Katherine Radeka

Business leader, Consultant, Entrepreneur, Global soul, Idea generator, World traveler

I’m the author of four books on innovation and the developer of the Rapid Learning Cycles framework for innovation. This framework is accelerating innovation on every continent except Antarctica. I have a long track record of accelerating the development of physical products like printers, washing machines, coffee makers, forklifts and mowers. I’ve helped biotech, medical device, pharma and aerospace adapt the framework to fit their industries. Today, my methods are accelerating solar, hydrogen and nuclear energy systems, and helping consumer product companies deliver more sustainable products.

Accelerating our progress towards Net Zero carbon emissions by helping the scientists and engineers make the most of every minute, every dollar, and every bit of carbon they use so that their climate solutions start making a difference faster. I know how to accelerate innovation — and climate tech needs all the acceleration it can get.

In the race to net zero carbon, every year matters. We cannot afford to waste time, energy or resources on solutions that fail in execution or cannot scale. We need to “fail fast” with some ideas to accelerate others, and set up development programs for success in the execution phases by helping them make good decisions in the early phases. Many innovation and product development programs encounter unexpected problems, cost overruns, and delays when things don’t work out as expected. They disappoint investors, customers and community stakeholders. This is viewed as the necessary cost that comes with proving out innovative ideas. But what if we could prevent many of those problems by finding them and eliminating them earlier in development? When innovation teams eliminate the root causes of these obstacles at their source, they deliver the right product to market faster. They get from idea to launch faster, they scale faster and they start making a difference faster. They change the world faster.

climate tech, engineering, innovation, product development

Like others, I'd watched TED talks but didn't get involved myself until Countdown was launched in 2020. I did a virtual event that year which had good attendance, and I was proud that we got exposure for a couple of people with great big ideas to share. In 2023, I organized TEDxLacamas Lake Countdown, which grew into a full day event with 16 speakers from around the Pacific Northwest.

Organizing events :-) and helping speakers sharpen their ideas. Also knitting in traditional styles from places like Estonia, Norway, Iceland and Ireland.