WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:01.170 --> 00:00:05.370 Welcome to The Chemical Show, the podcast where Chemical means business. 00:00:05.910 --> 00:00:09.720 I'm your host, Victoria Meyer, bringing you stories and insights 00:00:09.720 --> 00:00:13.590 from leaders driving innovation and growth across the chemical industry. 00:00:14.520 --> 00:00:18.840 Each week we explore key trends, real world challenges, and the 00:00:18.840 --> 00:00:20.610 strategies that make an impact. 00:00:20.910 --> 00:00:21.720 Let's get started. 00:00:23.253 --> 00:00:26.733 Victoria Meyer: Welcome back to the Chemical Show where Leaders Talk Business. 00:00:27.093 --> 00:00:31.763 We're at the midpoint of 2025, which had more ups and downs 00:00:31.763 --> 00:00:32.903 than most people would hope. 00:00:33.053 --> 00:00:34.973 And of course, you guys know these ups and downs. 00:00:34.973 --> 00:00:36.083 Are we having tariffs? 00:00:36.083 --> 00:00:37.373 Are there no tariffs? 00:00:37.403 --> 00:00:42.263 There is conflict between Russia, Ukraine, there's conflict in the Middle East. 00:00:42.623 --> 00:00:44.033 There's potential trade wars. 00:00:44.033 --> 00:00:46.043 There's just a lot of challenges. 00:00:46.133 --> 00:00:51.563 Oh, and, and on top of that, oversupplying a lot of markets, maybe some supply 00:00:51.563 --> 00:00:54.413 or demand decline in other markets. 00:00:54.773 --> 00:00:57.923 And it leads to a year of. 00:00:58.728 --> 00:01:00.378 Uncertainty, I'll say. 00:01:00.568 --> 00:01:03.538 Although as I talk with leaders across the industry, some people are like, you 00:01:03.538 --> 00:01:04.948 know, we're having a really good year. 00:01:04.978 --> 00:01:07.888 Others are like, well, we're not having such a good year, 00:01:07.888 --> 00:01:09.838 or, my business is doing great. 00:01:09.855 --> 00:01:12.015 we are approaching earning season. 00:01:12.265 --> 00:01:16.285 In the next couple of weeks , publicly held companies at least are going to 00:01:16.285 --> 00:01:20.275 be announcing their second quarter earnings, and so we'll get a better flavor 00:01:20.515 --> 00:01:23.155 for how business is really occurring. 00:01:23.155 --> 00:01:24.475 So stay tuned on that. 00:01:24.835 --> 00:01:28.885 But I think one of the challenges that companies have in these periods 00:01:28.885 --> 00:01:34.585 of economic uncertainty is how to balance growth and innovation 00:01:34.645 --> 00:01:39.985 and things that maybe don't have a sure return on investment with. 00:01:40.360 --> 00:01:45.190 Simply tightening down the hatches, focusing on business as usual, being 00:01:45.190 --> 00:01:46.660 a little bit in a wait and see mode. 00:01:46.840 --> 00:01:50.170 And so, you know, what I see across the industry when I talk to 00:01:50.170 --> 00:01:51.970 leaders is a bit of a mix on that. 00:01:52.023 --> 00:01:54.993 if you're sitting still on changing your business model. 00:01:55.552 --> 00:01:56.422 You're gonna regret it. 00:01:56.702 --> 00:01:59.702 And so, you know, I've talked with number leaders recently and I'm 00:01:59.702 --> 00:02:01.749 gonna bring in some highlights for some from some recent episodes. 00:02:03.362 --> 00:02:10.292 Just to talk today about how do we foster an innovation mindset and practice 00:02:10.682 --> 00:02:13.082 inside of your companies and Right. 00:02:13.082 --> 00:02:16.322 A lot of companies across the chemical industry are really 00:02:16.322 --> 00:02:18.092 old, 75, a hundred years old. 00:02:18.092 --> 00:02:21.932 In fact, I spoke with several recently, um, Michael Levenfeld from Hexion, 00:02:22.232 --> 00:02:27.077 Leann de Bruin from Lum Technology, Christian Mcri from, pilot Chemical. 