Host Dave Robertson first welcomes Rita Gunther McGrath, Professor at Columbia Business School, who talks about the changing nature of competitive advantage and how this affects the need for innovation. Next, Nick bayer, CEO and Founder of Saxby's Coffee, talks about how experimentation is playing a vital role in his company's success.

In the second half, Dave looks at successful innovative leaders. First, Mawell Wessel, VP of Innovation Strategy at SAP, discusses the evolving ways his company is bringing innovation to other businesses. Finally, Jack Zenger, Co-Founder and CEO of Zenger Folkman, recently studied the traits that make a great innovative leader. He talks to Dave about the necessary skills to become a role model of innovation.

In this show, which originally aired on September 16, 2014, Dave Robertson talks first with Joshua Wolf Shenk, the author of "Powers of Two: Finding the Essence of Innovation In Pairs."  His second guest is Nancy Tennant, the Chief Innovation Officer at Whirlpool, who talks about the company's successful turnaround plan.

In the second half, Dave's first guest is Jean-Phillippe Deschamps, Professor Emeritus at IMD, who is the author of "Innovation Governance: How Top Management Organizes and Mobilizes for Innovation."  Finally, Dave speaks with Carla Diana, a product designer and creative consultant who is the author of "Leo the Maker Prince."

In this archival episode, Dave talks first with Roger Dooley, Author of "Brainfluence: 100 Ways to Persuade and Convince Customers With Neuromerketing."  He talks about how understanding customer psychology can affect not only marketing, but also innovation in product design as well.

Next, we hear from Dr. Dean Schroeder, co-author of "The Idea-Driven Organization: Unlocking the Power in Bottom-Up Ideas."  He tells us why it is important to not jsut look at Innovation from a top-down perspective, but look for ideas from front-line employees as well.

Finally Drew Marshall, Founder and Principal of Primed Associates, LLC explains how he helps businesses fit both breakthrough and continuing innovation into their practices and culture by finding the right "points of entry" for a given situation.

Host Dave Robertson brings back two more of his favorite authors of 2014:  Ron Adnerm Professor of strategy and Entrepreneurship at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and author of "The Wide Lens: A New Strategy for Innovation"; and Chris Trimble, Adjunct Associate Professor of Business Administration at Tuck, who has writen a number of books, including "How Stella Saved the Farm: A Tale About Making Innovation Happen," and "Beyond the Idea: How to Execute Innovation in Any Organization."

In the second half, Dave talks first to game designer Jesse Schell, CEO of Schell Games and author of "The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses."  The final guest is Joey Neal, VP of Digital Products at Makerbot, a global leader in the desktop 3D printer industry.

For the month of December, Dave is bringing back some of his favorite authors of the past year, as well as speaking with guests about innovation in toys and games.  Up first this week is Mikkel Rasmussen, Director of ReD Associates and author of “The Moment of Clarity: Using the Human Sciences to Solve Your Toughest Business Challenges.”  Next Dave talks to Scott Anthony, the Managing Partner of Innosight.  Scott talks about the sometimes hard work of innovation, and his book “The First Mile: A Launch Manual for Getting Great Ideas Into the Market.”

In the second half, Dave chats with Leslie Scott, the inventor of Jenga.  She talks about how she came up with the game itself, as well as the curious path it took to intellectual property protection… without a patent!  Finally, Brenda Romero tells us about her work as a video game designer, and what innovation challenges one faces during game development.

Host Dave Robertson talks first with David Burkus, author of "The Myths or Creativity: The TRUTH About How Innovative Companies Generate Great Ideas."  His second guest is Orkan Telhan, Assistant Professor of Fine Arts-Emerging Design Practices at The University of Pennsylvania, who discusses how he is using his interdisciplinary design experience to bring a concept for a new educational toy to market via Kickstarter.

Next Andrew Brentano, Co-Founder of Tiny Farms, talks about how he's trying to introduce bugs into the American diet and food system.  Finally Keith Ferrazzi, CEO of Ferrazi Greenlight, discusses effective virtual team building.

Host Dave Robertson talks first to Jim Brenner, Founder and CEO of Broad Cove as well as President and CEO of Ecohomes Liberia, who describes how his company is transforming the housing system in Africa. Dave's second guest is Ty Montague, author of "True Story: How to Combine Story and Action to Transform your Business," who talks about what it takes to be a great company.

Dave's next guest is Saikat Chaudhuri, Adjunct Associate Professor of Management and Executive Director of the Mack Institute for Innovation Management here at Wharton, who talks about some of the latest trends in the tech sector and how to effectively bring ideas to market.  Finally, we hear from Michael Schrage, author of "The Innovator's Hypothesis: How Cheap Experiments are Worth More than Good Ideas," who is also a Research Fellow at the MIT Center for Digital Business. He discusses cost-effective ways to bring innovation to your business.

In this compilation episode, Dave speaks with Jon Shaeffer, Director of New Media for the Minor League Baseball team Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs about the challenges of innovating in a business where your core product cannot change.  Next Drew Boyd, co-author of "Inside the Box: A Proven System of Creativity for Breakthrough Results" tells us about how thinking "outside the box" may not be as helpful as it seems.  Finally, Dave interviews Lindon Leader, the graphic designer behind the FexEx logo, and its famous hidden arrow.

In this compilation episode, Dave speaks with Dan Lin about the production and challenges of The Lego Movie.  Next, Daniel Lamarre sheds light on the creative process of Cirque Du Soleil.  Finally, Bill Kelley tells us about the history and innovations behind Jelly Belly.

In this "best of" episode, host David Robertson chats with three terrific guests.  The first is David Owens, Professor for the Practice of Management and Innovation at Vanderbilt University and the Author of "Creative People Must Be Stopped: 6 Ways We Kill Innovation."  Next, Dave talks to Steve Blank, Silicon Valley serial entrepreneur and academic.  Finally, he speaks to Michael Raynor, Director at Deloitte Services.