Dr. Simone Ahuja

Dr. Simone Ahuja is a global innovation expert, bestselling author, and Harvard Business Review contributor. Organizations including Pepsi, 3M, LinkedIn, Stanley Black & Decker, and the World Economic Forum have brought her in to help make innovation a way of thinking so everyone is more motivated and empowered to solve problems around them, and leaders know exactly how to help them.  Her specialty is a proven approach that helps organizations increase productivity and growth and decrease overwhelm by "doing better with less". She believes each of us has tremendous creative potential and has dedicated herself to the “democratization of innovation.” She is an avid practitioner of improvisational comedy, bringing the fun of improv into her keynotes.

Keynote Topics:

How Gritty Innovators Do More with Less (and Love It!)

Leaders and teams alike are feeling the pressure of a new “Do More with Less” era, and it’s permeating deep into the fabric of organizations.  Employees are being asked to be more productive and help drive growth with fewer resources - and it’s simply not working.  This increased burden is leading to decreased productivity, less innovation, and reduced trust, while creating record levels of stress and overwhelm.  But it doesn’t have to be this way. In this keynote, you’ll learn to revolutionize your team’s approach to problem solving and productivity by harnessing the transformative power of Gritty Innovation.  This proven approach goes beyond the typical “Big Squeeze” on resources and inspires your teams to Do Better with Less. Drawing from years of research and her bestselling books, Jugaad Innovation and Disrupt It Yourself, innovation and change expert Dr. Simone Ahuja shares the secret sauce of gritty innovators.  She unveils the simple and actionable framework she uses in the world’s largest organizations to help them turn massive challenges into manageable tasks - and overwhelm into engagement.  If you want a fun, interactive, and actionable keynote that helps teams become more productive, innovative, and engaged in a world of uncertainty, you won’t want to miss the Gritty Innovator experience.  

This program is perfect for leaders and teams who want to:

• Increase productivity and engagement in spite of resource constraints
• Accelerate growth in uncertain times 
• Build a shared sense of purpose and trust in teams

The audience will learn how to:

• Learn a proven way to solve big and small problems with limited resources
• Ruthlessly prioritize so they can do better by doing less
• Gain support for new ideas to move faster and maximize impact

Leading Everyday Innovation: How Small Bets Lead to Everyday Impact

Do you have ideas about changes needed in your organization but don’t have a clear pathway to bring them to life? Is problem-solving in your blood, but maybe not in your job description? Each of us can be a leader and changemaker - and the right mindset and simple framework will help you become an everyday intrapreneur (internal entrepreneur). Dr. Ahuja offers personal insights about the power of placing small, low-risk bets to make meaningful change - with real-world case studies and some innovation therapy. She highlights why diversity of thought and skill leads to better innovation and how we can leverage our existing resources to solve problems of all sizes. You’ll leave with a sense of empowerment, practical tips, and a valuable tool to share with your team and keep your intrapreneurial fire burning.

This session is perfect for leaders and teams who want to:

• Build a consistent pipeline for innovation and innovative talent

• Build a culture where everyone feels empowered to innovate

• Create a more inclusive culture that catalyzes innovation 

The audience will learn to:

• Identify and develop ideas that will have the highest impact on your organization.

• Leverage a process that allows them to test ideas in low-risk, high-impact ways

• Get comfortable with so-called “failures” and re-frame them as learning. 

Accelerating Sales Transformation: Unleashing Customer-Centric Innovation for an Effortless Yes

Unlock the transformative power of customer-centric innovation in driving sales excellence. This session is specially crafted for sales teams so you can revolutionize your approach and energize teams to achieve unparalleled growth.  Discover vital strategies to consistently elevate sales potential with a simple, yet profound customer-centric framework. With it, you’ll learn how to shift focus from assumptions to a genuine understanding of your customers’ needs and communicate those in a language that resonates with them. It doesn’t have to be hard, and it’s a lot more fun when it’s almost effortless for your customers to say ‘yes’ to your offerings. 

