#104—Andy Binns & Ellie Amirnasr: Paving a Path of Success for Corporate Explorers within Your Organization

In this episode, Andy Binns, co-founder and Director of Change Logic, and an award-winning author who publishes articles on innovation strategy and execution in established firms is joined by an additional guest, Ellie Amirnasr, director of digital ventures at MANN+HUMMEL, who was a chapter author, alongside Andy, of Corporate Explorer Fieldbook: How to Build New Ventures In Established Companies. Their work with this just-released 2023 book brings to the forefront the corporate explorer: the individuals within your organization that have the prowess to lead innovation. In this episode, we delve deep into these pioneers brimming with new ideas._________________________________________________________________________________________In this episode, they share:What is a corporate explorer, and why are they so advantageous to your organization? How you as a leader can create a culture that paves the path for success for corporate explorers to innovate The recipe and ingredients that spark innovation within an organization and the distinct stages of innovation projects, and what metrics to consider when deciding to continue funding a project at each stage _________________________________________________________________________________________Episode Timeline:00:00—Highlight from today's episode1:18—Introducing Andy & Ellie + The topic of today’s episode2:34—If you really know me, you know that...5:33—What is your definition of strategy?8:30—Could you talk to us about your organization, qlair?9:52—Could you define a "corporate explorer" for us?11:20—What are some of the aspects that an organization needs to have in place to enable corporate explorers?13:59—What are some shifts that leaders need to make to allow for corporate explorers?17:53—Could you lead us through the stages of a new venture and how it relates to decision-making and funding?26:44—What is the mechanism that makes it more likely to be successful if you state your goals and metrics at the beginning?29:13—What is the biggest mistake you see corporate explorers make that you could advise them on?31:14—How can people follow you and connect with you to continue learning from you?__________________________________________________________________________________________Additional Resources: Book Website: https://www.thecorporateexplorer.com/LinkedIn: Ellie Amirnasr, Andy BinnsThank you to our executive producer Zach Ness, our producer Nazanin Homayoun Jam and our editor James Pearce. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, download, and subscribe. I’m your host, Kaihan Krippendorff—thank you for listening.Follow us at outthinker.com/podcast