Podcast
Creative Confidence Podcast
Hosted by IDEO U · EN
IDEO’s Creative Confidence Podcast shares candid conversations with creative leaders, changemakers, and innovators navigating today’s most pressing challenges. Through real-world stories and insights, we explore how to lead with creativity, build resilient teams, and drive innovation. Grounded in IDEO’s 40 years of expertise in design thinking and innovation, each episode offers inspiration and practical tools for audacious leaders at every stage of their careers. Hosted by Mina Seetharaman, Head of New Ventures at IDEO, the podcast brings a human-centered lens to the complexities of making more courageous futures. Discover more at IDEOU.com.
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18episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
How to Not Know: Simone Stolzoff
2w ago01:00:42Tap to summarizeWe have more information than any generation in history. And we're more anxious about the future than ever. So what's going wrong?In this episode, Mina Seetharaman talks with Simone Stolzoff, journalist, author, TED speaker, and former IDEO Design Lead, about why certainty is so seductive, how our hunger for it quietly gets us into trouble, and what it actually looks like to build uncertainty tolerance as a skill.Simone's new book, How to Not Know, draws on years of reporting to examine the three certainty traps that hold leaders back—comfort, hubris, and control—and offers practical tools for anyone navigating hard decisions, unclear direction, or rapid change. Together, Mina and Simone explore why the most resilient leaders are the ones willing to say "I don't know," how to make decisions when the path isn't clear, and a concept called ghost ships that reframes what it means to choose.This is one of several conversations on uncertainty coming to the Creative Confidence Podcast this year. Subscribe to catch them all.Related Resources:How to Not Know, by Simone Stolzoff — https://simonestolzoff.com/how-to-not-knowSimone Stolzoff on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/simone-stolzoff-5a16b648/ Simone’s Harvard Business Review article: Leaders, It’s Time to Build Your Tolerance for Uncertainty — https://hbr.org/2026/01/leaders-its-time-to-build-your-tolerance-for-uncertainty Read the blog recap — key ideas from this episode, plus five things to put into practice. ideou.com/blogs/inspiration IDEO U All-Access Pass — unlimited access to IDEO U’s on-demand courses. https://www.ideou.com/products/human-ai-leadership-self-paced-course Subscribe to the Creative Confidence Podcast — new episodes on creativity, leadership, and innovation every other week. ideou.com/pages/creative-confidence-podcast In This Episode: (Timestamps are approximate due to ad breaks)(00:00) Welcome and introducing Simone Stolzoff(03:21) From The Good Enough Job to How to Not Know — the thread between his two books(05:48) Why uncertainty feels like a threat — the biology behind it(09:37) Rowing through the fog — what Simone learned at IDEO(12:17) Why certainty has a narrowing effect on creativity(15:12) Commitment in spite of doubt — the Rollo May quote(16:19) The Slack origin story — how Stuart Butterfield trusted his uncertainty(18:20) Standing on a mountain peak — why you have to descend before you can go higher(18:42) The three certainty traps: comfort, hubris, and control(22:38) The AI prediction that aged poorly — Geoffrey Hinton and the radiologists(25:05) More information, more anxiety — why our phones aren't helping(30:17) The loss of friction — what we give up when we reach for our phones(34:09) How to actually build uncertainty tolerance(37:27) Microdosing the unknown — why small experiments rewire the brain(42:13) Busting the algorithm — the explore-exploit tradeoff explained(44:51) How to say "I don't know" without losing the room(45:40) What Brian Chesky did when Airbnb's entire business shut down overnight(49:11) Ghost ships and how to let go of the lives you didn't choose(54:03) The difference between one-way and two-way door decisions(56:32) What to do when you're in the middle of something genuinely hard(57:17) Lightning round(57:38) High Maintenance on HBO(58:30) Brian Eno on originality(59:02) Learning salsa dancing(59:32) The skill of asking questions(59:52) Leaving the Atlantic for IDEO — the mistake that wasn't(01:00:38) Always eat the cookie(01:01:40) Advice for a younger self__________Get episode recaps and register for free live podcast events at ideou.com/podcast.Build your creative problem-solving skills with IDEO U's online courses in human-centered design, AI, leadership, and more at ideou.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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AI Tools for Researchers, Patterns vs. Insights, and When to Trust AI Output: Q&A with Angela Kochoska
