The Crucible – Solve for X
February 2020
““It’s very important to understand what our principles are in business. Are we just making money, or are we also doing good? These two goals must be tied together. For me, I feel we are also doing good. It’s not only making money—it’s about good business and doing good.”
–Jussi Aho, CEO, Fira Construction Group
This week marks my 10 year anniversary of joining Xinova’s predecessor, and it marks my last week working on the inside of Xinova. We’ve always had an ambitious vision for Xinova in building the world’s most valuable network of innovators, and that mission continues. There’s a parallel vision in the partner I’ve worked most closely with over the past two years, and we’ll be pursuing several projects together with greater focus than I’ve been able to manage given my existing responsibilities. In short, I’m joining the network myself: which is a component of Xinova’s long term aspiration. I’m looking forward to seeing Xinova in a new light.
It has been an extremely interesting 10 years and many great moments shared with my co-workers. The best parts of this journey was getting to know many members of Xinova’s unparalleled network of innovators. I’ve met your kids, and your parents, and your spouses and your pets. With you, I’ve stuck my head inside an F-16 jet engine, had bear in Helsinki and donkey in Beijing, and blew up a microwave in a boardroom in Chicago. I’ve invented with a few of you, had a coffee with hundreds of you, and certainly emailed thousands of you. I wish you all well! Please feel free to reach out or connect with me on Linkedin to stay in touch as I leap into something new.
–Brad Roberts
Head of Strategic Partnerships
Featured Opportunities
Seeking Candidates for Usability Testing
We are accepting applications to participate in in-person and remote usability studies. Xinova will review applications, and reach out to candidates before the study begins. If selected you will be compensated based on the type and duration of the study.
CLOSING SOON: March 31, 2020
Xinova Updates
Open innovation and packaging design
Sameer Talsania, PhD, Senior Manager of External Innovation at PepsiCo
Open innovation helps R&D leaders like Sameer Talsania, PhD think outside the box to redesign the box for next-level packaging design solutions.
#InnovatorFail
Failure…. let’s talk about it. Innovating and failing go hand in hand. Things go wrong, labs get blown up, and things get broken, but what is important is that you learned something along the way.
Featured R&D Leadership Profile
A profile of leadership, innovation and disruption in the construction industry: Jussi Aho, CEO of Fira Construction Group
When Jussi Aho took control as CEO of Fira Construction Group in 2009, he announced an audacious revenue goal. Some were skeptical. And rightly so. Turns out, it was too low.