00:02:27.562 --> 00:02:29.752 All of these are long, well-established companies. 00:02:30.112 --> 00:02:34.312 At the same time, I've talked recently with a number of innovators that are, 00:02:34.345 --> 00:02:40.175 newer companies, whether it be Integrity, biochem, Lonza Tech and Jennifer Holmgren. 00:02:40.175 --> 00:02:43.715 And then I've got a couple of newbies coming up in upcoming weeks. 00:02:44.025 --> 00:02:47.205 allied Microbiota is one of 'em that, um, I'm talking with and that 00:02:47.205 --> 00:02:48.645 you'll be hearing about very soon. 00:02:49.065 --> 00:02:52.365 So today is really a bit about how do we bring together. 00:02:52.593 --> 00:02:57.453 Some of those insights and best practices from these companies that are continuing 00:02:57.483 --> 00:03:01.923 to innovate because they know that innovation is their future and how 00:03:01.923 --> 00:03:03.483 do we foster that innovation mindset? 00:03:03.483 --> 00:03:04.023 So here we go. 00:03:04.223 --> 00:03:08.303 So first of all, let's just talk about what is innovation. 00:03:08.693 --> 00:03:12.653 And I think we sometimes think of innovation as being very 00:03:12.653 --> 00:03:15.413 disruptive and it absolutely is. 00:03:15.443 --> 00:03:19.403 It is the big, bad new idea that changes. 00:03:19.678 --> 00:03:24.358 Your company, your customers, the industry, and yet it's also 00:03:24.688 --> 00:03:28.558 the incremental improvements that day by day, step by step. 00:03:29.753 --> 00:03:32.923 Make business better, at the end of a year, at the end of 00:03:32.923 --> 00:03:35.143 two years, where you started at. 00:03:35.353 --> 00:03:39.853 And where you end is different because you've made incremental improvements, 00:03:40.063 --> 00:03:41.593 innovations, and transformations. 00:03:41.593 --> 00:03:44.353 And so I think, you know, when we talk about this, it's 00:03:44.353 --> 00:03:45.823 not just about technology. 00:03:45.943 --> 00:03:50.207 Um, whether it be process, technology or , it and computer technology, 00:03:50.207 --> 00:03:51.707 it's our business processes. 00:03:51.707 --> 00:03:53.687 It's the way that we engage customers. 00:03:54.047 --> 00:03:55.367 It's the way that we manufacture. 00:03:55.827 --> 00:03:58.767 And I think, you know, when I talked with Leon De Bruin recently 00:03:59.007 --> 00:04:03.467 from Lamis Technology, he really emphasized, this very point, um, 00:04:03.467 --> 00:04:05.297 and Lamis, as you guys have heard. 00:04:05.297 --> 00:04:08.107 If you've listened to, Leon's podcast interview recently, uh. 00:04:08.632 --> 00:04:14.272 they've introduced like 50 new technologies in the last five years, um, 00:04:14.302 --> 00:04:18.652 to bringing their technology portfolio to something like 160 or 170 technologies. 00:04:18.652 --> 00:04:23.128 So that's a 50% increase versus where they were at the start of this, the decade. 00:04:23.128 --> 00:04:23.398 Right. 00:04:24.038 --> 00:04:26.768 And that's really important, those big innovations. 00:04:26.768 --> 00:04:31.298 And yet the incremental improvements, the process improvements, the product 00:04:31.298 --> 00:04:34.058 improvements are equally as important. 00:04:34.148 --> 00:04:37.328 And so I think first of all, we need to recognize that innovation 00:04:37.328 --> 00:04:39.218 is happening everywhere. 00:04:39.578 --> 00:04:45.578 And it's also, it's big and it's small, and sometimes the most game changing 00:04:45.578 --> 00:04:49.628 improvements happen incrementally, bit by bit till we get to where we want to go. 00:04:49.628 --> 00:04:52.238 So that's, that's one piece just to frame this. 00:04:52.538 --> 00:04:55.808 , But how do you become successful in. 00:04:56.100 --> 00:05:02.190 Creating an innovative company, an innovation mindset inside of your company. 