What is Innovation?

Hosted by Jared Simmons

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142

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Jul 2025

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Conversations with innovation experts and practitioners about what innovation is and how we can all get better at it.

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July 31, 202427 min

Innovation is when solving a problem creates value :: Joia Spooner - Fleming

In a world where the term 'innovation' risks becoming a buzzword, understanding its true essence is crucial. Joia Spooner-Fleming, a seasoned innovation executive with a decades-long track record of developing people and products at Procter & Gamble, joins the show to discuss what innovation looks like in practice. Throughout the process of transforming ideas into value, it's critical to distinguish invention from innovation. Joia emphasizes that true innovation requires a solution that is not only novel but also significantly improves upon existing alternatives. ------------------------------------------------------------ Episode Guide: 0:00 - Intro 0:57 - What is Innovation? 2:48 - Market's Feedback Loop 4:53 - Decision Making Process 6:18 - What isn't innovation? 8:11 - Human Curiosity and Solution 9:41 - Organizational Innovation 10:32 - Holistic Innovation Strategy 14:43 - Sustainability Innovation 17:31 - Innovation in Life 25:00 - Advice to Innovators ------------------------------------------------------------ Joia Spooner-Fleming is an innovation executive and independent consultant, after a 22 year successful career with P&G. Most recently she was R&D VP for Gillette. Joia has a proven track record of transformational innovation leadership and results. She is adept at partnering with leaders across the business to build unified strategies that capitalize on emerging trends and grow brands. Joia excels at building innovation organizations. She holds a chemical engineering degree from MIT. Outside her professional life, Joia is a voracious reader, devoted mother of two children, and loves walking with her dog. More about our guest: Joia Spooner-Fleming OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management

February 28, 202440 min

Innovation is novelty with impact :: Janice Fraser

This week, delve into the world of innovation with us on “What is Innovation?” together with Janice Fraser, an innovation expert and author. Explore the challenges of intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship, including imposter syndrome, and uncover the pivotal roles of courage and confidence in venture funding. More about our guest: Janice Fraser built a storied career in Silicon Valley as a startup founder, product manager, and confidante for entrepreneurs and enterprise executives alike. From creating the second-ever personal interface to the web in the early days of Netscape, to leading the world’s first user experience firm, Janice has often found herself “sitting at the bleeding edge and making it boring” by figuring out how to make the latest evolutions repeatable, useful, and commonplace. Janice currently supports “VLOs” (very large organizations) including P&G in becoming more innovative and agile. She also guides several venture-funded startup companies, federal government entities, and non-profit organizations, helping them do more with less, make bold moves and achieve extraordinary results. She sits on the board of the Ohio University Entrepreneur Center and served on The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine workshop committee focused on the innovation ecosystem for NASA. Over the years, Janice has been a guest lecturer at Harvard Business School, Berkeley HAAS School of Business, Kellogg School of Management, and Stanford, among others. Drawing on her almost three decades of coaching hundreds of leaders and teams to achieve success, Janice is a sought-after speaker offering audiences around the world the opportunity to learn from her experiences and sharpen their leadership skills, build stronger teams, make meaningful progress quickly, and drive business transformation. Her exuberant big-stage keynotes and practical, empathetic brown-bag talks have become cult favorites. She is the coauthor of Farther, Faster, and Far Less Drama: How to Reduce Stress and Make Extraordinary Progress Wherever You Lead (April 2023), which outlines a groundbreaking framework for modern leadership that empowers greater alignment and quicker decision-making. Know more about him here: Janice Fraser Book: Farther, Faster, and Far Less Drama: How to Reduce Stress and Make Extraordinary Progress Wherever You Lead ------------------------------------------------------------ Episode Guide: 0:00 - Intro 0:54 - What is Innovation? 3:39 - Intentionality and routinization 5:08 - Progress and taking space 7:33 - Detrimental aggressive optimism 11:59 - Teaching, impassioned optimism, and the business bestseller lists 14:26 - Statistical data, capital control, and disruptive innovation 19:02 - Disruptive (authentic) innovation 22:49 - Early Innovation adopters and the bell curve 26:26 - Mutual problem between intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship journey 29:53 - Courage, Confidence, Imposter Syndrome, and venture funding 32:09 - Enacting courage 26:14 - Book: farther, faster, and far less drama by Janice Fraser 39:06 - Advice to Innovators -------------------------- OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management

