#19 - Why Innovation Fails: The Hidden Identity Cost of Change w/ Federico Malatesta
The Corporate Venturing Podcast
<p>In this episode, I’m joined by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/federicomalatesta/" rel="nofollow"><strong>Federico Malatesta</strong></a>, executive transformational coach and author, who works at the intersection of leadership, identity, and organizational change. Federico helps senior leaders navigate moments when the old story no longer works — and a new one is trying to emerge.</p>
<p>This is not an episode about CVC, venture building frameworks, or innovation toolkits.</p>
<p>It’s about the <strong>uncomfortable reason why innovation and transformation fail even when the strategy is sound</strong>: <strong>leaders underestimate the identity cost of change. </strong></p>
<p>We explore innovation not as a portfolio problem, but as a psychological, political, and narrative one — and why new ventures often trigger resistance deep inside the organization long before they fail in the market.</p>
<p>Together, we strip innovation down to its human core: how the brain resists novelty, how companies operate on implicit stories, and why middle management becomes the immune system that attacks anything that threatens the status quo.</p>
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<p>In this episode, Federico shares insights on:</p>
<p><strong>🧠 Why the brain is wired to resist innovation</strong></p>
<p><strong>🧩 Innovation as identity transformation, not an additive initiative</strong></p>
<p><strong>🧬 “Narrative antibodies” and how organizations kill new ventures</strong></p>
<p><strong>🏛️ The hidden political and reputation risks leaders face when sponsoring innovation</strong></p>
<p><strong>📉 Why innovation doesn’t fail on ideas or execution — but on identity</strong></p>
<p><strong>🧭 Coaching leaders through identity transition, not just strategy change</strong></p>
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<p>We close the episode by reframing innovation leadership as contextual intelligence — the ability to read shifting power, incentives, and stories — and why storytelling without operational clarity is one of the fastest ways to lose credibility inside a large organization.</p>
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<p><strong>Resources:</strong></p>
<p>• <a href="https://openroadventuress.substack.com/" rel="nofollow">Open Road Ventures Newsletter</a></p>
<p>• <a href="https://www.federicomalatesta.com/" rel="nofollow">Federico Malatesta Website</a></p>
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