Taking an inclusive, people-oriented approach combined with a dedication to continuous improvement helped John Saunders grow a modest size business unit into one that made $4 billion a year. John is a former financial services executive and the author of The Optimizer: Building and Leading a Team of Serial Innovators. In this conversation he talks about the roles that customer focus and learning plays in innovation, why trust is an indispensable ingredient for successful change and how empowerment accelerates buy-in for challenging the status quo.