December 13, 202326 min

Innovation is figuring out what to do better—and how :: Ajay Malik

🎙️ This week on "What is Innovation?" podcast, we're joined by Ajay Malik, CEO of Secomind.ai and AI thought leader Ajay defines innovation as figuring out how and what to do better. Hear how he connects this definition to his deep knowledge of applying AI to businesses, seeing it as an enabler to that process. Let us know what you think! 🎧✨ More about our guest: Ajay Malik is a recognized thought leader in the field of AI and technology, with over 90 patents to his name and two influential books published. His extensive experience and deep technical knowledge make him a captivating speaker, capable of providing valuable insights on AI integration for businesses of all sizes. His appearance on a podcast could attract a large audience of tech enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, and business leaders interested in leveraging AI for business growth. Ajay's expertise in AI investment and strategic planning can provide valuable insights for listeners interested in financial planning, risk management, and wealth creation. His discussion on identifying the right opportunities and leveraging AI to stay ahead of industry trends could attract a significant audience of investors and business owners looking for guidance on incorporating AI into their business strategies. As the driving force behind Secomind, a company dedicated to seamlessly incorporating AI into products, workflows, and customer support processes, Ajay has demonstrated his ability to bridge the gap between hardware, embedded software, and cloud applications. His insights on the intersection of AI, technology, and business excellence could attract a large audience of listeners interested in retirement planning, wealth creation, and investment management. Know more about him here: Ajay Malik Company: Secomind.ai ------------------------------------------------------------ Episode Guide: 0:00 - Intro 0:48 - What is Innovation? 3:41 - AI: an enabler of innovation 6:22 - AI beyond automation 8:27 - Applying AI in Secomind.ai 10:31 - AI: The seventh sense 13:33 - Removing bias in AI and innovation 15:47 - Role of AI in process of innovation 16:45 - Advice: Driving innovation adoption in organizations 22:24: - Book: Sapiens 24:41 - Advice to innovators -------------------------- OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

November 16, 202332 min

Innovation is revolutionary change :: Doug Patton

🎙️ This week’s “What is Innovation?” episode brings us an engaging conversation with Doug Patton, renowned inventor and author. Listen in as Doug expands on his simple definition of innovation—revolutionary change—and its connection with an inspiring environment. He highlights passion as the essential spark of innovation and discusses how cultivating the right atmosphere contributes to the creative process. More about our guest: Doug Patton is a consummate inventor whose work has spanned over four decades, his efforts generating products in over 20 markets ranging from biomedical equipment to fragrance. He has garnered over 200 patents and design awards in having innovated for companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Mercedes-Benz, and Bausch + Lomb. Patton Design, his company, currently serves as the genesis of many products sold worldwide. He consulted with the USPTO as part of the Patent Public Advisory Committee and was the featured inventor in Simon Cowell’s American Inventor on ABC. His affinity for innovation led to his books Conquering the Chaos of Creativity , released in 2021, and Inspirations of Creativity , released in April 2023. Know more about him here: Doug Patton Company: Patton Design ------------------------------------------------------------ Episode Guide: 0:00 - Intro 1:09 - What is Innovation? 1:36 - Defining "revolutionary" 3:38 - Innovation and the environment of inspiration 5:45 - Book chapter: Incredible sensitivity of creative power 7:24 - Spark of Innovation: Passion 10:52 - Book: Conquering the chaos of creativity 18:23 - An environment of fun and the essence of listening 27:53 - Advice to innovators and change makers -------------------------- OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

December 14, 202227 min

Innovation is humanity's ability to adapt to change :: Alex Goryachev

Alex Goryachev is the former managing director of Cisco’s global Co-Innovation Center, where he spearheaded programs and initiatives to accelerate innovation. He is a Silicon Valley veteran who is a sought-after speaker on innovation and is often referred to as the ‘innovation therapist’. This episode dives into innovation's role as the natural enemy of bureaucracy and how constrained environments stifle innovation. More about our guest: Over the past 20 years, Alex made it his business to turn disruptive concepts into successful ecosystem-centric business models. He has an extensive track record of building and leading global cross-industry business & technology teams focused on revenue and market share growth, increasing customer acquisition and profitability through new digital products and offerings. Alex is passionate about leveraging innovation purposefully and pragmatically to create opportunities for all. Today, he is serving as Innovator-in-Residence at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Tulane University. He is an active venture partner with Interlock Capital, a community-driven venture fund primarily investing in underrepresented founders and geographies. Alex is also a US delegate and Technical Advisory Group member in the International Standards Association (ISO), defining global common standards for Innovation Management. ------------------------------------------------ Episode Guide: 1:01 - What is Innovation? 2:21 - Innovation: playful pragmatism 4:50 - Bureaucracy vs Innovation 7:06 - Ability in adapting to change 8:50 - What isn't innovation? 10:25 - Conflations and implications: Idea and Innovation ; Invention and Innovation 12:20 - Quantifying Innovation and Metrics 16:10 - Innovation Indicator: 'Spent' 17:29 - Employee Sentiment Metrics 19:43 - Innovation: Shaping Careers 21:24 - Life outside Work 22:38 - Advice to Innovators ------------------------- Resources Mentioned: Company: Best Places to Work Rankings: 'World’s Best Workplaces™ 2022' Company: Napster ------------------------- OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