00:05:02.490 --> 00:05:07.830 And one of the things I think is so critical is overcoming the, we've 00:05:07.830 --> 00:05:09.750 always done it this way, mentality. 00:05:09.750 --> 00:05:14.940 And by the way, in my mind as I was prepping for this and as I'm speaking it, 00:05:14.940 --> 00:05:19.260 that song, this is how we do it, uh, by Montel Jordan is going through my mind. 00:05:19.260 --> 00:05:23.140 So, um, I maybe I'll find a way to link to it, in the show notes so that 00:05:23.140 --> 00:05:24.430 you guys can listen to it as well. 00:05:24.460 --> 00:05:25.090 Um, but. 00:05:25.337 --> 00:05:30.107 Just because this is how we've always done, it doesn't make it the right answer 00:05:30.107 --> 00:05:34.577 for today, where we sit in 2025 where we're heading in 20, 30 and beyond. 00:05:34.907 --> 00:05:35.287 And so. 00:05:36.057 --> 00:05:41.367 It's a dilemma because across the chemical industry, operational 00:05:41.487 --> 00:05:44.277 excellence is so critical. 00:05:44.727 --> 00:05:50.877 Manufacturing, consistency, product consistency, process consistency. 00:05:50.907 --> 00:05:55.707 And we've really fed into this, as our businesses and that's 00:05:55.707 --> 00:05:57.447 really what's driven success. 00:05:58.017 --> 00:06:03.087 And yet if we always do it the same way we are. 00:06:03.375 --> 00:06:06.075 Likely to get outpaced by the competition. 00:06:06.075 --> 00:06:11.055 And so one of my favorite books, it was written a long time ago, probably about 00:06:11.085 --> 00:06:15.495 25 years ago, it's called The Innovator's Dilemma, by Clayton Christensen. 00:06:15.915 --> 00:06:20.192 And he talks about this very thing, And he gives some examples of companies. 00:06:20.192 --> 00:06:23.402 And if you think about, you know, something that one of the examples in the 00:06:23.402 --> 00:06:25.412 book is around like steamships, right? 00:06:25.442 --> 00:06:30.572 And so if you think about the shipping industry, at one point it was sail, right? 00:06:30.572 --> 00:06:34.742 And these beautiful sailing ships with multiple sails, and then they 00:06:34.742 --> 00:06:37.292 were replaced by steam engines. 00:06:37.297 --> 00:06:41.282 But the people that were making the sales thought, oh, this is the most. 00:06:41.417 --> 00:06:42.137 Effective way. 00:06:42.137 --> 00:06:43.067 It's the most innovative. 00:06:43.067 --> 00:06:44.717 Why would anybody ever do anything? 00:06:44.747 --> 00:06:45.827 I'm not worried about it. 00:06:45.827 --> 00:06:50.927 And yet, along comes the steam engine and then along comes nuclear and other stuff. 00:06:50.927 --> 00:06:54.077 And by the way, I have now outpaced my knowledge of shipping. 00:06:54.077 --> 00:06:56.627 So, um, you get the point though. 00:06:56.627 --> 00:07:02.327 So the innovator's dilemma is, being excellent is not enough. 00:07:02.627 --> 00:07:04.967 You kind of have to reinvent yourself. 00:07:05.057 --> 00:07:06.317 And that's part of it. 00:07:06.617 --> 00:07:09.107 Um, and you've gotta innovate and you've gotta reinvent yourself 00:07:09.107 --> 00:07:10.577 because you're competitors. 00:07:10.997 --> 00:07:13.487 Old and new certainly are. 00:07:13.854 --> 00:07:18.024 So some of those barriers are really around this idea that, 00:07:18.054 --> 00:07:19.734 well, this is what works. 00:07:20.094 --> 00:07:23.304 I know this is what works and this is efficient and I'm gonna do that. 00:07:23.624 --> 00:07:26.114 But you have to overcome that and change some assumptions. 00:07:26.114 --> 00:07:30.134 So, you know, when I talk with Jennifer Holmgren from Lonza Tech, now Lonza Tech 00:07:30.134 --> 00:07:32.744 of course, is a young, innovative company. 