Ralf Specht is a visionary business leader, highly sought-after speaker, and creator of the Soul System™, a framework that aligns value-creating employee action with broader corporate strategy through shared understanding & shared purpose.

More about our guest:

Ralf Specht is a founding partner of Spark44, he was the architect of an innovative, industry-first joint-venture with Jaguar Land Rover, which grew under his leadership to a global revenue of $100+m and 1,200 employees before it joined forces with Accenture Interactive in 2021. Previously, he consulted with global companies and brands for more than two decades with McCann Erickson. He is the author of 2021’s Building Corporate Soul: Powering Culture & Success with the Soul System™ from Fast Company Press, as well as his newest book, Beyond the Startup: Sparking Operational Innovations for Global Growth. His driving vision is to make soulless companies a thing of the past.

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Episode Guide:

1:40 - What is Innovation?

3:29 - What isn't Innovation?

5:24 - Advertising: Changing the game and creating something new

7:53 - The Procter and Gamble Experience

9:30 - Innovation: Shaping and Molding Careers

11:11 - Disrupting the normal

17:29 - Business Development Process and Staffing

20:04 - Becoming the CEO

22:26 - Creating Job Titles

25:07 - "Building Corporate Soul"

29:07 - Having a shared purpose

31:37 - Benefits of spending time on Culture

32:38 - Advice to Innovators

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OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

Chris Skinner is a bestselling author, independent commentator, and globally sought-after expert on financial markets and technology through his critically acclaimed website, The Finanser.

More about our guest:

Chris has been voted one of the most influential people in financial technology by the Wall Street Journal’s Financial News, and has been an advisor to the White House, the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, and the United Nations. He is a visiting lecturer with Cambridge University as well as a TEDx speaker and is Chair of Nordic Future Innovation and a non-executive director of 11:FS.  

Chris is also the author of sixteen best-selling books, including Digital Bank, ValueWeb and Digital Human as well as a children’s book series, Captain Cake and the Candy Crew. His newest book, Digital For Good: Stand for something…or you will fall has recently been released last June 1, 2022.  

He is also a regular commentator on BBC News, Sky News, CNBC and Bloomberg, Chris serves on various financial and fintech advisory boards, including B-Hive, Bankex, empowr, IoV42, Innovate Finance, Life.SREDA, Moven, Meniga, Pintail, Project Exscudo and Token Fund.  

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Episode Guide:

0:00 - Intro

1:34 - What is Innovation?

3:12 - Innovation before primetime

5:20 - Financial Services, 3G-to-5G evolution, cloud computing, 3d printing

7:33 - Facial Recognition: Mastercard and Alipay

8 :36 - Defining 'Innovation Reapplication'

9:58 - Wallet applications

14:19 - Cash Machines: Why online banks still open physical branches

17:28 - Upcoming Trends: Technology in Financial Industry

21:01 - Blog post: "The best job in banking: Chief Cannibal"

23:24 - What isn't innovation?  

26:12 - Changes in the music industry

28:15 - FinTech: innovations behind the scenes

29:35 - Brazil's Nubank

31:01 - China's Alipay and WeChat Pay

33:20 - "Bankenstien"

3402 - Advice for innovators

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Resources Mentioned: 

Companies/Institutions: 

• Alipay
• WeChat Pay
• Brazil's Nubank

Blogs:

• The Finanser
• The best job in banking: Chief Cannibal by Chris Skinner

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OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

Geneva Pritchard, Move92's Executive Director, curates relationships between grant makers (donors) and grassroots organizations around the world in a way that is rooted in the core philosophies of trust-based philanthropy.

More about our guest:

Relationship-building is at the center of everything Geneva does. Her devotion to connecting real people to real solutions has been the heartbeat of her work for her entire career. Having worked for large NGOs and grassroots organizations for nearly 20 years, Geneva knows the subtle landscapes of both. Her broad experience includes being involved in water and sanitation programs with CARE International in Nicaragua, drug-resistant malaria solutions among migrant communities, vocational incentive projects for people living with HIV, innovative education systems for mobile populations on the Thailand/Myanmar border, and diabetic retinopathy among marginalized populations with The Fred Hollows Foundation in Nepal and the Pacific Islands.  

