“Innovation” brings to our mind the maverick entrepreneur who quits their job, at unimaginable odds, to build a business on their own. But this entrepreneurial story is a myth. As a successful entrepreneur, author, consultant and CEO, Kaihan Krippendorff (W'94, Eng'95) argues that intrapreneurs – employees who incubate new businesses within corporations – have had a far greater impact on the world. Nearly all of the most transformative innovations over the past three decades, from e-mail and the Internet to DNA sequencing and MRI scans, were introduced by employees who did not quit their jobs but instead took the challenge of innovating from within.

Drawing on five years of in-depth research of hundreds of successful innovators and Intrapreneurial Intensity, as well as insights from thought leaders, C-suite leaders, business unit leaders, and front-line employees, Kaihan will share exclusive insights from his new book, Driving Innovation From Within: A Guide for Internal Entrepreneurs (Columbia University Press, 2019). Kaihan will unveil the most critical internal focus areas for driving innovation and moving your organization forward into the future. He will share specific tools, frameworks and techniques used by successful innovators to manage and unlock the value of employees’ ideas to increase corporate innovation levels and deliver bottom-line results. Audience members will have actionable next steps to transform their organization by testing and scaling fresh ideas that generate value and growth.  They will leave feeling inspired and empowered, ready to take on the future.

In this inspiring session you will learn:

• The IN-OVATE Framework
• The seven barriers of internal innovation and how to overcome them
• The six characteristics of Internal Innovators
• The seven steps to build an agile innovation team
• How to disrupt your competition without disrupting your business
• What it takes to lead an innovative organization
• How to shift your organizational mindset and culture to challenge the outdated status-quo
• How to build a wave of internal support for growth, innovation and creativity by reinforcing the idea that innovation is possible, attainable, and ultimately actionable

Kaihan Krippendorff has made a commitment to helping organizations and individuals thrive in today’s era of fast-paced disruptive technological change. He began his career as a strategy consultant with McKinsey & Company before founding the growth strategy and innovation consulting firm Outthinker. Krippendorff is a four-time author with a fifth book Driving Innovation From Within: A Guide for Internal Entrepreneurs (Columbia University Press) hitting shelves in summer of 2019. Kaihan is a member of the prestigious Thinkers50 Class of 2019 Radar group – A global selection of the top 30 management thinkers to follow and hear from in the coming year. He is also one of eight people under consideration for the Thinkers50 2019 Distinguished Achievement Award in the category of Innovation – awarded to the person in the world that has contributed the most to our understanding of innovation in the past two years. Kaihan founded The Outthinker Strategy Network, a community comprised of strategy executives from the world’s top Fortune 500 and private companies. Amidst his dizzying schedule of keynote speeches, consulting projects, ongoing research and writing, Kaihan still finds time to be a teacher at Wharton Executive Education, faculty member of Florida International University and lecturer at business schools throughout the US and internationally. He is regularly featured in key business media outlets, including BusinessWeek, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Time, Fox Business, Fast Company, PBS, and Bloomberg Radio.  Kaihan is an advisory board member for a blockchain-powered transportation platform, an international food processing/exporting company, and a B-corporation focused on sustainable products and lifestyle.

Click here to access the podcast of Kaihan's recent interview on Wharton radio.

When:
Wednesday, January 8, 2020
6:00pm - 8:00pm

Where:
Midtown location (Note: Address will be sent via email to all registered guests 24-48 hours prior to the event to the "Primary Email" address listed in your profile. Please review your profile to confirm that the email address listed is correct.)

Cost:
WCNY Supporting Members - $20 (WCNY supporting membership costs $95/yr at Join/Renew Membership)
Other Wharton Alumni & Alumni Guests - $40
Gold & Benefactor Members - $0

Click HERE to register.  Please register early as events can and do sell out quickly.