Why couldn’t Adobe—with all its resources—stop Figma? In this power-packed episode of The Innovation Show X, Aidan McCullen dives deep into disruption, transformation, and the future of work with Howard Yu (Leap) and Sangeet Paul Choudary (Reshuffle, Platform Revolution).

You’ll learn why Adobe’s shift to the cloud was just Act 2, and why surviving in the new economy requires mastering Act 3—orchestration, data flows, and multiplayer collaboration.

💡 Topics include:

• Why collaboration isn’t just a feature—it’s a business model

• How AI is reshaping the architecture of value creation

• What John Deere, Shein, and Tesla can teach legacy companies

• The hidden difference between execution and orchestration

• How to make your business future-ready

📚 Books discussed: Leap by Howard Yu and Reshuffle by Sangeet Paul Choudary

🔗 Follow the guests:

Howard Yu – Substack: One Inch Ahead https://howardyu.substack.com

Sangeet Paul Choudary – Substack: Platforms https://platforms.substack.com

Aidan McCullen https://thethursdaythought.substack.com

🎙 Hosted by Aidan McCullen | Sponsored by Kyndryl

#InnovationShow #AdobeVsFigma #BusinessStrategy #DigitalTransformation #FutureOfWork #AI #PlatformEconomy

In this final part of our compelling trilogy, Manu Kapur, author of Productive Failure, returns to uncover the psychology behind effective learning. Discover why failing first can drive deeper understanding, greater retention, and lasting mastery.

Hosted by Aidan McCullen, this episode explores real-world strategies rooted in research—from the Zeigarnik Effect to motivational boosts like loss aversion, endowed progress, and goal gradients.

Whether you’re an educator, leader, or lifelong learner, this episode offers tools to rethink failure as a powerful ally in personal growth and innovation.

• Why failure can enhance memory and understanding

• The science of loss aversion and how to hack it for learning

• Endowed progress and goal gradient theory in practice

• How to spark curiosity and mastery in children and adults

• Building learning resilience and overcoming imposter syndrome

• A practical model for designing learning for yourself and others

• 🧠 Manu Kapur’s Book: Productive Failure – https://amzn.to/3WzFuZD

• 🌐 Manu Kapur’s Website: www.manukapur.com

• 🔗 Kyndryl Institute: www.kyndryl.com/institute

• 🎙️ Host: Aidan McCullen – www.TheInnovationshow.io

00:00 Introduction and Sponsor Message

00:38 Welcoming the Guest: Manu Kaur

01:15 Understanding the Zeigarnik Effect

04:00 Affective Boost Levels: Loss Aversion and Endowed Progress

08:16 Goal Gradient and Personal Motivation

12:44 Growth Mindset and Effort

16:46 Children, Uncertainty, and Learning

21:51 Achievement Goals vs. Mastery Goals

26:27 Phenomenological Primitives and Learning

29:01 Understanding the Role of Context in Learning

31:49 The Power of Comparison and Contrast

34:34 Learning Through Metaphors and Case Studies

38:58 Addressing Imposter Syndrome and Embracing Challenges

41:14 Productive Failure in Learning and Growth

45:17 Designing Effective Learning Tasks

49:44 The Importance of Affective Draw in Mastery

56:13 Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways

Simon Hill, author of Expected Value (xV), reveals how to measure and prove the real value of innovation—avoiding theatre, zombie projects, and wasted budgets with his groundbreaking xV framework.

Simon introduces his Expected Value (xV) framework, a new system that combines confidence, predicted value, time sensitivity, and strategic fit to prove innovation’s worth in terms business leaders and CFOs understand. From case studies to the role of AI, Simon shows how xV helps organizations escape wasted budgets, align innovation with strategy, and create lasting competitive advantage.

We discuss:

• Why most companies fail at measuring innovation

• The pitfalls of innovation theatre and zombie projects

• How the xV formula works in real-world organizations

• Kill credits, project evaluation, and stopping bad investments early

• The role of AI and data science in innovation decisions

• Case studies including Nvidia and the S-Curve of technology adoption

👉 Get Simon’s Book: https://xvbook.com

👉 Learn more about Wazoku: https://wazoku.com

👉 About our sponsor Kyndryl: https://kyndryl.com/institute

This episode is essential listening for innovation leaders, CFOs, strategists, and business executives who want to move beyond activity metrics and finally prove the real value of innovation.

In this episode, Michael Raynor — author of The Strategy Paradox and co-author with Clayton Christensen of The Innovator’s Solution — joins Aidan McCullen to explore why most strategies fail and how leaders can fix them.

From the RAP (Resource Allocation Process) model to the real-world case of BCE’s diversification journey, Raynor unpacks how strategy is shaped by resource allocation, risk, and CEO intervention. Learn how top leaders can navigate uncertainty, overcome divisional barriers, and unlock strategic synergies.