Geneva holds a degree in International Studies from Seattle University, and a Master’s in Public Health from Thammasat University in Bangkok.  When she isn't on zoom calls with extraordinary grassroots leaders around the world, you will find her training for a wild adventure race on the trails of Christchurch, New Zealand (or adventuring with her husband and 4 and 6 year old daughters).

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Episode Guide:

1:36 - What is Innovation?

2:04 - What makes it courageous?

3:35 - Provoking the thought

4:50 - Difference on the ground vs main offices

8:15 - The Australian project

8:50 - Move92 and changing philanthropy

9:57 - Move92: bridging the philanthropist and local organizations

13:50  - Curating the process

16:15 -  Core-values of Move92  

18:12 - Being Agile and Move92's brief history

21:59 - Empowering the local leaders in Nepal

23:13 - The "Western lens"

25:08 - Female empowerment and leadership

27:23 - What isn't innovation?

30:56 - Advice to innovators

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Resources Mentioned: 

Companies/Institutions: 

• Move92
• The Fred Hollows Foundation

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OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

Nathan Stuck, is the creator of B Local Georgia, a Georgia based nonprofit that focuses on helping companies get B-Corp certified, and use their business as a force for good. 

More about our guest:

Nathan is an award winning leader in the B Corp community. In addition to his role as the Director of Corporate Culture & Strategic Impact at Ad Victoriam Solution, a certified B Corp, he founded and runs B Local Georgia, a nonprofit dedicated to growing the number of purpose-driven businesses in the Peach State. Nathan also teaches an experiential MBA course on B Corps at the University of Georgia and is the founder of Profitable Purpose Consulting, which helps for-profit businesses certify as B Corps. He has appeared on multiple podcasts and spoken at events across Georgia and the Southeast.

His unique background provides both an authentic and genuine story that resonates with audiences and inspires them, and their businesses, to be a force for good.

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Episode Guide:

1:42 - What is Innovation?

2:58 - In the B-Corp space

3:40 - Company Case Study: Advic (Ad Victoriam Solution)

4:50 - What is a B-Corp?

5:41 - B Corp Assessment  

10:06 - Placing workers first

12:18 - Recertification and scores

14:38 - Impact assessment and business impact

16:27 - B Local Georgia

19:55 - Starting B Local Georgia: Capitalism and ROI

22:13 - B Corps in the South

25:32 - Working for B Corps

28.02 - The capitalist system and B-Corps

31:20 - Creating a playbook

32:40 - Reverse engineering your career  

34:30 - Advice for innovators

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Resources Mentioned: 

BCorp:

• B Corp (B Corporation) - certified by BLab
• B Corp Certification
• B Local Georgia

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OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

Whitney Parnell is a Black millennial activist, singer, and the Founder and CEO of Service Never Sleeps, a nonprofit that empowers individuals and communities to catalyze social justice through service and Allyship. She is also a musician and has released a social justice album called "What Will You Do," with the goal of using empathy through song to ignite action.

More about our guest:

Whitney's movement work involves racial justice efforts, and equipping effective allies through truth-telling, bridgebuilding, empathy, and action. She grew up between Latin America and West Africa as a Foreign Service child. At Washington University in St. Louis, Whitney doubled majored in English and Spanish, and minored in Communications and Journalism, during which she also embraced her calling as an activist. Whitney’s passion for service and social justice brought her to Washington, DC after college to serve with City Year, and then work in homeless services, before founding Service Never Sleeps in 2015. 

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Episode Guide:

2:05 - What is Innovation?

3:52 - Societal Innovation: defining "White Supremacy"

8:06 - Dismantling and Destroying: A contrast

8:54 - Getting Innovation 'Wrong'

12:14 - Taking the first step to big decisions

16:33 - The field of social justice and nonprofit

19:52 - Service Never Sleeps: Centering race equity

23:14 - Keeping it in-check

24:02 - Facing the uncomfortable

26:45 - Activism, kindness, polarizations

31:36 - Processing thoughts: What is next?

