Thinking About Innovation

Robotic Surgeon Series: A Backstory (Chapters 1-2)

The Surgeon in the Mirror is Book 1 in a series. This podcast episode is the beginning of the backstory of that series. It reveals the origins of the surgical robot device, the company that makes it, and one of the first surgeons to adopt it. 
Chapters 1 and 2. Read by the author.

Surgeon in the Mirror - Author Reads 2 minutes, AI Reads 2 minutes

I have continued to experiment with the ElevenLabs software for generating narration. The company has added "VoiceLab" so you can upload a sample of your own voice and it will create a narrator that might sound just like you. Of course, I had to give it a try. 
This episode is just 4 minutes long. In the first two minutes, I narrate a passage from a future book. In the last two minutes, the ElevenLabs AI generated voice reads exactly the same text. What do you think?

The Surgeon in the Mirror - Chapter 1, Part 3 (last)

ElevenLabs generated voice. Chapter 1, Part 3 finishes the chapter. 
 

The Surgeon in the Mirror - Chapter 1, Part 2

ElevenLabs allows me to record only 5,000 characters at a time. So a single chapter requires multiple audio files. 
 

Surgeon in the Mirror - Chapter 1, Part 2 (MyVoice)

Step 2 of my experiment with ElevenLabs voice generation is to train their AI on my voice. This audio file is that AI trained on my voice, reading the clip in its interpretation of my voice. 
 

The Surgeon in the Mirror - Prologue

Robots with AI performing surgery ... what could possibly go wrong? 
This is the prologue of the book, experimentally read by the AI at Eleven Labs. Is it good enough to produce an entire audio book with the technology? It is really close and will only get better. 
 
 

Aligning Models of Innovation (Part 2)

How do you acquire the technology assets necessary to innovate across four dimensions of an organization - the technology, the humans, the information, and the organization (THIO)? Clayton Christensen, Dorothy Leonard, CK Prahalad, Gary Hamel, and others have all wrestled with this question.
This episode is the reading of a journal article which is very fascinating with clear graphics of these models. But it is a difficult conversion into a purely spoken story. 

Aligning Models of Innovation (Part 1)

Academics have created multiple models of innovation and the impact of technology on business. But upon examination, many of these models are actually identical ideas expressed with different terms and diagrams. Nawaz Sharif suggested a "THIO" model of innovation which seems to unify the ideas of authors like Clayton Christensen, Dorothy Leonard, CK Prahalad, Gary Hamel, and others. 
This episode is the reading of a journal article which is very fascinating with clear graphics of these models. But it is a difficult conversion into a purely spoken story. 

R&D Funding During an Economic Crisis

During an economic crisis, should the federal government continue its level of funding for R&D, or redirect that money to other projects that more immediately impact the daily operations of the country? 

Einstein vs. Picasso in R&D Leadership

There are many types of intelligence and genius. Imagine the differences between an R&D team built by Einstein as opposed to one by Picasso. How would they be different? Individual leader preferences lead to lopsided R&D teams, as does the entire internal culture of a company.