Innovation Talks

Eisha Armstrong is the co-founder of Vecteris, an organization that supports B2B services companies in productizing their offerings. Eisha advises CEOs, product management professionals, and companies on cultivating a culture where innovation can flourish. Before co-founding Vecteris, she held senior business management at E.W. Scripps with CEB (now Gartner). Over her 20 years of experience launching new data and information service businesses, she has managed million-dollar businesses and global teams of professionals. Eisha earned her MBA at the Harvard Business School and her Bachelor of Arts in Women’s Studies and Economics at the University of Kansas.

Eisha joins me today to discuss the role of culture in helping a services organization to successfully productize. She discusses the challenges of productization in B2B services and the need for significant change management and culture change. She outlines the "Four Horsemen of Innovation" that can hinder the transition to a culture of innovation within service organizations. Eisha also highlights the benefits of productization and underscores why organizations need to clarify their “why” before embarking on the journey of productization.

“There’s a lot of fear associated with going through a digital or a business model transformation. Those fears are hindrances when you try to create a culture of innovation—so naming them is important.” - Eisha Armstrong

This week on Innovation Talks:

●     Eisha’s background and current role at Vecteris

●     What motivated Eisha to write Productize and Fearless

●     Three reasons for productizing services

●     Anxiety over generative AI disrupting business services

●     Significant challenges companies encounter when productizing services

●     Three key transformations of the productization of services

●     Overcoming the challenges related to productizing services

●     Understanding why you want to productize your company’s services

●     The LEAP framework to overcome fear and challenges during the productization process

●     How mindfulness and gratitude practices can help with fear and anxiety around productization

●     How companies are experimenting with generative AI

●     The innovator’s dilemma and the four horsemen of innovation

●     How Vecteris helps organizations looking to embark on the productization journey

●     The importance of understanding the "why" behind the productization journey

Connect with Eisha Armstrong:

●     Vecteris (https://www.vecteris.com/)

●     Book: Productize: The Ultimate Guide to Turning Professional Services into Scalable Products (https://www.amazon.com/Productize-Ultimate-Professional-Services-Scalable/dp/1736929615/ref=sr_1_1?crid=14JCGFDR6PMT9&keywords=Eisha+Armstrong&qid=1697114386&sprefix=eisha+armstron%2Caps%2C285&sr=8-1)

●     Book: Fearless: How to Transform a Services Culture and Successfully Productize (https://www.amazon.com/Fearless-Transform-Services-Successfully-Productize/dp/B0C4X2WXXQ/ref=sr_1_2?crid=14JCGFDR6PMT9&keywords=Eisha+Armstrong&qid=1697114386&sprefix=eisha+armstron%2Caps%2C285&sr=8-2)

●     Vecteris on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/vecteris/)

●     Eisha Armstrong on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/eishatierneyarmstrong/)

●     Eisha Armstrong on Medium (https://medium.com/@eishaarmstrong)

 

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

 

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

 

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Carla Johnson is a global keynote speaker, author, marketing and innovation strategist, and innovation architect. She is the author of RE:Think Innovation: How the World's Most Prolific Innovators Come Up with Great Ideas that Deliver Extraordinary Outcomes. Carla was formerly the Programme Director of Digital Marketing at HARBOUR.SPACE and the Director of Media Relations and Employee Communications at Time Warner Telecom. She has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and is a graduate of the Influence / ICAN Leadership Institute. On a mission to teach one million people how to become innovative thinkers, Carla has partnered with leaders and Fortune 500 brands to train thousands of people to rethink the work they do and make an impact.

Carla joins me today to discuss fostering a culture of innovative thinking and turning it into a competitive advantage. She explains how observing the world around us can increase creative thinking. She outlines the six innovation archetypes and explains how understanding these archetypes can improve teamwork and idea generation in organizations. Carla also highlights the bottom-up approach to building a culture of original thinking and innovation and underscores the role of structured processes in idea generation and problem-solving.

