In this episode we discuss:
 

*Why (and how) is gamification being increasingly used in B2B marketing and sales?

*Innovating the Olympics! There are 390 medal events at the Paris Olympics. Could we make it an even 400 at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028? And if so, what are some criteria we might consider for creating – and including – a future event? Curious? Let’s imagine together what might be to come!  

*Managing Remote Workers - Are Productivity Tracking Tools the Answer?

*The world’s biggest 2-week sporting event is ready to kick-off on July 26 – the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. More than 10,500 elite athletes from around the globe will compete for the gold at 17 competition sites. You think this is an easy program to organize? Think again. From construction to logistics, sponsoring an Olympics is the LARGEST logistics challenge known to man. Listen to the complexities and magnitude of logistics requirements here.

Moderator: Tom Spitale

Producer: Tracylynne Williams

In this episode we discuss:
 

*What’s Love Got To Do With It?  How Microsoft is using the principles of B2B storytelling to connect emotionally with business buyers of their Artificial Intelligence offerings - and how you can take a page out of their book.  

*Raising AI to the Third Power: AI & AI (Acquisition Integration) & AI (Acquisition Innovation) . In the news: Conoco Phillips announced it’s acquiring Marathon Oil for $22.5 billion. Becton Dickinson is acquiring Edwards Critical Care Product group for $4.2 billion. WM (Waste Management) is acquiring Stericycle (medical waste services) for $7.2 billion. And Uber Eats is acquiring Foodpanda for $950 million. Yes, lots going on these days in M & A.

*Now the hard work begins for these companies to successfully integrate – and realize the potential synergies – of their new acquisitions. What are some best practices in acquisition integration? And can AI help the acquirer be more creative in identifying and exploiting unforeseen innovation opportunities in its newly-acquired company? Let’s find out!  

*New AI technology aimed at improving job hiring hasn’t worked … What needs to change?

 

*When Protecting Manufacturing, IP Becomes a Sovereign Strategy… Taiwan produces around 90% of the world's most advanced chips. Netherlands-based ASML Holding NV and Taiwan-based TSMC have created remote means to disable critical equipment needed to manufacture semiconductors.

ASML makes Extreme Ultraviolet machines and is the ONLY manufacturer in the world, selling at >$200 million each. Netherlands law prohibits ASML from selling these machines to Chinese companies. It is Europe’s most valued tech stock with a valuation double that of Intel… about $370 billion.

But China, working with Huawei, has cobbled together proxy machines that can perform, albeit inefficiently, the same processes. TSMC Chairman Mark Liu hinted in a September interview with CNN that any invader of Taiwan would find his company’s chip making machines out of order. “Nobody can control TSMC by force,” Liu said. “If there is a military invasion, we will render TSMC’s factory non-operable.”
If this happens, expect MASSIVE shortages of semiconductors. Smart customers will dramatically increase their safety stocks and order at least a year’s supply of devices NOW.

Moderator: Tom Spitale

Producer: Tracylynne Williams  

In this episode we discuss:

*Do you own a pair of ON running shoes, even if you’re not a runner?
If you are launching a new product - what can ON teach us about disrupting a market using the Magnetic Effect of Focus?

*“Intelligent failing” is a critical success factor in any successful innovation initiative. But what about “unintelligent failing”… as we’ve seen recently at Boeing? Let’s take a deeper look at these different kinds of “failure,” and see how “question-storming” at Boeing could have helped prevent their recent quality-control disasters!

*The WNBA, the fans, and a sports bar…lessons in business transformation.

*The acceleration of international tariffs applied to goods and services across the globe and by nearly all major trading countries has elevated competition to the sovereign level. This requires companies to focus heavily on:

-Exploring new markets, investing in local production, and enhancing supply chain visibility.
-Developing mitigation strategies, including the use of technology and collaboration tools with trade partners and people involved in the global supply chain.
-Prioritizing adaptability and resilience to prepare for ongoing changes and effects in the global trade landscape.

*Leadership secrets from chasing the Aurora Borealis (aka Northern Lights)

Moderator: Tim Boyd
Producer: Tracylynne Williams

*Baseball is Back!  Everyone’s talking about the Dodgers $1.21 billion spend on players in the offseason:  But A “Little Team That Could” is out-strategizing the competition and B2B strategic marketers can learn a lot from them.  

