The Innovation Engine Podcast

Renowned technology futurist and best-selling author Daniel Burrus joins us for the 18th episode of "The Innovation Engine" podcast to talk about why anticipating the future can be the difference between companies that stand the test of time and those that collapse over time. On this episode of the podcast, we discuss the difference between Hard Trends - trends that will happen - and Soft Trends - trends that might happen, how you can harness that knowledge to anticipate cyclical business trends and opportunities, and why you're sometimes better off skipping your company's biggest problem rather than solving it.

Daniel Burrus is the author of six books, including the #1 Amazon bestesller Flash Foresight: How to See the Invisible and Do the Impossible. He started Burrus Research 31 years ago and is one of the most popular Influencers on LinkedIn, with more than 370,000 followers of his profile page as of this writing. 

Seth Berenzweig and Frank Gulino of Berenzweig Leonard and Clyde Findley of Cloudigy Law join us on this week's episode of the podcast to talk about innovation and the law. We discuss whether patents mean anything anymore, get a primer on the net neutrality debate, and talk about the broken nature of the government procurement process for projects like Healthcare.gov and countless more. Berenzweig Leonard and Cloudigy Law are Northern Virginia-based law firms that specialize in intellectual property, entertainment and music industry law, government contracts, and more. The 2 firms recently launched GovConIP.com, a site where they will write about intellectual property law and the government contracting process. 

The most obvious candidates aren't always the best when it comes to innovation in a business setting. Jeffrey Phillips of OVO Innovation joins us to discuss common traits of the most successful innovators, how to spot the true innovators in your midst, and what's at stake for your organization.

Jeffrey is the author of "Relentless Innovation: What Works, What Doesn't - And What That Means For Your Business" and an award-winning blogger at the Innovate on Purpose blog. OVO Innovation recently released its OVO InnoTraits™ Assessment, which is based in part on findings in the white paper we discuss on the podcast, "Unusual Suspects: Identifying High Capacity Innovators in Your Organization."  

What are some of the common roadblocks on the path to innovation and how can companies get past them? That's the question we look to Tom Agan to help answer on the 15th episode of "The Innovation Engine" podcast. Tom is Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Rivia, a global innovation and brand consultancy with clients across an array of industry verticals. Tom writes regularly about innovation for outlets like the New York Times, Fast Company, the Harvard Business Review, and Forbes. 

How can companies and individuals employ design thinking to fuel innovation and creativity? Dr. Leticia Britos Cavagnaro, Deputy Director of the National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation (Epicenter) at Stanford University & Lecturer at Stanford's d.school, joins us for the 14th episode of "The Innovation Engine" podcast to answer this question and many more. Listen to hear about the importance of physical space in an office environment, the necessary mindset for anyone looking to practice design thinking, and the importance of empathy in using design thinking to solve big problems. 

How can companies formulate a long-term blueprint for innovation, and what should one look like? Rowan Gibson, internationally acclaimed speaker and bestselling author of Innovation to the Core and Rethinking the Future, joins us to answer those questions and more on the 13th episode of The Innovation Engine podcast. 

Openness and innovation are 2 words that we often hear mentioned in the same breath. Why is being "open" so crucial for companies and individuals looking to boost their innovation capacity, and how can you ensure openness between individuals, departments, and teams? Russ Schoen of Foursight and Mindgarden Innovation joins us on the 12th episode of the podcast to help answer these questions and more. 

Why is process so vital for driving innovation and keeping companies on the path to sustained profitability? That's the topic of discussion on the 11th episode of The Innovation Engine podcast, with in-studio guest Dr. Mahesh Joshi, Director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program at George Mason University. 

For a very special episode of the Innovation Engine podcast, we walk the floor of the 2014 NAB Show to speak with companies demoing innovative products that could fundamentally change the way content is consumed, distributed, and shared. From multi-screen viewing to using drones to record news footage, hear how companies like AccuWeather, Verizon, DTS, and several others are poised to launch innovative media products with the potential to disrupt the media and entertainment landscape. Recommended for anyone with more than a passing interest in technology! 

Jessica Hall, Director of 3Pillar's Innovate Practice, joins us on the 9th episode of "The Innovation Engine" podcast to discuss content monetization, the workshop on that subject she'll be presenting at the NAB Show in Las Vegas on April 9th, and why prototyping can be the best way to test out innovative new ideas.