 

“Innovation really is everybody's business and we all have the ability to contribute if we just understand how.” - Carla Johnson

 

This week on Innovation Talks:

●     Carla’s background and work as an innovation architect

●     How design architects did design thinking before it became popular

●     How creatives and innovators are perceived differently in organizations

●     Connecting emotions to products and user experiences

●     The relationship and difference between innovation and creativity

●     Why creativity is undervalued in organizations

●     How observing the world can fuel creativity and innovation

●     RE:Think Innovation and Carla’s goal to teach a million people to become innovative thinkers

●     The six innovation archetypes and their application to teams and organizations

●     The importance of culture-shapers and storytellers in today’s companies

●     How diversity can make innovative ideas powerful

●     Bringing empathy into the innovation process

Resources Mentioned:

●     Book: Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days (https://www.amazon.com/Sprint-Solve-Problems-Test-Ideas/dp/150112174X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2MY5KDGSJGH87&keywords=Sprint&qid=1696425962&s=books&sprefix=sp%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C299&sr=1-1) by Jake Knapp

 

Related Episode:

●     RE:Think innovation with Carla Johnson (https://www.sopheon.com/podcasts-audio/rethink-innovation-with-carla-johnson-1)

 

Connect with Carla Johnson:

●     Carla Johnson Website (https://www.carlajohnson.co/)

●     The RE:Think Lab Newsletter (https://www.carlajohnson.co/newsletter/)

●     Book: RE:Think Innovation: How the World's Most Prolific Innovators Come Up with Great Ideas that Deliver Extraordinary Outcomes (https://www.amazon.com/RE-Innovation-Prolific-Innovators-Extraordinary/dp/1631953176)

●     Book: Union Pacific and Omaha Union Station (https://www.amazon.com/Union-Pacific-Omaha-Station/dp/0934904448/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=00Mbo&content-id=amzn1.sym.579192ca-1482-4409-abe7-9e14f17ac827&pf_rd_p=579192ca-1482-4409-abe7-9e14f17ac827&pf_rd_r=131-0454843-5311538&pd_rd_wg=UB0yW&pd_rd_r=f6208913-3bd7-4f1d-a438-d2d66f4fdb67&ref_=aufs_ap_sc_dsk%5C)

●     Carla Johnson on LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/in/carlajohnson)

●     Carla Johnson on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/carlajohnson.co)

●     Carla Johnson on Twitter (http://twitter.com/carlajohnson)

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

 

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review whe

Steve Johnson is an author, speaker, and coach dedicated to helping teams overcome the chaos in product management. He is a founding partner and the CEO of Product Growth Leaders, an organization that helps product leaders remove the confusion of managing products by providing a clear understanding of roles and responsibilities and a playbook of modern techniques. Before Product Growth Leaders, Steve served as the CEO of Under10 Consulting LLC and the Vice President of Products for Pragmatic Institute. Steve holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Computer Science from Hallam College of Business at the University of Tennessee.

Steve joins me today to discuss how the lack of standardization, best practices, and conversations about product management makes the field chaotic. He describes his journey from marketing and computer science to product management. He explains the importance of understanding both the business and technical aspects of product management. He highlights how generative AI like chat GPT—though it can spark creativity and generate ideas—still needs the guidance of human judgment. Steve also offers advice to people interested in delving into the product management career and shares insights on offering consulting services as products.

 

“Everything's a product. If you sell it, it's a product—and it should be treated that way.” - Steve Johnson

This week on Innovation Talks:

●     Encountering chaos in product management

●     How product management emerged as a specialized role in organizations

●     The difference between brand management and product management

●     How Procter & Gamble created the brand manager job

●     The “servant” and “god” product manager

●     Why business thinking should be brought into product management

●     Why generative AI will not cost you your job

●     The importance of human judgment and guidance in the effective use of generative AI

●     Why you need to look at generative AI as a college intern

●     Using generative AI as an ideation and pattern-matching tool

●     The value of Generative AI and chatGPT in open innovation

●     The distinction between project and product management

●     Why companies are shifting from project to product management

●     Shifting from a project-based to a product-based mindset

●     The drawbacks of treating products as projects

 

