We are focusing on innovation, organizational growth, and the commercialization of emerging technologies with a very special guest, Pam Henderson, a renowned author, entrepreneur, CEO, and expert in business and innovation strategy.

As the founder of NewEdge, a growth strategy firm, Pam leads the charge in identifying and anchoring growth opportunities. Her extensive experience spans both academia and industry, with her work featured in prestigious outlets like the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, and NPR.

This is a wonderful episode for anyone with an entrepreneurial mindset. We learn how Pam’s academic work eventually led to her establishing NewEdge. She also developed the opportunity thinking approach, which involves getting clear on how ideas will serve the market. We learn about defining what an opportunity is and more about turning an idea into a strategic business opportunity.

In This Episode:

[01:29] Pam's journey from academia to founding NewEdge. She began as a professor for Carnegie Mellon. She was invited to help commercialize early stage technologies which eventually led to Pam founding NewEdge.

[03:03] Pam developed the opportunity thinking approach. A lot of ideas don't land in the market. Getting clear on how our ideas will serve the market leads to better ideas.

[04:32] Defining opportunity first increases the odds for success. We get excited about ideas, but defining the broader opportunity gives us ideas about what will actually work.

[05:22] You have to define what an opportunity is.

[07:06] Get clear on the need, way to create value, and conditions.

[08:38] Opportunity Thinking™ taps into six sources: market forces, business models, technology, organizations, environments, and design. Before the iPod, there were digital ways of gathering up music.

[09:33] Apple created a business model that allowed us to get singular songs as opposed to entire albums. The larger opportunity was to build out the success of these different sources.

[10:53] Sometimes we need to take a step back and go slow to go fast. Look at the opportunity and then build the technologies accordingly.

[11:27] Pam shares an example of an innovation partnership that led to cooling shirts made from coconut polymer fibers.

[15:25] Harley-Davidson's first electric vehicle. Staying true to the opportunity leads to bigger ideas in the market.

[17:16] We learn about the voice of the ecosystem.

[20:07] Common strategies companies face when trying to implement opportunity thinking and how to overcome them.

[22:43] People confuse risk aversion with uncertainty aversion. We can work on uncertainty aversion by getting people more familiar with opportunities.

[24:15] Pam talks about the importance of culture. Working on culture is one of the things that has made her the most proud in her organization.

[25:06] A consultant really helped them identify their values. Make your values interesting and true to who you are. They love people who are driven and continually improving. Other values include team first and grounded provocateurs. Teachable trust builders or being a teacher and a learner at all times.

[28:46] Co-innovation is one of the emerging trends companies should take notice of. Companies are going to need to collaborate more to make big changes.

Resources:

Pam Henderson NewEdge

NewEdge

Pam Henderson LinkedIn

Killing Ideas - You can kill an idea, you can't kill an opportunity

I’m thrilled to have Levi C. Maaia and Noah Mark to talk about the Pathways to Invention documentary. Noah Mark is the President of Maaia Mark Productions and Levi is the Director of the film.

This 60-minute documentary explores the age-old question of whether inventors are born or made. Through up-close profiles, it highlights the impactful contributions of inventors across various disciplines, including biotech, medical diagnostics and prosthetics, sustainable agriculture, food production, software development, and materials science.

All featured inventors are recipients of the prestigious Lemelson-MIT Student Prize. In this film, Levi and Noah uncover the journeys of inventors across various fields, shedding light on the pathways to creativity, resilience, and success.

This documentary was produced by Maaia Mark Productions in association with the Lemelson-MIT Program, with funding from The Lemelson Foundation, MIT's School of Engineering, and the University of California at Berkeley.

In our conversation, Levi and Noah share the inspiration for the documentary, common traits of inventors, and how education can foster young minds. We also discuss the significant challenges inventors have overcome, the recurring theme of collaboration and mentorship, and how the inventors were chosen to showcase.

Additionally, we explore how personal experiences shape an inventor's journey, how technology has made inventing more accessible, and the intersection of invention and social impact.

In This Episode:

[02:22] Noah and Levi were curious about people's ability to shape the world around them and the maker movement.

[03:09] They were inspired by all of the makers in Cuba who have no choice but to be innovative because of the embargo.

[04:06] The idea changed to a broader lens about inventors from coast to coast in the US.

[05:02] All of the inventors in the film were at some point recipients of the prestigious Lemelson-MIT Student Prize.

[07:00] The goal was to demystify the term inventor. In real life, it's usually a team effort. Many attempts and failures are also involved.

[08:06] The story of invention is really a story of overcoming failures and embracing them.

[09:02] Are inventors born or made? A little bit of both. There has to be Spark. An inventor needs to be a self-starter who sees a problem and wants to solve it.

[10:01] Inventors do need a supportive environment and resources.

[12:53] Pig crushing is the number one challenge faced for pork producers. The solution was to create a wearable alarm for the mother.

[16:21] Many of the inventions are in very diverse areas and they don't have to be a tech application.

[16:53] Collaboration and mentorship. Fostering or creating a network will lead to innovation.

[18:11] We talk about partnerships and recycling plastics on a smaller scale. Noah and Mark share how they love the resilience featured in this story.

[20:02] Nicole Black from inspiration from her own story with hearing loss. Personal experience has a profound impact on an inventor's journey.

[22:31] Two of their inventors were using machine learning at the time.

[24:23] They were surprised by how much perseverance is required to bring something to fruition.

[29:03] You have to be open to failing and confident to learn.

[31:02] Innovation driving positive change in society. We can innovate and solve the challenges of the future.

[33:00] There is no problem that is too overwhelming to attempt to solve.

[35:55] They are also working on a series about innovators. Allowing hopeful optimistic people who want to make the world a better place a way to connect with each other.

Resources:

Pathways to Invention

Levi C. Maaia

Levi C. Maaia LinkedIn

Noah Mark IMDB

Noah Mark on X