In this session, you will learn:

• Customer Understanding Redefined: Gain a simple framework to consistently address customer needs, so your customer feels understood and can easily say ‘yes’

• Language Alignment: Learn to speak in your customer’s language, crafting messages that resonate with their needs and desires

• Actionable Strategies for Sales Teams: Feel confident to apply these customer-centric principles immediately and guide your customers towards ‘yes’

Cracking the Intrapreneur’s Code: How To Think and Act Like a Startup Inside Large Organizations

Innovation isn’t just for R & D and the organizational elite. Some of the most impactful innovations come from passion and purpose-driven intrapreneurs - entrepreneurs in your organization without a formal mandate to innovate. Cracking the Intrapreneur’s Code helps you get clear on how to support this powerful form of internal innovation and inspires your intrapreneurs to take action through memorable stories, a clear process, and a whole lot of fun. Based on research from her book Disrupt It Yourself, Simone presents a proven approach to guide your intrapreneurs from ideas to innovation impact.

This program is perfect for leaders and teams who want to:

• Address disruption by out-innovating from the inside of their organization

• Build a culture where everyone feels empowered to innovate 

• Drive more and better innovation every day - without upending their entire organization

The audience will leave with:

• A clear framework for everyone to activate innovation 

• A simple and proven action plan to accelerate ideas into bottom-line impact

• The creative confidence they need to get into intrapreneurial action

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as a Catalyst for Innovation:  Three Keys to Greater Inclusion that Leads to Better Performance and Growth

Innovation is the most powerful way for organizations to stay relevant and grow in our rapidly evolving world. By increasing the diversity of their teams and creating space for diverse voices to be heard, business leaders can dramatically increase their innovation output. In this energizing and optimistic keynote, Dr. Ahuja shares engaging stories demonstrating why diverse teams create more “out of the box” ideas and drive nearly 20% higher revenue. She provides a fun and often surprising experience that uncovers your own biases in real time and shares practical tools for building the psychological safety fundamental to successful innovation and business growth. 

This program is great for the leaders and teams who:

• Want to reduce bias and build a more inclusive and curious culture

• Want to build a healthy culture of psychological safety to support diverse voices and ideas

• Want to harness curiosity to drive more inclusion and innovation 

The audience will leave with:

• A crystal clear connection between DEI and greater innovation

• A clear strategy for removing barriers to diversity, equity, and inclusion

• Proven steps to navigate difficult conversations that fuel DEI and innovation

Fearless Problem Solving: How AI Empowers Your Teams to Do More with Less (and Love It!)

Leaders and teams alike are feeling the pressure of a new “Do More with Less” era, and it’s permeating deep into the fabric of organizations.  Employees are being asked to be more productive and help drive growth with fewer resources - and it’s simply not working.  This increased burden is leading to decreased productivity, less innovation, and reduced trust, while creating record levels of stress and overwhelm.  But it doesn’t have to be this way. In this optimistic and inspiring keynote, your teams will learn to reframe their approach to problem-solving and productivity by harnessing the exponential impact of AI. This proven approach goes beyond the typical “Big Squeeze” on resources and inspires your teams to Do Better with Less.  Drawing from her extensive research and bestselling books, Jugaad Innovation and Disrupt It Yourself, Dr. Ahuja shares the secret sauce of gritty innovators. She presents a simple yet powerful framework used in the world’s largest organizations to tackle massive challenges and transform overwhelm into engagement. By integrating AI into this framework, teams can unlock new levels of productivity, growth, and trust.

If you want a humorous, interactive and actionable keynote that helps your teams become more motivated, more innovative and more engaged in a world of uncertainty, you want want to miss this high energy experience Moreover, Dr. Ahuja will demonstrate how AI tools are easy to start and experiment with, providing a low barrier of entry for teams looking to incorporate cutting-edge technology into their workflow. By reducing the complexity of AI adoption, organizations can swiftly leverage its benefits.

In today's fast-paced and stressful environment, AI doesn't just offer efficiency—it also helps reduce stress and overwhelm. AI won't replace people, but the people who embrace AI will. Every employee can leverage AI to help them solve problems better and faster, feel more accomplished, and decrease burnout. Leaders don't have to be AI experts, but they have to create the space for AI experimentation. Don't miss the opportunity to experience the Gritty Innovator journey—a dynamic exploration of how AI and intrapreneurship intersect to create resilient, high-performing teams.

The Gritty Innovator offers actionable insights for leaders and teams who want to:

• Increase productivity, growth and engagement in uncertain times
• Help teams embrace AI to and do better with less
• Foster a shared sense of purpose and trust within their teams

Attendees will discover how AI enables them to:

• Solve big and small problems efficiently with limited resources
• Ruthlessly prioritize to achieve more with less
• Garner support for new ideas, enabling faster implementation and maximum impact