SBP 162: Fear Is Killing Your Innovation. With Tom Fishburne.

Описание: What if the biggest barrier to innovation in your organization isn't lack of ideas, budget, or talent—but fear?

Tom Fishburne, the Marketoonist, whose cartoons have appeared in more marketing decks than most actual strategies joins Marc and V to reveal why corporate fear is sabotaging innovation, and the surprisingly simple tool that breaks through it.
With his weekly cartoons reaching over 500,000 readers and experience at General Mills, Nestlé, Method Products, and HotelTonight, Tom has spent two decades documenting what actually stops good ideas from becoming reality.

In this conversation, we explore:
The "Scolded Syndrome": The DBS Bank story where fear of being "scolded" paralyzed an entire organization until one senior executive squatted in a corner holding his earlobes and changed everything
Why fear kills innovation faster than any competitor: How "I might get scolded" becomes the silent phrase that stops transformation
The simple tool hiding in plain sight: Why humour isn't just comic relief—it's Apple's "most powerful tool to drive fear out of the system"
From business school to half a million readers: The terrifying moment a Harvard professor threw Tom's first cartoon on an overhead projector, and how that panic became a calling
The pressure release valve every team needs: How humour defuses tension, unlocks honest conversations, and enables better decision-making
Why you're juggling unicycles on pogo sticks: The impossible "more with less" paradox and how to survive it without breaking
Tom reveals how he's used cartoons to navigate impossible client situations, transform hierarchical cultures at major banks, and help teams move from fear-based paralysis to innovation-driven action. This isn't about becoming funnier—it's about becoming braver.

The takeaway: Innovation doesn't die because we lack good ideas. It dies because we're too afraid to voice them, test them, or defend them. And the antidote isn't another framework or process it's giving people permission to be human.

If you've ever felt your team second-guessing every decision, if "we might get in trouble" stops more initiatives than budget constraints, or if innovation feels like performance theater rather than actual progress this episode offers a path forward.

Featured in this episode:
Tom Fishburne, The Marketoonist
Creator of 23 years of weekly marketing cartoons
Published author and contributor to NYT, Fast Company, Wall Street Journal
TED speaker on "The Power of Laughing at Ourselves at Work"

TIMESTAMPS/CHAPTERS
00:00 - 04:30 | The First Laugh That Changed Everything
04:30 - 09:15 | From Stub Files to Systematic Creativity
09:15 - 15:45 | Where Cartoons Go (And What They Reveal)
15:45 - 23:30 | The Unicycle-Pogo Stick Syndrome
23:30 - 32:00 | Pain Points as the Foundation of Fellowship
32:00 - 42:15 | The Scolded Syndrome: A Culture Transformation Story
42:15 - 48:00 | The Simple Tool: Why Humour Drives Fear Out
48:00 - 53:55 | Humour as Innovation Strategy, Not Entertainment
53:55 - 59:47 | Using Humour to Navigate the Impossible
59:47 - End | Where to Find Tom & Putting This Into Practice