Why Smart Ideas Don't Always Land — and How to Build Creative, Curious Teams

In an AI era, the real competitive advantage won't come from generating more ideas, but picking the right idea to take forward. Leaders who foster cultures of creativity and curiosity will build teams better able to sharpen focus, challenge assumptions, and execute in the most effective and compelling ways. Liberty Science Center CEO Paul Hoffman is a noted expert on connecting the public to the sciences. He'll explain how that major cultural institution makes complex ideas clear and irresistible. The long-time science writer, puzzle maker, brainstorming expert and former head of the Encyclopaedia Britannica shares lessons from his eclectic background on how leaders can harness a team's natural curiosity to drive fresh thinking and innovation. You'll learn: Why clarity matters in innovation - and why the audience is usually right How to model the creative behaviors you want to see in your team Which qualities creative, curious teams always have in common This episode was recorded at the Urban Transformation Summit, San Francisco (October 2025). About this week's guest: Liberty Science Center: Paul Hoffman: Like this episodes? Try these: Nick Thompson, The Atlantic: Why one CEO sets 'non -goals' - and what ultramarathons taught him about focus and mental toughness Watch here - YouTube: Listen here - Spotify: Read here - Listen: Build a culture of innovation: HPE's Chief Technology Officer shares what's needed Listen here: Read here: This simple question helped Amazon teams get future ready: AWS AI and data chief Read here - Transcript: Listen here - Spotify: 7 top innovators share strategies that drive cutting edge solutions: Read here - Transcript: Listen here - Spotify:

You can listen to Why Smart Ideas Don't Always Land — and How to Build Creative, Curious Teams online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Why Smart Ideas Don't Always Land — and How to Build Creative, Curious Teams is an episode from Meet The Leader by World Economic Forum.

This episode is 25:29 long.

This episode was published on Mar 27, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Meet The Leader when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.