October 01, 2025

Ep 308: The Wisdom of Ignorance: Unlocking Innovation by Thinking Differently with Alan Gregermann, Keynote Speaker and Author; Silver Spring, MD, USA

28 minutes

If you’ve ever felt stuck running the day-to-day while the future rushes past, this conversation is your permission slip to step outside the building and rethink how your company actually innovates.

In this episode, I sit down with innovation strategist and author Alan Gregerman to challenge the way leaders pursue “new.” We unpack his upcoming book The Wisdom of Ignorance and the counterintuitive idea that breakthrough ideas often come from not being the expert. Alan shares why most companies confuse process improvement with innovation, how to unlock the genius in your teams (especially your newest hires), and six leadership habits that keep organizations relevant in a world that won’t slow down. You’ll leave with practical ways to fuel curiosity, test faster, and future-proof your business.

Here are highlights:

-Innovation ≠ Incrementalism: Alan draws a sharp line between improving what exists and pursuing big, valuable problems, urging CEOs to imagine their company five years out and backcast a path to get there.

-The 99% Rule: Breakthroughs are rarely born on a whiteboard. 99% of new ideas build on something that already exists. Get your team out into the world (museums, neighborhoods, other industries) to borrow and remix smarter.

-Six Keys to Relevance: Be purposeful, curious, humble, respectful, future-focused, and a bit paranoid. You’re creating value while scanning for the competitor who might “eat your lunch.”

-Use Fresh Eyes on Purpose: In onboarding, hand new hires a clipboard and ask them what you’re doing well, where you’re stuck, and what other industries are doing better—before you “teach” them your way.

-Ship the Half-Bake (Responsibly): Stop waiting for perfection. Launch minimally viable ideas that deliver real value and let customers help you iterate your way to remarkable.

About the guest:

Alan Gregerman is an innovation strategist, author, and the President & Chief Innovation Officer of Venture Works. For more than two decades, he has helped companies of all sizes remain relevant in fast-changing markets by unlocking the “genius” in their people and organizations. Alan has been featured in over 250 outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, NPR, and CNN. He is the author of Lessons from the Sandbox, Surrounded by Geniuses, The Necessity of Strangers, and the forthcoming The Wisdom of Ignorance, a blueprint for leading breakthrough innovation. Based in the Washington, D.C. area, Alan works across industries and donates 20% of his time to small nonprofits, bringing the same tools and rigor he uses with corporate clients to missions that make the world better.

Connect with Alan:

Website: www.alangregerman.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-gregerman-a33b236/

Connect with Allison:

Feedspot has named Disruptive CEO Nation as one of the Top 25 CEO Podcasts on the web, and it is ranked the number 6 CEO podcast to listen to in 2025! https://podcasts.feedspot.com/ceo_podcasts/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonsummerschicago/

Website: https://www.disruptiveceonation.com/

#CEO #leadership #startup #founder #business #businesspodcast

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By Allison Summers

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