Coaching For Leaders

Safi Bahcall: Loonshots Safi Bahcall is a second-generation physicist and a biotech entrepreneur. He co-founded a biotechnology company developing new drugs for cancer, leading its IPO and serving as its CEO for 13 years. He worked with President Obama’s council of science advisors on the future of national research. Safi is the author of the book Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries*. In this conversation, Safi and I discuss how leaders can work intentionally to nurture new ideas through three key practices. If you are an innovator (or leading an innovation team) and hearing the voices of the naysayers, this framework will help you begin nurturing new ideas more successfully. Key Points A loonshot is a neglected project, widely dismissed, its champion written off as unhinged. The ice cube is an analogy for the soldiers and artists in the organization. This is called phase separation. The most effective leaders view their work as gardeners,