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The Innovation Meets Leadership Podcast

The Innovation Meets Leadership Podcast

By: Natalie Born
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We exist to empower your innovation and leadership transformation journey. Collaboration, innovation, and transformation are not just concepts they are how business gets done.610182 Economics
Episodes
  • 34.Human-Centered Design and Visual Agreement with Natalie Born

    34.Human-Centered Design and Visual Agreement with Natalie Born
    Jul 12 2026
    In this episode of Innovation Meets Leadership, host Natalie Born continues the Set It On Fire: The Art of Innovation series with Chapter 8: Human-Centered Design & Visual Agreement. Joined by Moriah Hidden, Natalie explores how meeting culture shapes innovation, why visual collaboration leads to better decisions, and practical frameworks leaders can use to create more engaging, productive, and innovative teams. From designing meetings with intention to building a culture where everyone contributes ideas, this episode equips leaders with simple tools that can dramatically improve collaboration and execution. [00:00 – 07:10] Meeting Culture Is Innovation CultureWhy the way your team meets reflects your innovation cultureCommon reasons meetings become unproductiveDefining clear roles, agendas, and objectives before every meetingThe cost of disengaged meetings on organizations[07:11 – 10:44] Creating Better Meetings Through Visual AgreementWhy ideas should move from conversations to visible collaborationHow whiteboards, sticky notes, and digital tools improve alignmentHelping participants stay engaged and catch up quicklyWhy visual thinking creates shared understanding faster[10:45 – 15:48] Open, Explore, Close: A Better Meeting FrameworkEncouraging idea generation without immediate criticismExploring and expanding ideas before evaluating themGrouping similar concepts to create clarityClosing meetings with clear decisions and next steps[15:49 – 18:23] When a Meeting Should Really Be an EmailKnowing when collaboration is necessary—and when it isn'tIdentifying situations that require discussion versus communicationReducing meeting overload while protecting collaboration timeCreating intentional meetings that move work forward[18:24 – End] Building a Team of InnovatorsDeveloping innovation skills across the entire teamGiving people opportunities to lead discussions and contribute ideasEstablishing meeting guardrails that encourage participationCreating a culture where innovation becomes everyone's responsibilityKey Quotes"Meeting culture is your innovation culture." – Natalie Born"Innovation isn't just about having ideas; it's about creating environments where ideas can be shared, refined, and acted upon." – Natalie Born"We want people to show up like owners, not renters." – Natalie BornResources & LinksNatalie BornLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataliebornWebsite: https://innovationmeetsleadership.comBook: Set It on Fire: The Art of InnovationBook & Resources: https://setitonfire.coIf this episode encouraged you, share it with a leader who wants to transform meetings into opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and better decision-making.Be sure to subscribe to Innovation Meets Leadership for more conversations on leadership, innovation, culture, and growth.
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    23 mins
  • 33. Failure: Innovation’s Training Ground with Natalie Born

    33. Failure: Innovation’s Training Ground with Natalie Born
    Jun 25 2026

    In this episode of Innovation Meets Leadership, host Natalie Born continues the Set It On Fire: The Art of Innovation series by diving into Chapter 7: Failure: Innovation's Training Ground. Joined by Moriah Hidden, Natalie explores why failure is not the opposite of innovation, but a necessary part of the process.Together, they unpack the difference between failures and mistakes, the role of psychological safety in innovative cultures, how leaders can create environments where experimentation thrives, and why learning faster is often more valuable than being perfect. This conversation offers practical insights for leaders looking to build resilient teams that embrace risk, learn quickly, and continue moving innovation forward.

    [00:00 – 04:12] Why Failure Is Essential to InnovationWhy innovation naturally involves risk and uncertaintyHow failure provides valuable data, insights, and learningShifting the focus from perfection to learning velocityWhy organizations must stop treating failure as a personal flaw

    [04:13 – 08:59] Psychological Safety & Learning from SetbacksThe connection between psychological safety and innovationHow fear-based cultures prevent honest conversationsSigns your team may be afraid to speak up or take initiativeWhy leaders must create environments where mistakes can be discussed openly

    [09:00 – 15:08] Failures vs. Mistakes: Understanding the DifferenceDefining the difference between a failure and a mistakeWhy leaders should respond differently to eachThe role of accountability, coaching, and learningHow SOPs and clear expectations reduce preventable mistakes

