OutsideVoices with Mark Bidwell

Latest Episodes:

When Big and Small Make Great with Brad Feld Jun 09, 2020

Show notes

This week we are joined by entrepreneur, author and venture capitalist, Brad Feld. Brad is a co-founder of Techstars, a platform for startups to access funding and entrepreneurial networking, and is also the co-founder of venture capital firm, Foundry Group. Brad is the author of several books on startups as well as an entrepreneurial advice blog. He sits on the board of several technology startups and was an early investor in Fitbit, Zynga, and Harmonix.

What Was Covered

How startup ecosystems have changed – and become more democratized – in the 30 years in which Brad has been active within them
How digitization of production, distribution, customer relationships, etc., is making strategic "moats" much more penetrable than they were before
How diversity of an ecosystem builds resilience but how our biases (both conscious and unconscious) make this difficult for us

Key Takeaways and Learnings

Those large organizations that are extracting greatest benefit from startup ecosystems are doing so not through control (typical of a hierarchy) but through engagement and feeding back learning into their own institution – creating high levels of "return on learning"
This large company engagement with entrepreneurs also builds loyalty, so that as startups grow they can become a positive weapon rather than a threat
Great innovation leaders combine continua practical skills development (getting good at your work) with endless and radical self-inquiry (embracing lifelong learning and exploration)

Resources and Links Mentioned in this Podcast

Brad's blogs Feld Thoughts and Venture Deals
Get in touch with Brad on Twitter, LinkedIn and via email
The companies co-founded by Brad Feld: Foundry Group, Techstars, Mobius Venture Capital
The companies Brad invested in: Uber, Fitbit, Zynga, Harmonix
Other mentions: Kauffman Foundation, Cox Enterprises, Amazon, Target, Metro, Barclays, Cedars-Sinai, Rover, Reboot.io
Brad Feld's books
The Ideal Financial Reporting Tempo for a VC-Backed Company, blog post published on Feld Thoughts (January 2017)
Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger, edited by Peter D. Kaufman
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't, a book by Jim Collins

Innovating a 2000 Year Old Product with Annalisa Gigante Jun 02, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, Annalisa Gigante, former Head of Innovation and R&D at LafargeHolcim, joins us. With over 25 years of experience, her expertise includes management, HR, strategy, marketing and innovation. She is currently a Board member of ZIS.

What was covered

How Annalisa's experience in different industries throughout her career has given her the opportunity to see parallels in business innovation
Annalisa's unique approach on handling project failures and how to regain momentum as an individual and as a team
Annalisa's view that innovation is present in all areas of business and not limited to within innovation teams, and how this multi-disciplinary approach ultimately helps creative growth

Key Takeaways and Learnings

The importance of recognizing 'fast failure' in innovation projects
Finding the 'Goldilocks' zone – the middle ground between innovation in technology and market interests, and bridging the gap by adapting a multi-disciplinary approach
Recognizing the finite number of standard business models present within an organization and using these analytics to assist in the external and internal innovation of a business

Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode

The Business Model Navigator: 55 Models That Will Revolutionise Your Business by Oliver Gassman - http://amzn.to/2aKJEFu

Accidental CEO with David Novak May 26, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, we are joined by David Novak, former CEO and Founder of Yum! Brands which includes Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and KFC. David is the author of several books including Taking People With You and his biography The Education of An Accidental CEO. Most recently, David has co-founded oGoLead, a digital leadership training platform that aims to change the world by building better leaders.

Why David believes there is a toxic leadership problem in today's business world and the role leadership training has to play in solving this problem
The recognition methods and processes that are central to David's leadership philosophy
How David uses his experience as a marketer to get inside the minds of the people he leads to learn perceptions, habits, and beliefs and so better understand where to focus efforts to achieve change

Key Takeaways and Learnings

'Heartwiring' and 'Hardwiring'; why leading from your heart and making others feel valued is just as important to business results as process excellence
'Freedom within a framework'; how David boosted the international market for US fast food brands through localization
'Extraordinary authenticity'; why self-awareness and being confident yet vulnerable is the key to becoming a better leader

Links and Resources Mentioned in this Episode

Get in touch with David Novak via Twitter or LinkedIn
David Novak's website
Lift a Life Foundation, website
Lead2Feed program
Taking People With You, a book by David Novak
The Education of An Accidental CEO, a book by David Novak
Yum!Brands, website
oGoInsider Leadership Podcast with David Novak, Episode #8 - Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMORGAN CHASE

Back in the Game: EA's Near Death Experience with Andy Billings May 19, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, Andy Billings, Vice President of Profitable Creativity at Electronic Arts, joins us. Andy is co-founder of Electronic Arts University, an internship program for graduates to begin careers in gaming, and is also an Innovation Advisor for the think tank, Singularity University, as well as to some of the largest corporate organisations within the USA.

