Innovation Talks

Dr. Sven Schimpf is the Managing Director of the Fraunhofer Group for Innovation Research and the Director of the Institute for Human Engineering and Empathic Design at Pforzheim University. He is involved in research, education, training, and mentoring in the field of innovation. Sven has conducted extensive studies on roadmapping and has a degree in Business Administration and a doctorate in Engineering earned during his tenure as part of CC R&D Management at Fraunhofer IAO. Throughout his career, he has actively engaged in national and international research and consulting projects, collaborating with various industrial companies to enhance their R&D strategies, processes, and organization. His focus lies in the realm of strategic R&D and innovation management, where he dedicates himself to monitoring, evaluating, and incorporating potentially disruptive advancements.

Today, Sven and I discuss the findings of the updated roadmapping study conducted by the Fraunhofer Group for Innovation Research with three other organizations. We discuss how organizations use roadmapping and the challenges they face. We highlight the importance of clear communication and why excessive details should be avoided in roadmaps. We analyze how software developers can use the insights gained from the study to improve their roadmapping processes. Sven explains the basics of roadmapping and why mismatches between market-oriented information sources and the responsibility for roadmapping occur. We also discuss how organizations can enhance their strategic planning and decision-making processes, foster creativity, envision ambitious futures, and uniquely engage stakeholders.

“There is huge potential because in the long run production technologies there are a lot of things happening and they are enabling the development of the next—or the generation after this— generation of products and services.” Dr. Sven Schimpf

This week on Innovation Talks:

●     The definition of roadmapping and why it is important

●     An overview of the roadmapping study

●     The types of companies that participated in the study

●     Why there is a lack of marketing involvement in roadmapping

●     The importance of sharing roadmaps with stakeholders

●     The best processes to manage and update roadmaps

●     Roadmapping software recommendations

●     Why detail makes roadmaps less useful

Connect with Dr. Sven Schimpf

●     Dr. Sven Schimpf

●     Dr. Sven Schimpf on LinkedIn

●     Fraunhofer Group for Innovation Research Roadmapping Study

●     Fraunhofer Group on LinkedIn

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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Steve Johnson is a speaker and product coach consulting on modern methods that move ideas to market. He is the author of Turn Ideas Into Product and has served as an advisor and executive for technical organizations and industry associates. He is a former instructor and vice president at Pragmatic Marketing and a co-creator of QuartzOpen Framework. He is also a founding partner of the Product Growth Leaders community. Steve has 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 the process of product management. He shares why leaders need to understand the differences between the roles of product managers and product owners. Steve shares his definition of product management and discusses the importance of a systematic approach. He reveals where companies should begin with their product process and why it is imperative to start with personas. He shares how to problem solve using design, as well as the issues businesses experience when product managers play the role of designer or developer.

“The goal of design is not beauty, but when you are done with the design, if it’s not beautiful, you have made a mistake.” - Steve Johnson

This week on Innovation Talks:

●     How changing the role of product managers to product owners can cause problems

●     Why you should only focus on ten or fewer of the 37 boxes of the pragmatic framework

●     Finding your best practice and implementing product ops to create consistency and standardization

●     How Steve’s “No Chaos Product Process” works and the differences between Waterfall and Agile product development

●     The role of documentation in product management and why there should be a more significant focus on communication

●     Why achieving superior product management involves loving the problem more than the product

●     How many product managers are performing the roles of designers and developers and the problem this creates when building a business

Resources Mentioned:

●     Book: Turn Ideas Into Product by Steve Johnson

Connect with Steve Johnson:

●     Under10 Consulting

●     Under10 Consulting on Facebook

●     Steve Johnson on LinkedIn

●     Steve Johnson on Twitter

●     NotExactlySteve.com

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 | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify | iHeart

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, 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 and click here.

