Gretchen Goffe is the Founder and CEO of DTLiveLAB, which helps companies drive revenue and improve the customer experience using a human-centered approach to innovation. DTLiveLAB works with clients spanning all industries and sizes, from small agencies to Fortune 100 giants such as Nationwide, Ohio State University, Smithfield, and more. 

As the CEO, Goffe bridges the gap between executives and employees, helping them innovate and develop a customer experience roadmap. She personally manages client relationships and is continuously developing new frameworks and teaching methods. DTLiveLAB offers a “learn-by-doing” approach that includes engagement rewards, live interviews, real-world examples, and coached sprints that always keep the customer top-of-mind.

When it comes to innovation, there are two ways most companies look at it: like a machine and like a garden. With an innovation machine, companies are responsible for the design, construction, and management. With a garden, companies sow the seeds and let the magic happen. But, according to design thinking strategist Gretchen Goffe, there’s one major component that both approaches need: a human-centered approach. 

Goffe has helped notable organizations like Nationwide, The Ohio State University, and Smithfield cultivate innovation opportunities through a customer-centric lens. By adopting the customer’s perspective throughout the entire buying journey, an innovator can look for opportunities not just in the product or service itself, but at many other places where there are pain points, unmet needs, or simply ways to do things better. 

How can you inspire your team to generate these innovative ideas? One of the most powerful tools to understand the customer journey is empathy — walking in the customer’s shoes. But according to Goffe, 90% of employees never get to talk to a customer. In order to foster more empathy in the workplace, Goffe ensures that each member of her team engages with a customer down their internal supply chain. The results? An innovative team with a customer mindset. Goffe talks about this and more as she joins Thomas A. Stewart on The Leading Edge — a place where new ideas emerge and are sharpened, and where leaders look to find the edge that brings success for themselves, their teams, and their enterprises.

In this episode of The Leading Edge, Thomas A. Stewart is joined by Gretchen Goffe, Founder and CEO of DTLiveLAB, to talk about cultivating innovation through a human-centric lens. Goffe explains the steps a company should take to fill growth gaps, where to find opportunities for innovation, and how to empower employees to understand the customer perspective.

Justin Spizman is an award-winning and best-selling author, ghostwriter, editor, and proposal writer. Since beginning his writing career in law school, Spizman has worked on numerous nonfiction books and successful book proposals. He now works with people from all different backgrounds, upbringings, and expertise (including celebrities, athletes, and entertainers) to author and consult on their books.

Working closely with some of the most successful people in their respective industries, Spizman has gained strong insight and understanding into the most efficient and effective ways to create a marketable story. He collaborates with clients to not only write books, but also strengthen brands, build legacies, and create enormous opportunities.

Pat Summitt, the former Head Coach of the University of Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team, once said, “Most people get excited about the games, but I get excited about practice because that’s my classroom.” This wisdom doesn’t only apply to athletic coaches. Whether on the court or in an office, leaders have to be students of the game. This is just one takeaway from award-winning author Justin Spizman’s study of the chemistry and capability of coaching, which he describes in his book, Coach: The Greatest Teachers in Sports and Their Lessons for Us All.

In his book, Spizman interviews 168 renowned leaders in sports, including famous coaches like Pat Summitt, Bill Belichick, and Aimee Boorman, and also dozens of unknowns who lead high school teams or stand at the side of individuals and teams in minor sports, to discover their strategies for developing top-performing players and teams. Although every coach has a unique approach, Spizman breaks down their action plans into four main coaching styles: the strategists, the team builders, the technicians, and the closers. When you understand your coaching style, you can better play to your strengths, hire for your weaknesses, build an impressive team, and help individual players reach their full potential.

However, these four categories aren’t the only keys to success. No matter if you’re in business or sports, all coaches need fortitude, dedication, and an insatiable desire to learn and improve. Spizman talks about this and more as he joins Thomas A. Stewart on The Leading Edge — a place where new ideas emerge and are sharpened, and where leaders look to find the edge that brings success for themselves, their teams, and their enterprises.

In this episode of The Leading Edge, Thomas A. Stewart talks with best-selling author and consultant, Justin Spizman, about lessons on leadership from some of the best coaches in the sports industry. Spizman shares how this wisdom applies to the business world, guides listeners through the four coaching styles, and explains why it’s crucial for leaders to be a student of their craft.

Marc Effron is the President of The Talent Strategy Group, a company that helps the world’s leading organizations increase the quality and depth of their talent. As President, Effron leads the firm’s global consulting, education, and publishing businesses. He also co-founded The Talent Management Institute, created TalentQ magazine, and co-authored the Harvard Business Publishing best-seller One Page Talent Management. 

Before founding The Talent Strategy Group, Effron was the VP of Talent Management at Avon Products and led the Global Leadership Consulting practice for Aon Hewitt. He received his BA from the University of Washington and his MBA from Yale School of Management.

The tight labor market has forced leaders to scramble to rethink and redevelop the ways they compete for top talent and ensure that they’re growing a strong team. In many companies, there’s a kind of panic — a feeling of being caught unprepared, a sense that they lack a talent strategy, and that talent tools that once served them well aren‘t working.

According to Marc Effron, a leading thinker and practitioner in the talent field, these challenges are nothing new. Over the past decade, exit rates have been on a steady, uninterrupted climb. The difference nowadays is that these talent issues are more noticeable — and solving them more expensive. If you want better talent faster, Effron says, a “production mindset” is what’s going to get you there. You need to build a talent machine.

Companies can raise the level of talent management if they look at talent acquisition and retention as if they were a production line. To develop a strong team, you must get clear on what you’re trying to build, who you want in the company, the raw materials you need (that is, what people you need to fill pivotal roles), and the ways in which you assemble it (that is, your hiring processes, training and development, and retention tools). Effron talks about this and more as he joins Thomas A. Stewart on The Leading Edge — a place where new ideas emerge and are sharpened, and where leaders look to find the edge that brings success for themselves, their teams, and their enterprises.

In this episode of The Leading Edge, Thomas A. Stewart is joined by Marc Effron, President of The Talent Strategy Group, to talk about building a talent machine to solve hiring and retention challenges. Effron breaks down the critical components of a successful talent strategy, why you should invest in your top employees, and how to de-risk your talent production process.