[PODCAST] What Every Company Should Consider Before Innovating with Gregg Garrett

 About this Episode:

The word innovation is definitely one of the big buzzwords, and every large corporation seems to have their own innovation lab.

But what does innovation really mean?

What does it mean for a company to innovate and how can they do it well?

What are some of the things they should consider before determining their next big step should be around innovation?

These were just some of the questions we discussed with our guest Gregg Garrett.

About Greggory Garrett:

Greggory R. Garrett is the CEO and Managing Director of CGS Advisors, a boutique strategy and innovation advisory firm that works with senior leaders at public companies and select private organizations. He is a dynamic and experienced international keynote speaker, an adjunct professor of business and engineering, and recently authored a best-selling business leadership book, Competing in the Connecting World. Having addressed audiences from 20 to upwards of 1500 people in public and private/corporate events, Gregg is at his best when he can focus on industry shaping & transformational topics.

Prior to launching CGS Advisors, Gregg was the Chief Strategy Officer for IT & Innovation at Volkswagen Group of America. Before his time with VW, Gregg led corporate strategy & marketing for a division of Deutsche Telekom and was part of Ernst & Young’s Management Consulting practice. He is a visionary leader who prides himself in recognizing common sense solutions for complex problems and supports “Corporate Bravery” by motivating teams to reach well beyond the typical boundaries to achieve greatness.

Buy Gregg's book, "Competing in the Connecting World" on Amazon:

Gregg can be reached at:

CGS Link: https://www.cgsadvisors.com/about-us/

Highlights:

1:30 - Are companies more concerned about how to innovate or thinking about more if they should?

1:45 - The four I’s of Innovation

3:20 - What are the most common mistakes companies are making when trying to be innovative

5:15 - Can Innovation occur knowing that there might not be immediate ROI or even a possible failure

8:15 - How do you encourage a more ‘comfortable’ workforce to think in an innovative way

12:30 - What are some of the most important common things Gregg saw when it came to companies needing to think about innovation (and why he wrote his book)

14:45 - As companies innovate and more components come to play, how are companies handling the changes, specifically in leadership?

18:30 - Are all leaders equipped for innovation?

20:30 - Innovate or Die? Is it the rule of thumb for all companies?

23:45 - How do you implement the innovative thought leaders, what other entrepreneurs might be doing, and what’s happening in your own labs?

26:00 - What’s the average time that people last in innovative roles at companies?

28:00 - How do companies who want to innovate, really innovate (implementing can be a completely different story?

30:30 - What is the best way to hire these entrepreneurs/corporate jumpers so they don’t leave within a few days?

33:00 - How can companies avoid the mistake of wanting to innovate, hiring to innovate, but then offering no support to actually innovate?

35:00 - What is the future of the CIO position within companies