Are innovation and sustainability natural bedfellows? Can you have one without the other – and would you even want to?

We’re talking to Barbara Salopek, an innovation strategist; the founder and CEO of Vinco Innovation in Bergen, Norway; a Lecturer at BI Norwegian Business School; and the author of Future-Fit Innovation. She knows her stuff when it comes to innovation and business!

We look at how sustainability (across economic, environmental and social aspects) and innovation intertwine, how each can drive forward and reinforce the other, and how AI can be both a positive and negative force for them both.

Barbara tells us about how innovation means more than just something new – it has to be useful as well – why sustainability and innovation are not one-size-fits all solutions, the importance of long-term innovation over short-term thinking, why we all have innovation inside us – and the problems of lionising certain individuals as innovators, and why it should not be exhausting.

We discuss the problem of treating innovation as a buzzword, take lessons from companies who have failed to innovate in the past, and learn from those who have innovated successfully, and assess what elements can create an environment where innovation and sustainability can flourish – or fail (including politics).

Plus, Jan questions Paul’s levels of innovation and waxes lyrical about Bergen, we try to rehabilitate the reputation of the Luddites, glueless chairs (!), and we dive into the concept of functional fixedness.

You can see more about Barbara’s book Future-Fit Innovation here: https://practicalinspiration.com/book/future-fit-innovation

Discover more about Barbara and the Norwegian Business School in Bergen: https://www.bi.no/en/about-bi/employees/department-of-leadership-and-organizational-behaviour/barbara-salopek/

Find out about the Luddites: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/why-did-the-luddites-protest/

And for everyone looking for 101 uses for Vaseline, look no further: https://www.vaseline.com/za/en/articles/ingredients/hundred-and-one-uses-for-vaseline-petroleum-jelly.html

You need individual accountability if you are going to be a good leader, but not everyone has it.

Sanjay Rishi is a leadership coach with experience around the world, and the founder of @intersections. He is also an Entrepreneur in Residence in Lancaster University Management School, and he comes to us having seen how sustainability and leadership go together (or not).

Sanjay talks us through his nomadic existence, a stint as a film student, and his life consulting on organisational change and coaching leaders – via his studies at Lancaster.

We take a dive into transitions – where individuals and companies are moving from one reality to another, and where old tools and skillsets are no longer relevant. In this context, what are sustainable transitions, and how do you build an organisation and yourself to make it possible?

We look at the conflicts between attitudes and behaviours, the importance of knowing your own role and story – not just what your organisation expects of you, and how intent among leaders plays a big role no matter where you are in the world.

How do geography and generations play a role in approaches? Can younger leaders pull themselves away from the idea that success equals fast cars, big houses and private planes to move towards a more environmentally friendly approach? And how can organisations rewire themselves to consider the sustainability of their people?

Plus, is Jan a good leader? Is Paul planning to start a dictatorship? And do we use the word joy enough?

Find out more about Sanjay here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanjay-rishi-26-intersections

And read about his thoughts on the interplay between families and business for leaders here: https://doc.your-brochure-online.co.uk/Lancaster-University_FiftyFourDegrees_Issue_20/38/

How much will it cost to look after old people in the future? What can we do to help plan for this expense? And what will happen if we don’t prepare?

More than 1.1 billion people on Earth are aged 60 and over – this is how old people are defined (whether you may like it or not), and at 65 you are seen as elderly. That number is only set to grow and grow. So, how do we manage social care and protection?

Dr Qisha Quarina, from Universitas Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, is working with the International Labour Organization (ILO) on the costs of caring for older people in Indonesia, and returns to Lancaster to discuss her work.

We look at how the demographic shifts in Indonesia, and the long-term social security situation in the country, including who pays for elderly care once people retire, and what happens in a nation where nursing and retirement home networks still need to be developed.

Discover how the burden of elderly care often falls on daughters and daughters-in-law, the problems that arise when people work in informal sectors with no pension schemes, and what governments need to think about when planning for future societies.

There is time to discuss pensions and retirement age, the relevance of Logan’s Run to modern-day society, the political implications of the issues, the role of the ILO in liaising with governments, and the stigma of putting parents and grandparents into care (including Paul’s cut-price plans for his dad).

Plus, Jan gets touchy about her age, Paul ponders flossing, Qisha joins a disturbingly large group of people who miss the Lancaster weather when they move away, and we clarify for our listeners that Indonesia is more than just Bali (a whole 17,000 islands more).

Find out more about Qisha’s university here: https://ugm.ac.id/en/

And if you want to remind yourself about Logan’s Run, look no further: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan%27s_Run_(film)