Related Episode:

●     Taking a systematic approach to the product management process (https://www.sopheon.com/podcasts-audio/the-process-of-product-management) with Steve Johnson

Connect with Steve Johnson:

●     Product Growth Leaders (https://www.productgrowthleaders.com/about)

●     Product Growth Leaders on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/product-growth-leaders/)

●     Product Growth Leaders on Twitter (https://twitter.com/PGLteam)

●     Steve Johnson on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjohnson717/)

●     Steve Johnson on Twitter (https://twitter.com/sjohnson717)

●     Email: [email protected]

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

 

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

 

Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/innovation-talks/id1555857396) | TuneIn (https://tunein.com/podcasts/Technology-Podcasts/Innovation-Talks-p1412337/) | GooglePlay (https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9mZWVkcy8xNDY1ODg1LnhtbA) | Stitcher (https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=614195) | Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1dX5b8tWI29YbgeMwZF5Uh) | iHeart (https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-innovation-talks-82985745/) | Amazon (https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6e12f112-fdc6-499e-be27-bcdd18505859/innovation-talks)

 

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SopheonCorp/) , Twitter (https://twitter.com/

Jim Fava is the former Executive Director of the Antithesis Group, an organization that supports businesses and governments in understanding and navigating risks and opportunities. Regarded as the “Father of Modern-Day Life Cycle Assessment,” Jim is on a mission to make the world a better place and has been one of the leading pioneers in sustainability. He has made significant contributions to the sustainability and environmentalism movement for more than 40 years and has spent his career guiding businesses and governments through risks and opportunities, enabling them to hold environmentally responsible and sustainable operations. Today, alongside Neil D’Souza, Jim co-hosts Five Lifes to Fifty, a podcast that explores the intersection between society, business, environment, and technology and negotiating the path to sustainable products.

Jim joins me today to discuss embracing change for a more positive, sustainable impact. He shares the eighth and ninth Golden Rules for sustainable innovation and discusses the foundational changes needed to embed sustainability and life cycle information into the innovation process. He highlights the role of sustainability professionals in translating environmental and life cycle data into business value. He also outlines the five attributes needed for any kind of change and illustrates how customers around the world are driving the need for greener, more sustainable products.

 

“The whole ecosystem is changing; customers, governments, regulators, competitors, and markets globally want greener products—and sustainable innovation is the next frontier for greener products.” - Jim Fava

This week on Innovation Talks:

●     Sustainable innovation as the next frontier for greener products

●     The eighth Golden Rule: focusing on positive impacts and results rather than just data and information

●     Why life cycle professionals need to engage with information users and stakeholders at the beginning stages of a life cycle or sustainability study

●     The differences between data, information, knowledge, and wisdom

●     How sustainability and life cycle professionals can bridge the gap for decision-makers by translating data and information into applicable knowledge and wisdom

●     How a computer company connected their sustainability professionals with their innovation team to shift perspective

●     The ninth Golden Rule: actions, changing behavior, and business practices

●     The five attributes that can help you achieve change and embed sustainability into innovation

●     Why companies avoid change regarding positive environmental and sustainability impact

●     How consumers, governments, and regulators are driving the need to integrate sustainability into innovation

 

Resources Mentioned:

 

●     Book: Greener Products, 1st Edition: The Making and Marketing of Sustainable Brands (https://www.amazon.com/Greener-Products-Making-Marketing-Sustainable-ebook/dp/B008472NF6/ref=sr_1_3?crid=194Y9CZ0ZXEE6&keywords=Greener+Products+book&qid=1695113745&sprefix=greener+products+bo%2Caps%2C272&sr=8-3) by Al Iannuzzi

Related Episodes:

●     How to embed sustainability into your innovation process with Jim Fava (https://www.sopheon.com/podcasts-audio/how-to-embed-sustainability-into-your-innovation-process-with-jim-fava)

●     Golden rules for a sustainable business with Jim Fava (https://www.sopheon.com/podcasts-audio/golden-rules-for-a-sustainable-business-with-jim-fava)

