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Listen "Innovation Architect: Humans as the Muse to AI - Carla Johnson | Ep 84"
Episode Synopsis
Join us on The Iferia Techcast with Carla Johnson, a renowned innovation architect helping companies like Amazon and Intel break free from status quo thinking. With a background spanning electrical engineering to authoring 10 books, Carla champions the idea that innovation is everyone's business.In this episode, Carla redefines innovation and reframes the AI conversation, positioning humans as the essential muse to the machine. She shares practical exercises to jolt engineers out of incremental thinking and into bold imagination, exploring how curiosity, deep breathing, and looking outside your industry can unlock groundbreaking ideas. Discover her unique "curiosity compass" for leveraging AI strategically and the most underutilized tool for driving innovation that technical teams already have access to.In this episode, you’ll discover:· Carla Johnson's fascinating journey from electrical engineering to becoming an "innovation architect."· How her diverse background, including architecture and telecom, shaped her unique approach to innovative thinking.· Why innovation is "everybody's business" and how engineers can claim a bigger role in creative processes.· Practical exercises to foster bold imagination, including "flipping the script" and drawing inspiration from everyday life.· Carla's "curiosity compass" framework for strategically interacting with AI, moving beyond tactical questions.· A powerful 3-part objective statement to align teams and escape cycles of incremental improvement.· The first principle of a new rule book for innovation with AI as a core partner: asking AI how it can help you.· The one "permission slip" leaders can give teams to unlock creative courage: studying outside their industry.· The most underutilized tool for driving innovation: meditation for accessing "theta" brainwave states.· Carla's definition of innovation: the ability to consistently generate "new, great, and reliable ideas."This is a must-listen for engineers, developers, leaders, and anyone looking to cultivate a more innovative mindset and harness the full potential of human-AI collaboration.Connect With Carla Johnson:· Website: https://www.carlajohnson.co/· LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlajohnson/Chapters:00:00 Welcome Carla Johnson: Innovation Architect & Breaking Status Quo00:59 From Electrical Engineering to Innovation Architect: A Career Pivot06:11 Innovation is Everyone's Business: Engineers & Creative Process06:40 Curiosity & Flipping the Script: Jolting from Habit to Thoughtfulness10:38 Humans as the Muse to AI: The Critical, Irreplaceable Role11:06 The Curiosity Compass: Tactical vs. Strategic AI Interaction14:50 Celebrating Open-Ended Questions with AI & No Judgment15:10 Practical Exercise: Objective Statement for Bold Imagination19:28 Rewriting Innovation Rules: Ask AI More Questions20:49 Permission Slip for Creative Courage: Study Outside Your Industry23:58 Underutilized Tool for Innovation: Meditation & Theta Brainwaves27:02 Innovation Defined: New, Great & Reliable Ideas, Consistently30:36 Connect with Carla Johnson & The Rethink LabSupport the Show:· Fuel the podcast: https://iferia.nestuge.com/supportme· Subscribe and leave a review!· ShareWant to Be a Guest on The Iferia TechCast?· Reach out to Ezekiel on PodMatch· PodMatch Host Profile: https://podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/theiferiatechcast
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