3w ago01:10:22Tap to summarizeAngela Kochoska, Design Researcher and Data Scientist at IDEO and co-instructor in IDEO U's new course, Human-Centered Research with AI, joins Mina to answer your questions on how to responsibly and effectively use AI in the research process. After her co-instructor Hannah Rosenfeld’s episode on using AI in human-centered research, our audience had so many great questions. We dedicated an entire episode to answering them.How do you stop AI from flattening nuance? How do you know when you've outsourced your thinking instead of augmenting it? When does AI-assisted synthesis become a real insight, and when doesn't it? What does good prompting actually look like in a research context?Angela brings a perspective that's rare: she came to design research from a PhD in astrophysics and years building machine learning models for NASA and the European Space Agency. She knows how LLMs actually work, and she also knows why the conversation you have with your team in a coffee shop after a field interview still produces insights no model can replicate.If you haven't heard Hannah's episode yet, it's a great place to start. If you have, this is the conversation that goes deeper into the questions it raised.Angela teaches Human-Centered Research with AI alongside Hannah Rosenfeld at IDEO U. Find details and enroll at ideou.com.Related Resources: Angela Kochoska on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angela-kochoska/Hannah Rosenfeld's episode: https://shows.acast.com/creative-confidence-podcast/episodes/how-to-use-ai-for-more-human-centered-research-hannah-rosenfHuman-Centered Research with AI — IDEO U Course: https://www.ideou.com/products/human-centered-research-ai Read the episode recap on the IDEO U blog: https://www.ideou.com/blogIn This Episode: (Timestamps are approximate due to ad breaks)(02:07) From NASA sky surveys to design research — Angela's unlikely path to IDEO(06:57) What building the course with Hannah unlocked, including a new way to think about AI bias(13:18) Q&A: How do you tell a real insight apart from an AI-generated pattern?(16:11) Q&A: How do you stop AI from flattening nuance and overstating confidence?(22:37) Q&A: Is it self-serving to say AI makes humans more important? How to address the skepticism(26:09) Q&A: How do you know when you've crossed into outsourcing your thinking to AI?(32:12) Q&A: What does good prompting actually look like in a research context?(34:35) Q&A: How do you move from AI-generated insights to meaningful human-centered decisions?(44:51) Q&A: What AI tools do you actually use? (Claude, Perplexity, NotebookLM, SciSpace)(51:41) Q&A: How do you protect the depth and specificity that makes your research valuable?(57:07) Q&A: My organization is skeptical of AI — how do I show its value?(1:03:30) Lightning round: Angela recommends Always Coming Home, James Bridle, crochet, "Don't forget to look up,” and more.__________Get episode recaps and register for free live podcast events at ideou.com/podcast.Build your creative problem-solving skills with IDEO U's online courses in human-centered design, AI, leadership, and more at ideou.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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How to Use AI For More Human-Centered Research: Hannah Rosenfeld
Apr 2900:51:05Tap to summarizeAI is changing what it means to be a researcher. But most teams are only using it one way—to go faster. In this episode, Hannah Rosenfeld, Executive Design Researcher at IDEO, shares a framework for using AI intentionally across your research process: not just to move faster, but to see more, ask bigger questions, and do things you couldn't do before.Hannah teaches these ideas and more in IDEO U's new course, Human-Centered Research with AI. If this conversation resonates, the course is where you can go deeper and apply the framework to your own work. The first cohort starts May 21 at ideou.com.Related Resources:Hannah Rosenfeld on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-rosenfeld-86805940/Human-Centered Research with AI — IDEO U Course: https://www.ideou.com/products/human-centered-research-aiRead the episode recap on the IDEO U blog: https://www.ideou.com/blogIn This Episode: (Timestamps are approximate due to ad breaks)(02:16) AI Doesn't Change the Principles of Good Research — It Expands the Definition(05:04) A Framework for Using AI in Research: The Intersection of Speed and Scale(09:28) Mode 1: Widen Your Aperture — Use AI to Take In More(13:01) Mode 2: Notice Nuance — Use AI to See Deeper, Not Just Wider(19:49) Why Bias Isn't the Problem — Unexamined Bias Is(21:23) Mode 3: Challenge Your Assumptions — Use AI to Interrogate Your Thinking(27:50) The Case for Productive Friction — Why Speed Can Work Against You(29:54) Mode 4: Immerse Yourself in Data — Use AI to Bring Your Thinking to Life(32:41) Building a Living Research Brain Your Team Can Query for Months(38:00) How to Sum Up the Framework: Strategic Use Cases, Not Just Efficient Ones(40:53) The Skills AI Can't Replace: Why Human Judgment Matters More, Not Less(43:10) Q&A: Moving from AI-Generated Patterns to Human-Centered Decisions(43:50) Q&A: Can AI Turn a Non-Researcher into a Serious Researcher?(45:14) Lightning Round: Hannah on Asking Better Questions, Fewer Things, and Perpetual Stew__________Get episode recaps and register for free live podcast events at ideou.com/podcast.Build your creative problem-solving skills with IDEO U's online courses in human-centered design, AI, leadership, and more at ideou.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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6 Patterns for Building Organizational Agility: Clay Parker Jones