(https://www.sopheon.com/podcasts-audio/golden-rules-for-a-sustainable-business-with-jim-fava)

Connect with Jim Fava:

●     Podcast: Five Lifes to Fifty (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/five-lifes-to-fifty/id1687638970)

●     Jim Fava on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-fava-04b88b5/)

 

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

 

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscrib

Alex Slawbsy is the Chief Growth Officer of InnoLead, an organization that creates content, events, and tools to help the world's largest network of corporate strategy, innovation, and R&D leaders drive change more successfully. Over the past 20 years, Alex has dedicated his time to researching, teaching, guiding, and leading corporate innovation strategy development, capability building, and new business incubation. Before InnoLead, Alex served as the Director of Innovation at Embraer-X and an innovation consultant for several years for organizations including Clayton Christensen’s disruptive innovation consultancy, Innosight. Alex holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Brown University and a Master of Business Administration degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

 

Alex joins me today to discuss why innovation leaders need to shape culture to drive organizational change. He explains why innovation is difficult to quantify and how it’s challenging for innovation leaders to argue their necessity to an organization. He outlines why innovating and change-making imply the need to build trust and relationships within an organization. Alex also discusses hybrid work in the post-COVID era and how remote work may affect organizational culture, change-making, and innovation.

 

“If you’re trying to move the organization, you need to build the relationships, the bonds, the trust, and perhaps the mentorship with the people who will support you.” - Alex Slawsby

 

This week on Innovation Talks:

●     Alex’s background in corporate innovation and the history of InnoLead

●     The difference between innovation and invention

●     Alex’s insights on current shifts in innovation

●     Current conversations around innovation, uncertainty, and the economy

●     Communicating the value innovation leaders and innovation teams bring to an organization

●     The innovator’s dilemma and navigating innovation and change-resistant people

●     The challenge of getting people to support something that may not be in the best interest of their careers

●     How innovation teams are often perceived in companies

●     How to avoid and manage the clash between innovation and the core business

●     Connecting with consumers to understand what’s best for them

 

Connect with Alex Slawsby:

●     InnoLead (https://www.innovationleader.com/)

●     InnoLead on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovation-leader/)

●     InnoLead on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/innolead/)

●     InnoLead on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/innovationldr/)

●     InnoLead on Twitter (https://twitter.com/InnoLead)

●     Alex Slawsby on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexslawsby/)

 

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

 

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

 

Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/innovation-talks/id1555857396) | TuneIn (https://tunein.com/podcasts/Technology-Podcasts/Innovation-Talks-p1412337/) | GooglePlay (https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9mZWVkcy8xNDY1ODg1LnhtbA) | Stitcher (https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=614195) | Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1dX5b8tWI29YbgeMwZF5Uh) | iHeart (https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-innovation-talks-82985745/) | Amazon (https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6e12f112-fdc6-499e-be27-bcdd18505859/innovation-talks)

 

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SopheonCorp/) , Twitter (https://twitter.com/sopheon) , and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/sopheon/) , and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

 

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and in

Jim Fava is the former Executive Director of the Anthesis Group, an organization that supports businesses and governments in understanding and navigating risks and opportunities. Known for his holistic desire to make the world a better place, Jim has been deemed the “Father of Modern-Day Life Cycle Assessment” and regarded as one of the leading figures in the industry. A pioneer in sustainability, Jim has made significant contributions to the sustainability and environmentalism movement for more than 40 years. Today, alongside Neil D’Souza, Jim co-hosts Five Lifes to Fifty, a podcast that explores the intersection between society, business, environment, and technology and negotiating the path to sustainable products.

Jim joins me today to discuss product life cycle assessment and how it can help provide an understanding of impact over an entire product life cycle. He outlines three golden rules for life cycle assessment. He describes the applications and limitations of product life cycle assessment. He shares the story of how The Coca-Cola Company realized the impact of all materials and challenged its suppliers to be greener. Jim also highlights why, when designing a product, you have to think about not just sales, but also how it’ll be used, disposed, reused, recovered, and recycled.