00:07:33.124 --> 00:07:34.144 They're 20 years old. 00:07:34.144 --> 00:07:35.644 You know, they're a 20-year-old startup. 00:07:35.874 --> 00:07:38.694 And Jennifer talked about this home run obsession. 00:07:38.694 --> 00:07:43.464 So like, we're waiting for the big breakthrough and it's a bit of a trap. 00:07:43.584 --> 00:07:48.184 Um, and that you have to come up with incremental progress, and not get 00:07:48.184 --> 00:07:50.234 distracted by unrealistic expectations. 00:07:50.804 --> 00:07:56.504 So, that's something to consider as you move beyond the, this is how we do it. 00:07:56.504 --> 00:07:56.954 Mindset. 00:07:57.194 --> 00:07:59.984 You know, the other piece, and, and when I talked with Christian MacGyver 00:07:59.984 --> 00:08:02.124 at Pilot, she talked about this, right? 00:08:02.154 --> 00:08:04.374 Their technology is decades old. 00:08:04.424 --> 00:08:09.104 And she talked actually about using their sulfation technology and updating it. 00:08:09.364 --> 00:08:14.554 For bio-based surf actives and for regulatory shifts, which basically 00:08:14.554 --> 00:08:18.424 was okay, we can't keep doing what we're doing with the existing assets 00:08:18.424 --> 00:08:20.284 because people don't want that stuff. 00:08:20.564 --> 00:08:24.254 We have to evolve and get ready and move on to the new things. 00:08:24.254 --> 00:08:30.661 So I think this whole aspect of embracing, it's not always about how we've done it. 00:08:30.661 --> 00:08:33.241 Um, and that operational excellence is. 00:08:33.731 --> 00:08:37.181 Critical and vital, but we have to leave room for changes. 00:08:37.331 --> 00:08:39.101 So that's one, one piece of this. 00:08:39.401 --> 00:08:44.891 The second point I've got here is around creating psychological safety, right? 00:08:44.891 --> 00:08:46.061 And that's a big word. 00:08:46.361 --> 00:08:52.031 But basically making it okay to innovate, to make mistakes, to learn and to grow. 00:08:52.331 --> 00:08:55.181 So it is, it's a classic leadership challenge. 00:08:55.211 --> 00:08:59.111 'cause again, back to the whole, we value operational excellence. 00:08:59.231 --> 00:09:01.961 Every company values operational excellence, right? 00:09:01.961 --> 00:09:05.471 You're doing something, you're creating something, you're producing something, 00:09:05.476 --> 00:09:09.011 you're doing it over and over and over again in a repeatable way. 00:09:09.401 --> 00:09:10.211 Um, and yet. 00:09:10.901 --> 00:09:16.431 Making it okay to make mistakes, to be vulnerable about what you do and what 00:09:16.431 --> 00:09:18.831 you don't know to ask questions about. 00:09:18.831 --> 00:09:22.431 Well, what is that new technology and that new approach? 00:09:22.791 --> 00:09:24.591 And recognizing smart failure. 00:09:24.591 --> 00:09:30.321 So, you know, um, Michael Levenfeld from Hexion talked about this is, you know, he 00:09:30.321 --> 00:09:32.721 talks about asking dumb questions, right? 00:09:32.721 --> 00:09:37.641 And that he models the asking this, the quote unquote dumb question, right? 00:09:38.172 --> 00:09:43.302 Because people assume, and I you, you've been there, I've been there, you've been 00:09:43.302 --> 00:09:48.702 there, you're in a room and you're like, what the holy heck are they talking about? 00:09:49.272 --> 00:09:52.932 And somebody, and you assume, and you look around and you assume everybody 00:09:52.932 --> 00:09:56.622 knows, or you look around and you know, we're talking innovation. 00:09:56.622 --> 00:09:59.922 You assume everybody knows that this is how we do it. 00:10:00.042 --> 00:10:01.182 Right back to the. 00:10:01.584 --> 00:10:05.064 This is what we do and I don't wanna do something different 00:10:05.064 --> 00:10:06.444 because I don't wanna make mistakes. 