Apr 1501:02:40Tap to summarizeMost organizations don’t fail because their ideas are wrong. They fail because the systems underneath those ideas aren’t designed to support them. In this episode, Mina Seetharaman speaks with Clay Parker Jones, Director of Organizational Design at Airbnb and author of Hidden Patterns, about six things you can do to build a more agile, adaptable, and human-centered organization.Related Resources:Hidden Patterns, by Clay Parker Jones: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Hidden-Patterns/Clay-Parker-Jones/9781637748589 Clay’s website and pattern library: https://www.cpj.fyi/ Designing for Change online course with IDEO U: https://www.ideou.com/products/designing-for-change Read the episode recap on the IDEO U blog: https://www.ideou.com/blog __________Get episode recaps and register for free live podcast events at ideou.com/podcast.Build your creative problem-solving skills with IDEO U's online courses in human-centered design, AI, leadership, and more at ideou.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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How Great Teams Leverage Tension as a Source of Innovation: Daniel Coyle (Replay)
Apr 100:42:03Tap to summarizeTension on your team isn’t always a problem to solve. In fact, it’s often a signal you’re doing meaningful work. In this replay episode, bestselling author Daniel Coyle (The Culture Code) shares how the most successful teams channel friction into forward motion, instead of avoiding it. Drawing on research and real-world examples from places like Pixar, the Navy SEALs, and professional sports, Daniel breaks down how tension can become a powerful source of energy, learning, and innovation. In this conversation, you’ll learn: Why conflict and disagreement are essential for high-performing teams The key moments that shape team culture early on How vulnerability builds trust (and why leaders need to go first) A simple framework for turning tension into productive experimentation How storytelling helps reinforce and scale strong team behaviors This episode offers practical ways to rethink how your team approaches friction. If this topic resonates, explore more episodes on healthy friction and creative tension with guests like Ben Swire, Mike Peng, Heather Currier Hunt, Takashi Wickes, and Bob Sutton. Related resources:The Culture Code, by Daniel Coyle: https://danielcoyle.com/the-culture-code/ Cultivating Creative Collaboration online course with IDEO U, taught by IDEO CEO Mike Peng: https://www.ideou.com/products/cultivating-creative-collaboration Read the episode recap on the IDEO U blog: https://www.ideou.com/blogs/inspiration/how-great-teams-leverage-tension-as-a-source-for-innovation __________Get episode recaps and register for free live podcast events at ideou.com/podcast.Build your creative problem-solving skills with IDEO U's online courses in human-centered design, AI, leadership, and more at ideou.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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What Gets In the Way of Trust on Teams: Q&A with Ben Swire
Mar 2000:44:10Tap to summarizeThere are many hidden barriers to building trust on teams, and sometimes we don’t see them until something breaks down.In this episode of the Creative Confidence Podcast, Mina Seetharaman sits down again with Ben Swire—co-founder of Make Believe Works and author of Safe Danger—for a practical Q&A on what actually gets in the way of trust on teams.Drawing on his experience designing team experiences for organizations around the world, Ben answers questions from the Creative Confidence community. Why does trust break down even on high-performing teams? What makes feedback feel risky? How do you create space for honest conversation without forcing vulnerability? And what can leaders do in the moment when trust starts to erode?Related resources:Safe Danger, by Ben SwireMake Believe Works – Unique team building that actually makes an impact.Cultivating Creative Collaboration online course with IDEO U, taught by IDEO CEO Mike PengRead the episode recap on the IDEO U blog: ideou.com/blog __________Get episode recaps and register for free live podcast events at ideou.com/podcast.Build your creative problem-solving skills with IDEO U's online courses in human-centered design, AI, leadership, and more at ideou.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Building Risk-Taking Teams: Ben Swire
Mar 500:57:16Tap to summarizeTeam building often feels like a necessary evil. Leaders know it matters, but too often it feels awkward, forced, or disconnected from real work.In this episode of the Creative Confidence Podcast, Mina Seetharaman speaks with Ben Swire, co-founder of Make Believe Works and author of Safe Danger, about what actually builds trust, psychological safety, and creative collaboration on teams.Ben introduces the concept of “safe danger”—the emotional sweet spot between comfort and fear—where teams feel secure enough to take risks, practice vulnerability, and grow together. He explains why most team building fails, why psychological safety is not the same as comfort, and why risk-taking is a muscle that teams need to practice before the stakes are high.If you’re a leader who wants to encourage better ideas, stronger trust, and an innovation culture, this episode offers practical tools and mindset shifts you can use immediately.To go deeper, explore IDEO U’s course and subscribe to the Creative Confidence Podcast for more conversations with today’s most thoughtful creative leaders.Related resources:Safe Danger, by Ben SwireMake Believe Works – Unique team building that actually makes an impact.Cultivating Creative Collaboration online course with IDEO U, taught by IDEO CEO Mike PengRead the episode recap on the IDEO U blog: ideou.com/blog __________Get episode recaps and register for free live podcast events at ideou.com/podcast.Build your creative problem-solving skills with IDEO U's online courses in human-centered design, AI, leadership, and more at ideou.