*The Post-Covid Workplace Revisited - Where are we now? What does this mean for future skills in the workplace?

*March Madness Fever! Everyone is talking about Caitlin Clark and how she has changed women’s basketball and unlocked a new fanbase. What drives the fanbase to align with teams, players and how can we leverage this in our organizations to drive more engaged and passionate cultures.

Moderator: Tim Boyd

Producer: Tracylynne Williams

In this episode, we discuss the following:

*Ozempic & other weight loss drugs are having such a significant impact that company heads are calling Novo’s CEO for advice on what to expect for their industry. How might this trend impact your business?

*What can we learn about building more productive – and innovative – teams from Google’s Project Aristotle research study? And how might AI be used to add an important “plus element” to the Aristotle research findings to help these high-performing teams be even more creative? Curious? Let’s find out!  

*Current research suggests that networking works well for men, but not as well for women. Let’s explore this and discover ways for women to better leverage business relationships.

*Any catastrophic event in Taiwan, whether caused by human or environmental factors, would have a rapid and financially damaging impact on global supply chains that could significantly outstrip that experienced during Russia’s war on Ukraine. In a blockade scenario, the most significant disruption to global economic activity would come from a halt to Taiwan’s trade with the world, particularly in semiconductors. Associated disruptions to global supply chains—especially in major chip-consuming sectors such as electronics, automotive, and computing—would have grave repercussions for the world economy. Global trade with China would also decline due to a contraction in global trade financing, shocking the global economy and potentially triggering debt crises among China’s more fragile trade partners.

How should companies prepare for this possibility?

*Leading with empathy through turbulent times - Lessons learned from the recent aerospace downsizing that have rocked the industry.

Moderator: Tim Boyd

Producer: Tracylynne Wiliams

In this episode, we discuss:

*Looking backward to innovate forward? Highlights from Time Magazine’s list of the 200 Best Inventions of 2023 tell us that taking inspiration from the past can be an effective creative strategy for inventing the future. Curious? Let’s find out!

*There is an enormous shortage of supply chain professionals able to tackle known supply chain issues. This supply chain talent gap has created what Deloitte refers to as the “supply chain paradox.” This paradox exists because companies continue to prioritize investments in their “digital supply chains” while failing to view supply chains as a driver of innovation. As Deloitte put it in a recent Forbes article, “It seems likely that companies aren’t taking full advantage of their digital investments because they don’t have the talent to do so.” This consultant thinks participating supply chain companies are going to have to develop their talent or collaborate on the development of supply chain apprenticeship programs.

*The “cookie-less” future:  What does Google’s decision to eliminate cookies - a tool used to track user’s past searches and website visits - mean for B2B marketers?  Three imperatives for B2Bs who want to personalize user experiences.  

Moderator: Tom Spitale

Producer: Tracylynne Williams

In this episode we continue with our AI theme and discuss the following:

*What type of impact is AI already having on Strategic Marketing? How are different industries utilizing AI to develop and deploy their strategies?  What ideas can you apply to your business immediately?

*What were some of the highlights from Time Magazine’s list of the 200 Best Inventions of 2023? (Part 1). Could the creative use of generative AI programs have helped anticipate some of these extraordinary, even life-changing new inventions? And now, in 2024, can AI help improve them? Let’s find out!

*Benefits of AI in Change Management - how AI can contribute to improved decision-making in Change Management: Part 2

*There is no element in supply chains where AI will result in labor reductions as it will in warehousing. Warehousing practices of receipt, inspection, putaway (storage), retrieval, preparing for distribution, and shipping will see nearly total automation in the next 10+ years. One researcher expects warehouse direct AND indirect labor to see more than a 50% reduction in required human work by 2030, likely going to >80% by 2035. What are the AI-based technologies that will drive this? Is this a good thing? What are the benefits? Where will the displaced workers go?

*How is AI changing leadership decisions and the art of team building?

