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Phil McKinney
Phil McKinney's projects and teams named 3 times as "Most Innovative" by Fast Company Magazine

Innovation isn't just my profession—it's my life's purpose. Through three decades of driving technological breakthroughs, from my role as HP's CTO to leading CableLabs as CEO, I've discovered that true innovation comes from making the complex simple and the impossible achievable.

But what really energizes me is helping others unlock their creative potential. Whether through my Killer Innovations podcast (reaching millions since 2005), my YouTube channel, my book Beyond the Obvious, or my work mentoring entrepreneurs and advising Fortune 100 companies, I'm passionate about sharing practical, real-world innovation strategies that actually work.

I believe everyone has the capacity to innovate—sometimes, you just need someone who's been there to help you uncover it. That's why I created this space: to share honest insights and proven frameworks that can transform how you approach challenges and opportunities.

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Recent Posts

Original Ideas Don't Exist

Innovation happens at the intersection of existing knowledge, challenging the notion that anyone truly creates rather than connects what came before.

Original Ideas Don't Exist

The Innovation Crisis: How We're Stifling Our Children's Creative Potential—And How to Set It Free

A 12-year-old entrepreneur highlights the gap between education and innovation. What happens when we value answers over inquiry, and how might we unlock our children's natural creative abilities?

The Innovation Crisis: How We're Stifling Our Children's Creative Potential—And How to Set It Free

The 36-Hour Lesson: When Reliability Made My Innovation Career

The flashiest ideas don't change the world—follow-through does. While we worship creative geniuses, reliable warriors who execute transform industries.

While we worship creative geniuses, reliable warriors who execute transform industries.

Intellectual Generosity: Why Sharing Ideas Creates More Value Than Protecting Them

Giving away your best thinking generates unexpected returns. Your best ideas create more value when shared freely rather than guarded jealously.

Sharing your ideas returns in greater value than holding on to them.

Dangerous Ideas: Why We Fear Innovation (And Why We Shouldn't)

The psychology behind innovation resistance runs deep. History reveals bizarre examples of once "dangerous" technologies we now take for granted. Our fear-first reaction might be our most human trait — for better and worse.

Dangerous Ideas: Why We Fear Innovation (And Why We Shouldn't)

Moving to Substack: A New Chapter

Innovation veteran Phil McKinney launches "Studio Notes" on Substack—revealing untold stories from 30 years of innovation leadership. What really happens in Fortune 100 boardrooms? Discover raw wisdom from failures and successes. Experience innovation's human journey as lived, not taught.

Moving to Substack: A New Chapter

Digital Iron Curtains: When Tech Walls Create Better Innovations

In today's tech war, governments believe walls and restrictions maintain technological supremacy. History has shown that innovation thrives under constraints and restrictions accelerate technological progress.

Digital Iron Curtains: When Tech Walls Create Better Innovations

Innovation Debt: The Comfort Zone Trap

Why do organizations march in circles like army ants, even when it leads to their doom? The hidden cost of innovation debt goes far beyond efficiency - it rewires corporate DNA, turning the comfort zone into a cage. Breaking free starts with a simple question: why?

Innovation Debt: The Comfort Zone Trap