🔑 What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• Why strategies often fail — and the CEO’s role in fixing them

• How the RAP model explains real-world decision-making

• Lessons from BCE’s diversification journey

• The tension between divisional goals and corporate strategy

• Practical tools for managing risk and strategic integration

⏱️ Episode Guide
00:00 Intro & Kyndryl Overview
00:28 Historical Perspectives on Strategy
00:57 Approaches to Resource Allocation
02:36 Guest Introduction: Michael Raynor
03:13 Academic Journey & Mentors
07:35 The RAP Model Explained
11:32 Challenges in Strategic Decision Making
22:51 BCE’s Diversification Story
31:46 Entering Mobile Telephony
32:28 Strategic Synergies & Capital Constraints
33:48 Independent Operations & Market Dynamics
35:19 Challenges of Strategic Integration
36:11 Retail Distribution & Evolutionary Lessons
38:36 Governance Rights & Incentive Structures
48:31 Historical Lessons & Modern Applications
58:20 Concluding Thoughts & Future Directions

🚀 Topics Covered: strategy, resource allocation, RAP model, diversification, BCE, corporate governance, disruptive innovation, CEO decision-making, real options, strategic integration.

👉 If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe, share, and explore more insights at

https://thethursdaythought.substack.com

In this episode of The Innovation Show, Aidan McCullen welcomes back Manu Kapur, author of Productive Failure, to explore the science of learning through failure.

We uncover the Basic Knowledge Fallacy, debate Direct Instruction vs. Discovery Learning, and introduce the Four A’s of Learning (Activation, Awareness, Affect, Assembly). Manu also explains why variability, struggle, and pretesting drive deeper learning, adaptability, and long-term success.

Whether you’re an educator, business leader, coach, or lifelong learner, this conversation will transform the way you think about learning and growth.

00:00 – Introduction and Sponsor Message

00:33 – Welcoming the Guest: Manu Kapur

01:01 – Understanding the Basic Knowledge Fallacy

05:07 – Direct Instruction vs. Discovery Learning

08:08 – The Science Behind Productive Failure

14:01 – The Importance of Variability in Learning

21:14 – Pretesting and the Role of Struggle in Learning

26:43 – Final Thoughts and Cognitive Reflection Test

• Why the path to learning is as important as the knowledge itself

• The strengths and limits of direct instruction and discovery learning

• How the Four A’s of Productive Failure create lasting understanding

• Why variability and desirable difficulties improve adaptability

• How struggle, pretesting, and impasses unlock deeper insights

📺 Watch more episodes of The Innovation Show: The Innovation Show on YouTube

🌐 Learn more about Manu Kapur: www.manukapur.com

📘 Get Manu’s book Productive Failure: https://amzn.to/3KrdV1Q

What if failure wasn’t the end, but the beginning of real growth? In this episode, Aidan McCullen sits down with Manu Kapur, author of Productive Failure, to explore how struggle, setbacks, and mistakes can actually unlock deep learning, creativity, and adaptability.

🔑 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why productive failure is the secret to lifelong learning

• How to turn mistakes into powerful growth mindset strategies

• Why even “good lectures” don’t always create deep understanding

• How leaders and innovators can use failure to adapt in a changing world

• The psychology of resilience, success, and transformation

Find Manu Kapur: https://www.manukapur.com

From a soccer career cut short by injury to becoming a global thought leader in education innovation, Manu shares stories and research that challenge how we think about failure. Whether you’re a teacher, leader, parent, or entrepreneur, this conversation will help you embrace failure as a pathway to success.

What can bees teach us about leadership, teamwork, and innovation? 🐝

In this episode, Philip Atkinson — organizational coach, beekeeper, and author of Bee Wise: 12 Leadership Lessons from a Busy Beehive — shares powerful insights from the hive that apply directly to modern workplaces.

We explore:

• Why the queen bee is not really the leader of the hive

• How the waggle dance is a perfect metaphor for communication

• Why bees switch jobs throughout their lives and what that means for career growth

• How swarms make better decisions by consensus

• The importance of diversity, innovation, and collaboration in thriving organizations

📖 Learn more about Philip’s work and book: beewisebook.com

🌐 Company site: hive-logic.com

📲 Socials: Facebook, Instagram & LinkedIn → @BeeWiseBook

👤 Connect with Philip on LinkedIn: PhilipAtkinsonHiveLogic

✨ All proceeds from Bee Wise support Bees for Development, a charity helping families worldwide build sustainable livelihoods through beekeeping.

What happens when startups like Figma outpace industry giants like Adobe? In this episode of The Innovation Show, Aidan McCullen sits down with bestselling author Sangeet Paul Choudary (Platform Revolution, Reshuffle) to explore how AI, cloud technology, and mindset shifts are reshaping the future of work, design, and competition.

Discover why incumbents often fail—not from lack of innovation, but from failing to unlearn old architectures. Using the case of Figma vs. Adobe, we unpack how element-based design, governance-led workflows, and AI-first thinkingare redefining industries from design to law to construction.

Key takeaways:

• Why adapting mindsets matters more than adopting tools

• How AI is unbundling knowledge work and rewriting career paths

• The importance of governance in enterprise-wide collaboration

• Why the forgetting curve is as critical as the learning curve

Perfect for innovators, leaders, and professionals navigating the knowledge economy, this episode is a roadmap for thriving in a world of structural uncertainty where AI and cloud-native startups are rewriting the rules.

📚 Resources & Links

• Reshuffle: Who Wins When AI Reshapes the Knowledge Economy

→ https://amzn.to/3HWwj1I

• Platform Revolution

→ https://amzn.to/4mBq2aQ

• Sangeet’s Substack

→ https://substack.com/@platforms/posts

• Aidan’s show notes

→ https://thethursdaythought.substack.com

🎙️ Listen now to learn how to reshuffle your thinking, your organization, and your career for the AI-driven future.