34:44 - Operating at the intersections

36:25 - The either-or binary

38:40 - Advice for Innovators

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Resources Mentioned: 

Companies: 

• Service Never Sleeps 

Music Album:

• What Will You Do

References:

• Quote: “In this country, American means white. Everybody else has to hyphenate.” — Toni Morrison
• Article: (divorcing) WHITE SUPREMACY CULTURE by Tema Okun
  • White Supremacy Culture – Still Here (updated May 2021)

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OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

Keagan Russo, is Fleetcor's President for North America Local, a company that provides fuel cards and workforce payment products and services. 

More about our guest:

Keagan leads the North America Local Fleet Card line of business, which has ~50,000 businesses under the Fuelman and Comdata Mastercard brands. He joined FLEETCOR in 2019. Before his current role, Keagan lead go-to-market strategy and product for the Local business. Prior to FLEETCOR, he was a strategy and marketing leader at various fintech startups, a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, and started his career at MBNA Corp. He received his JD from Boston College Law School and his BA from Colby College.

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Episode Guide:

1:38 - What is Innovation? 

2:15 - Understanding: Shallowly and Deeply 

4:37 - "Innovation equals speed to market" 

5:29 - Creativity in innovation: a solution standpoint 

6:15 - Fleetcor's Case Study 

7:05 - CarAdvise Partnership 

9:40 - Personal problem solving toolkit 

13:19 - Implementation: the engineering aspect 

14:23 - Chief Innovation Officer 

15:55 - Pilot Launch: Electric Vehicle Fleet Payment Solution 

17:00 - Internal Innovation and Entrepreneurial Innovation 

18:07 - MBNA's FLC

23:02 - What isn't Innovation? 

25:34 - Advice to Innovators

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Resources Mentioned: 

Companies: 

• FleetCor
• MBNA ('acquired and integrated into Bank of America Corporation') 
• CarAdvise

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OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

Andy Binns, is the co-founder of Change Logic, a Boston-based strategic advisory firm.  

More about our guest:

Andy works with CEOs, boards, and senior teams as they lead significant business change. His goal is to help organizations liberate their potential to excite the world with innovation. He has 25 years of consulting experience as both an external and internal consultant for McKinsey & Co., the IBM Corporation, and Change Logic. At IBM, Andy was deeply involved in the Emerging Business Opportunity program, for which he received an award from IBM’s vice chairman.

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Episode Guide:

1:25 - What Is Innovation

4:34 - Atlanta Opera Company: Approach to innovation

5:48 - Japanese Firm: Approach to innovation

7:19 - Adoption and Adoption Chains: Pfizer and inhalable insulin

11:24 - Book: Corporate Explorer

13:03 - Risk and Resilience

14:33 - Silent Killers of Exploration

14:55 - Silent Killer: Risk Aversion

16:48 - Why "what isn't innovation?"

17:23 - Stanford, Harvard, Corporations, and Research

18:16 - The 3 Classic Errors

21:44 - $10 billion companies: Pampers

22:09 - Google and Microsoft

23:08 - LexisNexis

24:03 - Uniqa (European Insurance Company) and Shared Risk

25:45 - Corporate Explorers' Compensation Models and Reputation Risks

30:15 - Silent Killer: Professional Identity

32:22 - Advice for Innovators

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Resources Mentioned: 

Companies mentioned: 

• Microsoft 365 
• LexisNexis
• GE Digital
• Uniqa
• Havas
• Victors and Spoils
• Deloitte
• Atlanta Opera Company

Books Mentioned:

• Corporate Explorer: How Corporations Beat Startups at the Innovation Game  by: Andrew Binns 
  • buy it HERE

Authors Mentioned:

• Ron Adner (Tuck Business School)
  • related works: The Wide Lens: What Successful Innovators See That Others Miss

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OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

Kapil Kane is the Director of Innovation at Intel China where he co-founded & runs GrowthX- an award-winning corporate-startup accelerator. He is also the creator of the first multi-touch screen at Apple, where went on to lead product design on iPod, MacBook, MacBook Air, iMac & eventually the iPad.

