Podcast Summary: Business, Bourbon & Cigars with Scott Joseph

Episode: How to Lead Innovation: 3 Steps that Transform Your Business Fast
Host: Scott Joseph
Date: August 21, 2025

Episode Overview

Scott Joseph dives into the realities of leading innovation and business transformation—cutting through common misconceptions about what it actually means to be an innovative leader. Drawing on decades of experience (notably in the automotive industry) and tools honed through his Me Plus Ultra mastermind and retreats, Scott details a no-nonsense, actionable three-step framework for keeping your business ahead of change, not crushed by it.

The episode combines personal storytelling, industry cautionary tales, and deeply practical advice, all aimed at helping ambitious leaders drive real, sustainable transformation within their businesses.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Real Innovation Means Burning Down the Old Playbook

• Innovation is not about chasing shiny objects. Instead, Scott insists, it's about disrupting even your own best practices before someone else does.

  • "Real innovative leadership is about willing to burn down the old playbook, even if you're the one who wrote it." (00:46)

• Leaders must disrupt themselves, not wait until the market forces them to change.

2. Case Study: The Auto Industry’s Resistance & Adaptation

• Scott relates changes in the auto industry when the Internet arrived—many dealers doubled down on outdated models versus embracing tech-fueled transparency.

  • He describes how early resisters lost out as consumer behaviors shifted permanently.

• Notable quote:

  • “They didn’t realize the process had already changed. Consumers had already adapted. And once they experienced that convenience and that control, they weren’t going back.” (03:36)

• The lesson: Early adopters of change, especially those who track consumer shifts, grab market share and trust.

• He recounts a recent auto conference where denial about new consumer trends persists:

  • “It’s almost as if they say it enough, it'll become true...As they’re saying this, I’m thinking to myself, this is bullshit.” (06:40)

3. Scott's Three Steps to Lead Innovation & Transform Fast

Step 1: Spot Shifts Early & Take Proactive Action

• Assign responsibility in your organization for monitoring market, customer, and tech trends.

• Implement a “If we started today” exercise quarterly—ask what your company would do differently if launched in the current landscape.

• Test new ideas while things are going well, not in desperation.

• Kill outdated practices ("sacred cows") before they become liabilities.

  • “You need to test while you're healthy. The best time to experiment is when you're winning, not when you’re desperate.” (15:50)

• Tip: Leverage AI for tracking shifts and market intelligence—Scott teases a future episode on building an “AI-driven Change Intelligence System.” (18:00)

Step 2: Build a Culture Where Change Is Normal

• Make adaptability a written, promoted, and rewarded core value.
• Use small, regular “change drills” to acclimate your team.
• Celebrate early adapters and tell their stories.
• Remove persistent resisters; reward constructive risk-taking.
  • “Most companies have locker room lawyers...you have to remove those anchors.” (21:32)
  • “Make it safe for people to test new approaches even if they don't all work.” (22:34)

Step 3: Address the Emotional Side of Transformation

• Change isn’t just strategic—it’s primarily emotional for most employees.
• Lead with stories that show why the change matters and what it enables.
• Map and anticipate how changes will impact your people; preempt concerns.
• Overcommunicate in multiple formats.
• Stay visible and accessible as a leader.
• Engineer “early wins” to build momentum.
  • “People aren’t afraid of new, they’re afraid of loss.” (24:00)

4. Scott’s Challenge to Listeners

• “If I was starting a new business today that directly competes against my current business, what would I do in the new business to put my current business out of business?” (26:40)
• Take at least one step toward that hypothetical—before you’re forced to change.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On disruption:

  • "The leaders who transform industries aren’t the ones clinging to what made them successful in the past. They’re the ones who disrupt themselves before someone else does." (00:52)

• On customer evolution:

  • “Once you lose market share, it’s hard to get it back.” (05:21)

• On culture:

  • “Adaptability has to be a core value in your organization in some form or another. You gotta write it down, promote it, reward it, and take the approach of practice makes perfect.” (20:14)

• On communication during change:

  • “You need to overcommunicate, in multiple formats—meetings, emails, visuals and stories—because different people process information differently.” (25:00)

Important Timestamps

• 00:46 – Real definition of innovative leadership
• 03:30–07:00 – Auto industry example: resisting vs. embracing digital transformation
• 15:50 – Why testing should happen when you’re winning
• 18:00 – AI’s emerging role in monitoring change
• 20:14–22:34 – How to normalize change and reward the right behaviors
• 24:00–26:00 – Leading the emotional side of innovation
• 26:40 – The “Disrupt Yourself” challenge

Scott’s Actionable Takeaways

• Make innovation a team responsibility, not just a leadership task.
• Foster a safe environment for risk-taking and adaptation.
• Tackle both the rational and emotional barriers to change head-on.
• Build networks of peer support—Scott highlights his own Business, Bourbon & Cigars retreats for this very reason.

Tone & Style

Candid, unvarnished, and pragmatic—Scott doesn’t pull punches on industry denial or the pitfalls of outdated thinking. His tone blends motivational clarity with a mentor’s directness, often using memorable analogies and pointed rhetorical questions to drive his message home.

For More:
Scott encourages listeners ready to take action to join his leadership retreats—spaces where innovation isn’t just theory, but put into hard, collaborative practice.

Summary prepared for listeners seeking immediate, actionable leadership and innovation strategies—no fluff, just the tools to lead transformation.