If you weren’t able to attend the Innov8rs Conference in Amsterdam, you missed out on some great speakers, a friendly, collaborative environment, and the latest industry updates on open innovation. My experience at the conference was so positive that it got me thinking about the definition of open innovation. It’s a question I love to ask my guests, and the answers vary from industry to industry. For me, open innovation is all-encompassing, including everything from the initial idea to seeing value returned from the successful launch of the idea. Innovation isn’t just about the next great idea—it’s about bringing that product to market and seeing consumers respond.

Today, I summarize my experience at the Innov8rs Conference, the concept of open innovation, and its implementation in various industries. I describe open innovation and how it pertains to consumers, partners, consultants, universities, and startups. I highlight the benefits of open innovation and recount how conference attendees came together to create an environment that fostered collaboration. I discuss the challenges we still face as innovators in implementing open innovation successfully, including issues related to access to talent, intellectual property, and industry expertise. I shout out the conference keynote speakers I loved listening to and their insights on the most important topics facing innovators today. I also emphasize the importance of open innovation and the need for collaboration between corporations and startups to drive successful innovation outcomes.

“It was just really a great environment. I've been to many conferences where you just don't have that level of interaction, friendliness, and camaraderie among the attendees.” - Paul Heller

This week on Innovation Talks:

●     My experiences at the Innov8rs Conference in Amsterdam

●     The amazing environment created by the leading minds in innovation

●     The challenges of implementing open innovation 

●     The key topics presented by the keynote speakers

●     The clash between traditional business models and open innovation

●     The importance of collaboration in open innovation

Resources Mentioned:

●     Mindthebridge.com Research

●     Book: Lean Scaleup: A proven framework for building new businesses from Innovation by Frank Mattes

●     Book: Scaling-up Corporate Startups: Turn innovation concepts into business impact by Frank Mattes

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 | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify | iHeart | Amazon

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, 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 and click here.

Tim Kidd is an innovator with over 20 years of experience working in large corporations. He began his career at DSM, where he held various positions spanning from research and development to new business development. Eventually, Tim became an innovation coach, providing guidance and support to DSM's top innovation teams and projects. In 2021, He embarked on a new venture by joining Stahl, where he is currently working to establish an open innovation program to forge connections and partnerships with external parties that possess technologies and capabilities complementary to Stahl's own. This initiative aims to accelerate growth and bring Stahl's strategic ambitions to fruition in sustainable, high-performance waves across diverse markets and applications.

Today, Tim joins me to discuss the importance of connecting with external parties to solve problems and achieve limitless growth. He shares why he believes that open innovation is critical for innovation success and explains how to leverage external resources and capabilities to solve challenges and create value. He suggests ways to identify external partners and address the misconception that innovation is a chaotic process. We talk about the power of quick wins and how they demonstrate the value of open innovation. He offers advice to companies on formulating a strategy or approach and reveals why a C-level buy-in is critical for open innovation success. We also discuss who should be the innovators in a company, the challenges of reaching out to external resources, and the rewards of networking. 

"Open innovation is about bringing an ecosystem of partners together that can solve the problems and the challenges that you have." - Tim Kidd

This week on Innovation Talks:

●     The importance of in-person connection for innovation

●     Tim's journey into innovation starting with his Ph.D. in Chemistry

●     Tim's transition into new business development at DSM

●     The importance of problem-solution fit and product-market fit

●     Why you need an ecosystem of partners in open innovation

●     Looking outside your value chain for solutions

●     How to define a common innovation language and use a stage-gate approach to track progress

●     The challenges of implementing open innovation in an organization

●     Engaging with unsupportive team members

●     Asking “Why?” five times to understand objections

●     Getting C-level buy-in and support

●     Getting people excited about open innovation

●     The value of external partners

Resources Mentioned:

●     The 5 Whys Strategy

Connect with Tim Kidd:

●     Tim Kidd on LinkedIn

●     Stahl

●     Stahl on LinkedIn

●     Tim Kidd on Twitter

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 | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify | iHeart | Amazon

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, 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 and click here.