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Playful Thinking Under Pressure: Q&A with Cas Holman & Michelle Lee
Feb 1800:39:14Tap to summarizeHow do leaders apply playful thinking at work when time is short and the stakes are high?In this Q&A episode of the Creative Confidence Podcast, host Mina Seetharaman is joined by play designer and author Cas Holman and IDEO Partner Michelle Lee to explore how a playful mindset holds up under real-world constraints.Building on their earlier conversation about why play matters at work, this episode focuses on what it looks like in practice: navigating tight timelines, creating psychological safety quickly, collaborating without losing your competitive edge, and leading in high-stakes environments like policy and healthcare.Through real stories and answers to listener questions, Cas and Michelle share practical ways leaders can make values-aligned decisions under pressure, design safety through structure, use constraints to fuel creativity, and model vulnerability to unlock better thinking. Related resources:Playful by Cas HolmanCreative Thinking for Complex Problem Solving online course with IDEO U, taught by Michelle LeeFull episode recap on the IDEO U blog__________Get episode recaps and register for free live podcast events at ideou.com/podcast.Build your creative problem-solving skills with IDEO U's online courses in human-centered design, AI, leadership, and more at ideou.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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How a Playful Mindset Leads to Better Work: Cas Holman & Michelle Lee
Feb 400:50:48Tap to summarizeFor teams and leaders striving to unlock better collaboration and outcomes, play isn’t just a break from work—it’s a powerful leadership mindset. Embracing play fosters curiosity, creativity, and resilience, helping teams innovate and thrive even under pressure.In this episode of the Creative Confidence Podcast, host Mina Seetharaman sits down with special guests Cas Holman, renowned play designer and author of Playful, and Michelle Lee, Partner and Executive Co-Managing Director at IDEO. Together, they dive into how playful thinking sparks better questions, builds psychological safety, and drives meaningful innovation within teams.Drawing from Cas’s expertise in designing open-ended play systems and Michelle’s leadership at IDEO, they share real-world examples of how play transforms collaboration and delivers stronger results across diverse organizations.Explore related resources to deepen your team’s creative potential:Playful by Cas Holman – a compelling look at play as a tool for innovationCreative Thinking for Complex Problem Solving – an online course by Michelle Lee on harnessing creativity for breakthrough collaborationPlayful Thinking Under Pressure – a blog post on how teams can stay inventive and effective when it matters most__________Get episode recaps and register for free live podcast events at ideou.com/podcast.Build your creative problem-solving skills with IDEO U's online courses in human-centered design, AI, leadership, and more at ideou.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Leadership Philosophies in Practice & Building Creative Teams: Q&A with Mike Peng
Jan 2100:44:16Tap to summarizeIDEO CEO Mike Peng returns to the Creative Confidence Podcast with an insightful, listener-driven conversation tailored for leaders, managers, and team leads who are navigating change and striving to build high-trust, creative teams. In this episode, Mike delves deeper into the core principles of creative leadership, sharing practical strategies for leading creative teams within organizations that may resist change. Discover how to cultivate psychological safety, foster a thriving innovation culture, and manage complexity with confidence. Mike draws on personal stories and lessons learned from failure to illuminate how to reduce fear, build trust, and stay inspired in today’s fast-moving world. If your goal is to elevate your team’s creativity or redefine what creative excellence means in your organization, this episode offers grounded advice and a clear perspective you can apply now. For more tools and insights, explore From Ideas to Action and read Mike’s thoughts on Creative Excellence.__________Get episode recaps and register for free live podcast events at ideou.com/podcast.Build your creative problem-solving skills with IDEO U's online courses in human-centered design, AI, leadership, and more at ideou.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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