The Business of Innovation: Loners & Teammates

nThe fifth and final segment of CNBC’s “Business of Innovation” TV series is based around the theme of Loners & Teammates. During the one-hour show, Maria Bartiromo and (the oddly argumentative) Roger Schank examine the role of teamwork and collaboration in the innovation process:

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“Episode 5 will examine how the most innovative companies continue tontrain and maintain their workforce and look close-up at one of the mostndifficult organizations to innovate within.n

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Our CEO guests will weigh in on how they have or haven’t been ablento overcome the demands of this ever-changing workforce and our expertsnlend advice on how to manage the problem across continents andngenerations.”

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Guests on the final segment of the Business of Innovation TV special include Bob Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots; Katie Ford, CEO of Ford Models; and Tom Stemberg, the founder of Staples. (Mr. Kraft and Ms. Ford are pictured above, with Maria and Roger flanking them on either side) The idea, of course, is that the New England Patriots represent the ultimate “team” business, while Ford Models represents the ultimate “loner” business. By putting them on the same CEO panel, CNBC hopes that certain themes and ideas will emerge, linking both businesses.

Following the example of the earlier four episodes of the series, there are also brief, re-purposed CNBC segments on various other themes that are cut-and-pasted into the innovation program — such as a segment on the aging baby boomer population, a profile of biotech pioneer Genentech, and a quick look at the role of team-building exercises at OfficeMax, where employees are encouraged to go swimming with sharks.

Finally, there are in-depth features of innovators such as skateboarding legend Tony Hawk and USC football coach Pete Carroll. As always, the various guests offer up a lot of platitudes when it comes to innovation, often taking credit for something that may or may not be their own doing. For example, does anybody really believe that Bob Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, is responsible for the football team winning championship after championship? (Yo, there’s a guy named Tom Brady who’s kinda important, too) I don’t know — I think CNBC buys into the whole “cult of the CEO” idea, giving the CEO all the credit when a company does well and then pounding the table for the poor guy’s (or poor gal’s) head when things start to turn south.

[image: CNBC’s The Business of Innovation]
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