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Bio

Dr. Simone Ahuja is pioneering the idea of “intrapreneurship” and teaching organizations how to act more like fast and frugal startups, to drive sustainable innovation.

Simone is the founder of Blood Orange, a global innovation and strategy firm headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is co-author of the international bestseller, Jugaad Innovation, called “the most comprehensive book yet on the subject” of frugal innovation by the Economist. Her latest book, Disrupt-It-Yourself (HarperCollins Leadership), shares a clear set of tools and a practical playbook that helps organizations drive sustainable innovation by supporting “intrapreneurship” and acting more like fast and frugal startups.

Simone has served as an advisor to MIT’s Practical Impact Alliance and Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge. She provides keynotes, interactive workshops, and innovation advisory services to organizations including United HealthGroup, 3M, Procter & Gamble, Target Corp, Stanley Black & Decker, and the World Economic Forum. She serves on the Board of Trustees of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, is regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review online, and a practitioner of improvisational comedy.

Keynote Topics

Keynote #1 : Cracking the Intrapreneur’s Code: How To Think and Act Like a Startup in Large Organizations

Innovation isn’t just for R & D and the organizational elite. Some of the most impactful innovations come from passion and purpose-driven intrapreneurs – entrepreneurs in your organization without a formal mandate to innovate. Cracking the Intrapreneur’s Code empowers and inspires your intrapreneurs to take action through memorable stories, a clear process, and a whole lot of fun. Based on research from her book Disrupt It Yourself, Simone presents a proven approach to guide your intrapreneurs from ideas to innovation impact.

This program is perfect for leaders and teams who want to:
– Address disruption by out-innovating from within their organization
– Build a culture where everyone feels empowered to innovate – and knows how to do it
– Drive more innovation every day – without upending their entire organization

The audience will leave with:
– A clear framework for everyone to activate innovation
– A simple and proven action plan to accelerate ideas into bottom-line impact
– The creative confidence they need to get into intrapreneurial action

Keynote #2 : Revolution is an Inside Job: How to Think and Act Like an Internal Entrepreneur

Do you have ideas about changes needed in your organization but don’t have a clear pathway to bring them to life? Is problem-solving in your blood, but maybe not in your job description? Each of us can be a leader and changemaker – but what happens when we question the status quo within our division or industry?

In this interactive, practical, and fast-paced keynote, explore what you need to light your intrapreneurial fire. Examine the top challenges of successful intrapreneurs (internal entrepreneurs) and map strategies to navigate these in your life.

This session is perfect for leaders and teams who want to:
– Build a consistent pipeline for innovation and innovation talent
– Build a culture where everyone feels empowered to innovate
– Create a more inclusive culture that catalyzes innovation

The audience will learn to:
– Identify and develop ideas that will have the highest impact on your organization.
– Leverage a process that allows them to test ideas in low risk, high impact ways
– Get comfortable with so-called “failures” and re-frame them as learning.

Keynote #3 : Fast and Frugal Intrapreneurship: Solving Problems Now with the Resources You Already Have

Thinking like an entrepreneur isn’t just for startups. Solving even the biggest problems starts with you and the resources you already have. What you need is the right mindset and a simple toolkit to get you there.

Based on her research in emerging markets and her bestselling book, Jugaad Innovation, Simone shares inspiring stories of frugal innovators who solve problems large and small with the right mindset and a set of guiding principles. This high-value, low-resource approach to problem-solving occurs at the intersection of business, design, and social innovation.

This program is perfect for leaders and teams who:
– Want to create more business value with fewer resources consistently
– Want to democratize innovation, so it’s the domain of all employees
– Feel challenged and stressed by having to grow the business with less time and fewer resources.

The audience will learn to:
– Use your creativity to reframe problems as opportunities
– Gain support for new ideas to move faster and have a greater impact
– Leverage existing resources so they can start problem-solving now

Call or text Neal at (720) 498 -3275 or email neal@infinitespeakers.com to place a calendar hold or book Simone for your upcoming annual conference today.