How do boundary zones fuel innovation breakthroughs in complex organizations?

Join host Marco Annunziata as he welcomes Jaspar Roos, a member of the European Commission's OISP innovation group and founding partner of the Human and Tech Institute. With MIT credentials in AI Strategy and implementation experience with ISO56001 innovation frameworks, Jaspar examines how ecosystemic models are reshaping societal governance and network orchestration systems.

This conversation examines why 80% of employees, typically located outside headquarters, remain disconnected from innovation initiatives, despite organizations investing heavily in AI and digital transformation. Jaspar presents neuroscientific evidence on how the "water cooler effect" creates cognitive transformation: when employees step away from structured work environments, dopamine release facilitates relaxation, leading to the serendipitous interactions that drive breakthrough thinking.

• Innovation Paradox: 95% of non-tech companies investing in AI will generate no meaningful ROI despite significant expenditure 
• Neuroscience Insight: Water cooler interactions trigger dopamine releases that neurologically prime employees for breakthrough thinking 
• Organizational Blindspot: Top-down innovation efforts fail because 80% of frontline employees lack access to digital transformation tools 
• Edge Systems Theory: Most disruptive innovations emerge at ecosystem boundaries where traditional operating norms converge 
• Metrics Gap: Traditional innovation KPIs measure activity rather than impact, creating "innovation theater" without economic transformation

Analyzing case studies from his portfolio of digital innovation projects, Jaspar reveals the dialectical tension between conformity and transformation. He examines how successful organizations, such as Amazon, implement synchronous communication protocols to overcome innovation paradoxes, while drawing parallels to the transformation of the Swift financial network.  This episode presents a systems-thinking approach to understanding how innovation emerges at ecosystem boundaries, where traditional operating norms are being replaced by new economic engines for the digital era.

Guest: Jaspar Roos, Founder and CEO of Limpid & Co

Host:  Marco Annunziata, Co-Founder, Annunziata Desai Partners

Series Hosts: 

Vikram Shyam, Lead Futurist, NASA Glenn Research Center

Dyan Finkhousen, Founder & CEO, Shoshin Works

Ecosystemic Futures is provided by NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration Convergent Aeronautics Solutions Project in collaboration with Shoshin Works.

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