovation Through Green Chemistry

Connect with Vali-Maria Bluma:

Evonik
Vali-Maria Bluma on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

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For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Katherine Radeka is the Founder and Executive Director of the Rapid Learning Cycles Institute, helping Rapid Learning Cycles Certified Professionals use the framework to get their ideas to market faster. She is a professional keynote speaker and the author of High-Velocity Innovation: How to Get Your Best Ideas to Market Faster. She has worked with companies across the globe operating in industries such as aerospace, consumer electronics, alternative energy, and pharmaceuticals.

Kathy Iberle is the Owner and Principal Consultant of Iberle Consulting Group, providing advice, workshops, assessments, and training to solve process problems to develop products faster. For more than twenty years, Kathy has used Agile and Lean methods with The Hewlett-Packard Company, later moving on to her own clients. She is a Rapid Learning Cycles Certified Advisor with a Master of Science degree in Computer Science and Physical Chemistry from the University of Washington and a Master of Science degree in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Michigan.

Katherine and Kathy join me today to discuss when Agile gets physical. Katherine shares how the fundamental principles of Agile can be used to deliver physical products. Kathy distinguishes between software and hardware development and reveals the challenges of scaling up physical products. We discuss how Rapid Learning Cycles and the Integration Train can be leveraged to create a bridge between software and hardware development. Kathy also explores the significant scalability challenges for taking great ideas from the lab to achieve a net-zero world.

“The cost of change is a lot higher, so simply making the thing and trialing it isn’t nearly as practical. So we need to figure out ways to get equivalent results without having to build the whole thing.” - Katherine Radeka

This week on Innovation Talks:

The fundamental principles that underlie Agile and how to use them to deliver a physical product
The differences between scaling up software and physical hardware
Why Agile is compelling and the assumptions of what happens in development
What makes software and hardware Agile work, including Rapid Learning Cycles and the Integration Train
Who should read and use the upcoming When Agile Gets Physical book
Improving your process and overcoming unique hardware development challenges

Resources Mentioned:

Accelerate Net Zero
Climate Action: Sustainable Innovation Forum
Podcast: Realm of Sustainability with Jeffrey Whitford

Connect with Katherine Radeka:

Rapid Learning Cycles Institute
Blog: High Velocity Innovation
Book: High Velocity Innovation: How to Get Your Best Ideas to Market Faster
Katherine Radeka on Instagram
Katherine Radeka on Twitter
Katherine Radeka on LinkedIn

Connect with Kathy Iberle:

Iberle Consulting Group
Kathy Iberle on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

High Velocity Innovation: How to Get Your Best Ideas to Market Faster

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Esther Gons is the CEO and Co-founder of GroundControl, the reporting tool and software platform for disruptive corporate innovation. She is the co-author of The Corporate Startup and Innovation Accounting and the winner of the 2019 Golden Axiom Business Book Award as well as the 2018 Management Book of the Year Award. Esther is the CEO and Co-founder of NEXT Amsterdam, the Founder and Managing Partner of NEXT Startup Ventures, and an investor at European Super Angels Club. She is also an international speaker on corporate innovation, entrepreneurship, innovation accounting, customer development, business models, and lean methodology.

Esther joins me today to discuss corporate startups. She highlights the topics covered in her playbook, The Corporate Startup. She reveals challenges and threats that corporations face and what it takes to innovate for the future. She discusses the dilemma of moving individuals in redundant positions across to the innovation team to prevent employee turnover. Esther defines innovation, startups, corporate venturing, and entrepreneurship.

“You need a strategy and a vision that’s connected to your core and core innovation strategy to pull innovation off successfully.” - Esther Gons

This week on Innovation Talks:

What is driving companies to do corporate venturing
The challenges, threats, and opportunities for corporations
How to pull innovation off successfully by focusing on opportunities in the near future
The surge versus execute business model and methodology
Why it’s important to connect your resources to internal startups to overcome external threats
The kinds of people necessary for your innovation team and where to source them
Esther’s definitions of innovation, startups, corporate venturing, and entrepreneurship.

Resources Mentioned:

Podcast: Necessity for Innovation Accounting

Connect with Esther Gons:

GroundControl
NEXT Amsterdam
Book: The Corporate Startup: How Established Companies Can Develop Successful Innovation Ecosystems by Esther Gons, Tendayi Viki, and Dan Toma
Book: Innovation Accounting: A Practical Guide For Measuring Your Innovation Ecosystem's Performance by Esther Gons and Dan Toma
Esther Gons on LinkedIn
Esther Gons on Twitter

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Dr. Ralph-Christian Ohr is a corporate innovation expert and the Founder and Managing Partner at Dual Innovation, a company specializing in modern innovation and management approaches to future-proof modern companies. He is the co-author of Scaling-Up Corporate Startups and is among the Top 10 Innovation Bloggers of 2017. Previously, Ralph-Christian was an associate partner at innovation-3. He also has a Doctoral degree in Physics from the University of Mainz.

Ralph-Christian joins me today to discuss dual innovation. He shares the challenges companies face in innovation as they transition from an exploration state to an exploitative environment. He highlights the mechanisms that need to be in place to scale up, including leadership support, governance, metrics, and end-to-end thinking. Ralph-Christian provides examples of companies that have turned innovation concepts into business impact. He also examines the timing of innovation, balancing urgency, and staying adaptable.

“Companies need to stay adaptable, be aware that they have to renew themselves from time-to-time, and they need to stay flexible.” - Ralph-Christian Ohr

This week on Innovation Talks:

How Ralph-Christian got into innovation in a corporate setting
The common challenges for companies exploiting existing business operations and exploring with innovation
Transitioning between “explore” and “exploit” environments
Why scaling is the most challenging part in becoming ambidextrous and the need for leadership support
The dips that come with renewing yourself as a business continuously
Examples of companies that have adopted and almost perfected dual innovation
How innovation leads to new business models and innovation itself is becoming a business model

Resources Mentioned:

Book: Lead and Disrupt: How to Solve the Innovator's Dilemma, Second Edition by Charles O’Reilly III and Michael Tushman

Connect with Ralph-Christian Ohr:

Dual Innovation
Blog: Integrative Innovation
Book Amazon.de: Scaling-Up Corporate Startups: Turn Innovation Concepts into Business Impact
Book Amazon.com: Scaling-Up Corporate Startups: Turn Innovation Concepts into Business Impact
Ralph-Christian Ohr on Twitter
Ralph-Christian Ohr on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

Lead and Disrupt: How to Solve the Innovator's Dilemma, Second Edition

Scaling-Up Corporate Startups: Turn innovation concepts into business impact

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When we talk about systems, we are discussing a process and the software application that enables it. There are a glut of reasons why having an effective system is beneficial. Primarily, it has been proven many times that a good system leads to better execution and innovation. Also, with software, there is reduced admin, making it easier to work in that process and automate portfolios, collaborate, cooperate, report, dashboard, and analyze with a single source of truth.

In today’s episode, I discuss the need for good innovation management systems. I highlight America’s problem with high turnover rates and share examples of this in innovation as well as the implications for companies and their projects. I offer reasons for reviewing your systems, processes, and framework. I also discuss how this will allow you to pass on knowledge during the current high turnover environment and bring on board new team members.

“We need to make sure that our systems are going to cater to the changing workforce.” - Paul Heller

This week on Innovation Talks:

What is driving the turnover problem in America and the effects on innovation, company knowledge, and their projects
The importance of making sure knowledge is captured, organized, and accessible
When to review your governance systems and decision-making framework
Bringing new hires on board and bringing them up to speed with a sound innovation management system
When the trend of high staff turnover will come to an end

Resources Mentioned:

Washington Post: A record 4.4 million Americans quit their jobs in September as labor market tumult continued

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

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For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Last year was an excellent year for Innovation Talks. We launched the podcast to discuss topics around innovation, providing value to you, our listeners. We brought in guests and experts—including practitioners, academics, thought leaders, authors, and a few experts from within Sopheon—to share insights regarding a gradient of topics: the innovation process, governance, portfolio management, decision-making, innovation workers, culture, and the role of technology. We hope you have found the episodes educational and enjoyable.

In today’s episode, I reflect on ten innovation themes from 2021. These include was governance, process, and portfolio—covering Agile, Stage-Gate, Scrum, Scaled Ads of Framework, and Lean. We also discuss the challenges of family-owned businesses, innovation ecosystems, start-up thinking, and disruptive and radical innovation. I highlight the guests who explored topics including sustainability, technology, ways of working, ways of thinking, and product management. I also share what we should expect in innovation in 2022 and the challenges ahead.

“Nobody is doing innovation alone anymore; you are doing it with others.” - Paul Heller

This week on Innovation Talks:

The guests who delivered insights into governance, process, and portfolio
The unique challenges of family-owned businesses
Innovation ecosystems including universities, partners, suppliers, customers, and other companies
The episodes that delved into start-up thinking and disruptive and radical innovation
Three guests who discussed sustainability
The discussions we had around technology, particularly in regards to managing your process and aligning your people and technology in products
How ways of working and thinking are changing
What we have learned about product management
Innovations in the automotive industry, aerospace and defense, and chemicals
The challenges and expectations for innovation in 2022

Resources Mentioned:

Podcast archive: Innovation Talks
Book: RE:Think Innovation by Carla Johnson

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Steve Johnson is a speaker and product coach consulting on modern methods that move ideas to market. He is the author of Turn Ideas Into Product and has served as an advisor and executive for technical organizations and industry associates. He is a former instructor and vice president at Pragmatic Marketing and a co-creator of QuartzOpen Framework. He is also a founding partner of the Product Growth Leaders community. Steve has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Computer Science from Hallam College of Business at the University of Tennessee.

Steve joins me today to discuss the process of product management. He shares why leaders need to understand the differences between the roles of product managers and product owners. Steve shares his definition of product management and discusses the importance of a systematic approach. He reveals where companies should begin with their product process and why it is imperative to start with personas. He shares how to problem solve using design, as well as the issues businesses experience when product managers play the role of designer or developer.

“The goal of design is not beauty, but when you are done with the design, if it’s not beautiful, you have made a mistake.” - Steve Johnson

This week on Innovation Talks:

How changing the role of product managers to product owners can cause problems
Why you should only focus on ten or fewer of the 37 boxes of the pragmatic framework
Finding your best practice and implementing product ops to create consistency and standardization
How Steve’s “No Chaos Product Process” works and the differences between Waterfall and Agile product development
The role of documentation in product management and why there should be a more significant focus on communication
Why achieving superior product management involves loving the problem more than the product
How many product managers are performing the roles of designers and developers and the problem this creates when building a business

Resources Mentioned:

Book: Turn Ideas Into Product by Steve Johnson

Connect with Steve Johnson:

Under10 Consulting
Under10 Consulting on Facebook
Steve Johnson on LinkedIn
Steve Johnson on Twitter
NotExactlySteve.com

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

Turn Ideas into Products: A Playbook for Defining and Delivering Technology Products

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Stage-Gate® is a risk management methodology that allows you to bring winning products to market. There are several concepts of stages and gates, and gates are where the decision is made to continue the work and enter the next stage. Gates fund the development work or activities to be done in the next stage. Gatekeepers—the people who are active in those gates, evaluating the products and deciding if the company should continue investing and making go/no-go decisions—look at things called deliverables. The deliverables are usually documents that gatekeepers review to better understand the product and its likelihood of success. The governance framework sits on top of all this and defines what the process is, what the gates are, who the gatekeepers are, and the decisions that need to be made.

In today’s episode, I discuss four concepts of the zero-based approach to Stage-Gate®. I dissect the core deliverables identified by Dr. Robert Cooper and identify when companies need more deliverables than those described. I highlight how a high number of deliverables and activities in the gates slow down processes in consumer packaged goods and how this drives the need for agility in the product process. I share how a zero-based approach to Stage-Gate® empowers product teams and how the governance framework changes to advise product teams. I also divulge how a zero-based approach to Stage-Gate® focuses on relevant work without overcomplicating the process.

“You start from a core minimal set of deliverables. The software brings in that core set, and then the product team will add additional deliverables as they go along.” - Paul Heller

This week on Innovation Talks:

Four core concepts of Stage-Gate®: gates, gatekeepers, deliverables, and governance framework
Robert Cooper’s core set of deliverables and scorecards
When companies need more deliverables and tracking key activities that product teams will undertake
Additional deliverables that will help prepare the final gate deliverables
How the number of deliverables and activities is slowing down the process and causing complications in consumer packaged goods
How to empower your products teams and starting with a zero-based approach to Stage-Gate®
How a zero-based approach to Stage-Gate® shifts the role of the governance framework
The minimal viable process framework versus a mandated list of deliverables
Putting the power and control in the hands of innovation teams and ensuring best practices and standards

Resources Mentioned:

Podcast: Stage-Gate® Methodology Basics
E-book: Define Your Own NPD Process with A Zero-Based Approach to Stage-Gate®

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

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For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here

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Peter Fürst is a managing partner for Five i’s Innovation Consulting and Qualify Your Innovation with more than 20 years of experience in idea generation, new product development and innovation, Agile Stage-Gate, and project selection for market success. Peter has over 10 years of experience in innovation consulting and education as a lecturer in Innovation Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Vorarlberg. He was previously a consultant with Simma & Partner Consulting and is currently a volunteer coach at Kids OpenLab. Peter studied Business and Managerial Economics at the University of Innsbruck.

Peter joins me today to discuss various innovation topics. He reveals the five i's of innovation as well as their applications in the business world. He highlights how innovation has changed over the past 15 to 20 years and explains why many companies have lost the gating part of the Stage-Gate process. Peter shares when Agile and Stage-Gate are appropriate and why Waterfall is not Stage-Gate. He identifies the most significant risks to projects. Peter also argues why choosing a methodology or system is less important than doing them right and following the rules.

"Do not spread your resources and energies on too many things. Focus on the best things, get them through your system fast, and get to market fast." - Peter Fürst

This week on Innovation Talks:

The five i’s of innovation: innovation systems, innovation projects, ideation, innovation strategy, and innovation culture
How the Stage-Gate process has evolved over the last 15 years
Why the structure and risk management system with gating and portfolio management are needed to decide which project to stop or do
The strengths of Agile and when it is not the correct project management method
How to leverage the Spiral Model during development and the role of education in project launch
The risks to projects that do not have enough focus on resources

Resources Mentioned:

Book: Winning at New Products: Creating Value Through Innovation by Robert Cooper

Connect with Peter Fürst:

Five i’s Innovation Consulting
Qualify Your Innovation
Peter Fürst on LinkedIn
Peter Fürst on Twitter

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

Winning at New Products: Creating Value Through Innovation

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Noel Sobelman is the Principal at Change Logic, where he works with corporate leadership to accelerate new growth business and core business vitality. Noel has led venture programs that received national accolades, including PR Week’s Best High Tech Consumer Launch, PC Magazine’s Editors’ Choice, USA Today/Rochester Institute of Technology’s Quality Cup, and CNET’s Best of CES awards. With a career spanning 25 years, Noel was the Managing Director at Kalypso, Segment Director at Kyocera Wireless Corporation, and Director of Worldwide Marketing and Business Development at Mobility Electronics. Noel has a Master of Business Administration degree in Innovation and Technology Management from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Arizona University.

Noel joins me today to discuss ambidexterity: the concept of having to simultaneously manage your core business and your exploratory business. He outlines how leadership should tackle processes and resource balancing for short and long-term opportunities with low and high risk. He reveals why it is vital to create new behaviors and a pull for change from the top-down and the bottom-up. Noel also shares why PPM systems are necessary enablers for allowing ambidexterity and facilitating future growth.

"The companies that can figure this out and effectively manage both sides of this equation without trading off for the other are going to set themselves up for success in the future." - Noel Sobelman

This week on Innovation Talks:

The dangers of focusing only on optimizing the core business in the current environment with a heightened pace of change
How transformative innovation differs from core innovation and managing your business when it is in a transformative state
The challenge of balancing and allocating resources to short and long-term opportunities
The pros and cons of creating a spin-off versus business integration
Examples of businesses that are capitalizing well on new sources of growth
Why it is vital to confront tensions, introduce new behaviors, and build capabilities top-down and bottom-up
The benefits of using a PPM system to ensure you execute your growth and innovation strategies

Resources Mentioned:

Podcast: A deeper dive into Portfolio Management with Noel Sobelman
Podcast: Evidence-Based Innovation Portfolio Management
Book: Lead and Disrupt: How to Solve the Innovator's Dilemma, Second Edition by Charles O’Reilly and Michael Tushman

Connect with Noel Sobelman:

Change Logic
Change Logic on LinkedIn
Change Logic on Twitter
Noel Sobelman on LinkedIn
Email: noel.sobelman@changelogic.com

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Jeffrey Whitford is the Head of Sustainability, Social Business Innovation, and Life Science Branding at MilliporeSigma. During his 17 years with Sigma-Aldrich and MilliporeSigma, Jeffrey has developed compelling platforms that drive corporate social responsibility. His previous roles include Head of Global Corporate Responsibility for Millipore Sigma and Director of Global Citizenship for Sigma-Aldrich. He has a Master of Business Administration degree in Marketing from Washington University in St. Louis Olin Business School and a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Advertising from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is currently a board member with My Green Lab, a non-profit focusing on improving the sustainability of scientific research.

Jeffrey joins me today to discuss the realm of sustainability. He shares how companies can drive sustainability through energy efficiency, renewables, product design, materials, and packaging. He highlights the importance of investing in non-profit organizations and having access to high-quality education. Jeffrey divulges the processes of leveraging data and using the DOZN Tool to utilize the 12 principles of green chemistry. He explains why it is vital to take a circular approach to waste and recycling. Jeffrey also underscores the social side of sustainability and the need for longer perspectives of the total cost of ownership when making decisions.

“We need to drive sustainability both on the environmental and social side.” - Jeffrey Whitford

This week on Innovation Talks:

Scaling and globalizing while driving sustainability and investing in communities
The need to provide people with clear operating frameworks and use sustainability as a lens of the work they do
Leveraging data to make the 12 principles of green chemistry practical
Exploring the DOZN Tool
The challenges in quantifying and measuring green principles
Why scientists need more tools with a smaller footprint to solve the paradigm of scientific research
The role of economics in tackling the issues with waste and finding better ways to use materials after recycling
The challenges of working with imperfect data and data gathering for second, third, and fourth-tier supply chain components

Resources Mentioned:

Podcast: Sustainable Innovation Through Green Chemistry
DOZN Tool

Connect with Jeffrey Whitford:

MilliporeSigma
MilliporeSigma on LinkedIn
MilliporeSigma on Instagram
MilliporeSigma on Facebook
MilliporeSigma on Twitter
Jeffrey Whitford on LinkedIn
Jeffrey Whitford in Twitter

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Mike Bauer is Sopheon’s Chief Product Officer, responsible for Sopheon’s product vision and roadmap, overseeing product marketing, user experience, and product management. He has more than 30 years of experience building and leading cross-functional teams and organizations to bring new products and companies to market. He has worked across industries focusing on enterprise software, data communications, connected products/IoT, sensor analytics, marketing automation, Big Data, IT, and embedded systems. He has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from Ohio State University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School.

Mike joins me today to discuss Enterprise Innovation Management(EIM) and Project Portfolio Management (PPM). He shares insights from relearning product innovation and lifecycle management, including core roles that exist regardless of the product. Mike explores aspirational roles and decision-making across portfolio, project, product, strategy, and ideation. He defines EIM and PPM, revealing their differences and similarities. Mike also offers career advice for people looking to enter product management and highlights where he thinks the professionals will be in five years.

“The notion of product management is becoming a much more specific term.” - Mike Bauer

This week on Innovation Talks:

How Mike got into innovation and product management with Hewlett-Packard
Using the “jobs-to-be-done” framework and taking a step back to relearn product innovation and lifecycle management
The core innovation and product jobs: aspiration, product portfolio management, project and resource management, and idea management
Informed stakeholder and decision making roles across strategy, portfolio, products, projects, and ideas
Defining Enterprise Innovation Management and Project Portfolio Management
How product management is becoming a professional career
Mike’s career advice for people entering product and project management
Where project management will be in five years and unlocking the different ways to go to market

Resources Mentioned:

innov8rs conference: EIM Versus PPM: Aren’t They on The Same Team?

Connect with Mike Bauer:

Sopheon
Mike Bauer on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Kathy Iberle is the Owner and Principal Consultant of Iberle Consulting Group—providing advice, workshops, assessments, and training on solving process problems for faster product development. Kathy previously worked for Pacific Northwest Software Quality Conference and was a Software and Solution Quality Architect at HP. She has a Master’s degree in Computer Science and Chemistry (Physical) from the University of Washington and a Master’s degree in Chemistry (Inorganic) from the University of Michigan. Kathy is also a Rapid Learning Cycles Certified Advisor.

Kathy joins me today to discuss agility in innovation. She shares how Agile came about and the advantages of taking a feature-by-feature approach to innovation and testing. Kathy reveals how to take Agile and successfully use it in hybrid software/hardware projects. She explains how the global complexities of the supply change and Covid shutdowns hamper product development and production. Kathy also describes how reducing task-switching returns time to teams and how the Flipped Classroom speeds up education on methodologies such as Rapid Learning Cycles.

“A cross-functional team is great when you can get it, but sometimes you need specialists.” - Kathy Iberle

This week on Innovation Talks:

The evolution of Agile in innovation and software development and advantages of a staged feature-by-feature approach
The higher cost of change in hardware innovation
The common mistakes made when using Agile methods
Details of Kathy’s upcoming book, When Agile Gets Physical, and how to use Agile for mixed hardware/software projects
How to break down friction between hardware and software teams by raising awareness and leveraging Rapid Learning Cycles and Integration Train Methods
How knowledge and task-switching within dedicated teams delay progress and create a negative effect
How Flipped Classrooms are coming into their own with increased IT competencies

Resources Mentioned:

Book: The Principles of Product Development Flow: Second Generation Lean Product Development by Donald Reinertsen
Rapid Learning Cycles Institute

Connect with Kathy Iberle:

Iberle Consulting Group
Kathy Iberle on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

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For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

The Principles of Product Development Flow: Second Generation Lean Product Development

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Katherine Radeka is the Founder and Executive Director of the Rapid Learning Cycles Institute, which helps teams expedite the process of getting their ideas to market. Katherine is the author of three books: The Mastery of Innovation, The Shortest Distance Between You and Your New Product, and High Velocity Innovation. She is also the Founder of Accelerate Net Zero, the President of Whittier Consulting Group, and a 2021 Fast Company Executive Board Member.

Katherine joins me today to discuss rapid learning cycles. She explains why innovation programs often create disappointing results and identifies when decision-making should occur during the innovation process. She describes how rapid learning cycles leverage agile and lean principles for physical product decision-making. Katherine also offers advice on getting started with rapid learning cycles and divulges the details of her upcoming book, When Agile Gets Physical.

“Look for high-impact, high-end, known decisions. Look for decisions that you know are going to be difficult to change.” - Katherine Radeka

This week on Innovation Talks:

Why most innovation programs take too long, cost too much, and deliver disappointing results
Changing the order of when high-impact, unknown decisions are made during the innovation process to avoid looping back
How rapid learning cycles are an adaptation of agile and lean principles for physical product development
The challenges of hardware and software teams working together
How supply chain disruption is affecting decision making
How to choose agile resources for the hardware development process

Connect with Katherine Radeka:

Katherine Radeka Website
Book: High Velocity Innovation: How to Get Your Best Ideas to Market Faster
Book: The Shortest Distance Between You and Your New Product: How Innovators Use Rapid Learning Cycles to Get Their Best Ideas to Market Faster
High Velocity Innovation
Rapid Learning Cycles Institute
Accelerate Net Zero
Katherine Radeka on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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John Mansour is a thought leader, product management and product marketing trainer, and coach. He is the Founder and Managing Partner of Proficientz, where he brings 25 years of experience in sales, communication, marketing, and technology product management. He was formerly the VP of Product Management and Product Marketing at SyteCentre and Geac and the Chairman of The Technology Association of Georgia's Product Management Society. John has a Bachelor of Science degree in Operations Management from The Ohio State University.

John joins me today to discuss product-led growth. He describes the product-led growth business model and explains how it is more straightforward for businesses starting from the ground-up. He reveals the implications of product-led growth from a product management standpoint. John divulges the process of gathering and implementing requirements and underscores how support services need to become personal as individual customers reach critical mass. John also highlights how companies selling hybrid physical/digital products can leverage the product-led growth model and generate a recurring revenue stream.

“Don’t recreate what you have on a new platform. Rethink how your customers are doing business.” - John Mansour

This week on Innovation Talks:

The product-led growth business model and how it will affect B2B software as a service space
Why the product-led growth model is easier for new businesses to adopt
What does and does not change when product managers transition to the product-led growth business model
Why self-serve free-trial products need to sell themselves
How companies with a SaaS model should approach moving to a product-led growth model
How the product-led growth model can be applied for companies selling physical products with a digital element

Resources Mentioned:

Podcast: Innovation is a Result Not a Process

Connect with John Mansour:

Proficientz
John Mansour on LinkedIn
John Mansour on Twitter

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Dr. Nadine Kammerlander is a Professor of Business at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, one of the leading business schools in the world. She was previously a Consultant at Mckinsey & Company and Assistant Professor at the Center of Family Business at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. She has a master’s degree in Physics from the Technical University of Munich and a Ph.D. in management from the Otto-Friedrich-University of Bamberg. Nadine is the Associate Editor of the Family Business Review and has received international recognition for her research.

Nadine joins me today to discuss enabling the next generation to innovate family businesses. She reveals why family businesses experience different innovation dilemmas from corporations and the emotional hurdles in play. Nadine shares where family firms find funding for new ventures and innovation and discloses why perspectives have changed significantly in the last few years. She explains why not giving up control restricts the adoption of new technologies and why family businesses tend to introduce sustainable practices naturally. Nadine also shares why it is vital to enable digitization by bringing training to family firms.

“What is important now is that we continue to teach family businesses and to bring knowledge into the family business.” - Dr. Nadine Kammerlander

This week on Innovation Talks:

Why the hurdles of radical innovation differ between corporates and family-run businesses
How the majority of worldwide firms are family businesses or have family influence
The specific hurdles for family manager owners
Where family-run companies can find funding for innovation and new start-ups
Why there has been a rapid change in outlook and perspective over the past two years
Why family business managers will need to give up control to adopt new technologies such as AI applications
Why next gens are less likely to continue the succession trend and what this means for family companies
What Nadine is working on now

Resources Mentioned:

Book: Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail by Clayton Christensen
Harvard Business review: Family Firms Are More Innovative Than Other Companies

Connect with Dr. Nadine Kammerlander:

WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management
WHU on LinkedIn
Nadine Kammerlander on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail (Management of Innovation and Change)

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Noel Sobelman is the Principal Innovation Practice Leader at Change Logic. He has worked in portfolio management, growth strategy, innovation capability building, ecosystem development, digital enablement, and organizational design for more than 25 years. Noel has held senior-level corporate roles and has received recognition through PC Magazine’s Editors’ Choice, USA Today/Rochester Institute of Technology’s Quality Cup, CNET’s ‘Best of CES’ awards, and PR Week’s ‘Best High Tech Consumer Launch.’ He has a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Virginia’s Darden School and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Arizona.

Noel joins me today to discuss evidence-based innovation portfolio management. He shares why it is vital to have facts in the form of what customers think and how these validate assumptions and have more impact the further away they are from the core. He shares various methodologies for testing hypotheses and the viability of potential products and solutions. Noel also explores the human side of behavioral change, the different methods of making decisions, and the advantages of getting leadership out there running an experimentation loop.

“Innovation is really a continuum from your core business where you’re working in fairly known markets with known technologies and products.” - Noel Sobelman

This week on Innovation Talks:

Why evidence-based innovation in portfolio management is necessary whenever there is uncertainty in numbers
Running experiments to test behavioral change when a product is put in front of customers
Determining early on what must be true to make a business model/case viable
Different types of validation evidence throughout development stages
Making better decisions by using leading indicators in conversation
Working together and approaches for bringing cross-functional software and hardware teams together

Connect with Noel Sobelman:

Change Logic
Change Logic on Twitter
Noel Sobelman on LinkedIn
Paper: “Evidence-Based Innovation Portfolio Management”

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Carla Johnson is a marketing and innovation strategist, author of ten books, and keynote speaker. She has partnered with leaders and Fortune 500 brands to train thousands of people to rethink the work they do and make an impact. Carla’s goal is to teach one million people how to become innovative thinkers by 2025. She is the Leap Advisor at Demand Spring and was previously the Programme Director of Digital Marketing at HARBOUR.SPACE. Carla has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and is a graduate of the Influence / ICAN Leadership Institute.

Carla joins me today to discuss creating consistent innovation through new, impactful, and reliable ideas. She defines innovation, and outlines where to find it as well as how to reignite it alongside creativity. Carla shares her five-step “Perpetual Innovation Process” and reveals the things that block innovation, such as the complexity bias. She talks about recognizing those with the courage to pitch new ideas and how to give feedback. Carla highlights the six different personality types that contribute to innovative teams and how they bring ideas to the table.

“In order to get fantastic ideas that have an extraordinary impact and outcome, you have to slow down and observe the world around you.” - Carla Johnson

This week on Innovation Talks:

Carla’s definition of innovation
Drawing inspiration for innovation by looking outside your industry and what it takes to be successful
What perpetual innovators are, learning to be one, and waking up your innovative muscles
Carla’s five-step “Perpetual Innovation Process”
Inspiring a team to create ideas and the two vital parts of giving feedback
The six different archetypes of innovative teams: strategist, collaborator, culture shaper, psychologist, orchestrator, and provocateur

Connect with Carla Johnson:

Carla Johnson’s website
Book: RE:Think Innovation by Carla Johnson
Carla Johnson on LinkedIn
Carla Johnson on Instagram
Carla Johnson on Facebook
Carla Johnson on Twitter

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

RE:Think Innovation: How the World's Most Prolific Innovators Come Up with Great Ideas that Deliver Extraordinary Outcomes

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John Mansour is a Product Management and Product Marketing Trainer, Coach, and Thought Leader. He is the Founder and Managing Partner at Proficientz and has more than 25 years of practical experience in marketing communications, sales, and technology product management, working in start-ups to Fortune 1000 companies. He has held senior management roles in healthcare, software, retail, hospitality, and distribution companies. John was the Chairman of the Technology Association of Georgia’s Product Management Society from 2006 to 2010. He has a Bachelors of Science degree in Operations Management from The Ohio State University.

John joins me today to share how innovation is a result, not a process. He reveals how his company helps technology companies focus on customer outcomes through product management and marketing. John highlights why investing time to understand your customers as well as your products is preferable over simply running a process to find innovation. He shares how the shift from Waterfall to Agile development strategies has helped product managers. John also reveals the challenges design engineers face, such as not having context and a perspective when building products.

“Innovation is a result of understanding your customers better than everybody else.” - John Mansour

This week on Innovation Talks:

How Proficientz helps B2B companies—primarily in the technology space—with delivering products that have more quantifiable value to the customer
How product management relates to innovation and why the business approach should consider what customers are trying to do, why it’s important to them, and why they can’t get there
Why innovation is a result of understanding your customers better than anyone else—including themselves
How to structure front-end conversations with potential customers and define the success customers will get with your solution before you build them
The differences between the product manager and product owner roles and why they should not be combined into one role
What will drive companies in the B2B space to become more customer-focused

Connect with John Mansour:

Proficientz
John Mansour on LinkedIn
John Mansour on Twitter

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Amy Cannon is the Executive Director, Co-Founder, and Green Chemistry Education Advocate at Beyond Benign, a company providing educators with tools, training, and support. Amy also has experience as a research scientist, consultant, analytical scientist, professor, and non-profit organization leader. She has the world’s first Ph.D. In Green Chemistry from the University of Massachusetts Boston and a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from Saint Anselm College.

Amy joins me today to discuss sustainable innovation through green chemistry. She shares why green chemistry is essential as well as how she sees a rising demand from industry and consumers. Amy highlights the principles of green chemistry, the central role for chemists in solving significant challenges, and the process considerations such as waste and energy consumption. She dissects the need to build green chemistry into the educational systems for chemists, biologists, and scientists in addition to the essential role of peer-to-peer communities and social networks in supporting change.

“In my mind, all of a sudden, chemistry was now the solution; it wasn’t the problem.” - Amy Cannon

This week on Innovation Talks:

The importance of green chemistry and its increasing demand from consumers
The twelve principles of green chemistry and how chemists can reduce waste and hazards while addressing issues such as global warming
Looking beyond the chemical and considering the process
The importance of building green chemistry into the educational systems of future scientists
Green chemistry training for K-12 and current industry professionals
The essential role of social networks and peer-to-peer support for implementing change
The open-access and free of charge resources and materials available for educators at Beyond Benign

Resources Mentioned:

Consumer Goods Trends: Environmental Sustainability
Green Chemistry Commitment
Take Action for the Sustainable Development Goals
UNEP
Podcast: Innovation Centers: Merging Corporate and Higher Ed Needs

Connect with Amy Cannon:

Beyond Benign
Beyond Benign on Facebook
Beyond Benign on Twitter
Beyond Benign on Instagram
Amy Cannon on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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HC Eppich is the Business Development Director for Sopheon. He speaks to businesses across various industries, guiding them toward more significant revenues with a future-proofed portfolio. Previously, HC was a Senior Account Executive and Team Lead for Planview, the CEO of Beratung für erfolgreiches Scheitern, and the Senior Account Executive and Chairman of Manufacturing Solutions for Cordys Deutschland AG. HC has an Engineering degree in Computer Science and Information Technology.

HC joins me today to discuss the circular economy in the chemical industry. He shares what a circular economy is and the advantages for companies that adopt a sustainability and waste elimination mindset. He outlines why companies need to focus on building complete eco-systems to create whole circular economies. He discusses current recycling challenges, including recycling plastics and batteries. He shares why companies need to rethink and level out their focus across people, profit, and the planet. HC also discusses the methodology and strategic shift that needs to happen at the boardroom level to create and execute circular economies.

“Circular economy is focusing not only on sustainability, but also on reproducing or reusing stuff and receding waste.” - HC Eppich

This week on Innovation Talks:

What a circular economy is, how it came about, and why companies need to focus on sustainability and reducing waste
Why businesses need to broaden their views and assess the ‘green’ behaviors of their supply chain
Building new eco-systems to achieve a circular economy
The challenges of recycling within the battery sector and the possibilities and revenue opportunities for those who develop battery recycling technologies
Operationalizing portfolio management and evening out priorities across profit, people, and the plant
The government funding available for companies looking to improve their sustainability through innovation

Resources Mentioned:

Podcast: A deeper dive into Portfolio Management with Noel Sobelman
European Union: Circular Economy Action Plan
PDMA

Connect with HC Eppich:

Sopheon
HC Eppich on LinkedIn
HC Eppich on Twitter

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Sean Ammirati is a distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University - Tepper School of Business. But teaching is only one of the many hats Sean wears in his professional career. He is the Co-Founder and Director of the Carnegie Mellon Corporate Startup Lab, sits on the Board of a venture capitalist investment fund, and delivers keynotes and workshops for startups and global brands. Sean is also a published author, having published his first book: The Science of Growth: How Facebook Beat Friendster - and How Nine Other Startups Left the Rest in the Dust in April 2016 which explains why some innovative ideas scale to change the world while others remain as just a good idea. Sean earned his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems from Grove City College and completed his research fellowship at Carnegie Mellon University in Computer Science & Organizational Behavior.

Sean joins me today to discuss the importance of encouraging and embracing the entrepreneurial culture and thinking within your organization. We discuss the differences between entrepreneurs and startups, the different types of entrepreneurial ventures, and why startup entrepreneurship is truly the only type that moves the needle for large corporations. We discuss the differences between how raising venture capital works compared to raising funds for corporate entrepreneurship projects. We also highlight the importance of creating high-quality pitch decks, how Carnegie Mellon’s Corporate Startup Lab helps large organizations embrace entrepreneurship within their organizations, and the industries that are most ripe for transformational innovation.

“There are a lot of problems that the world needs solved. Think about the ways you can be part of that solution by helping your company be more entrepreneurial.” - Sean Ammirati

This week on Innovation Talks:

What prompted Sean to write his book, The Science of Growth
The definition of product market fit
How to maintain the spirit of a startup as a large corporate company
The difference between entrepreneurship and startups
Why startup entrepreneurship is the only type that moves the needle for large corporations
Sean’s concerns with entrepreneurship education today
Creating transformational change within your organization from the bottom up
The difference between how venture capitalism and funding for corporate entrepreneurship work
Why it’s crucial to create amazing pitch decks
How Carnegie Mellon’s Corporate Startup Lab engages with organizations and how they help large companies embrace entrepreneurship within their organizations
Industries that are most ripe for transformational innovation

Connect with Sean Ammirati:

Sean Ammirati’s Website
Carnegie Mellon Corporate Startup Lab
Podcast: Agile Giants
Book: The Science of Growth: How Facebook Beat Friendster - and How Nine Other Startups Left the Rest in the Dust
Sean Ammirati on LinkedIn
Sean Ammirati on Twitter

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

The Science of Growth: How Facebook Beat Friendster--and How Nine Other Startups Left the Rest in the Dust

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Esther Gons is the Founder and CEO of GroundControl. She is an entrepreneur, mentor, international speaker, and the author of The Corporate Startup: How Established Companies Can Develop Successful Innovation Ecosystems and Innovation Accounting: A Practical Guide For Measuring Your Innovation Ecosystem's Performance. Esther is a 2019 Golden Axiom Business Book Award recipient.

Esther joins me today to discuss the necessity for innovation accounting. She highlights the different types of innovation and how to align them within your business and goals. She shares the definition of innovation accounting and discusses how this applies to startups. Esther shares how validated learning and innovation accounting tell the journey of your funnel and surge toward new business models. She reveals useful non-financial metrics and how these will play a more vital role in the future. Esther also shares her advice for CEOs who want innovation—shortening lines, reducing layers, and determining which innovation model to use—to happen in their company.

“Innovation accounting is real-time metrics on a team basis, so the teams understand what they are doing.” - Esther Gons

This week on Innovation Talks:

The two types of innovation, their purposes, and how to integrate them into your ecosystem
Why failures are crucial learning opportunities
What innovation accounting means and why data-driven learning is vital for teams in startups
How innovation accounting can be leveraged in larger corporate companies
How to validate learning, identify relevant metrics, and determine if your strategy is working
Using non-financial metrics in disruptive innovation and how they help transform a company

Connect with Esther Gons:

GroundControl
Book: The Corporate Startup: How Established Companies Can Develop Successful Innovation Ecosystems by Esther Gons
Book: Innovation Accounting: A Practical Guide For Measuring Your Innovation Ecosystem's Performance by Esther Gons
Esther Gons on LinkedIn
Esther Gons on Twitter

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Dr. Ketaki Desai is the Vice President of Business Development at the Ontario Centre of Innovation. Before moving to Ontario, she was the Director of Strategy at UPMC Enterprises and an Adjunct Professor of Innovation and Commercialization at Chatham University. She was awarded the Business Women's First Award and is a Pittsburgh's 40 Under 40 Honoree. Ketaki was selected as a Graduate Fellow by the UN Council of Women World Leaders and volunteers with the United Way Women's Leadership Council. Ketaki has a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Maharashtra Institute of Technology, a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from Texas A&M University, and a Master of Science degree in Public Management from Carnegie Mellon University.

Ketaki joins me today to discuss innovation centers and merging corporate and higher education needs. She shares how the Ontario Centre of Innovation helps connect researchers with SMEs or spin-off their own companies. Ketaki reveals how quantum computing is moving faster than expected and will radically change the trajectory of computation. She highlights how the Ontario Centre of Innovation decides which innovations to fund. She shares why researchers need to seek out the problems in their field and consider how solutions can be commercialized. Ketaki also shares her concerns for the future and highlights why we need to stop finding others to fix our problems.

“I think it is important to look at research with a lens of how applicable the research is to people or the world.” - Ketaki Desai

This week on Innovation Talks:

How the Ontario Centre of Innovation helps researchers and SMEs
The role of innovation in economic development
How quantum computing will be the next “big” technology and how it differs from traditional computing
The innovation that is happening in the sustainability and clean technology space
Why we need to change our view of research and view it from the perspective of its applicability to people or the world and make a long term community impact
Why it is sometimes necessary to collaborate with your competitors to build something better
Ketaki’s concerns for the future, including the pace of climate change

Connect with Ketaki Desai:

Ontario Centre Of Innovation
Ketaki Desai on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Companies have a variety of group meetings related to innovation. These may have a focus on the status of a project, an ideation session, a product definition session, or a challenge that has arisen in product lines. Before the pandemic, meetings required perfect attendance in order to be functional, as there were not yet effective methods of including remote workers. Anyone who has been a remote worker will know that it is tough to participate in meetings effectively, stay engaged, and have an audible voice. One of the benefits of working during the pandemic is that workers became proficient in various skills necessary for working remotely.

In today’s episode, I examine the skills people attained after working remotely and how they are innovating the various practices in the office. I highlight the benefits of using virtual meetings with in-person and remote attendance. I share the methods to ensure that attendees in the meeting room do not become disconnected from virtual participants. I reveal technological solutions that enable valuable points to be raised and highlighted without disrupting the flow of your meeting. I also share the benefits of capturing questions, answers, opinions, and resources during a meeting using a chat app.

“There are techniques that are going to make us much better at moving forward when we all come back to work, where everyone can’t be around the table.” - Paul Heller

This week on Innovation Talks:

The benefits of having everyone join a virtual meeting, whether they are present or remote
Enhancing a meeting’s experience, inclusion, and comprehension by using a laptop, tablet, or smartphone camera
How to project a physical whiteboard to remote participants
The importance of raising hands in fast-paced meetings
Using chat to bring up additional points, links to resources, and other items that will enhance the topic without disrupting the flow of the meeting and presentation
Creating a record of the meeting and capturing questions using chat

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Steve Johnson is a speaker and product coach consulting on modern methods that move ideas to market. He is the author of Turn Ideas Into Product and has served as an advisor and executive for technical organizations and industry associates. He is a former instructor and vice president at Pragmatic Marketing and a co-creator of QuartzOpen Framework. He is also a founding partner of the Product Growth Leaders community. Steve has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Computer Science from Hallam College of Business at the University of Tennessee.

Steve joins me today to discuss the process of product management. He shares why leaders need to understand the differences between the roles of product managers and product owners. Steve shares his definition of product management and discusses the importance of a systematic approach. He reveals where companies should begin with their product process and why it is imperative to start with personas. He shares how to problem solve using design, as well as the issues businesses experience when product managers play the role of designer or developer.

“The goal of design is not beauty, but when you are done with the design, if it’s not beautiful, you have made a mistake.” - Steve Johnson

This week on Innovation Talks:

How changing the role of product managers to product owners can cause problems
Why you should only focus on ten or fewer of the 37 boxes of the pragmatic framework
Finding your best practice and implementing product ops to create consistency and standardization
How Steve’s “No Chaos Product Process” works and the differences between Waterfall and Agile product development
The role of documentation in product management and why there should be a more significant focus on communication
Why achieving superior product management involves loving the problem more than the product
How many product managers are performing the roles of designers and developers and the problem this creates when building a business

Resources Mentioned:

Book: Turn Ideas Into Product by Steve Johnson

Connect with Steve Johnson:

Under10 Consulting
Under10 Consulting on Facebook
Steve Johnson on LinkedIn
Steve Johnson on Twitter
Notexactlysteve.com

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

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For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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HC Eppich is the Business Development Director for Sopheon. He speaks to businesses across various industries about achieving more significant revenues with new business and future-proofing current portfolios. He was previously the CEO of Beratung für erfolgreiches Scheitern, a Senior Account Executive and Team Lead for Planview, and the Senior Account Executive and Chairman of Manufacturing Solutions for Cordys Deutschland AG. He has an engineering degree in Computer Science and Information Technology.

HC joins me today to discuss innovation in the chemical industry. He reveals the significant position chemical companies hold in the German economy and their scope, from specialty to bulk chemicals. He shares the strategies of family-run businesses and reveals the fascinating role of smart intelligence in agriculture and farming and how this can reduce herbicide use by 70%. HC shares how droughts have disrupted the distribution channel and the lengths chemical companies go to solve issues. He shares how chemical manufacturers are collaborating on joint ventures with startups to stimulate innovation. HC also shares how it is taking too long for ideas to get into development funnels.

“The number one priority regarding chemicals is to become more energy-efficient and carbon neutral.” - HC Eppich

This week on Innovation Talks:

The critical role and scope of chemicals and their significance in Germany’s industry and economy
The top-down and long-term strategies of family-owned chemicals businesses
The value for EU businesses being CO2 neutral and how this is stimulating new products and technologies that improve sustainability and reduce costs
Where chemical production and manufacturing is taking place and the digitization of processes
The need for new solutions to decarbonize companies’ ecosystem, including chemical suppliers
Why chemical companies have incubation programs and fund startups to feed the innovation pipeline
How AI, IoT, and 5G will drive new solutions
The difficulties involved with getting ideas into the development funnel

Resources Mentioned:

Podcast: Why Innovation Fails – Governance, budget and methodologies
Bosch Startup Harbour

Connect with HC Eppich:

Sopheon
HC Eppich on LinkedIn
HC Eppich on Twitter

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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James Macfarlane is the owner and CEO of Easypress Technologies. He was previously the CEO and founder of BookGenie451 and a founder of Sopheon, working in the role of Vice President of Global Business Development. James is a Business Mentor in early-stage business growth through SetSquared Partnership’s Investor Readiness Program. He has a Master of Science degree with Distinction in Computer Science and Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Brunel University, London. He is a Visiting Lecturer at the University College London

James joins me today to share how—when considered from the perspective of historical time—AI is the new calculator. He reveals how different generations recognize innovation and the innovative moments that stand out in history, from the first human flight to landing on the moon and tourism in space. James shares the threats to innovation and highlights how the bar of what qualifies as AI has changed. He explores the cognitive and emotional aspects of AI and machine learning and reveals how AI will be central to solving humanity's current problems. James also discusses recent industry challenges—such as remote working—and how these affect innovation.

“AI is still at that prophecy stage, and we’ve yet to move from prophecy to practice and then to fact.” - James Macfarlane

This week on Innovation Talks:

What innovation means to different generations
How Easypress developed a rules engine to differentiate magazine design, content, and layout for online publishing
Innovating in a change-adverse marketplace
James’s first experiences with machine learning and robotics, the forerunner of AI, and building knowledge agents
What defines an AI identity, and how the bar has changed
Where AI is today and how it deals with the cognitive side of knowledge—making things simpler, quicker, and cheaper for us
How long it will take for cognitive and emotional AI to reach maturity
The role AI will have to play in solving today’s problems and creating a cleaner and better planet
Maintaining high levels of innovation and the challenges of remote working

Connect with James Macfarlane:

Easypress Technologies
James Macfarlane on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Noel Sobelman is the Principal Innovation Practice Lead at Change Logic, where he works with corporate leadership to accelerate core business vitality and new-growth business. Noel has led venture programs that received national accolades, including USA Today/Rochester Institute of Technology’s Quality Cup, PR Week’s Best High Tech Consumer Launch, PC Magazine’s Editors’ Choice, and CNET’s Best of CES awards. Over the past 25 years, he was a partner and managing director at Kalypso, segment director at Kyocera Wireless Corporation, and Director of Worldwide Marketing and Business Development at Mobility Electronics. Noel has a Master of Business Administration in Innovation & Technology Management from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business and a Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering from the University of Arizona.

Noel joins me today to take a deeper dive into portfolio management. He highlights why companies need to consider manufacturability in innovation and structure teams to understand cross-function dependencies. He reveals how to use a closed-loop process and early mindset to improve quality and the customer experience over the current state product. Noel shares what portfolio management is and how to view it as the link between strategy and execution. He describes the criteria and methodology that helps avoid an overloaded pipeline and late-stage firefighting. Noel also shares how companies handle new growth and develop new business models while maintaining and growing their core business.

“The incentive for the short term translates into taking safe bets, predictable bets, and over time if you do that too much, you’re gonna have a very conservative portfolio.” - Noel Sobelman

This week on Innovation Talks:

Why manufacturability needs careful consideration in innovation
How to structure a team so that it understands the different dependencies across functions, enabling companies to scale the right way
How to avoid assumptions, innovate, and develop new sources of growth where high uncertainty exists
The discrepancies many companies have between their investment mix and company ambition, and how to avoid an overly-conservative portfolio
Today’s strategic and operational challenges and how to make better decisions with more objective evaluation criteria
Allocating investments and determining the different dimensions of your portfolio using strategies such as the growth horizon and co-creating with start-ups

Resources Mentioned:

Book: Collective Disruption: How Corporations & Startups Can Co-Create Transformative New Businesses by Michael Docherty

Connect with Noel Sobelman:

Change Logic
Change Logic on LinkedIn
Change Logic on Twitter
Noel Sobelman on LinkedIn
Email: noel.sobelman@changelogic.com

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

Collective Disruption: How Corporations & Startups Can Co-Create Transformative New Businesses

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Failure in resource planning is a controversial topic. Resource planning takes place by taking measurable and quantifiable facts—such as the time it takes one person to complete a task—and dividing them into the required output to determine the resources needed. It is relatively straightforward and can be calculated. Resource planning is a common practice; however, it hardly needs to be utilized for innovation.

In today’s episode, I share my thoughts and observations on composed failures in resource planning. I discuss how the lack of fixed variables in innovation and the changing nature of technology, market segments, and people working prevent the creation of an accurate, referable history. I discuss whether companies should estimate future resource needs when they are often based on rough estimations. I also highlight the issues with planning on a personal level in innovation and product creation roles.

“We are guessing a lot when we are thinking about resources in innovation types of work.” - Paul Heller

This week on Innovation Talks:

How resource planning for innovation differs from resource planning for regular work
How the lack of precision and unknown variables in innovative roles hinders accurate planning and scheduling
Why you shouldn’t focus on planning on a personal level
Why you should only create future statements of resource needs for critical resources and skills
How managing resources en masse can be the solution for innovation-led projects
Why attempting to be too precise will ultimately lead to failure

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Ron Lee is the Senior Industrial Executive, Board Member, and Executive In Residence at Sopheon. He has a depth of transformation, technology, and management expertise that he developed over two decades managing a world-leading automotive engineering division at Jaguar Land Rover. He is the Chair of the WMCA Automotive Skills Taskforce and a board member for the University of Bradford Court.

Ron joins me today from the UK to discuss innovation in the automotive industry. He shares how the automotive sector innovates the planning roadmap for developing new features with simulation, test methodologies, and digitization to ease the demands on engineering teams and product cycles. Ron describes the connected ecosystem of OEMs, Tier One Suppliers, and Tier Two Suppliers and their role in production and supply. He shares how smaller companies gain traction with larger OEMs by leveraging real-world vehicle knowledge and faster market access. Ron shares the challenges for product planning and supply structures in avoiding shortages and achieving a zero-carbon life cycle. Ron also discusses necessary emerging skills, including the digital skills needed by the industry.

“Starting with smaller businesses and accumulating real-world vehicle knowledge is often a persuasive way of getting the bigger OEMs to take more notice of what you’re doing.” - Ron Lee

This week on Innovation Talks:

The challenges of innovating and competing in an industry heavily governed by changing legislation
Reinventing automotive vehicles to achieve zero-carbon goals and innovating the pre-planning process for introducing developing technologies
The cycle of the OEM controlling the product in-house to better outsource it to Tier One Suppliers
The different relationships between OEMs and suppliers based on geographic location and business size
How product planning is changing to counter disruptions and shortages
Future changes to expect in the supply structure as the discussion of zero-carbon moves from the tailpipe to the product life cycle
How vehicle manufacturers are investing in companies to secure their supply of raw materials
Whether there is consumer demand for autonomous vehicles and why they may be a long way off

Connect with Ron Lee:

Sopheon
Ron Lee on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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New challenges are hitting product organizations at an unprecedented rate, and the global microprocessor shortage is an excellent example. General Motors, for instance, announced in March this year that they were going to have to reduce the fuel control system on some of their vehicles, and more recently, they said they were going to stop including the start/stop system on their trucks, SUVs, and light-duty trucks. These actions are a demonstration of something needing to be reduced in a product because of a challenge. General Motors chose to do this in one of their strongest product lines in North America with the largest volume. The reaction does not impact the drivability or consumer sentiment of the vehicles. However, the consumer impact would be huge if they made these moves in their economy vehicles, where fuel economy is a buying factor and fewer vehicle numbers are sold, only marginally reducing their demand for processors.

In today’s episode, I discuss the new challenges for product organizations. I predict that we will be facing these challenges quicker and much more often as the global pace of technology is moving so fast, particularly as demand returns after COVID-19. I reveal which areas are being hit the most by challenges, volatility, and unplanned decisions. I share what product organizations will need to do to meet these new challenges and discuss the boundaries within organizations that will need to be overcome to find success. I also share what the successful companies of tomorrow are doing today to adjust to the pace of challenges, including improving their communication and agility.

"Those companies that can cross the organizational boundaries and hierarchical boundaries are going to be much more successful at solving this problem." - Paul Heller

This week on Innovation Talks:

How a supply chain issue can lead to unplanned decisions affecting product management, product line, and brand
Why product organizations should expect new challenges such as the microprocessor shortage, Suez Canal incident, and COVID-19
How volatility and new challenges require product management, brand managers, and product line owners to come up with new strategies, solutions, and answers
Bringing together product, supply chain, and manufacturing in working sessions to break down boundaries and find success
What the ‘winners of tomorrow’ are doing now to adjust to the speed and impact of disruptions

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Dr. Sven Schimpf is a Professor for Innovation and Interdisciplinarity Research at the Institute for Human Engineering & Empathic Design at Pforzheim University. He also spends a large portion of his time conducting research for Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. Two years ago, Dr. Schimpf began focusing on disruptive technologies and has been involved in numerous national and international consulting and research projects. He holds a business administration degree and a doctorate in engineering.

Sven joins me today to discuss how the pandemic is changing the future of innovation. He shares his views on innovation serendipity and reveals whether there will still be room for creative spaces and meeting places with increasing digitalization in communication and innovation. Sven shares how the pandemic will change the driving factors behind innovation, including cooperation in teams and openness. He shares how people’s interest in new technologies can be leveraged to bring people together at work, such as enabling students and enthusiastic retirees to access creative spaces. We discuss how disruptive technologies can change the structure of the market, making the investment of market leaders obsolete. Sven also shares where companies should be investing in innovation, research, and development.

“Innovation in the year 2030 will be much more driven by openness, the ability to learn, and by cooperation.” - Sven Schimpf

This week on Innovation Talks:

Sven’s research in dealing with potentially disruptive technologies and innovations
How creative spaces will develop in the future in the context of digitalization of corporations and communication
The longer-lasting effects and changes on innovation from the COVID-19 pandemic
How digitalization and video workshops are making it easier to get experts from around the world involved in innovation
Why it is important to interlink new personal technologies with businesses to meet the challenges at work
Why the big companies and market leaders fail and defining disruptive innovation as an innovation that leads to changes in the market structure
Why you should invest in incremental, risky, radical, and AI innovations

Resources Mentioned:

Understanding Change - Shaping The Future

Connect with Sven Schimpf:

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
Institute for Human Engineering & Empathic Design at Pforzheim University

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Have you ever been in a meeting, and the conversation jumps around? One minute you might be talking about an idea, and then all of a sudden, someone is expressing their feelings about the idea, and the idea is almost killed before you bring out the facts about it. Or, someone brings up another idea, and you jump over to it. You may end up leaving the meeting feeling like some great topics were brought up, but they were not adequately discussed, and the meeting drifted on and never got back to them.

If this sounds familiar, then you may want to try the Six Thinking Hats Method.

In today’s episode, I share the concept of the Six Thinking Hats methodology and how it can be implemented in modern meetings. I share how you can make thinking more of a process and a way of executing a way of being. I reveal the thinking hat colors, what they represent, and how they bring fairness, balance, and equal contribution into meetings, creating better outcomes. I share two examples of how the methodology can bring structure to meetings and ideation sessions. I also share how we successfully used the Six Thinking Hats methodology at Sopheon and how it has benefited our cross-functional and divisional alignment.

“If you have a meeting with a group of people and you put them into different modes of thinking, it allows you to focus.” - Paul Heller

This week on Innovation Talks:

The thinking hats colors and the modes of thinking they represent
How to use the thinking hat colors to focus on a mode of thinking and bring structure, fairness, and balance to a meeting
An example of how the Six Thinking Hats methodology can be used to ensure all members contribute
How to create a safe place for expressing fears, worries, and concerns
How to create cross-functional alignment and team working across divisions
How to leverage the thinking hats for innovation

Resources Mentioned:

Book: Six Thinking Hats by Edward de Bono

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Dr. Christian Hopp is a professor at Berner Fachhochschule and heads the Methods and Tools division at the Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH). He previously led the teaching and research area of Technology Oriented Entrepreneurship at RWTH Aachen University. Christian’s research interests include start-up financing, start-up management, and personnel economics. He studied Business Administration in the USA, Netherlands, and Germany. He has a doctorate in Quantitative Economics and Finance from the University of Konstantinos, a master’s in Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh, and a master’s in Financial Management from the Rotterdam School of Management.

Christian joins me today to discuss disruptive innovation versus radical innovation. He shares when business planning is effective and why groups of leaders working on a project or concept should create a founder’s agreement. Christian reveals the driving forces behind successful companies, like breakthrough innovation, radical innovation, disruptive innovation, architectural innovation, and incremental innovation. He highlights how although technology is involved in companies that disrupt markets, it is the business model that is always the most vital aspect. Christian shares how companies can counter disruption in their industry through organizational resilience and company culture. He shares how technology is blurring industry boundaries and what this means when identifying your competitors. Christian also discusses the pros and cons of visionary leaders and sustainable leadership.

“Some of those companies that have been disrupting markets - there was technology involved, but it was the business model that was the most crucial thing.” - Christian Hopp

This week on Innovation Talks:

How Christian became fascinated in innovation management when obtaining his PH.D.
Whether entrepreneurs still need business plans and when planning is effective and ineffective
Why larger start-ups should create a founder’s agreement to manage conflict
Technology that is driving business decisions and the advent of machine learning and artificial intelligence
The difference between disruptive and radical innovation and whether it is the technology or business model that primes success
What you can do to counter disruption and the importance of understanding your customer
How technology is blurring boundaries between industries
The traits of leaders and visionaries versus sustainable leadership
Inclusive research and innovation and the consequences of minorities not being involved in algorithm design

Resources Mentioned:

NPR

Connect with Christian Hopp:

BFH
Christian Hopp on Twitter
Christian Hopp on LinkedIn
Email: hopp@bfh.ch

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Tim Sharp is the Director of Aerospace and Defence in Western Europe for Sopheon. He is a driven Sales Professional with a passion for understanding and diagnosing customer business needs, and articulating solutions that deliver excellent long-term revenue growth and profitability. He has extensive European, Middle East, and Africa experience shaping sales campaigns and has previously worked with InterlocutorGB, Fujitsu, Boeing, Miro, and Futura. Tim was also a Military Helicopter Pilot and Staff Officer for twenty-seven years and a Lieutenant Colonel at the UK Joint Doctrine and Concepts Center, where he ran the analytical program that looked at the trends and drivers that would shape security and defense fifteen to thirty years into the future. Tim holds an Association of Project Management certification from Civil Service College and attended the NATO Defense College in Rome.

Tim joins me today to share the unique challenges of innovation in the aerospace and defense industry. He shares how companies use innovation in technology to help security forces gain an advantage over an adversary and gain a competitive advantage in open government tenders. Tim highlights the risks of escalating costs because of requirement changes on projects that can take years to complete. We discuss the expense of productizing technology and the revenue and profit opportunities that exist in product bolt-ons, upgrades, and commercial adoption. Tim reveals the future implications for defense in managing food, water aid, and people moving across borders in response to climate change. Tim also shares the latest innovation challenges for commercial and military applications such as emissions and the green agenda, COVID passports, aircraft filtration, and collision avoidance.

“Timing and speed is always a challenge.” - Tim Sharp

This week on Innovation Talks:

How Tim got involved in product development and innovation after leaving the military
Tim’s work with NATO
The strategic thinking, speed, and timing challenges of innovation for defense and aerospace companies working on long projects
Working at the cutting edge of technology
The balance between creating new-to-market products and making additions and improvements to existing platforms
Government choices for spending on post-COVID recovery or defense and security
The bridge and commercial crossover of defense technologies, such as cyberspace security
How climate and planet change may affect the way defense and security works in the future
The importance of having the right data at decision-making moments and collaborating data sources

Resources Mentioned:

Book: Empires of the Sky: Zeppelins, Airplanes, and Two Men's Epic Duel to Rule the World by Alexander Rose
Book: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

Connect with Tim Sharp:

Sopheon
Tim Sharp on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

Empires of the Sky: Zeppelins, Airplanes, and Two Men's Epic Duel to Rule the World

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Reading annual reports carefully is an excellent strategy for knowing where you are going. They can give a good impression of what a company is thinking. With the significant disruption caused by the global pandemic, we can look to these annual reviews to discover clues into what we can expect to see over the next one or two years. These expectations include the critical role of partners and rapidly expanding ecosystems, trends in collaboration, cybercrime, sustainability, and privacy.

In today’s episode, and review two annual reports, one from IBM and the other from Microsoft, and highlight the key takeaways. I reveal how IBM focuses its attention on deploying AI at scale and delivering complex hybrid cloud solutions that are open, flexible, and secure. I share how Microsoft believes that the rapid advance in distributed computing, ambient intelligence, multi-sense, and multi-device experiences create an era of the intelligent cloud and intelligent edge. I explore the differences between Microsoft and IBM’s strategies and technologies. I also discuss the changing nature of productivity and Microsoft’s future work from three vectors: collaboration systems, workflow learning, and employee wellbeing.

“Business models are shifting as a result of the digital opportunities.” - Paul Heller

This week on Innovation Talks:

The acceleration of digital transformation including hybrid cloud and AI solutions and new business models based on the adoption of digital technologies
How AI is driving IBM’s growth and revenue growth from hybrid cloud services
Why IBM is focusing on industry clouds like financial services and telecommunications
How Microsoft believes we are living in the era of an intelligent cloud and how they will focus on helping companies build their tech intensity
The differences between IBM and Microsoft’s cloud and AI technology and strategies
Microsoft’s Power Platform, the five hundred million apps to be curated by 2023, and the low/no-code tools that will support Citizen Developers
The opportunities available from analyzing the 73% of unanalyzed data in the world
The rising annual costs of cybercrime

Resources Mentioned:

IBM Annual Report
Microsoft Annual Report

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Colin Tattersall is the Product Manager at Sopheon. He has a strong background initially working in a research capacity in linguistics and knowledge management, eventually moving into new product development and innovation. He was previously an Associate Professor at Open Universiteit Nederlands, a Consultant at QNH Consulting, and a Project Leader at KPN Research. Colin has a Bachelor’s degree in Computational Science and a Doctor of Philosophy in Computational Linguistics and Knowledge-Based Systems from the University of Leeds.

Colin joins me today to discuss IoT-based innovation management. He explores how we might make use of the insights we get from smart product data in the innovation process itself. He shares how closed-loop product lifecycle management should be informed at the front end by what’s really happening with products. He shares his views on device cooperation and the industrial and product development opportunities that are available from IoT data. We discuss how far it is appropriate to go in using customer data. Colin also shares details on how Accolade is being developed for use in smart products and highlights the challenges of retaining oversight when many tools and techniques are being used.

“Smart products offer the possibility of getting some insight into what really is being used, which feature is getting used all day every day, and which is not hitting the mark.” - Colin Tattersall

This week on Innovation Talks:

Why machine learning and knowledge management systems are taking off
How Electrolux have leveraged Accolade Innovation Management Software in their success story, compressing product time to market
The key challenges and opportunities around innovation
Getting data from smart products and putting it back into the innovation process for the next generation
The types of insights that closed-loop product lifecycle management systems provide
Learning trends in how networks of products are used and working together
The difficulties in protecting and regulating customer’s data and data sharing

Connect with Colin Tattersall:

Colin Tattersall on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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We all spend a significant amount of time in virtual meetings, whether it’s within our businesses or with other companies. The perception of an increased number of meetings is being noticed throughout the workplace, and people are beginning to express that they are having trouble keeping up, running from one meeting to the next. But, is meeting prevalence on the rise as more people work from home?

Are we really spending more time in meetings, or is this simply a matter of perception?

In today’s episode, I share how technologies are causing new problems for virtual collaboration as professionals begin to experience virtual meeting fatigue. I look at some of the issues we are experiencing in meetings, including privacy issues and the difficulties in arranging meetings with external participants. I discuss the technology that currently exists and is under development to help with the challenges of virtual meetings, including AI meeting management software, transcripts and recordings, background noise, and video filters. I also share why we should pledge to stop multitasking in meetings to improve meeting dynamics and build our abilities to participate, contribute, and understand.

“AI is going to be an important part of the way we communicate.” - Paul Heller

This week on Innovation Talks:

How cameras and the visual aspect of a meeting differs from the physical conference room and causes more cognitive activity in the brain
The rising trend for out-of-hours meetings in global companies
The benefits of recording sessions and synchronized transcript technology
The opportunities for technology and AI in virtual meetings
Why you should stop multitasking in meetings, focus on the meeting, and pay attention
The risky balance between meeting automation and human participation

Resources Mentioned:

National Geographic: Zoom fatigue is taxing the brain. Here's why that happens.

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Chris Colbert has helped build and run several domestic and international companies focused on innovation and business optimization. He was previously EVP for Strategy Scholastic’s core publishing business, which he left in 2014 to explore the world of higher education and technology-enabled learning systems for adults. He was the Managing Director at Harvard Innovation Labs and is now focusing on adaptive culture and the human potential. He is the host of the Insert:Human podcast, and is working on his second book about innovation and people, exploring how technology needs to be designed with both in mind to succeed.

Chris joins me today to discuss the losses in collaboration and ideation due to changes in remote work. He shares insights into why corporate innovation fails and the vital role of leaders and entrepreneurs in understanding and listening to others. Chris highlights why financial gain is not the real measure of success and innovation and explores the desired nature of your existence. He shares why the child’s approach of not trusting workers stifles creativity and collaboration and presents three questions to ask yourself if you want to achieve successful innovation. Chris also discusses why you need to have the courage to ask the hard questions, be supportive of failure, be prepared to change your stance, and steer technology integration appropriately.

“If you want to increase the chances of innovation and success, find the courage within yourself to be open to the truth about the customer or the human that you are innovating for.” - Chris Colbert

This week on Innovation Talks:

How Chris got involved in innovation management and starting a business in the 80s to bring technology into marketing
Why most corporate innovation fails and getting humans to adopt ‘the thing’
Rising above biases to better understand the ‘other’ and recognizing that to adopt something, the individual must give up something
The measure of innovation and success and why it is not making money
The desired nature of existence and how to find your point and life intention
Why the assembly-line model no longer works and why leaders need to give workers the latitude to think, create, and collaborate
The importance of being human and treating employees and customers as humans
The three questions to answer to be successful at innovation

Resources Mentioned:

Insert Human podcast: Learning Not To Forget
How I Built This podcast

Connect with Chris Colbert:

Chris Colbert’s website
Book: This Is It
Chris Colbert on LinkedIn
Chris Colbert on Instagram
Chris Colbert on Twitter

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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We often hear that Stage Gate equates to Phase Gate and that it is tied to development. If you search Wikipedia, you are directed to something called the Phase Gate Process. The article explains it as “a phased approach for making investment decisions” but then cites Phase Gate as something NASA created for development and defines Stage Gate as a variant of Phase Gate. According to Wikipedia, “Phase Gate processes are often called front-end loading or big design upfront” processes, but this really isn’t the case.

In today’s episode, I share my perspective of Stage Gate, from its upfront parts to development, launch, and retirement. I highlight the people you need in a stage gate to make effective decisions and why determining the decision to make is vital. I explain the stages of a classic Stage Gate model, including phase 0, scoping, building the business case, development, testing and validation, and product launch. I explore how you might stifle creativity and flexibility, whether development should occur before or after the market assessment and business case, and how to determine when you are ready for testing and validation. I also share why it used to be rare that products would get killed or put on hold during or after the testing and validation stage and how that changed when the coronavirus hit, when many products that were due to launch no longer had a market or would be insensitive to launch.

“Stage Gate is mostly about reducing risk. It is not about getting things done.” - Paul Heller

This week on Innovation Talks:

Why the upfront parts should be lean and about quick screening while dealing with imperfect information
How score cards bring order and why Stage Gate is not about development
Comparing tunnels and funnels and the differences between Stage Gate and project management
Why the gate is the most crucial part of the process and the governance of who should be involved in making decisions
The elements that make good portfolio management
How the decision of a single product release to the market is often a portfolio decision
The parts of a Stage Gate model and where - and where not - to take a heavy approach
What happens after a product launch and why the portfolio process should be extended to cover products in the market

Resources Mentioned:

Phase-gate Process - Wikipedia
Stage Gate Methodology Basics
Single versus Multi-Product Mindsets: What’s The Difference and Why It Matters

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Andy Michuda is the Executive Chairman of Sopheon. He is an internationally recognized speaker, regularly presenting on topics related to innovation management tools and best practices for improving critical business processes. Since the 1990s, he has been helping Fortune 500 companies and large multinationals with knowledge management implementation and new product development solutions. Andy previously worked in computer technology with Control Data Corporation and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Resource Management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and completed the Executive Program of Masters in Business at Columbia University.

Andy joins me today to discuss the current state of governance in innovation. He shares why repeatable innovation is difficult and why disruption is a top agenda item in the boardroom, as traditional market-leading companies grapple with the challenges of moving faster and with agility and speed. Andy reveals how the executive-level response compares to that of the people in the trenches as they react to the threats and disruption in innovation. He highlights why more frequent communication and engagement on strategy is essential and explores the misuse, confusion, and abuse of the word ‘agile’ in business. Andy also shares how companies will leverage intelligence-based technologies to predict, instead of react, to consumer behaviors and reveals the characteristics that make the best innovators.

“Move very quickly towards finding where the check and balance of governance really matter and make a difference.” - Andy Michuda

This week on Innovation Talks:

How Andy got hooked on innovation and the difficulties of innovating in a repeatable fashion
Creating the first database of who’s-who in science and technology in the 1990s
How the innovation-ecosystem has evolved and notable innovation breakthroughs facilitated by extending the reach of an ecosystem
The top industry challenges including new players coming into the market, disrupting traditional market leaders
The challenge for companies to increase communication and responsibly move with speed as industries experience a massive pace of change
The relationship between speed, agility, and governance, and finding a balance
How innovation will have a stronger component of artificial intelligence and machine learning to deliver insights and analytics
The rigors and effort that makes the best innovators

Resources Mentioned:

Stage-Gate

Connect with Andy Michuda:

Sopheon
Andy Michuda on LinkedIn
Email: michuda@sopheon.com

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Smart products are all around us, and it is hard to imagine how our lives would be without them. From smartphones to smart toasters, refrigerators, and earbuds, smart products give us a lot of help and make our lives better in so many ways. They perform actions on our behalf and inform our decision-making. Smart products gain their effectiveness through a combination of core components, intelligence, connectivity, and automation.

In today's episode, I talk about smart products and the challenges that manufacturers and developers face. I explore smart products' complex nature and the issues surrounding development and security vulnerabilities within the internal and external ecosystem. I discuss the role of building trust, coordination, and alignment across engineering groups. I also discuss the importance of strong decision making, cross-organizational agreements, and prioritizing in-market and new products against strategic goals, growth targets, and sustainability commitments.

“The most important thing is the alignment of the various engineering groups both inside your company and the ecosystem that you’re working with.” - Paul Heller

This week on Innovation Talks:

The complexity and sophistication of smart products and why they are hard to create
The essential role of apps and connected home platforms and how savvy technical consumers are hooking their smart devices together themselves
Support centers, diagnostics, and how performance, hardware problems, and software issues may be managed
How connected smart devices are a target of cybercriminals and pose a security risk
Why alignment, innovation, and product testing are vital
The challenges of software development and the global shortage of semiconductors and computer chips
How the vulnerabilities in third-party components and software become built into a company's ecosystem
Aligning all engineering groups inside your company and the ecosystem that you are working with to make development easier
Building trust and developing a positive internal and external culture
Why it is vital to establish strong decision making in product and portfolio management
Creating a good governance model, aligning engineering teams, and resisting the urge to dictate how they do their work
Why you should focus on comprehensive product line planning to reflect and predict the needs and features of different market segments and geographical regions
Gaining cross-organizational agreement on your product investment, launch timelines, and revenue expectations
Coordinating the hardware and software departments, product engineering, manufacturing, and third-party suppliers
Prioritizing candidate new and in-market products against growth targets and strategic goals and commitments

Resources Mentioned:

IFTTT (If This Then That)

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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HC Eppich is the Business Development Director for Sopheon. He speaks to companies across various industries about futureproofing their current portfolios and achieving more revenue with new business. He has a background as a product manager with twenty years of experience in knowledge management solutions. HC has held senior positions with German companies such as Beratung für erfolgreiches Scheitern, Planview, and Cordys Deutschland AG. HC has an engineering degree in computer science and information technology.

