I met Aleksandro Grabulov almost a decade ago, when he invited me to speak to the global innovation team at Philips in Amsterdam. Back then, Philips was at a turning point. Shortly after I spoke to the group, they divested a number of their consumer appliance divisions, to focus on opportunities in data-driven health tech and connected devices. Grabulov now leads Philips digital and connected products teams in the US, and was responsible for ground-breaking work around their connected toothbrush product line. We spoke about the future of health tech in the algorithmic age, and what it takes to unleash the forces of disruptive innovation, in the context of traditional organizations.

When Roy walked into my apartment in Hong Kong. it felt like I was about to get a spirited lesson from the blind sensei Stick, from the comic series Daredevil. I had grown up watching Roy as a kid, playing characters in the Bruce Lee and Jackie Chain Kung Fu movies I loved. Since retiring from film, Roy has gone on to become a global expert in creativity and innovation, founding Innovea, a company specializing in high performance and well-being for both business and education sectors. Roy also teaches as an assistant professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s School of Design where he focuses on creative and higher order thinking as both a teacher and researcher. In this podcast episode, we shared a fascinating discussion on the power of meditation and mindfulness, and its links to creativity and break-through thinking.

Author of ‘The Inner Gym’, Light Watkins is a renowned expert in Vedic meditation who has personally coached over 2,000 people, from bankers and artists, to comedians and rockstars. He recently founded The Shine, a community event centered around inspiration in Los Angeles. At TEDxVeniceBeach last year, Light gave a popular talk on ‘Debunking the 5 Most Common Meditation Myths’. We caught up in West Hollywood for breakfast where we chatted about why mindfulness has become such a hot issue for 21st century companies, and the connection between meditation and the adaptive mindset that leaders need to survive in this time of complexity and constant change.