Creative Confidence Podcast

IDEO U

The IDEO U Creative Confidence Podcast hosts cand…

  • 43 minutes 25 seconds
    Part 1: Honest, Realistic, and Optimistic Leadership Advice from Friends of IDEO

    As the year winds down, we asked 20 friends of IDEO including IDEO U instructors, Creative Confidence Podcast guests, and partners of IDEO to share honest leadership advice for leaders heading into 2026. In part one, hear reflections on uncertainty, creativity, and momentum. Host Mina Seetharaman and IDEO Partner Ilya Prokopoff share reactions and builds on each leader's advice.


    Find more episodes of the Creative Confidence Podcast at ideou.com/podcast. Take online courses in human-centered design, AI, leadership, and more at ideou.com.


    Many of the leaders featured on this episode have been guests on the podcast. Find links to their episodes at ideou.com/blogs/inspiration.


    Guests on this episode:


    Michael Hendrix

    Managing Director, Invisible Notes; former IDEO Partner


    Kate Schnippering

    Polar Expedition Crew Member, IDEO U Instructor: Creative Thinking for Complex Problem Solving


    Catherine Connors

    Co-founder, StoryQuo


    Jennifer Lo

    Futurist in Residence and Senior Director of Organizational Design, IDEO


    Suzanne Gibbs Howard

    Founder, IDEO U; Leadership and Learning Advisor; IDEO U Instructor: Unlocking Creativity


    Wardah Malik

    CEO, BEworks


    Kim Scott

    Author & Founder, Radical Candor


    Mollie West Duffy

    Co-author, No Hard Feelings; Big Feelings


    Bonnie Wan

    Author & Founder, The Life Brief

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    18 December 2025, 7:14 pm
  • 58 minutes 20 seconds
    3 Leadership Philosophies to Inspire Creative Excellence: Mike Peng

    Host Mina Seetharaman chats with IDEO CEO Mike Peng about what creative excellence means today and how leaders can cultivate it on their teams. Mike shares three favorite leadership philosophies, stories from his global career, and practical ways to spark creativity, build healthy friction, and stay inspired.


    Sign up for invitations to live podcast recordings at ideou.com/podcast.

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    4 December 2025, 4:46 pm
  • 51 minutes 24 seconds
    How to Prototype with AI: Takashi Wickes

    Learn how interaction designer Takashi Wickes uses AI to prototype ideas with more creativity, intention, and humanity. In this conversation with host Mina Seetharaman, Takashi shares mindsets, stories, and practical methods from IDEO U’s Prototyping with AI online course to help you stay curious, embrace friction, and keep humans at the center of AI-powered design.


    Sign up for invitations to live podcast recordings at ideou.com/podcast.

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    19 November 2025, 9:29 pm
  • 45 minutes 24 seconds
    Asked & Answered: Justin Massa on Adopting AI with Purpose and Confidence
    How can leaders bring AI into their organizations thoughtfully, without losing what makes them human? In this Asked & Answered episode, AI strategist and IDEO alum Justin Massa joins host Mina Seetharaman to answer listener questions and share a grounded, practical view of AI adoption. Justin explains why so many companies struggle to move from experimentation to impact, how to foster a culture of safe exploration, and why empathy and trust remain at the heart of leadership in the age of AI. Read the recap of this conversation on the IDEO U blog at ideou.com.

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    7 November 2025, 2:09 pm
  • 50 minutes 7 seconds
    How to Invest in AI for Your Business: Justin Massa
    AI strategist and former IDEO partner Justin Massa joins host Mina Seetharaman to help leaders cut through the hype and focus on where artificial intelligence can create the most value. He shares practical frameworks for identifying strategic opportunities, balancing automation with augmentation, and bringing AI into your organization in a way that’s both human-centered and high-impact.Learn how to use Justin’s AI Opportunity Matrix, discover four universal entry points for AI innovation in businesses, and hear why reframing ROI beyond efficiency is key to sustainable growth.Read the recap of this discussion on the IDEO U blog at ideou.com. Want to learn more? Build your own AI adoption plan and learn tools for creativity, strategy, and responsible innovation in IDEO U's AI x Design Thinking Certificate, an 8-week online program. Learn more at ideo.in/aicert.

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    9 October 2025, 2:34 pm
  • 49 minutes 24 seconds
    Asked & Answered: Jennifer Lo on Bringing Futuring into Your Organization
    In this Asked & Answered episode, Jennifer Lo, IDEO's Senior Director of Design Futures, responds to community questions about how leaders can bring futuring into their organizations. From making the case for ROI, to balancing visionary leadership with grounded operators, to practical ways to get started, Jennifer shares insights on how to use futuring to build resilience and readiness.Read more on the IDEO U blog at ideou.com.

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    11 September 2025, 2:43 pm
  • 41 minutes 8 seconds
    How to Think Like a Futurist: Jennifer Lo
    What does it mean to think like a futurist—and why should every leader learn how? In this episode of the Creative Confidence Podcast, Jennifer Lo, Senior Director of Design Futures at IDEO, shares how futuring can help leaders navigate uncertainty, build resilient strategies, and shape the future they want to see. Learn how to spot signals, expand your strategic horizon, and use storytelling and artifacts to make long-term thinking feel actionable today.Read the recap of this conversation and see the futures cone framework mentioned on the IDEO U blog at ideou.com.Follow Jennifer Lo on LinkedIn for more futuring inspiration: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-lo-28654b3/

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    27 August 2025, 7:16 pm
  • 38 minutes 19 seconds
    Asked & Answered: Catherine Connors on Storytelling for Leaders, Scale, and the Future of Narrative
    In this bonus episode of the Creative Confidence Podcast, storyteller and strategist Catherine Connors returns to answer top questions from our IDEO U community. We explore what it really means to lead with story—beyond frameworks and formats—and how storytelling can be used to build culture, scale ideas, and drive meaningful change.Catherine shares her take on how to build storytelling capacity inside teams, how AI is reshaping the narrative landscape, and why co-authorship is the future of leadership storytelling.Whether you're looking to grow your storytelling skills, scale your influence, or help your team connect more deeply to their work, this episode offers practical insight for how to be a better storyteller and lead with narrative intention.Want to go deeper? Explore our Communicating for Impact Certificate—a 3-course program designed to help you speak and lead with clarity, empathy, and influence: https://www.ideou.com/products/communication-certificateRead the recap of this podcast episode on the IDEO U blog:https://www.ideou.com/blogs/inspiration

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    13 August 2025, 3:35 pm
  • 37 minutes 20 seconds
    Creative Collaboration with IDEO CEO Mike Peng (Replay)
    In this conversation, IDEO CEO Mike Peng shares what it really takes to foster creative collaboration on teams. From designing for trust and tension to navigating ambiguity and divergent thinking, Mike offers a clear-eyed look at how leaders can create the conditions for breakthrough ideas. Originally aired on August 8, 2019, this episode is full of timeless guidance for today’s fast-moving, complex world.

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    29 July 2025, 12:01 pm
  • 36 minutes 25 seconds
    Storytelling for Change with a Former Disney Exec: Catherine Connors
    What makes a story powerful enough to shift culture?In this episode of the Creative Confidence Podcast, Catherine Connors—former Head of Content at Disney Interactive and founder of storytelling consultancy StoryQuo—shares five key shifts that can help leaders use story as a tool for transformation.From rethinking traditional formats to embracing play and shared authorship, Catherine challenges conventional ideas about storytelling and invites us to create stories that people want to carry forward.Whether you're trying to connect more deeply with your team, design more inclusive narratives, or spark culture change, this conversation offers actionable insights for leaders in every industry.Read the episode recap: https://www.ideou.com/blogs/inspiration/storytelling-for-leadershipConnect with Catherine Connors on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherineconnors/Check out IDEO U's Storytelling for Influence online course: https://www.ideou.com/products/storytelling-for-influence

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    16 July 2025, 8:55 pm
  • 26 minutes 42 seconds
    Asked & Answered: Matthieu Lorrain & Savannah Kunovsky
    How are creative professionals actually using AI today? In this Asked and Answered follow-up episode, Google DeepMind’s Matthieu Lorrain and IDEO’s Savannah Kunovsky respond to questions from the IDEO U community. They cover real-world examples of AI-powered co-design, how to maintain creative control with liquid content, designing for neurodivergence, and what it means to make nature a creative collaborator.

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    24 June 2025, 2:00 pm
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