What Was Covered

How EA suffered a 'near-death experience' and rapid decline in profits through not responding fast enough to the digital gaming revolution and how the company used this experience to transform its culture, go to market approach and relationships with its gamers
How the company categorises innovation in three ways - Incremental, Breakthrough, and Disruptive – to maximise return on the energy and creativity within its business
How EA marries process, guidelines and practices with creativity to stay relevant in a rapidly evolving market where development cycles can be up to five years

Key Takeaways and Learnings

How embracing small i - incremental innovation at the enterprise level can allow it to be part of the day to day operations of the organization and not just the responsibility of an R&D lab
How EA transformed their customer relationship practices (what they call Player First) and how the results of these gamer interactions drive other core processes such as game release schedules
The importance of a learning mindset to a hits based company so that the inevitable misses can help create future value - or as Andy says, "Never try and help the organisation learn twice exactly the same way"

Resources

Electronic Arts University: https://www.ea.com/careers
Singularity University: https://su.org/

Nicholas Thomas: The Return Of Curiosity May 13, 2020

Show notes

In this episode I am joined by Professor Nicholas Thomas, an anthropologist and historian who has been a Director of The Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Cambridge since 2006. He is the author of several books including his latest book called The Return of Curiosity: What Museums are Good For in the Twenty-first Century. Nick Thomas gives us fresh perspectives on museums and their potential role in fostering curiosity and open dialogue as key leadership skills in the contemporary VUCA world.

What Was Covered:

The resurgence of museums and why their importance is growing in contemporary society where everyone is supposedly online
Why a visit to a museum is unique and different from other cultural activities and what it can offer to a business leader
The importance of encounters with the unknown in a safe setting that a museum can provide a visitor

Key Learnings And Takeaways:

A museum visit is an unscripted experience and a space for reflection that may be critical for looking at problems from different perspectives and inspiring innovation
Asking simple questions of curiosity is a critical skill in today's heterogenous world
Anthropological thinking and taking cultural differences into account has become of fundamental importance in business

Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

The Return of Curiosity: What Museums Are Good For in Twenty-first Century, a book by Professor Nicholas Thomas
Connect with Nicholas Thomas by email
The Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
Tate Modern
British Museum
Louvre Museum
Louvre Abu Dhabi
Apartheid Museum
Museum of Anthropology at UBC
El Anatsui: Triumphant Scale, a past exhibition at Haus Der Kunst in Munich
Books by Gillian Tett, author and journalist at Financial Times
Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady, a book by Samuel Richardson

Fighting The Good Fight Against Bias with Dolly Chugh May 12, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, we are joined by author and social scientist, Dolly Chugh, to discuss her book, The Person You Mean to Be: How Good People Fight Bias, which studies how implicit bias and unintentional ethical behaviour affects our everyday decision making. Dolly is a Professor of Management and Organizations at New York University, has won several awards for excellence in teaching and ethics, and is a monthly columnist for Forbes.com.

What We Covered

Why our brains are biased, and the ways in which we can begin to recognize our own conscious and unconscious biases
Why confirmation bias can hinder the success of a recruiting the best potential talent in the workplace
How we can learn to recognize and use our own privileges to challenge and help change other people's biases

Key Takeaways and Learnings

The growth mindset: why seeing ourselves as a 'work in progress' can help us to learn from other perspectives
Conscious and unconscious biases: why affinities and associations with our personal identity can lead us to make less successful decisions
The business benefits that come from bringing in different perspectives to core business processes, including higher levels of innovation, increased creativity, improved employee retention and recruiting success

Links and Resources Mentioned in this Episode

Get in touch with Dolly Chugh via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Good Reads
Dolly Chugh's website
The Person You Mean to Be, a book by Dolly Chugh
NYU Stern School of Business, website
Forbes.com, website
Thinking, Fast and Slow, a book by Daniel Kahneman
Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness, a book by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein
Anthony G. Greenwald, psychologist

Ignoring the Siren Call of Sameness Creates Lasting Value with Scott Page May 09, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, we are joined by Scott E. Page, a Professor of Complex Systems, Politcal Sciences, and Economics at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Scott is an external faculty member at the Santa Fe Institute and is an author and speaker who has worked with Google, Bloomberg, Blackrock and NASA. Today, he discusses his book, The Diversity Bonus.

What was covered

Why diversity within teams must be based on cognitive differences and not solely differences in identity
How the best problem-solvers and forecasters use several models and equations to assess the best strategy for solving complex economic issues
Why cognitive diversity is a strategic asset given its impact on high-value problem solving, predictions and strategic planning

Key Takeaways and Learnings

The Diversity Bonus; the added value that comes from team members thinking about problem solving differently, bringing different tools together and how to realize this bonus
Avoiding the 'siren call of sameness' – why business leaders go wrong in employing people that are similar in identity and experience
If you have one way to look at the world you would be better off flipping a coin to support your business decision making