Moderator: Tim Boyd

Producer: Tracylynne Williams

*How AI Can Help B2B Marketers Differentiate Their Products - when it comes to AI for B2B marketers, most of the conversation is about content creation and customer service applications. However, the biggest impact for strategic marketers could come from using AI to create needs-based, customer-centric offers and value propositions that are truly unique in the marketplace.  

*How AI Can Help Create Extraordinary Innovation Centers (Part 1): Moonshot Factory. Research Lab. Skunk Works. Center for the Future. Think Tank. Corporate Innovation Centers have many names… but whatever you call them, they all now have the opportunity to make increasingly important contributions to the productivity, profitability, and growth of their parent organization by leveraging recent advances in generative AI. With the publication this week of Bryan Mattimore’s new book, Islands of Invention, How to Create Extraordinary Innovation Centers, we’ll explore how AI can become a critical “partnering tool” in helping these unique institutions make even more valuable contributions to the success of their organization…now and in the future! 

*Benefits of AI in Change Management - how AI can contribute to improved decision-making in Change Management

*Generative AI models offer substantial benefits in factory equipment predictive maintenance. Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) or Variational Autoencoders (VAEs), can be used to augment limited datasets by creating “synthetic” samples that follow the same underlying patterns as the original data. This is particularly valuable in applications where obtaining large datasets can be challenging. For predictive maintenance, synthetic sensor data can be generated to simulate various equipment conditions and failure scenarios, enabling rigorous testing of algorithms and models. Also, Gen AI models can prove beneficial in addressing imbalanced data issues, especially when rare failures or anomalies are present. By synthesizing instances of such scenarios, generative AI mitigates bias in predictive models and enhances their overall performance.

*AI Powered Mentoring Tools

How can the use of AI tools aid us in the development and execution of mentoring programs and what are the current limitations? Can we receive more value from using these tools or is it just different?

In this episode we discuss:

*There’s a lot B2Bs can learn from Taylor Swift about strategies for intellectual property (IP) and business relationships.

*Want to be more productive, complete tasks quicker, and produce significantly higher quality work? A new, joint Harvard Business School and Boston Consulting Group study of 758 BCG consultants has found that with the help of AI programs, you can. Let’s dig deeper into the findings – and ramifications – of the 54-page HBS/BCG study: the questions it raises, and the new organizational approaches, processes, and programs it might imply for all employees in every department and every level.  

*Ten years ago Twinkies disappeared.  Now the Twinkie is worth billions.  This question is: What does this teach us about Change Management?

*Traditional AI (the “analysis super app”) can provide numerous benefits in supply chain management. Supply chain organizations are beginning to experience benefits from Generative AI (the creative super app). These benefits are mostly achieved when tangible intrinsic and extrinsic data are tested against near-limitless scenarios that require the addition of disparate information to determine outcome probabilities and risks. With generative AI, supply chain professionals can look at dynamic consequence streams through layers of supply chain providers and determine real delivery expectations, component/ingredient price movements, and probable points of supply chain disruptions… and provide creative solutions that address the probabilities.

*Realizing the Value of High Impact Mentoring

Moderator: Tim Boyd
Producer: Tracylynne Williams

In this episode, we discuss:

*Storytelling is one of the hottest topics in business over the last couple of years.  Strategic Marketers are embracing the topic as a way to differentiate their brands, gain the attention of buyers, and convince investors and managers to fund their plans.  Find out why storytelling works and how to do it for both external and internal audiences. 

*Seasonal Innovation! Welcome Fall with the 20th anniversary of Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte, and over 2.9 billion online views of “pumpkin spice.” It begs the question: Should you be innovating seasonal new product innovations… all year round? Let’s look at some of the challenges – and opportunities – of creating seasonal new product offerings.

 

*The two most obvious benefits of robots are (1) labor cost savings, and (2) precision exceeding that of a human. According to IBM, there are additional benefits that may be even more important. In this C&C presentation, I will discuss these additional benefits and share what IBM logistics specialists believe to be the REAL path to automation in warehousing.

*Peloton and Lululemon – together they are stronger! Without this partnership, it was unclear how Peloton was going to grow.  This is also a great example of Competition & a Creative Strategy that even B2B companies can learn from.

Moderator: Mary Abbazia

Producer: Tracylynne Williams