#21 - Incorruptible: Why Corporate Innovation Keeps Drifting w/ Eric Ries

#21 - Incorruptible: Why Corporate Innovation Keeps Drifting w/ Eric Ries

In this episode, I'm joined by Eric Ries [https://www.linkedin.com/in/eries/], creator of the Lean Startup method, founder of the Long-Term Stock Exchange [https://ltse.com/], and author of Incorruptible [https://incorruptible.co]. Eric spent 20 years watching companies he helped build get quietly dismantled. His diagnosis: corporate corruption is a design problem. The system itself was built to pull organizations toward short-termism. He calls it financial gravity. Nobody ordered it. It just happened, because the structure made it inevitable. In this episode, Eric shares insights on: ⚖️ Why FedMart was destroyed by the exact customer trust it spent 20 years building, and the A/B test that produced Costco 🏛️ The governance fortress Jim Sinegal built at Costco to protect Sol Price's ethos from investors, and why it still holds 40 years later 🧲 Financial gravity: the unconscious force shaping middle management decisions before any leader notices 👁️ Mary Parker Follett's invisible leader (1920) and why the most consequential decisions get made when no manager is in the room 🏦 The culture bank: why trustworthiness compounds like a financial asset, and why intentional withdrawals are always an error regardless of short-term ROI 💡 Why Eric redefines profit as the maximization of human flourishing, and what that means for the Groupon-style decisions corporate teams face every quarter We close on one concrete action: adopt the culture bank rule. Clay Christensen said doing the right thing 100% of the time is easier than 98%, because you never have to have a meeting about it. Resources: * Open Road Ventures Newsletter [https://openroadventuress.substack.com/] * Incorruptible — Eric's new book [https://incorruptible.co] * The Eric Ries Show Podcast [https://www.ericriesshow.com/] * Eric Ries Newsletter [https://news.theleanstartup.com/] * Eric Ries on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/eries/] * Eric Ries on X [https://x.com/ericries] 🎧 Follow the podcast for grounded conversations on what actually shapes innovation and corporate venturing — beyond the frameworks, beyond the hype.

#20 - Breaking Innovation Barriers: Getting Management to Say Yes w/ Gijs van Wulfen (FORTH Method)

In this episode, I'm joined by ⁠Gijs van Wulfen [https://www.linkedin.com/in/gijsvanwulfen/]⁠, founder of the FORTH Innovation Method [https://www.forth-innovation.com/], bestselling author, and keynote speaker named the #1 Design Thinking Thought Leader in the world by Thinkers360. His latest book, Breaking Innovation Barriers, is a practical guide to one of the hardest parts of innovation: getting management to say yes. This is not an episode about innovation theory or design thinking frameworks. It's about the uncomfortable reality that most innovation efforts die not from bad ideas, but from organizational resistance, misaligned incentives, and leaders who ask for innovation then block it at every turn. We go inside the FORTH method, built over decades of frustration in corporate environments, and explore why getting people to say yes matters as much as the idea itself. Gijs walks us through a live project in the Netherlands, from 173 customer frictions to 1,191 ideas to six business cases ready for funding. In this episode, Gijs shares insights on:🧭 Why innovation fails before it starts, fear cascades from the top down🐘 The difference between "innovators" and "innovators," and why urgency changes everything🗺️ How the FORTH method bridges business strategy and creative thinking in five phases🔍 Why frictions are your best source of ideas, and how to surface them fast💡 From 1,191 ideas to six fundable business cases: how the convergence actually works🦾 What exoskeletons taught a team about separating real trends from hype🤝 Why empathy for the most conservative people in your organization determines your speed We close the episode by reframing innovation not as a creative challenge but as an organizational and human one. The slowest animals in the herd set the pace. The innovator's job is to bring them along. Resources: * ⁠Open Road Ventures Newsletter⁠ [https://openroadventuress.substack.com/] * ⁠Gijs van Wulfen Website⁠ [https://www.gijsvanwulfen.com/] * ⁠Breaking Innovation Barriers (book) [https://amzn.to/3MxsGC1]⁠ 🎧 Follow the podcast for grounded conversations on what actually shapes innovation and corporate venturing, beyond the frameworks, beyond the hype.

