Choose Change or Else - Barbara Salopek | 74

Barbara Salopek is an economist, author, and innovation consultant who grew up in Croatia and built her career in Norway. She teaches at BI Norwegian Business School, advises companies on bringing ideas to market, and is the author of an Amazon bestseller on innovation that scored 8/10 with getAbstract editors. Her work sits at the intersection of individual psychology, group dynamics, and the systems that either let innovation thrive or quietly kill it. In this conversation, Barbara walks us through why suffering only makes sense when there's something better on the other side, why 4,500+ mousetrap patents don't equal innovation, the difference between a creative solution and an innovation that actually creates value, why "innovate!" as a top-down command almost always fails, the hidden cost of big players buying every promising small company, why leaders can't ask their teams to change while staying the same themselves, and the simple reframe that turns change from something happening to you into something you choose. Find Barbara: https://barbarasalopek.com On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbara-salopek/ Book: available on Amazon and major retailers worldwide Builders & Doers is produced by Horizon Search. 0:00 Intro 0:51 The meaning behind suffering — and why all our heroes had hard lives 1:21 What science actually says about adversity and creativity 2:39 "Better to suffer now for the benefit later" — and why younger generations push back 3:09 Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea at age 14 4:24 Risk-aversion is personal — entrepreneurs as control of one's own destiny 5:58 We're learning what we're willing to tolerate 6:21 What innovation actually is — value, not just ideas 7:10 The 4,500 mousetrap patents that aren't innovation 8:18 Signal vs substance — institutions, prestige, and follow-through 10:29 Big universities and big consulting — and why hungry small firms still matter 11:48 The danger of everyone selling out to the big tech oligarchy 12:53 Imposter syndrome and the desire for external validation 14:36 The generational shift — from CV prestige to quality of life now 15:05 Why a good idea isn't enough — the market has to be ready 17:50 Oversimplification, social media, and the danger of using AI in fields you don't know 19:30 From idea to product-market fit — what actually has to be true 21:18 Functional fixedness and creativity as a survival mechanism 22:33 The Croatia / Norway counterexample — adversity isn't the only path to excellence 23:06 We are individuals AND part of groups — why innovation frameworks miss this 26:05 What leaders should actually do to invite change 28:07 Everyday creativity vs scientific creativity — everyone has it 30:20 Don't change for change's sake — frame the why 30:45 What's the one thing we can stop doing today? 33:09 The founder paradox — you can't be the same person at company size 100 35:20 You can't ask others to change while you resist change yourself 36:00 Small experiments that change team dynamics — who speaks in meetings 40:08 Choose change vs change happens to you — the driving seat reframe 41:18 Early adopters vs naysayers and why both views have value 44:42 High-trust vs low-trust environments (Norway vs Croatia, COVID example) 45:33 The long view — climate, AI, and what actually matters 46:48 Where to find Barbara