 

“Life cycle assessment is a process that identifies environmental and social issues associated with a product and how those issues can occur at various stages of a product’s life cycle.” - Jim Fava

 

This week on Innovation Talks:

●     Three golden rules for life cycle assessment

●     Why there are no green products, only “greener” products

●     The stages of a product’s life cycle and the impacts throughout

●     Life cycle assessment from the perspective of innovation portfolios

●     Why life cycle information is essential, but not sufficient

●     Introducing the LCA Standards in the International Organization for Standardization

●     What Jim’s most proud of in his career

 

Resources Mentioned:

●     Book: Greener Products: The Making and Marketing of Sustainable Brands (https://www.amazon.com/Greener-Products-Making-Marketing-Sustainable-ebook/dp/B008472NF6/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=greener+products%2C+the+making+and+marketing+of+sustainable+brands&qid=1694085454&sr=8-1) by Al Iannuzzi

 

Related Episode:

●     Golden rules for a sustainable business with Jim Fava (https://www.sopheon.com/podcasts-audio/golden-rules-for-a-sustainable-business-with-jim-fava)

Connect with Jim Fava:

●     Podcast: Five Lifes to Fifty (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/five-lifes-to-fifty/id1687638970)

●     Jim Fava on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-fava-04b88b5/)

 

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

 

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

 

Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/innovation-talks/id1555857396) | TuneIn (https://tunein.com/podcasts/Technology-Podcasts/Innovation-Talks-p1412337/) | GooglePlay (https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9mZWVkcy8xNDY1ODg1LnhtbA) | Stitcher (https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=614195) | Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1dX5b8tWI29YbgeMwZF5Uh) | iHeart (https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-innovation-talks-82985745/) | Amazon (https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6e12f112-fdc6-499e-be27-bcdd18505859/innovation-talks)

 

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SopheonCorp/) , Twitter (https://twitter.com/sopheon) , and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/sopheon/) , and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

 

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthl

Marie-José van den Boomgaard is the Liaison Manager for Start-ups and Scale-ups at KPN, a Dutch telecommunications company. MJ has demonstrated her passion for open innovation throughout her role as Liaison Manager and through the 300 deals she has closed between KPN and scale-ups. In addition to her role at KPN, MJ is an active board member of Costa, an initiative from VNO NCW where the 25 top brands in the Netherlands exchange information on working with scale-ups. In September, MJ will be launching The Innovation Cast—a podcast sharing and discussing personal stories from innovation heroes—with Kirsten van Rijn.

MJ joins me today to discuss her role as the mediator between KPN and scale-ups. She offers advice to people new to the scale-up world. She explains how COVID-19 has changed the relevance of telecommunications. She describes why process optimization is the easiest innovation type for scale-ups. MJ also reveals how top-level commitment has helped her create successful collaborations between KPN and scale-ups and highlights the importance of assessing your organization’s internal processes when working with scale-ups.

 

“Experiment and fail fast. Optimize your processes, get a coalition of the willing, experiment, and use a CRM.” - Marie-José van den Boomgaard

 

This week on Innovation Talks:

●     The responsibilities of the Liaison Manager KPN

●     Why open innovation is highly valued at KPN

●     How to create impactful collaborations between your organization and a scale-up

●     The types of innovation that work best with scale-ups

●     Engaging with scale-ups and the importance of the culture of collaboration

●     Speeding up the deal-making process and the emphasizing strategic relevance of deals

●     Finding, hiring, and developing interns

 

Resources Mentioned:

●     Magnet.Me (https://magnet.me/jobseekers)

 

Connect with Marie-José van den Boomgaard:

●     KPN (https://www.kpn.com/)

●     KPN on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/kpn/)

●     Marie-José van den Boomgaard on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/marie-jos%C3%A9-van-den-boomgaard/)

●     Email: [email protected]

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

 

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

 

Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/innovation-talks/id1555857396) | TuneIn (https://tunein.com/podcasts/Technology-Podcasts/Innovation-Talks-p1412337/) | GooglePlay (https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9mZWVkcy8xNDY1ODg1LnhtbA) | Stitcher (https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=614195) | Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1dX5b8tWI29YbgeMwZF5Uh) | iHeart (https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-innovation-talks-82985745/) | Amazon (https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6e12f112-fdc6-499e-be27-bcdd18505859/innovation-talks)

 

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Jim Fava is the former Executive Director of the Anthesis Group, which supports businesses and governments in understanding and navigating the risks and opportunities they face. Renowned as the "father of modern-day life cycle assessment," Jim has provided invaluable guidance, tools, and expertise on strategies and actions that enable organizations to operate in a more environmentally responsible and sustainable manner. His efforts have contributed significantly to supporting global decision-making processes and have led the United States delegation responsible for shaping the first generation of ISO LCA standards. He is the co-founder of influential organizations such as the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative, Five Winds International, and the Forum for Sustainability through Life Cycle Innovation (FSLCI). Alongside Neil D’Souza, Jim co-hosts Five Lifes to Fifty, a podcast that explores the intersection between society, business, environment, and technology and how to negotiate the path to sustainable products.

Jim joins us today to discuss the golden rules for embedding sustainability into the innovation process. He shares how he was inspired to conceptualize the golden rules of innovation and sustainability. He outlines the foundations of sustainable development and why those foundations need to be led by governance. He explains why sustainability officers need to be assigned directly to an innovation department. Jim also highlights why it’s important for sustainability officers to avoid “sustainability talk” and instead speak the language of their audiences.

 

“If you’re going to do something different, do it now. Change is part of what we have to do to make it happen.” - Jim Fava

 

This week on Innovation Talks:

●     The Ten Golden Rules of sustainability and innovation

●     The increasing awareness of sustainability’s importance

●     Integrating sustainability into innovation

●     The foundations of sustainable development

●     Good governance and its role in sustainable development

●     Recalibrating the roles of sustainability officers in an organization

●     The value of speaking the language of your audience

●     How innovation drives marketing and procurement

●     Breaking silos and why people sustainability should be part of the innovation technology department

 

Related Episode:

●     Golden rules for a sustainable business with Jim Fava (https://www.sopheon.com/podcasts-audio/golden-rules-for-a-sustainable-business-with-jim-fava)

Connect with Jim Fava:

●     Podcast: Five Lifes to Fifty (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/five-lifes-to-fifty/id1687638970)

●     Jim Fava on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-fava-04b88b5/)

 

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

 

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

 

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Huub Rutten is the co-founder and Vice President of Product Research and Design at Sopheon. Huub has over 20 years of experience in language management and holds a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics from Radboud University in the Netherlands. He plays a pivotal role in developing Sopheon’s linguistics and knowledge management technologies and leads the organization into solutions for innovation. Huub integrates his expertise in linguistics and information technology to innovate language management technology within knowledge-intensive business processes and has recently created an in-depth course on innovation portfolio management.

Huub joins me today to discuss managing, governing, and balancing an innovation portfolio. He explains why there is no “ideal” portfolio and how the most desirable portfolio is relative to the regional market sector someone is going for. He describes why developing and investing in production and manufacturing plants is as critical in innovation as product research and development. He underscores why larger companies need to create an innovation management council within their organization. Huub also highlights the importance of bridging the gaps between product portfolios and production portfolios and understanding how they impact each other.

 

“The simplicity of looking at a portfolio as a series of projects is ridiculous. If you want to add value from a portfolio management perspective, you have to connect with its complexity.” - Huub Rutten

This week on Innovation Talks:

●     Huub’s thoughts on innovation portfolio balance

●     Thinking about an innovation portfolio as a “living” business object in itself

●     How the direction of a company’s innovation portfolio demands a continued SWOT analysis

●     Innovation management in production processes and technology

●     Investing in manufacturing and production plants

●     Balancing a portfolio of portfolios

●     Bridging product and production portfolios

●     Creating an innovation management council within a large company

●     How people are reacting to Huub’s courses on portfolio management

 

Related Episodes:

●     The Importance of Sprint Portfolios with Huub Rutten (https://www.sopheon.com/podcasts-audio/the-importance-of-sprint-portfolios-with-huub-rutten)

●     Pillars of Portfolio Management with Huub Rutten (https://www.sopheon.com/podcasts-audio/pillars-of-portfolio-management-with-huub-rutten)

 

Connect with Huub Rutten:

●     Huub Rutten on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/huub-rutten-9958136/?originalSubdomain=nl)

 

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

 

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

 

Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/innovation-talks/id1555857396) | TuneIn (https://tunein.com/podcasts/Technology-Podcasts/Innovation-Talks-p1412337/) | GooglePlay (https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9mZWVkcy8xNDY1ODg1LnhtbA) | Stitcher (https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=614195) | Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1dX5b8tWI29YbgeMwZF5Uh) | iHeart (https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-innovation-talks-82985745/) | Amazon (https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6e12f112-fdc6-499e-be27-bcdd18505859/innovation-talks)

 

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SopheonCorp/) , Twitter (https://twitter.com/sopheon) , and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/sopheon/) , and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

 

For additional information around new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon’s newsletter where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com (https://www.sopheon.com/) and click here (https://info.sopheon.com/subsc

Huub Rutten is the Co-Founder and Vice President for Product Research and Design at Sopheon. With over two decades of experience in language management and a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics from Radboud University in the Netherlands, Huub is instrumental in developing Sopheon’s linguistics and knowledge management technologies and continues to lead the organization into solutions for innovation. Huub integrates his expertise in linguistics and information technology to innovate language management technology within knowledge-intensive business processes and, recently, has created an in-depth course on portfolio management.

Huub joins me today to discuss why, when it comes to innovation portfolio management, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. He explains why the front-end of a portfolio needs to be separated from the ‘realization’ end of a portfolio. He discusses why the launch strategy of a new product is as important as its development. He also highlights why companies need to focus on establishing the value of realization instead of the value of the front-end of a portfolio, describes why the portfolio leader needs to ensure a portfolio’s balance and direction, and underscores why portfolio management has to be executed in combination with concrete decision-making.

 

“Look at a portfolio—and portfolio management—as a business object in itself, a collection of things, of products, of projects that have value, business cases, and risk.” - Huub Rutten

 

“Companies who look at portfolio management as a tool for change, transformation, and modernization of a company will be more mature.” - Huub Rutten

 

“Innovation management is about making promises for the future, and you have to believe in the promise of the whole thing.” - Huub Rutten

 

This week on Innovation Talks:

 

●     The tendency of people to look at portfolios as reports instead of a business object

●     The fundamentals and foundations of innovation portfolio management

●     Distinguishing the difference between the ‘front end’ and ‘realization’ parts of a portfolio

●     Separating the front end innovation portfolio from your ‘realization’ portfolio

●     Feature development and its prototyping

●     Examples of features and components in different products

●     Considering the pipeline value of a portfolio

●     How a portfolio’s front end is an important knowledge base

●     Portfolio management as an organizational transformation tool

●     Portfolio leadership and why companies struggle to transform their organization

●     Theory versus practice in portfolio management

 

Related Episode:

●     AI and machine learning in innovation with Huub Rutten (https://www.sopheon.com/podcasts-audio/ai-and-machine-learning-in-innovation-with-huub-rutten)

 

Connect with Huub Rutten:

●     Huub Rutten on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/huub-rutten-9958136/?originalSubdomain=nl)

This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon

 

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

 

Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/innovation-talks/id1555857396) | TuneIn (https://tunein.com/podcasts/Technology-Podcasts/Innovation-Talks-p1412337/) | GooglePlay (https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9mZWVkcy8xNDY1ODg1LnhtbA) | Stitcher (https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=614195) | Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1dX5b8tWI29YbgeMwZF5Uh) | iHeart (https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-innovation-talks-82985745/) | Amazon (https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6e12f112-fdc6-499e-be27-bcdd18505859/innovation-talks)

 

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SopheonCorp/) , Twitter (https://twitter.com/sopheon) , and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/sopheon/) , and share your favorite episodes on social me