#19 - Why Innovation Fails: The Hidden Identity Cost of Change w/ Federico Malatesta

In this episode, I’m joined by Federico Malatesta [https://www.linkedin.com/in/federicomalatesta/], executive transformational coach and author, who works at the intersection of leadership, identity, and organizational change. Federico helps senior leaders navigate moments when the old story no longer works — and a new one is trying to emerge. This is not an episode about CVC, venture building frameworks, or innovation toolkits. It’s about the uncomfortable reason why innovation and transformation fail even when the strategy is sound: leaders underestimate the identity cost of change. We explore innovation not as a portfolio problem, but as a psychological, political, and narrative one — and why new ventures often trigger resistance deep inside the organization long before they fail in the market. Together, we strip innovation down to its human core: how the brain resists novelty, how companies operate on implicit stories, and why middle management becomes the immune system that attacks anything that threatens the status quo. In this episode, Federico shares insights on: 🧠 Why the brain is wired to resist innovation 🧩 Innovation as identity transformation, not an additive initiative 🧬 “Narrative antibodies” and how organizations kill new ventures 🏛️ The hidden political and reputation risks leaders face when sponsoring innovation 📉 Why innovation doesn’t fail on ideas or execution — but on identity 🧭 Coaching leaders through identity transition, not just strategy change We close the episode by reframing innovation leadership as contextual intelligence — the ability to read shifting power, incentives, and stories — and why storytelling without operational clarity is one of the fastest ways to lose credibility inside a large organization. Resources: • Open Road Ventures Newsletter [https://openroadventuress.substack.com/] • Federico Malatesta Website [https://www.federicomalatesta.com/] 🎧 Follow the podcast for grounded conversations on what actually shapes innovation and corporate venturing — beyond the frameworks, beyond the hype.

#18 - Design Thinking & Open Innovation in The Gen-AI Era

In this episode, I’m joined by Harsh Wardhan [linkedin.com/in/hwardhan/], Innovation Strategist at a major Big Tech company (leading design for Search & Labs) and formerly a founding member of a Design Lab in an big automotive OEM. Harsh sits at the unique intersection of two worlds: the high-stakes, high-CapEx constraints of the automotive industry and the infinite, high-speed ambiguity of Generative AI. We strip away the "theater" of innovation (the sticky notes and workshops) to focus on the hard metrics and methodologies that actually de-risk ventures, whether you are bending metal or writing code. In this episode, Harsh shares insights on: 🎭 Stripping Away the Theater 🤖 GenAI: Delegate Tasks, Not Thinking 🏭 Speedboats vs. Cruise Liners 📉 Time-to-Evidence > Time-to-Market 🏗️ The "Build vs. Buy" Heuristic 🚫 The "Post-It Note" Trap We close the episode on Harsh’s definition of meaningful work and why a lack of a concrete plan at the start is the biggest red flag in corporate labs. Resources:• Open Road Ventures Newsletter [https://openroadventuress.substack.com/]• Bundl Venture Club [https://bundl.com/] 🎧 Follow the podcast for grounded stories and practical lessons from inside the world of Open Innovation and Corporate Venturing.

#17 - Inside Woven Capital: The Playbook for Growth-Stage Venturing w/ Nicole LeBlanc (Woven Capital)

In this episode, I’m joined by Nicole LeBlanc [https://jp.linkedin.com/in/neleblanc], Partner at Woven Capital [https://woven.vc/], Toyota’s growth-stage venture fund. Nicole and her team manage a combined $1.6B across two funds, sitting at the critical junction where startups need to move from "move fast and break things" to global deployment. We explore the launch of their new $800M Fund 2, how they differentiate from early-stage investing, and what it really takes to integrate external innovation into the world’s largest automaker. In this episode, Nicole shares insights on: 💸 The $800M Signal Why Woven Capital launched Fund 2 now , doubling down on AI and climate tech , and how in today’s geopolitical environment, corporates bring scale while startups bring the necessary speed. 🤝 Early vs. Growth Stage The clear distinction between Toyota Ventures (early-stage "cousins") and Woven Capital (growth-stage) , and how they pass deal flow to ensure startups have support from seed to scale. 🧭 The "Portfolio Success" Superpower Why writing the check is the easy part, and how Woven’s dedicated team guides startups through Toyota’s complex business units so they don’t get lost in the organization. ⚖️ Strategic Value vs. Financial Discipline How to balance the dual mandate. Nicole explains why a deal must stand on its own financially first—even if the strategic story is perfect—to ensure long-term resilience. 🔋 Real-World Case Study: Weave Grid A concrete example of how investing in Weave Grid allowed Toyota to solve the "3,000 utilities" problem while giving the startup the validation needed to unlock the rest of the OEM market. 🧠 AI Beyond the Hype Why she sees AI not just as a buzzword, but as a foundational unlock for logistics, fleet management, and simulation—improving operations rather than just perception. We close the episode on Nicole’s personal view: why corporate venturing is "not a 9-to-5 job" and why, despite the massive scale and deep tech, success ultimately comes down to human connection. Resources:• Open Road Ventures Newsletter [https://openroadventuress.substack.com/]• Bundl Venture Club [https://www.bundl.com/venture-club] 🎧 Follow the podcast for grounded stories and practical lessons from inside the world of Open Innovation and Corporate Venturing.