HC joins me today to discuss why innovation fails and the governance, budget, and methodologies that can make it a great time to innovate. HC shares the most significant challenges that businesses and senior management face on a portfolio and project level. He reveals the practices that slow down the time to market and the methodology that will reduce this. HC highlights what mid-size companies can learn and adopt from large companies' successes, including their best practices and use of technology. HC also shares why leaders need to move from an ego-state to an ecosystem mindset, where product exploration and exploitation are effectively managed.

“Every success builds on failure, and that’s just inherent in new stuff.” - HC Eppich

This week on Innovation Talks:

HC’s first success in implementing knowledge management systems, saving a large German car manufacturer 50% on their failure elimination process
The top challenges businesses face, including management’s fear to take hard decisions on a portfolio level of projects
The issues that slow down product development and the methodology that will dramatically accelerate your time to market
How mid-size family-run businesses can manage complexities using the methods, technologies, and best practices successfully leveraged by large companies
How the coronavirus has pushed businesses into digitizing and automating processes, which will lead to a wave of improvements and innovation
Why companies should move from an ego-mindset to an eco-mindset, focus on ecosystems, and manage the product exploitation and exploration phases

Connect with HC Eppich:

Sopheon
HC Eppich on LinkedIn
HC Eppich on Twitter

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Paul O’Connor is the Founder and Managing Director of The Adept Group, an organization focusing on product line velocity to improve innovation in mid-size and large companies. He has led innovation initiatives at Johnson & Johnson, Exxon, Pfizer, WL Gore, and Procter & Gamble. Paul is a consultant, advisor, and author of The Profound Impact of Product Line Strategy: Your Guide to Highly Productive Innovation and Product Management. He was a contributing editor to R&D Magazine and is widely published in business journals and publications, contributing to PDMA’s Handbook of Product Development and writing PDMA’s 2004 ToolBook. Paul holds a Bachelor of Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey and an MBA from Babson College near Boston. He also teaches master classes in creating and carrying out smart product line strategies.

Paul joins me today to discuss single versus multi-product mindsets, revealing the differences and why they matter. Paul shares how most companies have a foundation of single product line thinking, with a perspective that overlooks how multiple products complement each other in the market. We discuss the corporate hierarchy, the core parts of systems, and strategies that link high-level aspirational thinking with those working in the trenches. Paul shares the three components of product line velocity and systems thinking and explores how these can help a company achieve its defined attributes while supporting product innovation.

“Even though we learn all these best practices about how to take one product and move it through a company, the bigger deal is about how the whole set of products work together and how to make them deliver more than just one-off developments.” - Paul O’Connor

This week on Innovation Talks:

Why most companies have an operational foundation based upon a single product mindset and the shortfalls of a single-minded approach
Why it is vital to set up multiple products and position them in the market so they complement one another
How independent product-line thinking makes innovation, moving into new business models, and pivoting a challenge
Corporate hierarchy and the missing link between the high-level aspirational business strategy and the product line roadmap
The three dimensions of the product line velocity: cashflow, competitiveness, and customer satisfaction
The systems viewpoint and the three core parts that drive most of the desired attributes
Taking stock of where you are and how to get to the next level of performance

Connect with Paul O’Connor:

The Adept Group
Book: The Profound Impact of Product Line Strategy: Your Guide to Highly Productive Innovation and Product Management
The Adept Group on Twitter
Paul O’Connor on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Dr. Huub Rutten serves as the Vice President of Product Research and Design at Sopheon and is one of the company’s founding members. He holds a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics and Literature, Theory of Science, Sociolinguistics, Speech Act Theories, and Language Teaching from the Radboud University in Nijmegen, Nigeria and has worked in the linguistics and language management sector for over 20 years. Prior to working at Sopheon, Huub has worked at several higher education institutes teaching linguistics and communication, including as an adjunct professor at the European Institute for Public Administrations.

In today’s episode, Huub joins me to share his predictions on how governance will affect the market. We discuss why you should shift from being engineer-driven to becoming market-driven and how your company’s governance impacts every aspect of your business. We discuss the importance of creating a governance system and why it’s critical for your governance policies to fit your company’s culture. We discuss the impact of the CEO signing the policies and why it’s crucial for employees to commit to the policies with their CEO. We also discuss how Huub is helping companies create a governance system for their organizations while allowing room for flexibility and agility.

“The system is the face of the governance. Then, you work within the governance.” - Dr. Huub Rutten

This week on Innovation Talks:

Shifting your company from being engineering-driven to market-driven
How governance impacts every aspect of your company
Creating a governance system to ensure your company is following your governance policies
What the Observer's Paradox is
Why it’s crucial for your governance policies to fit your company’s culture
How Huub is helping companies create a governance system for their organizations

Resources Mentioned:

AI and Machine Learning in Innovation with Huub Rutten
The Agile Mindset for Innovation with Huub Rutten
Challenges with Developing Smart Products with Huub Rutten
Book: The Inmates are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity by Alan Cooper

Connect with Huub Rutten:

Huub Rutten’s Website
Email: huub.rutten@sopheon.com
Huub Rutten on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Dr. Huub Rutten is one of the Founding members of Sopheon and is currently the company's Vice President for Product Research and Design. After gaining a Master’s in Applied Linguistics from Radboud University in the Netherlands, Huub went on to work for several academic institutes teaching linguistics and communications. An adjunct professor at the European Institute for Public Administration (EIPA), he then became a permanent advisor to the European Commission, counseling them on IT and policy development. Huub is instrumental in Sopheon’s development of linguistics and knowledge management technologies and continues to lead Sopheon into solutions for Innovation. He currently resides in Maastricht in the south of the Netherlands.

Today's episode is part three of our four-part conversation with Dr. Huub Rutten, where we close off by discussing smart product development challenges. He reveals one of the common problems companies face is recalls and the huge cost associated with them, financially and in terms of a brand's reputation. He discusses the changes in the market over the last 70 years and why we can no longer take the attitude of post WW2 product engineers, and his fears that Agile is a framework encouraging a reversal in production ideas. We also expand on the importance of a sound governance system and how it should go hand in hand with its software system.

"If you engage the production - the manufacturing engineers - with the product engineers and the feature engineers as early as possible and they are integrated in that process, partly then you will avoid recourse. Then you will avoid quality problems." – Huub Rutten

"You have all these recalls, it's also bad for your reputation in the market. It's also bad for your, let's say, relationship with your retailers, for instance, and you will lose shelf space in the shops, and that is killing." – Huub Rutten

"Take the Boeing thing as a big example. The problem was the software engineering, and that was a small team. And they made a mistake - it as designed the program; the wrong software. And of course, it cost billions at Boeing." – Huub Rutten

"If you were to sell the product, if the plants don't agree up front that they will help to launch a new product on a certain date that is important for the company, they simply won't make the room in their plan to test it - to do the trials. – Huub Rutten

"What I'm afraid of is that Agile wants to go back to 50 years ago when the engineers were completely empowered." – Huub Rutten

This week on Innovative Talks:

How product recalls pose economic and reputational damage to a companies brand
How a big decision by a small software team cost Boeing billions of dollars
Why corporate goals and capacity distribution are two essential mechanisms
Why product management needs to be aligned with their production plants when planning a product launch
How the buyer’s market has become more 'market pool driven since the 1990s
The meaning of governance in product development

Huub Rutten:

Huub Rutten Sopheon Website
Huub Rutten on LinkedIn

Connect with Paul Heller:

Paul Heller on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate Innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly!

The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Dr. Huub Rutten is one of the Founding members of Sopheon and is currently the company's Vice President for Product Research and Design. After gaining a Masters in Applied Linguistics from Radboud University in the Netherlands, Huub went on to work for several academic institutes teaching linguistics and communications. An adjunct professor at the European Institute for Public Administration (EIPA), he then became a permanent advisor to the European Commission, counseling them on IT and policy development. Huub is instrumental in Sopheons development of linguistics and knowledge management technologies and continues to lead Sopheon into solutions for Innovation. He currently resides in Maastricht in the south of the Netherlands.

We continue our 3-part Innovation conversation with Dr. Hubb Rutten by delving into the Agile Manifesto philosophy, which he says was born of the frustration of software products' past failures. He reveals how the software world embraced Agile teachings that promised better, more successful, faster products and why he thinks some of the promises of Agile are an illusion. Huub breaks down what he describes as an 'Agile way of thinking' and how software companies think it's a tool to get closer to the end-user of the product. He also warns of the pitfalls within the Agile mindset and why companies should not rely too heavily on one framework.

"I think that the intentions of Agile are not bad. I don't think so. But I believe that it cannot be the only answer to the success of the company."
– Huub Rutten

"If I am Agile with a scrum team with ten stupid people, it will have a stupid product coming out of it."– Huub Rutten

"Agile is a method, cannot be the goal."– Huub Rutten

"I would say that Agile is confused with 'agility and flexibility." – Huub Rutten

"Flexibility and agility come with a price that is not the same as Agile. Agile is a methodology. It's a project management methodology. It's got nothing to do with agility." – Huub Rutten

This week on Innovative Talks:

How the Agile movement rose up in the software world
Why the different interpretations of Agile can be counter-productive between software and hardware teams
Why Huub thinks Agile is old tried and tested practices dressed up as a belief system
How the Agile framework was sold to the product developers
The problems software companies have connecting with their users in development
How basic customer market research has parallels with Agile methodology

Resources Mentioned:

The Agile Manifesto

Connect with Huub Rutten:

Huub Rutten Sopheon Website
Huub Rutten on LinkedIn

Connect with Paul Heller:

Paul Heller on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate Innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly!

The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Dr. Huub Rutten is one of the Founding members of Sopheon and is currently the company's Vice President for Product Research and Design. After gaining a Master’s in Applied Linguistics from Radboud University in the Netherlands, Huub went on to work for several academic institutes teaching linguistics and communications. An adjunct professor at the European Institute for Public Administration (EIPA), he then became a permanent advisor to the European Commission, counseling them on IT and policy development. Huub is instrumental in Sopheon’s development of linguistics and knowledge management technologies and continues to lead Sopheon into solutions for Innovation. He currently resides in Maastricht in the south of the Netherlands.

This episode is the first part of a 4-part fascinating discussion with Dr. Huub Rutten into various aspects of Innovation, beginning with AI and Machine Learning production. He explains the evolution in AI from the early days of automated mortgage lending in banks to its growth into today's smart products, such as the Tesla car. He explains how machine learning is hugely about data collection and collation and how it only works within rules and frameworks given by the human creators. He also discusses how companies strive to make their software safer, protect their customer base from harm, and ensure that the appliances and smart products of the future make our lives easier without risk.

"Artificial intelligence is intelligence that is artificial. So it's not intelligence. It is calculation.”

– Huub Rutten

"When you connect your brains and the reasoning mechanism of your brains to systems that are outside of yourself - but are also reasoning - can you imagine what will happen?" – Huub Rutten

"Machine learning is not machines, but software. Software is based in general on what is called Neural Networking. See it as a big matrix. And if you take all these data in a very BIG matrix, then the software can see repetitive mechanisms in there."

– Huub Rutten

"Machine learning is like a discovery tool that in the end delivers you knowledge that you put in algorithms, that create autonomous cars, fridges, kitchens, coffee machines, rockets, planes; they fly autonomously because they have built-in experts-based rules to react on sensor data or environment, data, or something else."

– Huub Rutten

This week on Innovative Talks:

The difference between AI and Machine Learning
How smart products can't exist without software development
Why AI technology means you no longer need 40 years of experience to make wise decisions
How machine learning can collate mass amounts of data to make quick diagnostics and reasoned decisions
Why machine learning is all about calculations and data analysis
Why the intelligent software in your smart appliance is safety guaranteed

Connect with Huub Rutten:

Huub Rutten Sopheon Website
Huub Rutten on LinkedIn

Connect with Paul Heller:

Paul Heller on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate Innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly!

The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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I'm sure you have heard yourself, or a friend say they have a great idea for an invention. Or maybe just an abstract idea of a 'need' for something – an observed gap in the market, if you will. But then, somewhere along the way, you see that gap filled, and you think, 'Why didn't I DO that? I THOUGHT of it first.' Well, ideas are nothing if you don't do something about them, and in the world of innovation, ideation is the first step for those who do decide to make their idea a reality. But the idea is only the beginning of this journey, and you need good processes to make it a reality.

In this episode, I dispel the misunderstanding that innovation is only about ideation, although ideation is the cornerstone of innovative product development. I discuss the three stages of successful innovation that begin with an idea that goes through a tough journey to become a real tangible product. I reveal the importance of execution when bringing that product to market. I also discuss how all three stages have different challenges and how each company will find one stage more challenging than another.

"The hard work is to get from the ideas outside to final products at the end. And maybe that's the hardest part of Innovation that some might say that Ideation is the hardest part. Well, let's just say it's all hard. – Paul Heller

"In some companies, the hardest part might be developing the product. In other companies. The hardest part might be launching the product." – Paul Heller

"Once I've got an idea - let's say an idea for a product - I've got to create it. I've got to realize it. I've got to bring it to fruition." – Paul Heller

"We have to take that new idea. We have to create it. Realize it. We have to execute. We have to deliver it. We have to make it real. We have to make our customer successful." – Paul Heller

This week on Innovative Talks:

Why an idea is nothing without the process of innovation
Ideation as the beginning of the innovation journey
Why realization is all part of making an idea a 3-dimensional reality
How the execution of the innovation process will affect the success of a product
The challenges of Innovation processes

Connect with Paul Heller:

Paul Heller on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate Innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly!

The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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You might have heard the phrase 'the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, so it goes with Innovation Management. Collaboration across various manufacturing industries can give birth to solutions through sharing ideas, research, and strategies. Understanding the ecosystem of innovative solutions around your production can achieve a lot in terms of savings in cost, time, and leverage. Partnerships in development and reaching beyond the confines of your business problem will reap the rewards for all parties.

In today's episode, I want to discuss innovation management from a holistic point of view. I ask you important questions about your product portfolio, your product network, and how innovation should align with corporate strategy. I explain why innovation management shouldn't be siloed in any individual organization or department – it is a global enterprise. I reveal how innovative solutions for the aerospace and defense industry have derived from companies who also supply similar solutions to the bagging of potato chips. I also discuss the number one driver of innovation that separates success from failure.

"An ecosystem really runs a couple of different ways. First of all, who are my partners that are going to help me develop something new? It might be universities that I'm going to work with. It might be partner organizations that we routinely work with. It might be startups." – Paul Heller

"When we think about holistic innovation management, let's just spend a moment talking about what the components are of that. What the scope of that is. Road-mapping and strategic planning. What technologies do we have? What technologies do we need to develop? – Paul Heller

"Ideation is a necessary component of innovation management." – Paul Heller

"None of us have one product. We have multiple products. And so now we're dealing with a portfolio. It might be a small portfolio or might be a portfolio of tens of thousands of products." – Paul Heller

"Another final aspect to holistic innovation management is the reporting and dashboards that the organization needs to put in place to understand what type of innovation it's doing and where it's doing it." – Paul Heller

This week on Innovative Talks:

Why Innovation Management is a global enterprise
What you should be looking for in terms of cross-industry collaboration
How a nitrogen technology solution crossed from food packaging to jetplanes
Why you should road-map your innovation path with strategic planning
What dashboards your product needs to monitor and understand its innovation process
The balance you need between corporate strategy and innovation

Connect with Paul Heller:

Paul Heller on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate Innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly!

The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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How do larger companies with lots and lots of teams scale? If you have too many people with too many moving targets not aligned in their outcomes, your product is at risk. In the past, companies found their processes getting slower and slower as their product became more complex, and at the same time, methodologies inside software development were changing fast. The birth of the Agile Manifesto meant a different approach to production that was more about doing than spending too much time thinking, writing, or documenting in an effort to beat the clock on change and get your product out correctly on the first release.

In today's episode, we follow on from our discussion in a previous episode on Stage-Gate to discuss Agile Methodology. I discuss how this has become the successor in the software world to the Waterfall approach and how Agile has almost eliminated project failure chances. I discuss how Agile allows for continual adjustment and feedback to perfect the product. I also explain Agiles position within digital software teams and the digital products that are out there and how it coordinates very large, massive engagements with lots of teams building a product or set of products to market.

"Theoretically, if you were doing agile well, you could stop after any sprint and have something that could be released to the market." – Paul Heller

"You have these alignment meetings, these system demos, where the teams of teams come back together and demonstrate what they built and show how that they're all working together." – Paul Heller

"It is a whole methodology oriented towards digital software teams, the digital products that are out there and coordinating very large, massive engagements with lots of teams trying to build a product or a set of products to market." – Paul Heller

"What the larger companies found is when we have lots and lots of teams, it doesn't scale very well. We have too many people. Too many moving targets. They're not all aligned." – Paul Heller

"The Agile methodology. Lots of components to it. But the heart of it is a team that's working in a cadence, and the cadence is often called a Sprint." – Paul Heller

This week on Innovative Talks:

How the 'Waterfall Approach' works product development chains
Why processes slow up as your product becomes more complex
Why you need to be adaptable and open to change in development
The heart of Agile methodology
Why a demonstration of a prototype is critical for feedback
The elements of a scaled agile framework
Getting the product better, not faster

Mentioned Resources:

The Agile Manifesto

Connect with Paul Heller:

Paul Heller on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheons newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly!

The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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You might have heard the term Stage-Gate® when discussing product development processes, from Idea to Product Launch. The name comes from one, Dr. Robert Cooper, one of the most influential innovation thought-leaders in the industry. He trademarked the term Stage-Gate® and its methodology, which was implemented by almost 80% of North American companies. In his framework, a product's genesis will go through discreet stages until it hits the market with expected high success rate results.

In today's episode, I want to take some time to explain the Stage-Gate® methodology in layman's terms and what Robert Coopers' research delivered after observing why some companies are very successful at bringing products to market while others are less so. I discuss the stages of Concept Development and the deliverable 'Gate-Meetings' each product would go through. I discuss the benefits of early concept development and how this is a form of quality control. I also discuss how Stage-Gating will maximize your chances of bringing winning products to market.

"By and large the concept of Stages and Gates is always there. It's just the deliverables, the gatekeepers, the way the decisions are made; they become unique to each company." – Paul Heller

"You can think of it almost as a risk management methodology. It's a lot like what a venture capitalist would do. If they were going to invest in a firm, they don't just give the big check right up front, right?" – Paul Heller

"That methodology took a lot of risk out of these products and would identify the products early on that were less likely to succeed in order to make it really work well." – Paul Heller

"Your gatekeepers are a critical role. They need to be people who from the cross-functional parts of your company are going to try to make the business decision to go to the next stage. And they're going to base that on intuition. They're going to base that on experience." – Paul Heller

"You're not just bringing products to market, but you're filtering and bringing the winning products to market. And that's what the stage-gate system was all about." – Paul Heller

This week on Innovative Talks:

Breaking down the meaning of Stage-Gate® in industry
How a successful company breaks down initial concept development
The Five-Stage model for product development
How Stage-Gating is a form of quality control
Why Gatekeepers are critical to the success of a product
What the Money-Gate means for serious investment

Resources Mentioned:

Book: Winning at New Products by Robert G. Cooper

Connect with Paul Heller:

Paul Heller on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate Innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly!

The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Greg Coticchia is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of ENTRA, a consulting company providing business development, product management, and marketing expertise in the manufacturing industry. He also happens to be President of Sopheon, bringing decades of his award-winning experience to oversee the mission of achieving best practices for exceptional long-term revenue growth and profitability. Greg created and launched Carnegie Mellon University's Master program in Product Management – the world's first product management degree and was its founding Executive Director. He’s actively participated in over 17 mergers and acquisitions, involved in or responsible for the launch of over 100 products and solutions. Greg is also the author of Start Your Startup Right: Business Posts from a Journeyman Entrepreneur.

Greg joins me today to discuss his journey from a young industrial Engineer Graduate, to an Innovation Master, in business and the realm of product management education. He shares his first love affair with robotic technology innovation, and working with machine vision at the beginning of the 'PC Revolution.' He reveals how a discussion about the future of software in the 1980s led Greg to investigate the inner workings of Data Center automation and use his experience with factory automation to tackle innovative product development. Greg also discusses the new digital companies such as Amazon and Netflix that in 2021 are software controlled and are run on software methodologies in terms of how they build and grow.

"Amazon is a software company in many ways, right? Netflix is a software company. These are all digital companies, you know, even though they're dealing with mixed media physical product" – Greg Coticchia

"The impact of software cannot be underestimated. A lot of it has to do with it's a product that you can build once; it has high margins, it's highly scalable, highly repeatable. So it's a very attractive business to be in." – Greg Coticchia

"You can learn a lot by getting out of your business." – Greg Coticchia

"Look outside your business for how other segments are changing and how they've interpreted the impact of Innovation. And you can use that as a competitive advantage and build that into your Innovation." – Greg Coticchia

"Software companies can learn a lot from how physical companies build products and build supply chains and market products. There's a lot to be learned there that software companies are ignorant about." – Greg Coticchia

This week on Innovative Talks:

How Greg fell in love with Innovation
Why digital companies like Amazon and Netflix are software companies at their core
How software has impacted the marketplace landscape
Why you should look outside your own business to see how Innovation is being implemented elsewhere
What software companies can learn from physical companies and vice versa
Greg's predictions for Innovation in industry over the next five-years

Resources Mentioned:

Book: Start Your Startup Right

Connect with Greg Coticchia:

Greg Coticchia on LinkedIn

Connect with Paul Heller:

Paul Heller on LinkedIn

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate Innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly!

The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

Start Your Startup Right: Business Posts from a Journeyman Entrepreneur

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In the previous episode, I took some time to explain the purpose of this podcast. Before we start diving into innovative topics, it may be helpful for you to better understand Sopheon, and how we became an innovative company. Understanding our background will help better understand why this podcast is dedicated to innovation.

In this episode, I discuss in greater detail, what Sopheon is and the types of services it provides. I explain what linguistic analysis is and how it helps businesses. I talk about some of the major events that have led the business to where it is today. I also share the Greek words that the name Sopheon is based on.

“The more companies we work with, the more we learned, and the more we understood that there was something much bigger here than just new product development.” – Paul Heller

This week on Innovative Talks:

What Sopheon started doing back in the 90’s in the Netherlands
How linguistic analysis helped identify protocols for hospitals
When Sopheon came to the US
The merger between Sopheon and Teltech
How the term “New Product Development” changed into “Innovation”
Sopheon’s mission through innovation
The origin of Sopheon’s name

Connect with Paul

Email Paul

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate Innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly!

The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Welcome to Innovation Talks. I'm your host Paul Heller, the Chief Technology Officer at Sopheon, and I'm excited that you’re listening and want to be a part of this new podcast. Innovation is at the core of software we produce to make our client’s job easier, however, technology is only one piece of the innovative solution. Get ready to learn about business innovation from industry leaders, customers, and other innovation experts.

In this episode, I take some time to welcome you and introduce you to the start of the Innovation Talks Podcast. I tell you a bit about my background, my experience, and why I started this podcast. I also explain the purpose and intent of this podcast, and what you can look forward to in episodes to come.

“Software is a great solution to help companies do a better job at innovation bringing products to market, but it's only one part.” – Paul Heller

This week on Innovative Talks:

Who is Paul Heller
What is Sopheon
Who Sopheon works with
The purpose of this podcast
The type of content to expect from future episodes

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

For additional information around new product development or corporate Innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly!

The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com and click here.

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Innovation Talks: Recent Episodes

Paul Heller