    [15:09 – 17:21] Fail Fast, Fail Cheap, Fail OftenWhat “fail fast, fail cheap, fail often” really meansCreating guardrails that encourage experimentationUsing scorecards, decision frameworks, and spending limitsAvoiding costly innovation projects that lack validation

    [17:22 – 20:51] Staying Connected to CustomersWhy organizations build products customers don't actually wantThe importance of validating ideas early and oftenListening for customer signals and feedbackRemoving internal bias during the innovation process

    [20:52 – 26:20] Building Resilient Teams That Keep InnovatingWhy leaders should model vulnerability and share their own failuresCelebrating learning—not just successful outcomesConducting lessons-learned reviews and after-action discussionsCreating a culture that rewards thoughtful risk-taking and growth

    Key Quotes

    “Failure is only a waste if we don't learn from it.” – Natalie Born

    “If a leader treats a failure as a mistake, innovation will disappear in the organization.” – Natalie Born

    “Failure is not the opposite of innovation; it's part of the process that makes innovation possible.” – Natalie Born

    Resources & LinksInnovation Meets Leadership Website: iml.howSet It On Fire Frameworks & Resources: setitonfire.co

    Natalie Born LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalieborn/


    If this episode encouraged you, share it with a leader, entrepreneur, or innovator who wants to build a culture where learning, experimentation, and resilience drive long-term success.Be sure to subscribe to Innovation Meets Leadership for more conversations on leadership, innovation, culture, and growth.
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    26 mins
  • 32. The Product Development Framework with Natalie Born

    32. The Product Development Framework with Natalie Born
    Jun 14 2026


    In this episode of Innovation Meets Leadership, host Natalie Born continues the Set It On Fire: The Art of Innovation series by diving into Chapter 6: The Product Development Framework. Joined by Moriah Hidden, Natalie explores practical ways organizations can intentionally surface innovation, move ideas from concept to execution, and create systems that help innovation thrive long-term.This conversation unpacks business plan competitions, hackathons, customer incubation sessions, funding innovation, overcoming organizational barriers, and creating cultures where experimentation and execution become part of everyday work.[00:00 – 03:10] Introduction to The Product Development Framework & Creating Space for InnovationIntroduction to the Product Development FrameworkLeaders must intentionally create opportunities for innovationDifferent organizations require different innovation approaches[03:11 – 07:40] Business Plan Competitions & Learning Through FailureEncouraging employees to bring forward new ideasLessons learned through personal experiences and failureThe value of psychological safety during innovation efforts[07:41 – 11:05] Funding Innovation EffectivelyWhy funding strategy matters as much as the idea itselfAligning financial resources with long-term innovation goalsHow leaders evaluate which ideas receive investment[11:06 – 14:30] Customer Incubation & Innovation ProgramsGathering real-world feedback before launching solutionsBuilding products that solve meaningful problemsBenefits of collaborative innovation environments[14:31 – 19:22] Why Innovation Efforts FailLack of ownership, accountability, and psychological safetyFailure to move from testing to executionLeadership misalignment and competing priorities[19:23 – 22:45] Building a Sustainable Innovation CultureAligning teams around problems worth solvingCreating repeatable systems for testing and learning and establishing accountabilityRemoving fear of failure from organizational culture[22:46 – 23:20] Final Thoughts & ClosingKey takeaways from the Product Development FrameworkResources for learning more about Set It On FireFinal encouragement for leaders pursuing innovationKey Quotes“The urgent work on our plate often suffocates our ability to think about the future.” – Natalie Born“Funding innovation is just as important as generating the ideas themselves.” – Natalie Born“People have good ideas all day long. The challenge is actually executing them.” – Natalie BornResources & LinksInnovation Meets Leadership Website: https://innovationmeetsleadership.com/Set It On Fire Frameworks & Resources: https://setitonfire.co/Natalie Born LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalieborn/If this episode encouraged you, share it with a leader, entrepreneur, or innovator looking to build stronger systems for bringing ideas to life.Be sure to subscribe to Innovation Meets Leadership for more conversations on leadership, innovation, culture, and growth.
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    23 mins
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