I Have Some Questions...
Most people know the headline of a leader’s story. Few know the path it took to get there. This podcast goes beyond titles, book launches and business wins, to explore the lived journey behind the thought leader.
Through deep, unhurried conversations, we uncover the moments that shaped them—the doubts, pivots, convictions, and quiet breakthroughs that built their body of work.
Each episode features authors, coaches, executives, and bold thinkers who have forged their own path. Instead of rehearsed talking points, they’re invited into a space where thoughtful questions unlock something more human. The result is a layered conversation that reveals not just what they preach, but how they became the kind of person who can teach it.
Because we believe the best stories aren’t always told—they’re revealed. And when brilliant people are given the right questions and the room to answer them fully, what emerges is insight you can feel, frameworks you can apply, and a deeper understanding of what it truly takes to lead, create, and contribute at a meaningful level.
I Have Some Questions...
108: Are You Solving the Wrong Problem Really Well?" (lessons from Bruce Vojak)
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🧠Erik’s Take
Erik reflects on his wide-ranging conversation with innovation expert Bruce Vojak and explores how innovation really works inside mature companies. While Erik lives and works in the world of startups and early-stage change, Bruce offered a deeply human, grounded perspective on how breakthrough ideas still emerge in the “slow lanes” of legacy organizations.
Bruce’s insights revealed something profound: the best innovations don’t always begin with new technology — they begin with better questions. And specifically, with people willing to ask: Are we solving the right problem?
🎯 Top Insights from the Interview
- Innovation starts with real curiosity: Bruce’s advice? Find a problem you’re actually interested in — and know a little about — and follow it.
- Innovator Exemplars are rare but essential: These are the people who stay obsessed with solving the real customer problem — not just executing their pet solution.
- Companies need to match internal resistance to market resistance: Innovation shouldn’t be harder internally than it is in the real world — but it shouldn’t be easier either.
- The best processes do more than guide: They instruct the newbie, remind the expert, and discipline the executive to decide.
- Innovation is human work: Process helps, but it never replaces the people who notice, reframe, and act.
🧩 The Personal Layer
Erik draws parallels from his own leadership journey — especially the tension between having a great idea and actually getting an organization to adopt it. He’s lived both sides: cultures that champion every idea (even the wrong ones), and cultures that make every new idea feel like heresy. The sweet spot, he argues, is a culture that tests ideas the way the market would — no more, no less.
He also highlights the subtle trap of ego in innovation: when we fall in love with our solution more than the real problem, we lose the thread. Bruce’s insistence on humility — on “submitting to reality” — resonated deeply.
🧰 From Insight to Action
- Leaders: Audit your innovation climate. Do new ideas die on the vine — or do they rise too fast without testing? Neither extreme works.
- Spot the innovators in your org: Do you have an exemplar quietly solving real problems in unconventional ways? Make room for them.
- Evaluate your processes: Are they guiding the novice, nudging the expert, and triggering real decisions? Or just adding drag?
- Start with the right question: Reframe the problem — don’t just build a better widget.
- Protect the spark, but invite others in: Innovation requires collaboration. Hoarding the idea kills its potential.
🗣️ Notable Quotes
“The best innovators don’t fall in love with their idea — they stay obsessed with solving the customer’s problem.” — Erik Berglund
“Innovation should be no more or less difficult than the market itself.” — Bruce Vojak
“The best process does three things: it instructs the newbie, reminds the expert, and disciplines the executive.” — Bruce Vojak
“The most important innovations often begin with the question: Are we solving the right problem?” — Erik Berglund
“The best way to be interested in something is to be interested in it.” — Bruce’s advice, via a mentor
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