ackie Freiberg has been a student of leadership since, as a child of seven or eight, her business- man father took her out to dinner and talked
to her about his work, “almost as if I was a young adult,” said Freiberg, who will deliver an opening general sesson on “The Innovation Edge” at the PCMA Education Conference. “Because of my father’s respect and his authen-
ticity with me at that early stage, it piqued my interest,” Freiberg said. “[I wondered,] What makes people tick? Why do some people become successful? How do people gain respect?” Freiberg’s passionate curiosity fuels her grown-
up mission, which she describes as uncovering the unconventional, business best pratices of globally admired leaders. A self-described “big-time story- teller,” the San Diego–based consultant has co- authored four books that explore the intersection of great leadership and game-changing innova- tions, including the best-selling NUTS! Southwest Airlines’ Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success and last year’s Nanovation: How a Little Car Can Teach the World to Think Big and Act Bold, which profiles India’s Tata Motors. Under Freiberg’s definition, true innovation
requires not only that an idea be a good one, but that it makes the world a better place. And, as she told Convene in a recent interview, it’s everyone’s job.
What is compelling to you about the Tata Motors story? Here’s a guy [Tata Motors Chairman Ratan Tata] who noticed that the majority of vehicles on the road are motorcycles in India and other Third World countries, because that’s what people can afford. So he said, “Wait, they’re not safe. Can’t we lead an initiative that designs a car that’s about the same cost as a motor scooter, and then let’s disrupt the marketplace and try and sell vehicles to people who think they can only afford a motorcycle? But do it so that it’s safe in all weather, so people don’t have to go down in a monsoon?” It’s a remarkable case study of how to notice, lead, and disrupt.
Are there one or two lessons about innovation that you think are the most critical? I think one of the most powerful lessons about innovation is that it should be everybody’s job. There are a lot of companies that have innovation centers. But I think that the innovation-center con- cept is what gets us to the place where people think that innovation is not their job. They think, “That’s