Links and Resources Mentioned in this Podcast

Get in touch with Scoot Page via email, Facebook or LinkedIn
The Diversity Bonus: How Great Teams Pay Off in the Knowledge Economy (Our Compelling Interests), a book by Scott E. Page
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor website
Santa Fe institute website
Course taught by Scott Page 'Model Thinking'
Other mentions: Cinematch, Bell Labs, Kaggle, Molex, InnoCentive, CalTech
The Big Short, a movie by Adam McKay
Expert Political Judgement, a book by Philip E. Tetlock
The Chessboard and the Web, a book by Anne-Marie Slaughter
The Success Eqaution, a book by Michael J. Mauboussin
Cognition in the Wild, a book by Edwin Hutchins
The Pause Principle, a book by Kevin Cashman

Kevin Kelly - The Formula For The Next 10,000 Startups, Failing Forward, And Becoming A Teaching Organisation May 06, 2020

Show notes

Kevin Kelly, Senior Maverick at Wired magazine, co-founded Wired in 1993 and served as its Executive Editor for the first seven years. His acclaimed book is called The Inevitable, where he discusses the 12 technological forces that will change our future. On today's show, he talks on how technology will shape organisations and why leaders need to adapt to a teaching mentality within the company.

02:55 - Who is Kevin and what does a typical week look like for him?
06:35 - Kevin talks about one of his books, Cool Tools.
08:10 - Why did Kevin become so optimistic about technology back in the 80's?
12:05 - Kevin talks about his book The Inevitable, and what it means to entrepreneurs/corporate executives.
15:10 - Questioning authority is now the default.
17:35 - We have to train ourselves on how to scan and use our digital media properly, just like the way we learned how to read, write, and speak.
18:40 - What kind of skills would people need to survive in the future?
19:50 - No matter what career field you're in, you have to become a teacher in order to effectively disrupt.
21:40 - What does a CEO have to know today?
22:20 - We're having the second industrial revolution right now – The power of AI.
25:15 - AI will mostly be replacing tedious tasks, other than jobs.
27:25 - Machines are good at answering questions, whereas people are good at asking those questions. This means a good question will be ever more valuable because machines can't do it.
30:30 - Innovation is primarily failure.
33:30 - There's no perfect school out there. You, as the parent, have to fill in for your children.
34:05 - The only way we know what technology is good for is by using it, not by prohibiting it.
36:40 - Learning is the new currency.
44:00 - China is going a thousand miles into the future; however, they still don't know where they want to go.
47:15 - What is Kevin afraid about? Treating our AI like slaves.
51:20 - What's the next big project for Kevin?

Links And Resources:

The Inevitable: Understanding 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future by Kevin Kelly
Cool Tools: A Catalogue of Possibilities by Kevin Kelly
WIRED Magazine

Innovating, Medici style with Frans Johansson May 01, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, we are joined by author, speaker, and entrepreneur, Frans Johansson. Frans is the author of the bestselling book, The Medici Effect, from which the now popular term was coined, and more recently, The Click Moment. Frans is the Founder and CEO of The Medici Group, a consultancy firm which promotes innovation through diversity.

What Was Covered

The Medici Effect, the name given to what happened in a period in Florence history where creative individuals from myriad disciplines, sculptors, architects, painters, philosophers, etc., were able to break down the boundaries between the different disciplines and cultures and ignite what became one of the most creative eras in Europe's history and the lessons it has for today's world of business
How the instinct to surround yourself with people like yourself creates barriers to innovation
How organizations typically do not properly capitalize on the valuable resource that new hires bring – a critical period where new concepts and ideas can be introduced
How to introduce diversity at executive level by overcoming the fear of the unpredictability of innovation

Key Takeaways and Learning

How diversity drives innovation through different perspectives that build upon each other to break new ground
The concept of "Intersectional hunting" - to actively look for a field or a discipline or a person or a culture that doesn't necessarily make immediate sense and then through that make a connection, then using this to tackle the issue, opportunity, challenge that you have at hand in a new way

Links and Resources Mentioned in this Episode

Get in touch with Frans Johansson via Twitter or LinkedIn
Frans Johansson's website
The Medici Group, website
The Medici Effect, a book by Frans Johansson
The Click Moment, a book by Frans Johansson
Lucky or Smart, a book by Bo Peabody

Shapeshifting Companies of the Future with Dr. Bob Johansen of Institute for the Future Apr 29, 2020

Show notes

In this episode we are joined by Bob Johansen who has been helping organisations around the world prepare for and shape the future for nearly forty years.

Bob is a distinguished fellow at Institute for the Future where he utilises his extensive training in the social sciences and experience with top leaders of business, government, and nonprofit organisations to encourage thoughtful consideration of the long-term future.

He is also the author of a number of books exploring potential futures, including Leaders Make the Future: Ten New Leadership Skills for an Uncertain Age and The Reciprocity Advantage: A New Way to Partner for Innovation and Growth.

What we cover:

Bob explains how he and IFTF help companies like McKinsey, Tesco, UPS, Disney, McDonald's, and Syngenta navigate and survive in the VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world of the future.
We discuss the roles for leaders, organisations and individuals in this world of the future – what will and what won't work based on case studies in his two recent books Leaders Make the Future and The Reciprocity Advantage.
Explore what particular skills and mindsets will be most in demand in the future and how some words of wisdom from Peter Drucker informed his own mindset and habits.