083 : How to Foster a Culture of Innovation with Zack Weisfeld, VP & GM of Intel Ignite

Zack is the vice president and general manager of Intel Ignite based in Israel. Zack has also been behind several successful start-ups and was previously the general manager for Microsoft.

As well as being a serial entrepreneur, Zack prides himself on being a corporate entrepreneur, helping large corporate companies innovate and be disruptive as a start-up would, and driving culture change through working with leaders and stakeholders within the company. He joins Andrea to talk about his approach, the critical relationship between innovation and culture and his thoughts on what it takes to be an inspirational and effective leader.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Zack attributes some of his success to being in the right place at the right time. He had the right skill set and attitude just as the internet was starting to take off, he even began one of the first digital agencies!
• Companies can have start-up style values, such as a growth mindset and being disruptive, but it can be difficult for some roles within a large company to exercise them, ignite helps with that.
• Large tech companies must engage with start-ups, if they do not then they will quickly become irrelevant. 
• Ignite is described by its clients as a cofounder as a service, they are often more intimate with the team than even their own investors.
• There are a lot of opportunities in tech in this changing world, but this also means that there are many companies and services that will become irrelevant. 
• Culture is ingrained into organisations and the relationship between culture and innovation is critical. One of the ways to tap into this and drive change is to take people and teams away from their daily environment and work alongside and with start-ups.
• 2023 is a difficult time for all companies which presents a unique challenge for leaders, to continue to motivate their teams and also incentivise them to stay within the organisation.
• Challenging times also present opportunities, those who see these and seek them out drive growth and entrepreneurship.
• Experience can mean that people act on old information and intuition, we have to challenge these ideas and mindsets so we can build and create a different culture with innovative solutions.
• As a new founder and a leader too, you have to learn to really listen and build those skills. 

BEST BITS

“I’ve been a serial entrepreneur, but I’ve also been a corporate entrepreneur”

“We will not be able to compete without that change, that energy, sitting out there in the forefront with these disruptors”

“There’s no option for these large tech companies not to co-operate with start-ups”

“I believe we are going to see a lot of companies go away because what they do is not needed anymore”

“The relationship between innovation and culture is so critical”

 “You’re in this tough environment where you have to manage the tough realities and on the other hand be super optimistic” 

“I’m an entrepreneur I love challenges, I think that challenging times are opportunities”

“Because of that experience, we sometimes make wrong decisions based on intuition that’s not relevant”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Zack’s Book Recommendation: Give and Take by Adam Grant

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ABOUT THE HOST

My name is Andrea Petrone. I'm a Human Performance and Leadership Advisor, Executive Coach and International Speaker. I help leaders and their teams to change their mindsets and master their leadership capabilities so they can achieve extraordinary performance. I've been in the corporate world for more than 20 years working globally - in 6 countries and 3 continents - for medium-large companies.