Mark Bonchek

Founder and Chief Catalyst of thinkORBIT

Mark Bonchek is the founder and Chief Catalyst of thinkORBIT, a designer of digital business strategies that pull employees, customers and partners into orbit around a brand. Mark has been a pioneer and guide to the digital revolution since receiving Harvard University’s first doctorate on digital media and social networks in 1997. Mark has launched new businesses and advised global leaders for such organizations as McKinsey & Company, The Economist, IBM, and the American Heart Association. He is a regular columnist for Harvard Business Review and was recently named to the Agenda Digital 50. Mark is also the founder of the ORBIT Club for 21st Century Explorers and the SHIFT Academy, updating mental models for a digital age.

On the show, Mark Bonchek discussed the importance of principles in innovation, instead of processes. In order to innovate, a company needs to develop a shared purpose and platform, a narrative or story for who you are and what your future is,and data collection and leverage. These are sources of attraction to generate pull. According to Bonchek, “innovation managers can learn from flocks of birds.” Some flocks have no leaders, yet are incredibly coordinated. They follow these rules: move to the center, follow your neighbor, and dont bump into your neighbor or a threat.