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The Iowa Idea: Saul Kaplan
“You can’t analyze your way to transformation!”
Welcome to The Iowa Idea Podcast. In this episode, I’m joined by Saul Kaplan. Saul is an innovation junkie, the founder and Chief Catalyst of the Business Innovation Factory (also known as BIF) and author of The Business Model Innovation Factory: How to Stay Relevant when the World Is Changing.
Saul started BIF in 2005 with a mission to enable business model innovation. BIF makes transformational change safer and easier to manage for institutional leaders by helping them explore, test, and commercialize next practices and new business models.
Saul shares his journey from pharmacy to management consulting, to economic development, to innovation. I really appreciated how Saul synthesizes what he learned as a scientist, business leader, and accidental bureaucrat to leverage human centered design to address complex problems.
We mix it up on the difference between market-making and share-taking business perspectives; and why understanding the people in the ecosystem, rapid prototyping, and checking our egos at the door, are essential as we address truly wicked problems. Saul shares the importance of human centered collaboration and his approach to innovation. I appreciated his insight: “the truth is systems problems require systems solutions.” Another key idea Saul shares is Roger Martin’s innovator definition – “an innovator is someone with a clear and strong point of view, and they know they’re missing something” and they hunt for what’s missing.
It was an honor having Saul join me on the show. I’d like to thank him for his time and perspective. I hope you enjoy the episode.
About Saul
Saul Kaplan is the founder and Chief Catalyst of the Business Innovation Factory and author of The Business Model Innovation Factory: How to Stay Relevant when the World Is Changing.
Kaplan started BIF in 2005 with a mission to enable business model innovation. BIF makes transformational change safer and easier to manage for institutional leaders by helping them explore, test, and commercialize next practices and new business models.
Prior to BIF Kaplan served as the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation and as the Executive Counselor to the Governor on Economic and Community Development.
Prior to his state leadership role, Kaplan served as a Senior Strategy Partner in Accenture’s Health & Life-Science practice and worked broadly throughout the pharmaceutical, medical products, and biotechnology industry. Kaplan also spent eight years working for the Pharmaceutical Division of Eli Lilly and Company. As a Marketing Plans Manager, Kaplan assisted in developing the launch strategy and successful introduction of Prozac into the U.S. market.
Kaplan holds an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute focusing on the strategic management of technology and a BS in Pharmacy from the University of Rhode Island.
Links
BIF Bio https://www.businessinnovationfactory.com/people/saul-kaplan/
BIF Link: https://www.businessinnovationfactory.com/
LunaYou link: https://www.lunayou.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/skap5
Medium posts: https://saulkaplan.medium.com/
Credits
Episode produced by Spark Consulting Group (www.inspiredbyspark.com) in Iowa City, with support from Executive Podcast Solutions (https://www.executivepodcastsolutions.com/).
The Iowa Idea Podcast theme music written and performed by Paisley Bible (https://paisleybible.bandcamp.com/).