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Innovation Swiss Style: The Untold Story Behind Switzerland's Success with James Breiding

Release Date: 11/18/2020

Charles Foster: One Man’s Search for Meaning: a Journey to the Origins of Consciousness

OutsideVoices with Mark Bidwell

Charles Foster is an English writer, a traveler, a veterinarian, a taxidermist, a barrister, and a philosopher. Like my previous guest Steven Kotler, he believes in getting deep into subjects in a very immersive and experiential way. In his earlier book called Being a Beast, Charles shares his experiences of trying to live as an otter, a badger, a stagg, a fox and other animals and birds, all in order to better understand what being a wild animal is really like. His latest book is called Being a Human, where he and his 13-year-old son live in the wilderness as Paleolithic hunter gatherers to...

Kevin Kelly: Raising the Bar - Excellent Advice, AI’s for Better Living

OutsideVoices with Mark Bidwell

Kevin Kelly first appeared on this show back in 2016 to talk about his bestselling book, “The Inevitable”, which was a review of the key tech trends that were shaping our lives. Today, almost seven years later, I’ve been struck by how prescient a number of his predictions turned out to be back then, in particular around artificial intelligence, which we talk about in this episode. Kevin’s latest book is called Excellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I'd Known Earlier. This is a curated selection of aphorisms, which guide how Kevin lives his life, and which he was...

Kevin Kelly on AI

OutsideVoices with Mark Bidwell

In this short episode, I’m sharing an excerpt from my recent interview with Kevin Kelly. He's got a new book coming out in May 2023, called Excellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I'd Known Earlier. We’re going to release the full interview when the book is out, but in the meantime, it’s worth sharing with you some of Kevin’s insights into the topic of AI, which is one of the areas in which he is genuinely a world leader. Unless you've been living in a cave or under a rock, you're likely very interested in how AI technology is going to shape out - whether it is just one...

Steven Kotler: Getting Younger with Age: Mindsets for Boosting Learning and Flow

OutsideVoices with Mark Bidwell

I’m very excited to welcome back Steven Kotler, who’s been a guest on this podcast a few times before, talking about some of his books such as Bold, The Rise of Superman, and The Art of Impossible. He has written 12 books in the last 12 years, and his work has been very helpful for me not only in the corporate world, but also more broadly in life. Steven’s latest book is called Gnar Country: Growing Old, Staying Rad. Gnar, which is short for gnarly, refers not only to a very hostile environment in which he learned new action and adventure sports skills at the ripe age of 55, but...

John Elkington: Green Swans, Exponentials and Super Wicked Problems

OutsideVoices with Mark Bidwell

John Elkington is an advisor on sustainable development and corporate responsibility, an area he’s been working in for almost 40 years. He is the author of 20 books on this topic, and he has given a remarkable contribution to shifting capitalism and business towards a more balanced and sustainable path. We talk about his new book called "Green Swans: The Coming Boom in Regenerative Capitalism," we also talk about wicked and super wicked problems, exponentials, why he reads Chinese science fiction books, his visit with past guest Kevin Kelley and what he's both terrified of and excited about...

Jack Weatherford: Genghis Khan's Lessons for the Modern World

OutsideVoices with Mark Bidwell

My guest today, Jack Weatherford, is an anthropologist and author of several books, including one on money, a number on indigenous cultures in North America and beyond, and a revisionist and very thought provoking history of Genghis Khan, called “Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World.” Tom Morgan, who is a successful fund manager, described this book on Jim O'Shaughnessy's podcast Infinite Loops as the best business and investing book that he'd ever read. That got me curious, so I grabbed a copy, changed my mind about almost everything I believed about Genghis Khan, and invited...

Jeff Booth: Deflation, Bitcoin and the Price of Tomorrow

OutsideVoices with Mark Bidwell

Jeff Booth has been at the forefront of technological change for over 20 years. He founded a company called BuildDirect based in Vancouver, an e-commerce platform that was on its way to being a unicorn before he dramatically and suddenly left because, as he says it, his integrity was not for sale. When I first heard this story, I could relate to the emotional toll this must have taken on him, having been through something very similar, albeit on a far smaller scale. But I was also struck by how quickly Jeff bounced back, and the impact that he has had since then, be it with companies he’s...

