Beyond the Hype: The Real Impact of AI in Business - With Bob Cooper

In this episode of the CX Iconoclast podcast, host Richard sits down with Bob Cooper, a leading expert in AI and business strategy, to explore the true impact of AI across various industries. Bob and Richard note the contrast between the highly visible, consumer-facing AI applications, such as robo taxis and smart devices, and the less glamorous but profoundly impactful uses of AI in engineering, product development, and back-office automation. Bob shares real-world examples from industries like pharmaceuticals and chemicals, where AI is being used to discover new molecules and drive innovation, highlighting the quiet yet transformative power of AI in these sectors.

The discussion also touches on the trend of "AI washing," where everyday products are labeled as AI-enabled for marketing purposes, often without any real technological innovation. Despite this, Bob remains optimistic about the future of AI in business, noting that while challenges exist, the potential benefits are significant for companies that implement AI correctly. He underscores the importance of learning from early adopters, avoiding common pitfalls, and applying best practices to ensure successful AI integration. The episode concludes with practical insights for businesses looking to harness AI's power effectively, making it a must-listen for anyone interested in the future of AI in the enterprise.

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Dr. Robert G. Cooper is ISBM Distinguished Research Fellow at Pennsylvania State University’s Smeal College of Business Administration, Professor Emeritus at McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business (Canada), and a Crawford Fellow of the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA). 

Bob is the creator of the popular Stage-Gate® process model,  now the most popular idea-to-launch NPD process globally (for physical product firms). He also developed Stage-Gate-TD for internal technology projects, and co-developed the Agile-Stage-Gate process. In terms of project selection models, Cooper developed the original NewProd™ scoring model and the Value-Based Model for NPD projects.

 More recently Bob has been heavily engaged in research in to the field of AI adoption for NPD by firms in the USA and Germany, and its impact on NPD performance. He has published seven articles on AI in NPD in peer-reviewed journals in 2023-2024.

Over his career, Bob has published 12 books – including the “bible for NPD”, Winning at New Products, and more than 160 articles on the management of new products, most in refereed journals. He is noted as being the #2 cited Marketing Professor globally, after Dr. Phil Kotler, by Resarch.com. He has won the IRI’s (Innovation Research Interchange) prestigious Maurice Holland Award three times for “best article of the year”. Bob has also helped hundreds of firms over the years implement best practices in product innovation, including companies such as 3M, BASF, Bosche, Danfoss, Dow Chem, DuPont, ExxonMobil, Glaxo-Smith-Kleine, Guinness, HP, ITT Industries, LEGO, and P&G.

Cooper holds Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Chemical Engineering from McGill University in Canada; and a PhD in Business and an MBA from Western University, Canada. Website: www.bobcooper.ca 

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