More about our guest:

Kapil has deep expertise in areas of technology, innovation & entrepreneurship through advising startups & engaging with leading accelerators, universities & NGOs around the world as well as speaking at large global conferences. Born & brought up in the tiny seaside province of Goa, Kapil completed his Bachelor Degree in India & went on to receive a Masters in Engineering from Stanford University in California, eventually finding his way back to Asia in Shanghai where he has been living with his family for the past 13 years. Over the past 20 years, he has helped design & launch world-class products & businesses at the intersection of arts, design & technology. 

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Episode Guide:

1:42 - What Is Innovation?

3:44 - Focusing outside of execution

5:18 - Invention  to Innovation timeline

6:04 - Post-it invention

7:35 - Growth X

11:39 - PC farm and VR Cinemas

15:11 - Portfolio approach

18:51 - Works in the accelerator

20:16 - What isn't innovation

25:41 - Advice for innovators

28:01 - Best innovations

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Resources Mentioned: 

Companies: 

• Growth X:  Venture Capital and Revenue Acceleration
• Intel China 
• Apple

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OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

James Quinn is the Executive Managing Director at JLL, a Fortune 500 Company, that is considered the leading Technology Real Estate Advisor globally at the forefront of Technology and Real Estate having intimately worked with many of the largest corporations in the world. 

More about our guest:

James, who's based in New York, leads a group of Technology and Real Estate professionals that provide advisory services to Fortune 500 Companies and leading technology firms. James has completed in excess of 35 million sq. ft. of global real estate projects. He has been very passionate throughout his career on the impact of technology in the business and real world.

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Episode Guide:

0:00 - Intro

1:17 - What Is Innovation?

3:08 - What is Digital transformation?

4:50 - Chief Transformation Officer's role

6:49 - JLL and COVID response

8:41 - Bench Seating

10:25 - 1st camp: Financial institutions

11:26 - 2nd camp: Technology companies

13:23 - Having remote work choices

14:52 - Making choices to excel: American Express

16:20 - Importance of Technology, now

18:42 - Creating the book: Tech Trends 24/7 And the Impact of Covid-19

21:17 - Curiosity at work

22:37  - Promoting the curiosity mindset

23:52 - What isn't innovation?

24:29 - NFTs  

25:00 - What's not Technology

25:29 - Advice for innovators

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Resources Mentioned: 

Book: 

• Tech trends 24/7 and the impact of COVID-19 - James Quinn

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OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.

Matthew 'Matt' Wool is the CEO of Acceleration Partners, an Integrated partnership agency.

More about our guest:  

After joining the company as its fourth employee in 2012, Matthew 'Matt' Wool served as General Manager and then President of the company before becoming CEO in 2021. During his tenure, Matt has been a driver of Acceleration Partners’ success including the company’s numerous placements on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing private companies, multiple Most Effective Agency nods from the Performance Marketing Awards, and numerous Best Place to Work awards from Forbes and Glassdoor. Matt is a member of the Fast Company Executive Board and is a frequent speaker at performance marketing industry events.

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Episode Guide:

1:16 - What Is Innovation?

3:37 - Conversations with Venture Capitalists

3:53 - Connections in Practice: Acceleration Partners

6:01 - Finding the common ground

8:25 - Acceleration Partners' Entrepreneurial Operating System: Traction

10:11 - The Integrator Role

11:00 - Digital Economy and Critical Economic Partnerships

12:51 - Making valuable partnerships: marco-influence

15:23 - ROI in different industries: does one benefit more than the other?

18:28 - (Book) Range; bringing about diversity

19:23 - What isn't innovation?

23:00 - Advice to Innovators

25:45 - Advice: Thinking about outcomes

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Resources Mentioned: 

Book:

• Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business - Gino Wickman
• Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World - David Epstein

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OUTLAST Consulting offers professional development and strategic advisory services in the areas of innovation and diversity management.