September 1, 202221 min

Innovation is doing a better thing, not just doing a thing better :: Urvashi Bhatnagar

Urvashi Bhatnagar, DPT, MBA, vice president of Business Development, Healthcare at Genpact, discusses how one can differentiate innovation from finding your 'north star'. This episode also unpacks the intersection of analytics and healthcare and how sustainability is reshaping the world. More about our guest: Urvashi Bhatnagar is a mission-driven population-health and sustainability expert. She has over a decade of healthcare leadership experience working with clients to advance health outcomes in underserved communities—addressing barriers to care, advancing health equity, and leveraging data-driven approaches to reduce the cost of life-altering high-quality care. She also holds an MBA from Yale University and a Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Boston University. She believes global wellness can be achieved through sustained and intentional investment in environmental justice and healthcare sustainability initiatives for all populations. ------------------------------------------------ Episode Guide: 1:20 - What is Innovation? 3:08 - Is it improvement or finding your north star? 5:06 - Leaders: meeting innovation 6:25 - Leapfrog innovations and embedded systems 8:45 - What isn't innovation? 11:07 - The next 'it' thing 12:56 - Healthcare: innovation from demand 15:00 - Innovation: Shaping Careers 18:53 - Advice to innovators ------------------------- Resources Mentioned: Books / Articles: Book: The Sustainability Scorecard: How to Implement and Profit from Unexpected Solutions -------------------------- OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

July 7, 202142 min

Innovation is creating a playground :: Colin Hunter

Colin Hunter, an Author, Mentor, Coach, and the Founder and CEO of Potential Squared shares takes on innovation in the field of VR and creating 'playgrounds' for his various clients More about our guest: Colin Hunter is an Author, Mentor, Coach, and the Founder and CEO of Potential Squared, an international business that specializes in creating playgrounds to disrupt the way people are led. Three areas of focus include: Building Leadership Capabilities, Strengthening Functional Capability, and guiding Innovative Cultures. He generates a lasting professional impact with those he works with and is renowned for being what they and he calls refreshingly direct, lighting inspirational fires to drive change. He facilitates, mentors, and coaches individuals and teams in the areas of leadership presence, personal brand, change leadership, innovation, strategic dialogue, creating board-level influence, and earning a seat at the executive table. With the use of actors, cutting-edge virtual realities, and a new leadership framework, clients have shown award-winning differences in the ways they lead. He prides himself by practicing what he preaches with being wrong more and learning fast from it. ------------------------------------------------------------ Episode Guide: 01:58 - What Is Innovation? 3:03 - What is the "real problem"? 4:02 - An Anecdote: Ms. Brown 7:18 - The HUMAN user 8:56 - HUMAN influence 9:39 - Claridge's in London with Melman and Gloria 12:07 - Playgrounds 13:53 - Big Wet Fish Analogy 16:34 - (Really) Effective Actors 17:28 - Getting an Advisory board 21:15 - Joy and Healing: Episode 14 23:06 - 'Playgrounds' response to COVID 25:26 - 3H: Hugs, human interaction, house rental analogy 27:12 - Virtual reality at work and at home 29:26 - Perspective: a religious background 31:25 - Ship out of the harbor 35:35 - 'What does cycling give you?' 39:17 - Advice to innovators -------------------------- OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

April 23, 202145 min

Innovation is a new solution to an old problem :: Dr. Robin Gaster

Dr. Robin Gaster, President of Incumetrics, Inc., a data and program evaluation consultancy, and author of Behemoth, Amazon Rising: Power and Seduction in the Age of Amazon share his take on innovation at Amazon and beyond. More about our guest: Robin Gaster, PhD is a visiting scholar at George Washington University Institute for Public Policy and the President of Incumetrics, Inc., a data and program evaluation consultancy that serves clients seeking to understand the intersection of technology, innovation, economics, and politics. From 2004-2014, Dr. Gaster was the lead researcher and principal writer on a 13-volume series of reports published by the National Academies of Science and Engineering on the U.S. government’s premier innovation program for small businesses, as well as for a major report on the Manufacturing Extension Partnership. ------------------------------------------------------------ Episode Guide: 0:00 - Intro 1:58 - What Is Innovation 2:25- Invention vs Innovation 4:13 - Working with the government and Small Business Innovation Awards 4:57 - Problem of getting into the market 5:55 - Inventive people and being linear 9:38 - Great Man Theory and the multibillion founders of modern culture 11:12 - Is there regression in Amazon? 12:51 - Amazon, Innovation, Consumer-centric 14:20 - AWS, innovation and internet giant 17:30 - AWS and Amazon 16:5 - Amazon and digital privacy 21:36 - Secrecy of corporations 21:55 - Regulating Amazon? Understanding websites 23:13 - Antitrust and court-proceedings 25:12 - Protecting consumers from predatory retailers 26:08 - Sunlight and Dogmatic traditions 26:54 - Book: Amazon Rising 28:57 - Judo and Amazon business decisions 29:52 - Amazon Prime's 2-day free shipping 30:40 - Customer-centric: Caring or obsession? 31:45 - Flywheel approach 33:02 - Going into advertising 35:06 - Groceries, Healthcare, Alexa, and Opportunities 36:34 - Amazon's Ring and working with police departments 37:21 - Collateral Damage and pervasiveness 39:58 - One goal focus 41:17 - 150 years of change from the 'race to the bottom' 42:12 - A proposed reset with corporate overloads 42:40 - Information access and new sets of standards 43:05 - Advice to innovators -------------------------- OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

