Why Innovation Labs Fail and How to Fix Them with Leslie Grandy (Ex-Amazon, T-Mobile, & Best Buy)

Is the traditional approach to innovation actually creating more friction than breakthrough ideas?Join hosts Chuck Moxley and Nick Paladino as they talk with Leslie Grandy, a digital innovation expert with experience at Amazon, Best Buy, and T-Mobile. Leslie shares why innovation labs often fail, creating two classes of employees and alienating those outside the "creative zone." Drawing from her soon-to-be-released book "Creative Velocity," she explains how viewing failure as a learning opportunity rather than a setback is essential for fostering creativity across organizations.Leslie reveals how an innovation lab's picture frame project at T-Mobile could have sold 10 times more units if operational teams had been brought into the creative process earlier. She explores how lawyers and finance people can be some of the most creative problem solvers when given the right framework and why the biggest myth in business is that creativity is limited to certain roles or departments.Main Takeaways from this episode:Democratize innovation — Innovation labs often create artificial divisions between "creative" and "operational" employees, when creativity should be cultivated across the entire organization.Reframe failure as learning — Successful creative thinkers see failure not as a loss but as a necessary ingredient for innovation and an opportunity to discover what doesn't work.Use generative AI as a creative partner — AI can help explore unconventional combinations and solutions when used with structured creative frameworks, expanding your thinking beyond established patterns.Want more tips and strategies to create frictionless user experiences? Subscribe to our newsletter!https://www.thefrictionlessexperience.com/frictionless/-Chuck's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckmoxley/Nick's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/npaladino/Leslie's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-grandy/Leslie's Website: https://www.creative-velocity.com/Chapters:(00:00) Introduction(02:45) The Problem with Innovation Labs(06:00) Creating Two Classes of Employees(08:45) Engineers as Creative Problem Solvers(11:30) The T-Mobile Picture Frame Case Study(14:45) Hackathons and Idea Prevention(17:15) Reframing Negativity as Problem Solving(20:30) Curbside Pickup and Digital Transformation(25:30) Generative AI as a Creative Partner(30:15) Creative Velocity Book Insights(34:30) AI and Human Creativity Working Together(37:30) The Myth That Creativity Belongs to Certain Roles