Dorie Clark: Playing The Long Game

OutsideVoices with Mark Bidwell

My guest this week is Dorie Clark, a consultant and keynote speaker, who teaches executive education at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and Columbia Business School, and she is the author of “The Long Game,” “Entrepreneurial You,” and “Stand Out.” A frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review, she consults and speaks for clients including Google, Microsoft, and the World Bank. Dorie’s latest book "The Long Game" caught my attention because it touches on themes such as compounding, and not in the traditional financial sense, but compounding of expertise, of...

Eric Jorgenson: Leverage, Permisionlessness and Naval’s Book of Wisdom

OutsideVoices with Mark Bidwell

Eric Jorgenson is an investor, business builder, startup growth strategist and the author of "The Almanack of Naval Ravikant". He also runs the online Leverage Course which I’m attending right now. In this conversation, we discuss both Naval Ravikant’s wisdom, why and how Eric curated it into a book that I highly recommend, as well as how the Leverage Course came about. They don't teach you this kind of material in business schools or in any executive development or leadership programs. And yet, I would have loved to have had access to this kind of material 15 or 20 years ago. I firmly...

Jim Mellon: Moo’s Law and Investing in Cellular Agriculture

OutsideVoices with Mark Bidwell

My guest Jim Mellon is an accomplished investor, entrepreneur, author and philanthropist. His most recent book called "Moo's Law" focuses on the investment opportunities in the field of cellular agriculture, which is a production of proteins and materials directly from stem cells. Jim Mellon co-founded Agronomics to invest in a portfolio of leading companies in this sector, as he is its largest investor. In this conversation, we dig into this new area, we talk about the case for change, the challenges and opportunities, some of the people, and some of the nations that are driving and...

More Episodes

James Breiding is the author of Swiss Made, a book on why Switzerland - a tiny country with few natural advantages - has become so successful in the world of banking, pharmaceuticals, machinery, and more.

James discusses innovation in Switzerland and makes the point that when an entrepreneur comes up with a new and innovative method or product, there will be resistance from those who have accepted the status quo. Entrepreneurs as well as intrapreneurs need to have thick skin if they wish to disrupt the market.

What is Covered:

03:55 - Why did James write the book, Swiss Made?
05:30 - This book is now used by Swiss diplomats, although it was not originally intended to be that way.
07:20 - What are some of the factors that have contributed to Switzerland's economic strength?
09:55 - Switzerland and other small countries tend to be more modest. James explains further.
11:25 - The average age of an S&P 500 company is 15 years.
14:10 - As James investigated further into the longevity of Swiss companies, was there a particular story that surprised him?
15:10 - About 11% of Swiss citizens live overseas.
19:30 - James discusses Swatch's story.
20:40 - Nobody has been able to replicate the Swatch.
24:40 - Apple isn't the only company who was able to create absolute raving fans over their products.
24:55 - Nestle's senior management was completely against the idea of Espresso.
26:35 - People underestimate how costly innovation is. You need to have a high tolerance for failure.
27:05 - We see the successes, but we very rarely see the failed attempts that don't make the history books.
29:15 - Successful founders like Steve Jobs tend not to be people you want to have a beer with.
29:45 - Innovators will get resistance from people who are used to doing things the tried and true way.
31:10 - Why do multinationals love Switzerland?
34:50 - Is there a connection between the success of small companies being located in countries with conscription?
38:05 - How does James think about innovation and does he adapt his investment approach when dealing with an innovative company?
42:50 - What are James's morning rituals?
44:00 - What has James changed his mind about recently?
45:30 - What advice does James have for his 25-year-old self?
50:55 - Look out for James's new book, Too Small to Fail, set to be released in 2017.

Links and Resources Mentioned In This Episode:

Swiss Made: The Untold Story Behind Switzerland‘s Success by James Breiding
Swiss Made Foundation
Connect with James Breiding on LinkedIn and Twitter
Naissance Capital

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