#31 - Fueling an Innovation Engine, with Frederik G. Pferdt

Google Partners

Google has a well deserved reputation for being an innovative organization, and that’s by design. Because while it’s a popular buzzword, innovation as an enterprise-level priority really does make a difference in a company’s capacity to adapt, grow and thrive. That’s why Google does so much to foster creativity. It informs who they hire, how they acculturate employees, how they design workspaces, how employees collaborate, and so on. We’re excited to have as our guest Frederik G. Pferdt, Google’s Chief Innovation Evangelist and Adjunct Professor at Stanford University. In this episode, Frederik helps us unpack the twin topics of innovation and creativity and shares approaches to sparking innovation at every level. To learn more about Google’s approach to fostering innovation, check out resources on the re:Work website at https://rework.withgoogle.com/subjects/innovation/. Specifically re:Work guide: Foster an innovative workplace and re:Work guide: Practice innovation with design thinking. Guest - Dr. Frederik G. Pferdt, Google’s Chief Innovation Evangelist and Adjunct Professor at Stanford’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design Frederik believes creativity exists in all of us, and his passion is to develop the capacity to innovate in everyone. At Google, he founded and now leads a team of 350 Innovation Evangelists who help Googlers solve problems more creatively. Frederik also co-founded “The Garage,” Google’s hacker/designer/maker space, and the Creative Skills for Innovation Laboratory (CSI:Lab), which tests hundreds of new to the world ideas every year. As an Adjunct Professor at Stanford’s d.school, he taught over 10 graduate courses like: “Hacking your innovation mindset”. His creative work on innovation culture, leadership and future technology have earned him invitations to transform organizations, schools and governments globally. He currently acts as Innovation Consultant to the United Nations and is The German Football Association’s Innovation-Coach. Focus Magazine calls him “The Pope of Creativity.” He currently lives in Silicon Valley with his wife and draws inspiration from the playfulness and explorer mindsets of his three children. Host: Alex Langshur