Corporate innovation pioneer and former Citi Chief Innovation Officer Amy Radin joins host Elijah Eilert to explain how large, regulated organisations can move quickly without losing control. Amy shares how to turn likely vetoes into informed sponsorship. The conversation covers why disciplined, low-cost experiments generate decision-ready evidence, how strategic advocacy helps innovators win allies, and why partnering with finance and risk teams can convert uncertainty into competitive advantage. Amy also predicts that modular, interdisciplinary certificates will soon displace traditional MBAs as the preferred path for innovation leaders. From growing up in a small family business to navigating corporate boardrooms, Amy shares both the lessons she has learned and unlearn, insights every innovation leader can put to work today.

[00:20] Introducing Amy Radin: One of the first corporate Chief Innovation Officers in the world, dedicated to solving real customer problems.

[01:03] Defining innovation: New and viable solutions that meet unmet rational and emotional needs within legal, ethical and commercial limits.

[02:35] The innovation spectrum: “New” is relative to your company or market; incremental changes can be transformative internally.

[03:53] Metric pitfalls: Mature-business ROI hurdles choke exploration, focus first on learning milestones and evidence.

[05:24] Listen before you survey: Qualitative observation often outperforms data sets when desirability is uncertain.

[06:43] Empathy for CFOs: Understand that finance leaders are paid to protect cash flow and manage certainty. Apply the same discovery techniques you use with customers to CFOs: frame proposals as stage-gated micro-bets with clear spending caps, predefined kill criteria and measurable learning goals. Translating risk into the language of liquidity, runway and downside protection builds their confidence to fund experimentation.

[09:31] Budgeting experiments: Treat rapid tests as investments that generate decision-grade data.

[13:50] The corporate tax: In a big organisation, persuading decision-makers and influencers is not a side task, it is a huge part of the job. Innovators must decide whether they are willing to invest that time and energy to win sponsorship and move ideas forward.

[16:48] Strategic advocacy: Treat innovation like a social movement. Systematically map champions, fence-sitters and blockers; tailor value propositions and small “next step” asks for each group and build a visible coalition that tips policy, budget and culture from maybe to yes.

[22:25] Risk Review Committee: While piloting peer-to-peer mobile payments at Citi, Amy assembled a cross-functional forum brand, legal, compliance, cyber-security and enterprise-risk, before any contracts were drafted. By surfacing objectives early, walking through “what-if” scenarios and co-designing safeguards (smallest viable test, rapid-exit plan, advance regulator briefings), the team cut approval time, tightened controls and converted risk leaders from potential blockers into active sponsors.

[26:14] Innovation as risk management: In fast-moving markets, clinging to the status quo can expose the business to greater...

AI adoption is skyrocketing, but most AI projects don’t deliver on their promises. In this episode, Dr. Evan Shellshear, Managing Director and Group CEO of Ubidy, breaks down why 80% of AI projects fail and what organisations can do to improve their chances of success.

Drawing insights from his book Why Data Science Projects Fail, Evan explores the biggest blockers to AI success, the importance of strategic alignment, and how companies can avoid wasting millions on AI initiatives that don’t deliver business impact.

Whether you are an AI practitioner, business leader, or innovation manager, this episode will help you separate AI hype from reality and make smarter technology investment decisions.

Why Data Science Projects Fail: The Harsh Realities of Implementing AI and Analytics, without the Hype:

https://www.amazon.com.au/Why-Data-Science-Projects-Fail/dp/103266133X?ref_=ast_author_dp

Innovation Tools: The most successful techniques to innovate cheaply and effectively:

https://www.amazon.com.au/Innovation-Tools-Successful-Techniques-Effectively/dp/0646956469?ref_=ast_author_dp

[02:53] – Defining Innovation

Evan shares his perspective on what defines innovation, emphasising that it is not just about new ideas but the impact they create. He draws a clear distinction between invention and innovation, explaining why an idea without impact remains an invention rather than a true innovation.

[04:27] – Measuring Innovation Effectively

Innovation measurement starts with two key questions: Is it new? and What is its impact? Evan highlights the difficulty of measuring “newness” and discusses why impact should be measured based on purpose-driven innovation. He argues that metrics should align with a company’s innovation goals, whether it is patent creation, revenue growth, or industry transformation.

[06:11] – The Biggest Blockers to Innovation in Large Organizations

Evan contrasts the flexibility of small, nimble companies with the structural challenges of large enterprises. He explains how legacy systems, bureaucratic processes, and internal competition create significant barriers to innovation, making it difficult for new ideas to gain traction and survive within large corporations.

[07:31] – Why AI Projects Fail: The 80% Failure Rate

Evan breaks down the staggering failure rate of AI projects, estimating that up to 80% fail, with the number exceeding 90% for analytically immature organizations. He highlights the three biggest reasons AI initiatives go wrong:

1. Lack of strategic alignment – Organizations chase AI trends without clear business objectives.
2. Poor data quality and availability – Without the right data, even the best AI models fail.
3. Lack of experienced resources – Many AI teams lack deep expertise, leading to unrealistic expectations and weak execution.

[12:50] – The Outback AI Story: When AI Doesn’t Make Business Sense

Evan shares a fictitious story from Australia’s Outback, where a farmer was pitched an AI-driven solution for managing crops. While the...

In this episode, Elijah Eilert sits down with Étienne Garbugli. Étienne, the CEO of Sliced, veteran founder, and author of several books, shares his insights.

The conversation centers around Étienne’s most recent book, Find Your Market. The book explores how to effectively find Product/Market Fit when innovations are already built or at least partially developed without having factored in the market need properly. Most innovators understand the need for research and experimentation before committing significant resources to but in reality, many organisations, Research and Development departments, and especially universities all too often do not adhere to it.

• Étienne kicks off by reframing how we should think about innovation—not just products, but improvements in services, processes, and distribution. He makes a strong case for continuous iteration as the key to staying relevant in today’s hyper-competitive landscape.

• Étienne discusses different approaches to measuring innovation, from immediate goals (Horizon 1) to long-term, high-uncertainty efforts. He shares his perspective on why understanding progress in increments is key, especially when navigating high-risk innovation projects.

• Elijah and Étienne explore a major, yet often overlooked, barrier to innovation—career progression. In organisations, those who get promoted are often seen as people who make the “right” decisions. This clashes with the exploratory and uncertain nature of genuine innovation, which frequently involves taking risks and failing.

• A significant portion of the conversation focuses on Étienne’s book, Find Your Market: Discover and Win Your Product’s Best Market Opportunity. He walks listeners through his bottom-up approach to identifying markets—starting from precise, actionable customer segments and expanding outward—contrasted against traditional top-down TAM analysis. Elijah and Étienne jokingly refer to it as “Lean Startup, but backwards,” emphasising how companies with an existing product can work backward to find Product/Market-Fit but in a lean way.

• They discuss how to align innovation metrics with broader business strategy. Measuring learning outcomes and value creation through insights—rather than just focusing on short-term financial gains. Étienne also shares how even seasoned entrepreneurs often realise their understanding of markets evolves significantly over time.

• Étienne explains how his company, Sliced helps companies break down broader target audiences into smaller, more actionable segments. This process enables companies to better understand where their true market opportunities...