00:10:06.444 --> 00:10:11.094 So creating that space to be wrong. 00:10:11.637 --> 00:10:16.947 For your team to try out new things, whether it's a new business process, a 00:10:16.947 --> 00:10:19.417 new technology, and figuring that out. 00:10:19.627 --> 00:10:23.167 Now, I like to talk about this also though, within the sandbox, right? 00:10:23.167 --> 00:10:28.927 So if you've done any IT projects and, uh, people talk a lot about, you know, 00:10:28.927 --> 00:10:30.367 we're working on it in the sandbox. 00:10:30.367 --> 00:10:33.487 I put together a sandbox for us to test this out, and I think 00:10:33.487 --> 00:10:35.077 that's so critical, right? 00:10:35.317 --> 00:10:38.797 Creating boundaries so that whatever it is that you're doing. 00:10:39.017 --> 00:10:44.837 Is not affecting the entirety of your enterprise, but you create a space to 00:10:44.837 --> 00:10:51.257 test, study, inform, and then decide how to take it out more broadly. 00:10:51.307 --> 00:10:55.927 And so that's part of this whole creating space for innovation inside 00:10:55.927 --> 00:10:57.547 your business and inside your company. 00:10:57.876 --> 00:11:02.716 The fourth thing is this whole, aspect of getting away from 00:11:02.716 --> 00:11:04.276 not invented here syndrome. 00:11:04.276 --> 00:11:04.516 Right? 00:11:04.516 --> 00:11:07.876 And, and I think companies are doing this much better. 00:11:07.876 --> 00:11:09.796 And in fact, the biggest companies. 00:11:10.516 --> 00:11:15.536 Who are often the ones that have this non invented here syndrome, are 00:11:15.536 --> 00:11:19.826 recognizing that they need to partner, partner with innovators, partner with 00:11:19.826 --> 00:11:21.116 other people across the industry. 00:11:21.116 --> 00:11:27.116 So creating and engaging diverse teams internally and externally, 00:11:27.326 --> 00:11:31.961 whether it's with business partners, customers, suppliers, third parties, 00:11:32.541 --> 00:11:35.421 now, of course you have to be mindful of intellectual property and you 00:11:35.421 --> 00:11:38.361 know, your, you guys know how to do this and your lawyers know how to do 00:11:38.361 --> 00:11:39.711 this and we all know how to do this. 00:11:40.011 --> 00:11:43.521 But, this aspect of let's building really diverse cross-functional 00:11:43.521 --> 00:11:49.551 teams and actively pursuing external partnerships, it's a must if your 00:11:49.551 --> 00:11:53.886 company is, like most companies, I know there had been dramatic cuts. 00:11:54.621 --> 00:12:00.201 For the past decade, two decades in r and d spend in innovation 00:12:00.201 --> 00:12:04.221 spend because it's this idea of, well, what's, what's the payback? 00:12:04.581 --> 00:12:09.561 Well, so therefore the payback comes when you give space for a small innovator to. 00:12:10.396 --> 00:12:12.946 Identify something and then bring it inside. 00:12:13.436 --> 00:12:17.906 Bring it inside your company to create that partnership, to take that innovation, 00:12:17.906 --> 00:12:20.016 test it out in a bigger space, and more. 00:12:20.016 --> 00:12:22.656 And, and again, companies are doing this a lot. 00:12:22.926 --> 00:12:26.496 When you look across the bios surfactant space, I see that all the time. 00:12:26.671 --> 00:12:27.091 Right. 00:12:27.171 --> 00:12:31.611 Cecil partnering with people, uh, das partnering with people IBC, which 00:12:31.611 --> 00:12:32.721 is still in the innovative space. 00:12:32.721 --> 00:12:34.791 They're partnering with companies smaller and bigger. 00:12:35.041 --> 00:12:40.351 And so this whole aspect of, getting diversity of points of view in terms 00:12:40.351 --> 00:12:44.084 of who's on your team and who's helping figure out this innovation This whole 00:12:44.084 --> 00:12:50.474 aspect of going external and finding innovations externally that you can 00:12:50.474 --> 00:12:52.304 bring into your internal business. 00:12:53.474 --> 00:12:54.494 So that's my third point. 00:12:54.897 --> 00:12:57.507 my fourth point around this is. 00:12:58.317 --> 00:13:04.167 The companies that are doing this really well in terms of driving innovation 00:13:04.407 --> 00:13:09.987 inside their mature companies are creating incentives and rewards and 00:13:09.987 --> 00:13:12.387 structures that drive innovation. 00:13:12.387 --> 00:13:13.648 So, um, I. 00:13:14.002 --> 00:13:17.362 You know, I've got my note here says, let's talk about rewarding the process 00:13:17.362 --> 00:13:18.652 and not just the result, right? 00:13:18.652 --> 00:13:21.052 So I tried something, I learned something. 00:13:21.052 --> 00:13:24.082 We should report, reward it, and we reward, create this 00:13:24.082 --> 00:13:25.372 reward system along the way. 00:13:25.672 --> 00:13:30.832 Now, I am gonna tell you, it goes completely against this adage of 00:13:30.892 --> 00:13:33.352 process, progress, not process, right? 00:13:33.352 --> 00:13:34.402 Because ultimately. 00:13:34.737 --> 00:13:37.407 We're all trying to achieve an outcome. 00:13:37.617 --> 00:13:42.937 So you have to find the right balance to reward risk taking, and innovation 00:13:42.937 --> 00:13:44.497 versus operational excellence. 00:13:44.827 --> 00:13:48.969 And, Reward the process, the learnings along the way. 00:13:48.969 --> 00:13:52.899 The fact that, hey, this is a, you know, maybe it's a 12 month 00:13:52.899 --> 00:13:56.499 innovation process or cycle, or maybe it's a three year innovation cycle, 00:13:56.799 --> 00:13:58.959 but, um, we got to a milestone. 00:13:58.959 --> 00:14:01.209 We've learned something, we've tried something new, we've done 00:14:01.209 --> 00:14:03.329 it, and, it's been successful. 00:14:03.509 --> 00:14:07.089 The other piece to me that goes along this with, with this is, being 00:14:07.269 --> 00:14:12.789 really clear about having data-driven risks and taking data-driven risks. 00:14:12.789 --> 00:14:17.512 So not just, innovating for the sake of innovating, which some of 00:14:17.512 --> 00:14:21.292 that happens and it's absolutely true, but understanding that along 00:14:21.292 --> 00:14:22.582 the way, you've gotta gather data. 00:14:22.642 --> 00:14:24.952 You have to understand why something is working, and then 00:14:24.982 --> 00:14:26.392 understand what those risks are. 00:14:26.662 --> 00:14:28.402 This manifests in a couple different ways. 00:14:28.402 --> 00:14:32.752 When I talked with Charlie Landis of IBC, integrity Biochem, he talked about 00:14:32.752 --> 00:14:34.582 empowering their scientists to Dr. 00:14:34.822 --> 00:14:36.022 Daydream a little bit, right? 00:14:36.202 --> 00:14:39.882 Exploring the left field ideas, being open to fast failures. 00:14:40.122 --> 00:14:45.282 Now again, not unbounded, there's boundaries 'cause you have to 00:14:45.282 --> 00:14:46.542 bring something to the table. 00:14:46.752 --> 00:14:50.862 But creating that space and that incentive for innovation, 00:14:51.235 --> 00:14:52.435 so those are the four biggies. 00:14:52.435 --> 00:14:55.525 And then what can you actually do? 00:14:55.525 --> 00:14:58.285 So this is like, okay, Victoria, that's all really awesome. 00:14:59.095 --> 00:15:00.745 How do I actually get there? 00:15:01.075 --> 00:15:01.470 , First of all. 00:15:01.894 --> 00:15:03.454 Just try, right? 