Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Leading the Revolution: Gary Hamel Explores Corporate Innovation and Change
In this episode, we're joined by Gary Hamel, the acclaimed author of 'Leading the Revolution.' Gary delves deep into the essence of corporate innovation and the challenges faced by change-makers within organizations. We discuss how to punch above your weight and capture attention for transformative ideas, the necessity of building coalitions, understanding resistance, and the importance of courage in navigating change. Gary shares profound insights from his book, illuminating how individuals can drive radical change in even the most resistant corporate environments. This conversation is a must-listen for anyone passionate about innovation, strategy, and leading transformative change in business.
Discover how to:
* Challenge outdated business models
* Overcome organizational resistance
* Build grassroots momentum for innovation
* Lead change even when you don’t have formal authority
This is Part 4 of our deep-dive series on Leading the Revolution, where Hamel outlines the practical playbook for driving radical innovation inside established organizations.
Whether you're an intrapreneur, innovation leader, or just tired of business-as-usual, this episode will fuel your fire to lead change from within.
00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:22 Corporate Rebels and Navigating the Corporate Maze
00:46 The Revolutionary Imperative
00:58 Challenges of Pitching New Ideas
01:35 The Path Less Trodden
02:00 Gary Hamel's Insights on Corporate Innovation
04:04 The Importance of Alignment and Its Pitfalls
07:33 Case Studies of Successful Change Makers
12:31 Building a Point of View and Writing a Manifesto
36:24 Anticipating Resistance and Overcoming Objections
38:47 Navigating Relationship Challenges
39:14 The Four Stages of Denial in Relationships
40:18 Corporate Lessons from Toyota's Success
42:07 The Importance of Confronting Beliefs
44:26 Leadership and Organizational Renewal
46:01 Challenges in Entrepreneurial Companies
49:07 Building Coalitions for Change
01:12:10 The Role of Courage in Leadership
01:16:41 Final Thoughts and Reflections
Find the book here: https://amzn.eu/d/e6vnJSO
Find Gary here: garyhamel.com
Find Aidan and the Innovation Show: thethursdaythought.substack.com
Leading the Revolution: Gary Hamel Explores Corporate Innovation and Change
In this episode, we're joined by Gary Hamel, the acclaimed author of 'Leading the Revolution.' Gary delves deep into the essence of corporate innovation and the challenges faced by change-makers within organizations. We discuss how to punch above your weight and capture attention for transformative ideas, the necessity of building coalitions, understanding resistance, and the importance of courage in navigating change. Gary shares profound insights from his book, illuminating how individuals can drive radical change in even the most resistant corporate environments. This conversation is a must-listen for anyone passionate about innovation, strategy, and leading transformative change in business.
Discover how to:
* Challenge outdated business models
* Overcome organizational resistance
* Build grassroots momentum for innovation
* Lead change even when you don’t have formal authority
This is Part 4 of our deep-dive series on Leading the Revolution, where Hamel outlines the practical playbook for driving radical innovation inside established organizations.
Whether you're an intrapreneur, innovation leader, or just tired of business-as-usual, this episode will fuel your fire to lead change from within.
00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:22 Corporate Rebels and Navigating the Corporate Maze
00:46 The Revolutionary Imperative
00:58 Challenges of Pitching New Ideas
01:35 The Path Less Trodden
02:00 Gary Hamel's Insights on Corporate Innovation
04:04 The Importance of Alignment and Its Pitfalls
07:33 Case Studies of Successful Change Makers
12:31 Building a Point of View and Writing a Manifesto
36:24 Anticipating Resistance and Overcoming Objections
38:47 Navigating Relationship Challenges
39:14 The Four Stages of Denial in Relationships
40:18 Corporate Lessons from Toyota's Success
42:07 The Importance of Confronting Beliefs
44:26 Leadership and Organizational Renewal
46:01 Challenges in Entrepreneurial Companies
49:07 Building Coalitions for Change
01:12:10 The Role of Courage in Leadership
01:16:41 Final Thoughts and Reflections
Find the book here: https://amzn.eu/d/e6vnJSO
Find Gary here: garyhamel.com
Find Aidan and the Innovation Show: thethursdaythought.substack.com



![Figma vs Adobe: Why Startups Beat Giants in the AI Era
🚀 Why did Figma outpace Adobe—and what does it teach us about AI, innovation, and the future of work?
In this episode of The Innovation Show, Aidan McCullen interviews bestselling author Sangeet Paul Choudary (Platform Revolution, Reshuffle) to unpack one of the most important shifts in business today: how AI, cloud-native startups, and mindset shifts are reshaping industries and careers.
👉 Learn why Adobe failed to rethink its architecture, how Figma reimagined design collaboration, and what this means for leaders, innovators, and professionals navigating the AI-driven knowledge economy.
🔑 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
• Why startups like Figma beat incumbents like Adobe
• How AI unbundles knowledge work and changes career paths
• The critical difference between adoption vs. adaptation
• Why governance workflows are the hidden driver of enterprise innovation
• How to prepare for the future of work by mastering the forgetting curve
⏱️ Timestamps
00:00 Intro & Sponsor
02:00 Why incumbents misread new technologies
05:00 How AI reshapes the knowledge economy
09:00 The Figma vs Adobe case study explained
15:00 Why mindset matters more than tools
20:00 Governance-led vs execution-led workflows
27:00 The forgetting curve: unlearning in business
33:00 AI, jobs, and the future of careers
38:00 Closing thoughts & where to find Sangeet Paul Choudary
📚 Resources & Links
• Reshuffle: Who Wins When AI Reshapes the Knowledge Economy → https://amzn.to/3HWwj1I
• Platform Revolution → https://amzn.to/4mBq2aQ
• Sangeet’s Substack → https://substack.com/@platforms/posts
• Aidan’s show notes → https://thethursdaythought.substack.com
🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & more → [link]
🔥 Don’t forget to Like, Comment, and Subscribe for weekly insights on innovation, AI, leadership, and the future of work.
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#AIInnovation
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#KnowledgeEconomy
#SangeetPaulChoudary
#AidanMcCullen
#StartupVsIncumbent
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#InnovationPodcast
#CloudComputing
#ArtificialIntelligence
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#TechDisruption Figma vs Adobe: Why Startups Beat Giants in the AI Era](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kHwq5xzEt-w/mqdefault.jpg)