Marko Jak is a product and growth professional who builds high-growth products and brings together talented individuals and strategic expertise to reach remarkable outcomes. He has founded two ventures. The first involved leveraging a Machine Learning API for unstructured text data processing, revolutionizing how companies organize their job applications and access a broader pool of tech applicants through collaboration with external recruiters. His current venture, Secta.AI, uses AI to generate professional headshots from regular photos. He now resides in Austin, Texas with his wife and two children.

Today, Marko and I discuss how AI can help professionals better present themselves online. Marco reminisces about his journey in the AI and machine learning field and the trials he faced along the way. He stresses the significance of comprehending the disruptive nature of AI and tailoring products to address customer needs. We look back on the historical evolution of film and digital technology, delving into the price reduction of photography and the gradual transition from film to digital cameras. We talk about the roles of third-party APIs and the significance of testing and customizing AI solutions to suit specific tasks and problem domains. We analyze Watson Transformer architecture, the cautious implementation of AI solutions, and the value of experimentation and learning from failures. I also ask Marko to weigh in on which precautions companies should take when adopting AI, and he suggests ways to approach aligning AI capabilities with the problems at hand.

“For all new tech, including AI, you're going to make some kind of trade-off somewhere, and you need to be conscious that that trade-off is probably short term only.” - Marko Jak

This week on Innovation Talks:

●     Marko’s journey with AI and machine learning

●     The challenges and evolution of AI technology

●     The importance of understanding AI’s disruptive nature

●     How to foster a culture that embraces innovation and accepts failure

●     The history of film and digital technology

●     The trade-offs in technological advancements and AI

●     Understanding the short-term limitations of new technologies

●     The role of third-party APIs

●     Why you should proceed with caution when implementing AI solutions

●     The importance of aligning AI capabilities with specific problems

●     The future of AI in image processing

Resources Mentioned:

●     Attention is All You Need

●     Open AI Memo

Connect with Marko Jak:

●     Marko Jak Website

●     Marko Jak on Twitter

●     Marko Jak on LinkedIn

●     Secta Labs on Twitter

●     Secta Labs on LinkedIn

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 | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify | iHeart

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, 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 and click here.

Esther Gons is the CEO and co-founder of GroundControl, a software platform that specializes in measuring and de-risking innovation. GroundControl has worked with companies like Colgate/Palmolive, Euler Hermes, DHL, Enexis, and ABN Amro. Esther's expertise extends beyond her role at GroundControl. She is also the co-author of the award-winning book, Innovation Accounting, which offers practical guidance on measuring a company's innovation ecosystem. She co-authored another influential book, The Corporate Startup: How Established Companies Can Develop Successful Innovation Ecosystems. Her expertise and thought leadership has made her an in-demand international speaker, sharing insights on various topics including corporate innovation, innovation accounting, entrepreneurship, startups, lean methodology, business models, and customer development. Esther has mentored hundreds of startups and has served as a lead mentor in prestigious programs such as the Rockstart Accelerator programs, Lean Startup Machine, and Evolv weekends.

Today, Esther and I discuss innovation and her work as an entrepreneur, international speaker, author, and founder of Ground Control. She shares her experience writing her two books, The Corporate Startup and Innovation Accounting. We discuss the maturing of corporate innovation and why it must now be taken seriously. Esther underscores how innovation is a learning process and how it is necessary to make mistakes to understand what works. We talk about why innovation should be treated as a discipline and why the input of specialists who have the necessary skills is crucial. Esther also emphasizes the importance of understanding innovation to succeed and shares some great insights as to why innovation labs are often stopped after only a few years.

“Corporate innovation is maturing. We can no longer play around with innovation. The trend is that people are saying, ‘No, we have to take this thing seriously.’” - Esther Gons

This week on Innovation Talks:

●     An overview of ISO Standard Certification

●     Why companies are taking sustainability seriously in innovation

●     The benefits of innovation in business

●     The purpose and struggles of innovation labs

●     Challenges in innovation

●     The future of innovation maturity in corporations

●     The responsibility innovation labs hold

●     How open innovation affects corporate ecosystems

●     Esther’s experience designing an online course

Resources Mentioned:

●     Course on Validated Learning

●     Innov8tors Conference

●     Book: Open Innovation Works

Connect with Esther Gons:

●     Esther Gons on LinkedIn

●     Book: Open Innovation Works​ by Dr. Diana Joseph, Dan Toma, and Esther Gons

●     Book: Innovation Accounting: A Practical Guide for Measuring Your Innovation Ecosystem’s Performance

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 | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify | iHeart

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, 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 and click here.

