Ep261 Soon Yu: Why Friction Matters

MEET SOON YU: Soon Yu is an international speaker, award winning author on innovation and design and Forbes contributor who has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Entrepreneur Magazine and New York Times. His latest book, Friction, asks businesses to consider adding MORE friction for their customers and employees in order to create greater engagement, meaning, belonging, rapport, assurance, competence, and exclusivity. His book, Iconic Advantage®, challenges businesses, from Fortune 500 to venture-backed startups, to refocus their innovation priorities on building greater iconicity, and offers deeper insights on establishing timeless distinction and relevance. He regularly consults business leaders on developing meaningful Iconic Signature Elements, Iconic Brand Language (TM), Signature Moments and Signature Communication. He most recently served as the Global VP of Innovation and Officer at VF Corporation, parent organization to over 30 global apparel companies, including The North Face, Vans, Timberland, Nautica and Wrangler. While at VF, Soon created a $2 billion innovation pipeline, established 3 global innovation centers, and initiated industry-leading design best practices. Prior to this he worked at The Clorox Company and Chiquita Brands, where he won company-wide awards for best advertising, best promotion and best new product, and gained industry recognition from the Webby Award, Favorite Website Award and Dope Award. He has also been a consultant at Bain and Company, and a founder and CEO for numerous venture-backed startups (including Gazoontite, Promeo Technologies and TWRL) and was recognized as a Northern California finalist for the prestigious Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” award. He is a highly sought after speaker on innovation, design and entrepreneurship, a Forbes contributor, and teaches at Parsons School of Design and often guest lectures at Stanford University (where he received his MBA and is active with the GSB Asian Alumni Association).CONTACT: https://www.soonyu.com/SUPPORT THE SHOW BECAUSE I LOVE PUPPIES!  Talia di Napoli – PIZZA Click on the title for $6.00 off your order of AMAZING pizza shipped fresh from NapoliBUY MY BOOK BECAUSE IT’S AMAZING!!! BE LEFT BEHIND: Discover Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Before Your Grandma Beats You to It yuricataldo.com CREDITS: Our theme music is written and mixed by Chicago-based composer, engineer, and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Black of the Black’s Backbone collaborative. And produced by REB Records. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy