Growth Through Innovation with Lorraine Marchand

What keeps organizations from getting the innovation they say they want? In this episode, Kevin talks with Lorraine Marchand about why innovation so often stalls inside teams and organizations, even when leaders claim it is a top priority. Lorraine explains that the real barrier is not a lack of ideas, but a culture that punishes failure instead of treating it as experimentation and learning. They discuss the gap between intention and action, the different types of organizational innovation mindsets, and the leadership practices that help create environments where people feel safe to contribute, test, and grow. Lorraine also shares the five principles that support sustainable innovation (culture, customer focus, chance, collaboration, and change), offering practical insight for leaders at the organization level and the individual level.

Listen For

00:00 Why We Want Innovation But Don't Get It
02:57 The Big Idea Behind the Book
04:08 Why Innovation Breaks Down
07:00 The 4 Types of Organizations
12:02 What This Means for Team Leaders
14:09 Why Leaders Rush to Solutions
15:32 Creating Psychological Safety
19:07 The 5 C's of Innovation
23:27 The Truth About "Customer First"
26:27 The Role of Risk in Innovation
30:01 Final Advice on Taking Initiative
31:09 What Lorraine Is Reading
32:42 Where to Connect
33:31 The Most Important Question: Now What?
33:51 Closing Thoughts

Lorraine's Story: Lorraine H. Marchand is the author of the new book No Fear No Failure: Five Principles for Sustaining Growth Through Innovation. She is an acclaimed consultant, author, and educator on innovation with extensive experience in new product development. She has cofounded several start-ups; held leadership positions at companies including Bristol-Myers Squibb, Covance/LabCorp, and IBM; and served as advisor to Johnson & Johnson and Hewlett Packard. Marchand is the author, with John Hanc, of The Innovation Mindset: Eight Essential Steps to Transform Any Industry. She serves on the boards of several privately held companies and the Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Advisory Board at Columbia Business School, and she teaches at the Wharton School and Yeshiva University.

https://www.lorrainemarchand.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorrainemarchand/