What does innovation culture, going beyond the obvious, testing ideas and storytelling have in common?

Top 5 Shows From The Past 11 Years

As I get ready to layout the topics, guests and schedule for 2016 for the Killer Innovations radio show/podcast, I went back and looked at the most popular shows since we started in 2005 to see what you were most interested in. While there are now close to 200 shows that cover a wide range of topics related to innovation and creativity, there emerged a clear set of popular topics. The following is the list of the top 5  shows based on total downloads.

top 5 killer innovation shows

Top 5 Shows

#1 – Do You Have A Culture Of Innovation?   Culture is one of those things that is hard to quantify.  When I ask executives about their culture, they are confident that they have a culture that encourages innovation.  In most cases, these same executives project their wishes for their culture and not the reality. Culture is enabled by people and their views and opinions can get in the way if you don’t stay on top of it. What kind of culture do you have? Listen here.

#2 – Going Beyond The Obvious  We are faced with the obvious next steps in our daily lives.  But doing the obvious without thinking means doing the same thing everyone else does which means your average.  Average is not a winning strategy.  How do you go beyond the obvious and do the unexpected … do the extraordinary … not be average??  The need to get beyond the obvious is critical not only for innovation and creativity but also for personal career growth.  Doing what everyone else does leaves you in the middle of the pack.  Leaders want people that standout and do great things. Listen here.

RELATED:   Six Innovation Skills Everyone Needs

3# – Grow your innovation expertise from incremental to emergent to game-changing innovations   When posed with a major (big) innovation effort, why do some people freeze?  Is it the size that intimidates them?  Yes in a way.  But size is relative.  If you have no perspective, then eveything can look big and daunting. To build your perspective so that big programs aren’t so scary, you need to grow your innovation skill and experience.  So what are the steps? Listen here.

#4 – How to test your idea   So you have an idea.  You thinks its a killer idea.  How do you make sure its the next great thing before committing significant resources (e.g. money, time, etc)? Testing your ideas doesn’t have to be a big long dragged out process.  By following a few quick steps, you can have the confidence that your idea will lead to the next game-changing innovation. Listen here.

#5 – Strategic Storytelling   Why is it so hard to pitch your idea?  We’ve been taught that the way to persuade people to our ideas is to use logic and facts.  That approach ignores the role that emotion plays in our decision making. So how do you engage the emotion of a person you’re trying to get a commitment from?  By using strategic storytelling to pitch your idea. Listen here.

If you had the pick your 5 top shows from the podcast, what would they be?

RELATED:   Do You Have A Culture Of Innovation?

Most Popular Podcasts from Season 11

When I look at the shows over the last year, the most popular show and the most popular interview for season 11 were:

#1 Show in Season 11 – To Innovate You Must Have A Beginners Mind  When we learn something new, we give our whole attention to it. It is an adventure where the mind listens completely and the senses are alive. But as it gradually becomes familiar, we lose that sense of wonder. The more knowledge and memories we store about a subject, the more our awareness dims; our thoughts conform to a pattern and we think in trenches, unable to see something in an entirely new light. Listen here.

#1 Interview in Season 11 – Interview with Toby Krout of Boomtown on the Pros and Cons of Startup Accelerators  Toby Krout is an entrepreneur, investor, and startup coach. He co-founded Boomtown, a startup accelerator in Boulder, Colorado in 2013 where he currently serves as the Executive Director. Boomtown’s mission is to understand and continuously improve the modern accelerator model for the benefit of entrepreneurs. His startups currently enjoy a 96% survival rate and 78% of them are generating revenues. Listen here.

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2 thoughts on “What does innovation culture, going beyond the obvious, testing ideas and storytelling have in common?

  1. What would be very interesting would be to examine innovation of the public sector. Is innovation as important for public sector as with private? (the obvious answer is yes but I dont like obvious answers and needs some evidence). Some examples and best practices would be nice. soem aspects have been covered by “HOW TO GO FROM INVENTION TO INNOVATION TO COMMERCIALIZATION” however I believe there is more to be said. Keep on the good work.

    • Vassilis … Thanks for comment and I’ll add your topic to the list to be covered. If you or others happen to come across some examples (both good and bad) of public sector innovation efforts, I would appreciate if you would share them with me.