Genius At Scale – Linda A Hill

“There weren’t many people with [a blockchain] skill set back in those days,” observed Deborah Barta, senior vice president of provenance and strategy at the time. “The allure was, ‘Treat [Labs] like a startup. Come, run fast, and build great stuff.’ ” Lyons’s choice to bring this talent in-house allowed his team to begin learning about blockchain and the opportunities it presented for Mastercard early on. It didn’t matter that the purpose wasn’t yet clear; Lyons brought the right mix of curiosity and foresight to trust that this experimentation would soon pay off.

Priming the Core Business to Embrace Innovation While Labs was the company’s epicenter for innovation in the short term, in the long term, Lyons and Banga agreed that Labs should be a “stepping stone” to the future.4 (See principle 8 in figure 7-1.) To help Mastercard’s employees become independent innovators, Lyons would start by exposing them to new ideas and technology from outside the company. As he often said, “Every company is either a technology company or needs to become one.” Lyons firmly believed that everyone within Mastercard—junior-level employees, executives, and board members alike—should understand technology and embrace innovation in their roles.

The problem, however, was that “people weren’t thinking about where technology was going,” he said, and they were unwilling to invest time and resources in noncore activities as a result. Mastercard: Eight guiding principles Bridging Senior Leadership Lyons leveraged his relationships with senior leaders to begin upskilling Mastercard’s executives and board members, many of whom did not have a basic understanding of technology. “The company didn’t even know how to spell digital at that point in time,” said Hund-Mejean.

This, to Lyons, needed to change urgently: “A lot of companies fail with innovation because they are not able to understand the impact of technology at the most senior levels; hence, it doesn’t get the buy-in that it should.” As a bridger, Lyons believed that the best way to develop people’s understanding of technology was by showing them what was possible—by translating abstract technological concepts into tangible prototypes that others could see and feel for themselves.

Moreover, as part of this translation work, he always made an effort to frame these prototypes in terms of their practical business applications. During the company’s annual executive leadership program, Lyons decided to run dedicated technology sessions where he presented the Labs’ work and introduced his colleagues to new technical vocabulary.

“Genius at Scale offers profound insights into the approaches and skills crucial for driving innovation within organizations, revealing how collaboration, experimentation, and continuous learning can catalyze transformation. These concepts resonate with my own workplace experience in fostering a culture that inspires purpose, empowers leadership, and encourages a growth mindset.” —TAN SU SHAN, CEO, DBS Group “Genius at Scale is the exact right book for right now! The stories and research provide readers with a bold road map for navigating complexity while also issuing an urgent call to reimagine how cocreation, deep connection, and productive challenge unlock real innovation and impact.”

—BRENÉ BROWN, New York Times bestselling author, Strong Ground “In an era of material AI-driven disruption, people-centered innovation isn’t optional—it’s essential. Genius at Scale offers a compelling road map for leaders navigating real-world innovation challenges, reminding us that in a world of exponentially accelerating change, our greatest advantage is our ability to learn, adapt, and empower others to do the same.”

—OMAR ABBOSH, CEO, Pearson “In Genius at Scale, Linda A. Hill, Emily Tedards, and Jason Wild reveal both the art and the science of betting big. By taking readers inside the day- to-day work of large-scale change at leading companies and organizations, this book will help leaders in every walk of life think and work bigger.” —RAJIV J. SHAH, President, the Rockefeller Foundation; author, Big Bets: How Large-Scale Change Really Happens “Genius at Scale is a practical guide for leaders who want to innovate at scale —not just within their organizations but across entire ecosystems.

By spotlighting courageous and generous individuals from around the world, it shows how the roles of architect, bridger, and catalyst can unlock collective genius and transform complexity into opportunity.” —LUCA DE MEO, CEO, Kering “Genius at Scale is a must-read for any leader keen to unleash innovation at scale. Through vivid case studies, Linda A. Hill, Emily Tedards, and Jason Wild bring to life their brilliant idea of leaders as architects, bridgers, and catalysts, offering powerful insights that will deeply resonate with both established executives and emerging leaders.”

—HUBERT JOLY, Senior Lecturer, Harvard Business School; former CEO, Best Buy; and bestselling author, The Heart of Business “The ABCs of innovation! A must-read for leaders at all levels looking to drive meaningful change in business and society.” —PARMINDER KOHLI, Chairman, Shell UK “Genius at Scale gives leaders a clear framework to drive innovation and impact through culture, clarity, and cocreation.

Not just vision—execution.”

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: f5b19cc15c81f704
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 4,383,025 bytes (4.18 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• ISBN: 9781647827502, 9781647827519
• Pages: 310
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 503.82 minutes
• Total Words: 100,764
• Total Characters: 663,467
• Average Words per Page: 325.05
• Average Characters per Page: 2140.22

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