S2:E4 Innovating in How We Innovate – From Ideas to Results with Chris Wolf

VMware Podcasts

Chris Wolf is Vice President, Advanced Technology Group, Office of the CTO at VMWare. In this episode of Don’t Break the Bank, Chris goes into the architecture of taking an innovation from project to product. We hear about how to avoid the pitfalls of making things nobody wants and how to speed up the process from customer demand to final delivery. That plus some exciting new developments in the areas of machine learning and augmented and virtual reality. EPISODE NOTES Episode Notes 3 Takeaways: Before kicking off an innovation project, make sure the proposed product has a clear business purpose and route to market. There are two kinds of innovation; Incremental Innovation - make things we already have better; and Disruptive Innovation - to change the game with something new or reimagined. The pandemic has increased interest in augmented reality and virtual reality possibilities in the realm of training and on-site quality assurance. Key Quotes: "To us a project is not successful unless it is graduated and adopted into a product, period.” - Chris “We're not trying to innovate around a one-off to make just one customer happy. If we're going to put something in a product, we want to ensure that this is something that a lot of customers really want and care about.” - Chris “I think a lot of times with innovation the mistake that gets made is you just start running without having a clear line of sight to what the destination is and think you'll figure it out along the way. Sometimes you do and you're successful, but a lot of times you don't and you're building something that nobody necessarily wants or needs.” - Chris -- Links Chris Wolf LinkedIn Chris Wolf Twitter -- About the Hosts Matthew O'Neill is a husband, dad, geek and Industry Managing Director, Advanced Technology Group in the Office of the CTO at VMware. You can find Matthew on LinkedIn and Twitter. Brian Hayes is an audiophile, dad, builder of sheds, maker of mirth, world traveller and EMEA Financial Services Industry Lead at VMware. You can find Brian on LinkedIn.