00:15:03.454 --> 00:15:07.414 So I think this whole idea of agile and agile processes and agile innovation, 00:15:07.414 --> 00:15:11.854 which is really, a lot of what the tech community is built on, ideate, test, 00:15:11.854 --> 00:15:17.464 learn, do, repeat, fix, keep going and, and doing that, that is so critical. 00:15:17.674 --> 00:15:21.754 The second piece is really harnessing your customer and business partner's feedback. 00:15:22.180 --> 00:15:26.110 They want different things than you're offering today, right? 00:15:26.950 --> 00:15:27.520 They know it. 00:15:27.520 --> 00:15:28.840 Your sales team knows it. 00:15:28.840 --> 00:15:30.460 Your tech support team knows it. 00:15:30.700 --> 00:15:31.210 People know it. 00:15:31.557 --> 00:15:34.737 We get kind of stuck when they say, well, you know, I'd really like an apple. 00:15:34.767 --> 00:15:36.507 Well, that's fine, but we only sell pears. 00:15:36.927 --> 00:15:37.617 Okay, fine. 00:15:37.617 --> 00:15:39.147 But is that really what they need? 00:15:39.147 --> 00:15:44.847 So getting versed with asking better questions, understanding the why. 00:15:44.892 --> 00:15:47.292 Behind what your customers want. 00:15:47.342 --> 00:15:48.902 And getting that feedback. 00:15:48.962 --> 00:15:53.432 And when you understand the why of what they're looking for, you 00:15:53.432 --> 00:15:55.382 can innovate more effectively. 00:15:55.482 --> 00:16:00.012 Side note, one of my favorite speeches I, give to sales and commercial team is, 00:16:00.402 --> 00:16:02.742 about finding your customer's, why to help you win. 00:16:02.742 --> 00:16:07.212 So if that's something that you guys are interested in, bringing that perspective 00:16:07.212 --> 00:16:09.612 of, okay, why, why does the why matter? 00:16:09.912 --> 00:16:10.512 Let's talk. 00:16:10.572 --> 00:16:12.792 Would love to come in and support you with that. 00:16:12.882 --> 00:16:14.292 So that's my little side note. 00:16:14.685 --> 00:16:18.015 But back to the whole harvesting customer feedback, understanding their 00:16:18.015 --> 00:16:22.425 why, bringing those cross-functional teams together, sales, manufacturing, 00:16:22.425 --> 00:16:27.045 supply chain, to address that customer feedback and thinking outside the box. 00:16:27.145 --> 00:16:31.375 And then some of this is also what becomes so critical in 00:16:31.375 --> 00:16:33.445 innovation is communication. 00:16:33.535 --> 00:16:39.475 So I was talking to a leader just this week who, expressed how frustrated 00:16:39.535 --> 00:16:43.375 their sales and business team is because there's an innovation this company was 00:16:43.375 --> 00:16:45.295 implementing regarding a new product. 00:16:45.295 --> 00:16:48.385 So new product come to market, super excited. 00:16:48.385 --> 00:16:49.555 They've been working on this. 00:16:49.975 --> 00:16:53.175 They've gone out, they've gotten their, customers excited, 00:16:53.235 --> 00:16:54.795 they're starting to get orders. 00:16:55.605 --> 00:16:57.435 They apparently had some, you know, they must have had some test 00:16:57.435 --> 00:16:59.055 product along the way, et cetera. 00:16:59.475 --> 00:17:04.005 And then they had a meeting where manufacturing said, oh, well, 00:17:04.275 --> 00:17:05.835 we actually can't produce that. 00:17:06.745 --> 00:17:08.425 What, like where have you been? 00:17:08.755 --> 00:17:14.035 , So this whole aspect of communicating to all the steps of your value chain, being 00:17:14.035 --> 00:17:19.225 really transparent about your goals, your timing, your capabilities, um, not trying 00:17:19.225 --> 00:17:22.835 to necessarily, force the capabilities. 00:17:22.835 --> 00:17:26.555 I mean, again, there's this whole aspect of you have to create the nudge and the 00:17:26.555 --> 00:17:28.925 tension to make change happen sometimes. 