March 3, 202135 min

Innovation is doing new things with confidence :: Jeff Wiguna

Jeff Wiguna, Co-Founder of Kuju Coffee, describes how confidence and bravery boost innovation in music and business. More about our guest: Prior to brewing up Kuju, Jeff was sales & marketing director at Good Paper, a fair trade consumer goods company, where he led a turnaround from declining sales to national distribution at Whole Foods Market. Jeff is passionate about building brands that have a scaled and relevant impact on the world. His favorite Kuju? "I love all of them, literally. But if I had to pick - Single Origin Papua New Guinea on the daily and Bold Awakening for when I need a real pick me up." His favorite brew: Single Origin Papua New Guinea His favorite place to indulge in it: Anywhere with a view. ------------------------------------------------------------ Episode Guide: 1:50 - What Is Innovation 3:40 - Target in itself 5:20 - Overplaying in Music and Business 6:02 - Trying to impress 6:19 - Adding bravery and sense of humanity 6:44 - Destructive products 8:00 - Bill Evans' intentionality and building on 9:12 - Human temptation of trying to impress 9:32 - Making connections than impressions 9:40 - Impression by definition 9:54 - Jazz Improv 11:09 - Human nature: impressing and 'woodshedding' 11:53 - Leading with a hard part as a business 12:34 - "Are we connecting with what we wanted to do in the beginning?" 13:07 - Focusing on Brand Message 13:44 - Cap table and institutional fundings 14:09 - Staying true and building on as a VC 15:00 - Bravery: connotation of positive ends 20:12 - Innovation is a form of change 22:07 - Innovation like a jazz solo 29:23 - Art of listening 30:00 - Staying true to form 32:51 - What is not innovation 33:37 - Advice to Future Innovators -------------------------- OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

April 29, 2025Episode 13629 min

Innovation is getting "unattached" to outcomes :: David Greer

What if innovation isn't about having the best idea — but about letting go of the need to be right? In this episode, Jared Simmons talks with entrepreneurial coach, author, and facilitator David Greer about the power of thinking differently and acting differently. They explore the critical role belief systems, fear of success, and perfectionism play in holding back innovation — and why real innovators treat life like an ongoing experiment. If you're an entrepreneur, executive, or innovator stuck between ideas and action, this conversation offers simple, powerful ways to move forward. About David Greer: David Greer is an entrepreneurial coach, author of Wind In Your Sails , and a catalyst for business transformation. He specializes in working with entrepreneurs facing challenges — offering coaching rooted in action, growth, and personal transformation. Episode Guide: 00:00 — Introduction: Meet David Greer 01:10 — Innovation is any new way of thinking or doing 03:19 — Innovating through business processes 07:42 — Show, don’t tell: Why demonstrations matter 10:55 — The hidden beliefs that block innovation 13:00 — Why failure is part of real innovation 15:15 — Getting unattached to the outcome 18:21 — Efficiency culture vs. creativity culture 21:32 — How environment fuels or stifles innovation 23:44 — Learning from different industries 24:41 — Finding simple solutions to complex problems 26:38 — Advice for innovators: Take one step this week 28:40 — How to connect with David Greer More about David David J. Greer is an entrepreneurial coach, author, andfacilitator. He is the catalyst who gets you to fully live your dreams now. Spend one hour reading his book Wind In Your Sails, attend a one hour talk with him, or get one hour of 1-to-1 coaching and you will have 3 concrete action items that will shift and accelerate your business within 90 days. David specializes in working with entrepreneurs challenged with alcoholism or addiction. He and his wife Karalee are committed to each other and their three children, spending time supporting them in the many and varied activities they are involved with. They live in Vancouver, Canada. About the Host: Jared Simmons is the founder of OUTLAST Consulting and the host of What is Innovation? After building a career at Procter & Gamble, McKinsey & Company, and The Coca-Cola Company, Jared now helps organizations and individuals unlock their potential through innovation and intentional action. He’s passionate about making innovation practical, personal, and accessible — whatever that means for you.