Ever stopped to think what the internet says about you? James Chance tells Jeff Skinner how pondering that very question gave him the idea for a new business – and why, for all of us, it’s more necessary now than ever to keep track of our online identities and who has access to them. This is episode 2 of our entrepreneurs’ journey series.

London Business School’s Reunion for New Alumni brings together the School’s most recent alumni to reconnect with classmates and be inspired from expert faculty. The 2019 event featured this session on ‘Growing a business and life as an entrepreneur’ led by Keith Willey, Adjunct Associate Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship. On the panel were LBS alumni and successful entrepreneurs Tara Reddy, CEO and cofounder of Loveshark, Estelle Lloyd, cofounder of Azoomee, and Victor Stekly, CEO and cofounder of SportsKred.

What is responsible business? The chances are you’ve heard a lot about it. But what makes an organisation responsible? Should you even want to make your organisation responsible? And if you do, how can you make it work in the real world?

In this podcast Alex Edmans, Professor of Finance and Academic Director of the Centre for Corporate Governance (CCG), presents the key insights from the Centre’s flagship event for 2019. For a full list of attendees at the event, please download the programme here: https://www.london.edu/-/media/files/faculty-and-research/research-centres/ccg/ccg-6th-feb_responsible-business----brochure-final.pdf

The CCG’s mission is to use rigorous research to influence the practice of corporate governance. It provides a platform for two-way debate and for the sharing of ideas between academics and practitioners.

To find out more: https://www.london.edu/faculty-and-research/research-centres/ccg

Celebrating Innovation in all its quirks and individual challenges within the era of the Second Machine Age.

Nomination close at 12:00 BST on May 27th. Get nominating now, see: bit.ly/2Iwd4vS

The following podcast is a description of the last four years of the Real Innovation Awards, and some of the inspiring stories of creative development which we at London Business School have previously identified and celebrated.

Innovation is, as we know, an essential part of the capitalist system, particularly so during times of great change. Of course, we do live in demanding times, sometimes called the Fourth Industrial Revolution, or the Second Machine Age.

We all are aware of the age of steam, of the first industrial revolution in the 19th Century, and of the computer revolution of the 1960s and 70s. Now we are in the midst a wholly a new revolution which sees machine technologies augmenting and in some instances replacing human cognitive tasks. At London Business School’s Real Innovation Awards we have recognised four principal areas of innovation. First, the emergence of new technologies such as Improbable Worlds Limited which makes distributed simulation software for gaming and corporate use and won of our awards last year.

Then there is innovation in products and services, services such as Fintech and companies like Monzo and Revolut, digital banking companies, both of which were nominated for awards by our LBS judging panels in earlier years.

We tend to think of innovation as something manifestly physical, such as new products, but it is also behind new business models such as Airbnb and Uber. Last year, we gave an award to Airtasker, which is a jobs marketplace system which offers sometimes highly specified services to customers.

LBS also celebrates innovation in ways and methods of working, helping companies to act and operate in a more agile manner, and we also celebrate those companies which have learnt to pivot and change their businesses such as past winners WOG and Ørsted.

These are great stories, and this is why the LBS Real Innovation Awards seek out and celebrate the individuals, companies and organisations that have truly been there and lived to tell their tales of dynamic innovation.

The bigger the corporate the tougher innovation seems to be. But is the pendulum swinging towards large organisations? Jessica Spungin, LBS Adjunct Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship and Gary Dushnitsky, LBS Associate Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, discuss some of the key advantages incumbents can benefit from with Alessandro Hatami, Partner at Pacemakers and former head of innovation at Lloyds. In this second part they discuss how innovation is no longer just the preserve of the nimble start-up. They also discuss different models of collaboration between start-ups and big business, and key aspects of the most effective innovation partnerships.

Large companies find innovation hard. Jessica Spungin, Adjunct Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship and Gary Dushnitsky, Associate Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, discuss some of the key challenges with Alessandro Hatami, Partner at Pacemakers and former head of innovation at Lloyds. In the first part of this two part exploration, they consider the barriers to innovation in large businesses and why they are traditionally hard-wired to make it difficult for a truly innovative culture take hold, let alone flourish. Together they share their wisdom and some practical solutions to this complex and fascinating conundrum.

Is creativity a mystery to you? The creation of novel concepts, products and services is not a “magical act” say LBS’s Michael Parke and Pier Vittorio Manucci, Assistant Professors of Organisational Behaviour. In this podcast, they discuss, with LBS alumna Mollie Amkraut, how creativity can be built. The Senior Business Design Lead at IDEO shares her perspective on how she grows people’s creativity “muscle”. It turns out that a structured approach aimed at sharing, learning, open cultures can drive creative behaviours. It is hard work but anyone can become a better creative over time.

How do you create an agile, innovative and resilient organisation in which both your people and business can thrive? What is the role of talent and learning leaders in shaping organisations to facilitate effective and sustainable change? At the 2019 HR Strategy Forum we explored how you can harness curiosity, creativity, critical thinking and collaboration to open up dialogue, surface opportunities and play to your organisation’s strengths.

In this podcast, guest speaker Stephanie Houston, Director of Talent Acquisition for Europe, Israel and Australia at WeWork, explores these issues alongside Julian Birkinshaw, Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship and John Dore, Director of Custom Solutions at London Business School.

For more insight from Stephanie, read her follow-up interview at: https://www.london.edu/lbsr/in-conversation-with-stephanie-houston

What makes an entrepreneur? Find out in our new podcast series. In the first episode, we hear from Monique Baars, former management consultant, London Business School alumna and founder of Fineazy.

“Not many people resign from BCG to do their MBA and then start a business, but for me it was very deliberate,” she tells Jeff Skinner, Executive Director of LBS’s Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

“I’d reached a time when I thought, if I could apply everything I’ve learnt and spend these hours solving one of the biggest social problems of our time, imagine the impact I could have.”

Fineazy empowers people to make better financial decisions with the help of an AI chatbot.

“I’ve never woken up in the morning more excited to get stuff done,” says Baars. “At the same, I’ve never had to manage the incredible highs and lows that come every hour of every day…”

Peter Hinssen, Chairman of Nexxworks and lecturer on our Exploiting Disruption in a Digital World programme, discusses how China is the first post-Silicon Valley region to have a global effect on technology with Pascal Coppens, an influential entrepreneur and partner of Nexxworks. Together they explore how China is leading innovation.