00:17:29.205 --> 00:17:31.125 And this is where things again that. 00:17:31.220 --> 00:17:36.410 Take place a lot in other industries, particularly in the tech industry. 00:17:36.410 --> 00:17:40.220 You know, sprints, hackathons, creating these test systems to 00:17:40.220 --> 00:17:42.140 capture ideas and implement it. 00:17:42.835 --> 00:17:44.485 It sounds complex. 00:17:44.578 --> 00:17:46.978 Some of this can be done in a spreadsheet, right? 00:17:46.978 --> 00:17:48.718 A spreadsheet, and five people in a room. 00:17:48.718 --> 00:17:53.668 Like, well, what's the next big thing that we're gonna do with our sales process? 00:17:53.668 --> 00:17:56.938 What's the next big thing or the next little thing that we're 00:17:56.938 --> 00:17:58.798 gonna do in our supply chain? 00:17:58.798 --> 00:18:00.568 So getting creative. 00:18:01.163 --> 00:18:02.453 Getting innovative. 00:18:02.783 --> 00:18:06.293 And at the end of the day, you know, we talk a lot and I think the whole 00:18:06.623 --> 00:18:12.253 aspect of, um, where we are today in the world with ai, AI is amazing 00:18:12.253 --> 00:18:16.213 and I use AI tools for a number of different things in my business 00:18:16.213 --> 00:18:17.953 and in the podcast and in creation. 00:18:18.373 --> 00:18:24.703 But AI can't replace the power of humans together for innovation, for ideation, 00:18:24.703 --> 00:18:27.553 for thinking really outside the box. 00:18:28.093 --> 00:18:33.883 And ultimately when you want your company, which is, you know, most 00:18:33.883 --> 00:18:37.333 of the companies across the chemical industry are mature, mature pro 00:18:37.333 --> 00:18:42.523 companies, mature products, mature businesses, yet still need to innovate. 00:18:42.928 --> 00:18:47.668 To stay successful, to grow, to be profitable, and to be here 00:18:47.938 --> 00:18:50.848 for another 10, 20, 50 years. 00:18:51.128 --> 00:18:52.478 Innovation is really critical. 00:18:52.478 --> 00:18:57.488 So harnessing the power of your people inside your company, outside 00:18:57.488 --> 00:18:58.898 your company is really critical. 00:18:58.898 --> 00:19:01.148 So anyway, go out and innovate today. 00:19:01.148 --> 00:19:03.398 Go do something new. 00:19:03.578 --> 00:19:07.088 Think about, you know, what the next step is and I would love 00:19:07.088 --> 00:19:08.948 to hear, gimme some feedback. 00:19:08.978 --> 00:19:10.838 Um, send me a message on LinkedIn. 00:19:10.868 --> 00:19:11.768 Shoot me an email. 00:19:12.278 --> 00:19:17.468 What innovations are you working on, big and small that you wouldn't 00:19:17.468 --> 00:19:20.828 have thought about even and considered, you know, a year ago? 00:19:21.198 --> 00:19:22.488 Um, I would love to hear from you. 00:19:22.488 --> 00:19:24.168 So anyway, that's it for today. 00:19:24.528 --> 00:19:26.478 Thanks for joining me today on The Chemical Show. 00:19:26.478 --> 00:19:29.418 Keep listening, keep following, keep sharing, and we will 00:19:29.418 --> 00:19:30.768 talk with you again soon. 00:19:32.178 --> 00:19:34.398 Thanks for joining us today on The Chemical Show. 00:19:34.698 --> 00:19:39.228 If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, 00:19:39.468 --> 00:19:42.828 and most importantly, share it with your friends and colleagues. 00:19:43.848 --> 00:19:47.208 For more insights, visit the Chemical show.com 00:19:47.658 --> 00:19:49.143 and connect with us on LinkedIn. 00:19:49.908 --> 00:19:53.868 You can find me at Victoria King Meyer on LinkedIn, and you can also 00:19:53.868 --> 00:19:56.058 find us at The Chemical Show Podcast. 00:19:56.238 --> 00:19:59.388 Join us next time for more conversations and strategies 00:19:59.688 --> 00:20:01.458 shaping the future of the industry. 00:20:01.848 --> 00:20:02.568 We'll see you soon.