The Disruptive Voice

Five years ago, Darius Shahida, a member of the HBS Class of 2019, joined us in the podcast studio to discuss how Butterfly Network, a disruptive startup where he was employed as Chief Growth Officer, was working to revolutionize the ultrasound industry. Now, as the company's Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Business Development Officer, he joins his former BSSE professor, Derek van Bever, to reflect on Butterfly Network's entrepreneurial journey over the last half decade. Since Darius was last on the podcast, the company has gone public; has successfully commercialized the world's first semiconductor-based, whole-body, single-probe digital ultrasound device; has introduced its second generation device, Butterfly iQ+, along with new advances on the AI and software side of the business; and Butterfly has significantly expanded its market of users, with a presence in over 100 countries through commercial sales or global health deployments. In this conversation, Darius highlights these developments and also reflects on how the BSSE frameworks have helped to inform the company's emergent strategy over the years. As a hybrid disruptor - both a low end and a new market disruption - Butterfly Network's growth is fascinating to observe. Listen to learn about the company's enabling technology and disruptive business model, the promise of artificial intelligence, the different types of Butterfly customers (and the ramifications of that for strategy, particularly when competing against non-consumption), the company's vision for the future of ultrasound, and more!

In this episode, Amy Edmondson, sharing insights from her new book, Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well, reminds listeners, "The most successful among us have not failed less often than the rest of us. They've failed more often – right kind of wrong failures." Hosted by Scott Anthony, the two engage in a fascinating conversation covering a myriad of topics, including the origin of the idea of psychological safety; the different types of failures, and why they matter; parallels between innovation and riding a bike; and the "Sliding Doors" moments in our lives. Amy also reflects on the distinction between environments where one is there to learn versus perform; the emotional challenges of innovation; right kind of wrong in the context of parenting; and the process that she undertook in writing the book, to cite but a few examples. We're all going to get things wrong in our professional and personal lives, but resilience and learning through intelligent failures is an important part of the journey. Listen to learn more!

The promise of artificial intelligence is immense and companies that view AI as an enabler of corporate transformation can reap potentially enormous benefits in terms of both value creation and growth. In this panel discussion, Freddy Solis hosts his Innosight colleague and co-leader in the company's global AI practice, Shari Parvarandeh, along with renowned thought leaders in management and information systems, and co-authors of the forthcoming book, Fusion Strategy, Vijay Govindarajan and Venkat Venkatraman, for a wide-reaching discussion on artificial intelligence and its implications for companies. Their conversation spans the genesis and current state of AI in business; its transformative impact across industries; blockers and enablers of adoption; different types of models and use cases; and when to build, buy, or partner, to cite but a few examples. Companies that stand to benefit from the vast opportunities that AI presents in virtually every industry will be those that act boldly and ahead of the curve. Listen to learn more! Further information on Fusion Strategy can be found here: https://fusion.tuck.dartmouth.edu Innosight's e-book, Leading Into The Age Of AI, can be found here: https://www.innosight.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Innosight_Leading-into-the-Age-of-AI.pdf

Higher education has long been on an unsustainable trajectory, with rising costs - and subsequent debt passed on to students - hindering the ability of many to get ahead. In this episode of The Disruptive Voice, education author and researcher, Michael Horn, hosts fellow Harvard Business School alumnus Scott Pulsipher, President of Western Governors University (WGU). Among many topics, the two discuss how the accredited, non-profit university is disrupting traditional models of higher education through its online, competency-based model. A long-time friend of Clayton Christensen's, Scott shares how Clay's frameworks have been instrumental to his thinking and also how Clay's work helped to inform WGU's unique model, even before Scott became President. With a strong focus on serving its students, the majority of whom haven't been well served or served at all by traditional models of learning, along with an alumni base of over 340,000 graduates, Western Governors University is a prime example of Disruptive Innovation as a powerful force for democratizing access and opportunity.

Last June, Efosa Ojomo and Sandy Sanchez were on the podcast to discuss the process of market creation - discovery, distribution, and democratization - and specifically, as it applied to the creation of a market for solar energy in Nigeria. In this new episode, they return to the recording studio to share with us specific examples of four companies that are getting it right. SunFi, co-founded by HBS alumnus Tomiwa Igun, highlights successful employment of an emergent rather than deliberate strategy; Steamaco illustrates benefits drawn from a clear understanding of customers' Jobs To Be Done; Husk Power Systems exemplifies the strength of pull (as opposed to push) strategies in emerging markets; and Auxano is a company now firmly in the midst of the important distribution phase of the market creation process. There are lessons to be learned from all four of these examples, businesses that to-date have been successful in addressing barriers to market creation in the energy sector in Nigeria. In this conversation, Efosa and Sandy reflect on these learnings. Of further note is that, for listeners wanting to learn more, the duo have also recently published a paper entitled, Accelerating The Adoption of Solar Energy in Nigeria: A Market-Creation Strategy. As Efosa says, "People don't want solar. People want progress." With this in mind, real advancements can be made towards reaching the last stage of the market creation process - democratization, and in this case democratizing access to electricity in Nigeria and beyond.