In this episode, I talk to Jon A. Fredrickson, pioneer in open innovation and founder of Einstein's 55, who’s dedicated most of his career to working Fortune 500 companies, government, and nonprofit organizations leverage open innovation challenges to source innovative solutions and innovators. In this episode, he reveals why most organizations misdiagnose their biggest challenges and how leaders can break through organizational antibodies, cultural resistance, and insular thinking to source breakthrough solutions from unexpected places. Jon shares the BOOM methodology, real stories from NASA to humanitarian organizations, and why getting the problem right matters more than having all the answers. If you're leading innovation and feel stuck, this conversation will change how you think about problems, solutions, and who gets to solve them.

Jon is the founder and CEO of Einstein55.

In this conversation, Jan Fischer discusses the critical role of employee innovation in organizations and how to create a culture that fosters creativity and engagement. He emphasizes that innovation is not just the responsibility of a select few but should involve everyone in the organization. The discussion also covers the importance of overcoming barriers to innovation, the impact of AI on innovation management, and the challenges of measuring the ROI of innovation efforts. Jan shares real-world examples of successful employee-driven innovation initiatives and highlights the need for organizations to adapt and evolve their innovation strategies to remain competitive in the future.

Jan Fischer is the founder and CEO of innosabi.

Takeaways

• Innovation is everyone's responsibility, not just a select few.
• Organizations often have more ideas than they can act upon.
• Lack of permission stifles innovation in organizations.
• Employee engagement is crucial for successful innovation.
• Creating a culture of innovation requires commitment from leadership.
• AI can enhance the role of innovation managers by automating repetitive tasks.
• Measuring the ROI of innovation is challenging but essential.
• Successful innovation requires quick feedback and support from management.
• Innovation should be seen as a continuous process, not a one-time event.
• Recognition and a culture of experimentation drive employee innovation.

The conversation explores the critical role of leadership in innovation and the importance of creating a culture of idea sharing and activation. It delves into the challenges and considerations in open innovation, as well as the future of innovation and integration of internal and external ideas. The conversation delves into the success of open innovation at P&G, the importance of loving the problem, key competencies for innovation leaders, advice for new innovation leaders, managing resistance to innovation, and understanding innovation theatre.

She is the author of Unlocking Innovation and founder of MileZero through which she helps clients to use innovation, unlock their business’s potential and get real results. 

Episode takeaways:

• Innovation requires leadership, courage, and humility

• Unlocking innovation involves creating a culture of idea sharing and activation Open innovation success

• Loving the problem

Chapters:

• 00:00 The Role of Leadership in Innovation

• 05:57 Creating a Culture of Idea Sharing

• 11:56 The Evolution of Ideas into Million-Dollar Products

• 17:49 Challenges and Considerations in Open Innovation

• 31:15 The Importance of Loving the Problem

• 37:19 Advice for New Innovation Leaders

• 44:27 Managing Resistance to Innovation

In this conversation, Iliriana Kaçaniku and Eugene Ivanov explore the evolution and significance of open innovation and crowdsourcing. They discuss the differences between co-creation and crowdsourcing, the importance of internal crowdsourcing, and the challenges faced by smaller organizations in adopting innovative practices. The role of AI in enhancing innovation processes is also examined, along with the necessity of defining problems effectively in crowdsourcing initiatives. The discussion concludes with reflections on the future of crowdsourcing and the importance of retaining solver loyalty in a competitive landscape.

 Key takeaways

• Open innovation is about bringing external knowledge into organizations.

• Crowdsourcing allows organizations to tap into a global pool of solvers.

• Internal crowdsourcing can create a common intellectual space within organizations.

• AI tools can significantly reduce the cost of innovation processes.

• Defining problems accurately is crucial for successful crowdsourcing.

• Organizations need to foster a culture of continuous innovation.

• Smaller organizations can leverage AI to enhance their innovation capabilities.

• The loyalty of solvers is essential for successful crowdsourcing platforms.

• Co-creation involves known partners, while crowdsourcing involves unknown solvers.

• Innovation is a necessity for survival in today's fast-paced environment.

I launched Activate Innovation Lounge with a single mission: uncover how organizations create the conditions that unleash innovation talent already within their teams.

In each episode, I sit down with leaders who are building the structures, processes, and incentives that turn latent potential into breakthrough solutions. We explore what worked, what backfired, and the specific conditions that made innovation possible, not the theory.

Every conversation ends with an open question the guest is still wrestling with, creating true knowledge exchange across episodes.

Whether you're leading innovation, working in L&D, or trying to unlock your organization's hidden potential, this podcast is built to be useful for leaders doing the hard work of activating innovation from within.