Jim Fava is the recently retired Executive Director at Anthesis Group, which supports businesses and governments in understanding and navigating the risks and opportunities they face. Throughout his career, 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. Renowned as the "father of modern-day life cycle assessment," he has devoted his career to advancing and promoting the practice and application of life cycle information worldwide. His efforts have contributed significantly to supporting global decision-making processes. Notably, he led the United States delegation responsible for shaping the first generation of ISO LCA standards. Moreover, Jim co-founded influential organizations such as the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative, Five Winds International, and the Forum for Sustainability through Life Cycle Innovation (FSLCI).

Today, Jim and I discuss what his career taught him about supporting businesses and governments, turning risks into opportunities, and strategies and actions to operate more sustainably. Jim shares his journey from frat house to c-suite and talks about how he saw the human impact on the environment firsthand and started focusing on sustainability. He outlines life cycle assessment and how it helps us understand the environmental impact of a product over its entire life. He cites disposable diapers as a case study to understand life cycle assessment. Jim also recounts his experience in developing the Technical Framework for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and the Code of Practice that eventually became the foundation of the International Organization for Standardization's (ISO) Environmental Management Standards. 

“You have to put what we want to have happen in the language of the decision-makers, and that's our revenue, brand, cost, and risk management.” - Jim Fava

This week on Innovation Talks:

●     Jim’s best sustainable business strategies

●     The Life Cycle Assessment journey to sustainability

●     What cloth diapers can teach us about sustainability

●     How Jim developed the Life Cycle Assessment Methodology

●     How Life Cycle thinking affects product design

●     The seven golden rules for achieving sustainability

●     How to drive change

●     The urgency of sustainability in business management

●     The role of the product manager

Resources Mentioned:

●     Early Life Cycle Assessment Books Laid the Foundation for Modern-Day LCA

●     The Origins of LCA: Perspective from The Father of Modern-Day Life Cycle Assessment

Connect with Jim Fava:

●     Jim Fava Website

●     Jim Fava on LinkedIn

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 | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify | iHeart

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, 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 and click here.

Kevin Brady is a corporate and product sustainability expert dedicated to enhancing organizations’ environmental, social, and financial performance. He established Enterprise Consulting, where he helps Fortune and Global 500 companies across diverse industries such as mining, energy, consumer goods, transportation, and retail. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to clean capitalism, Kevin was named a member of Canada's Clean 16 in 2012. His extensive knowledge and expertise have been shared through various publications, including books and reports such as Mapping the Journey: Strategies and Action toward Sustainable Development, Eco-efficiency: Global Challenges and Opportunities in the 21st Century, and Corporate Social Responsibility: Lessons Learned. In addition to his consulting work, Kevin serves as an adjunct professor at Carleton University School of Industrial Design, where he imparts his wisdom to aspiring minds.

Today Kevin and I discuss corporate strategy in relation to sustainability. Kevin explains the strategies companies need to implement to address environmental and social challenges. He explores whether companies should set their own strategies, wait and comply with regulations, or be leaders in the field. He outlines why most leadership teams want to be leaders and how power can best be distributed. He reveals how leadership teams can evaluate their current position and formulate the best strategy and explains how exposure to good leadership can shape that strategy. Kevin also describes how companies can collaborate on innovative solutions in supply chain management and product development.

“It comes down to setting the strategy that's appropriate for your company, which may be ‘sit and wait,’ ‘comply with all the regulations,’ or ‘be out there in front and really seen as a leader.’” - Kevin Brady

This week on Innovation Talks:

●     Kevin’s approach to corporate strategy

●     How to make corporate strategy sustainable

●     The three different strategies for sustainability leadership

●     How to drive innovation with sustainability in mind

●     The decision-making processes that are made at the product level

●     The KPIs and metrics that matter most

●     Where companies need to improve the most on sustainability

●     How collaboration leads to solutions in supply chain management and product development

Resources Mentioned:

●     Book The New Sustainability Advantage: Seven Business Case Benefits of a Triple Bottom Line by Bob Willard

Connect with Kevin Brady:

●     Kevin Brady on Linkedin

●     Book Mapping the Journey: Case Studies in Strategy and Action toward Sustainable Development

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 | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify | iHeart

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, 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 and click here.

Innovation is inherently a forward-looking practice and, as the world changes, so does the way we innovate. In the next decade, as the world encounters various challenges stemming from climate change, resource pressures, and global policy, companies will need to embrace disruption and develop an innovative culture that can react quickly and adapt to changing environments. But what do companies need to do this successfully? The 4,000 experts contributing to The Millennium Project have done extensive research and provided us with a framework to assess local and global factors that will influence humanity's chance to build a better future.

In that light, I discuss my predictions of how innovation will change and how companies can prepare to do more with fewer resources. I predict the role that AI tools will play in product management and how team leaders can get the most out of those tools. I discuss the need for business model thinking and how business models can rapidly change due to customer expectation. I also discuss the importance of dual innovation and highlight how core innovation won’t be enough to make businesses stand out from the competition.

“In 2030, innovation will put product management at the center.” - Paul Heller

This week on Innovation Talks:

●     What The Millennium Project’s research is telling us about the future

●     How to make development sustainable while addressing climate change

●     How innovators can use scientific and technological breakthroughs to improve the human condition

●     How innovation will change in the year 2030

●     The importance of dual innovation

●     How AI will influence innovation

●     Why North Star thinking will be more important than ever

Resources Mentioned:

●     The Millennium Project

●     Ambidexterity in Business Innovation with Noel Sobelman

●     Dual innovation with Ralph-Christian Ohr

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 | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify | iHeart

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, 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 and click here.

Rich Mironov is a tech start-up veteran, writer, and coach for product leaders with four decades of experience in Silicon Valley's product management landscape. With his expertise, he’s led six start-ups to success. Rich occasionally acts as the interim VP of Products or CPO for software companies, lending his expertise to drive their success. With a passion for sharing knowledge, Rich has been an avid blogger on software product management since 2002. His influential insights and expertise have been compiled in his book, The Art of Product Management. He continues to shape the industry with his wealth of experience and dedication to empowering product teams. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Yale University, where his thesis focused on dinosaur extinction theories. He also holds an MBA from Stanford University.

Today, Rich and I discuss how product management influences innovation. Rich elaborates on the role of product managers in innovating at the feature and sub-feature levels. He explains why he is wary of the word “innovation” and what he believes it should mean. He tells us how product managers can turn innovation into an intentional process that produces an impactful result. He shares how product managers can sell their ideas to get the resources they need and make a logical financial argument to show how proposed ideas will benefit the company financially. Rich also highlights the importance of accountability for product managers in driving forward progress with the product.

“We're an important driver of the system, but let's not get our heads too big that we can't walk through the doors of our building like everybody else.” -Rich Mironov

This week on Innovation Talks:

●     How product managers can influence executives

●     Common product management challenges and opportunities

●     How product innovation and leadership are connected

●     The benefits of pruning product backlogs

●     How to attach money to roadmap items

●     How to speak an executive’s language

●     The role of product managers in product waste

●     Discovery challenges for product managers

●     The origins of Rich’s Product Camp

Connect with Rich Mironov:

●     Rich Mironov’s Website

●     Book: The Art of Product Management: Lessons from a Silicon Valley Innovator by Rich Mironov

●     Rich Mironov on LinkedIn

●     Rich Mironov on Twitter

●     Rich Mironov on Medium

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 | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify | iHeart

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, 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 and click here.