In the race to innovate, speed is often the metric that gets the most attention. Teams sprint toward launch dates. Leaders push for faster tests, faster feedback, faster everything. But what if speed isn’t what actually sets breakthrough innovators apart?
What if the real edge lies in something messier and more human: connection?
That’s the argument Julian Boxenbaum makes in Episode 10 of Faces of Innovation. A designer, strategist, and educator whose work spans startups, academia, and Fortune 500s, Julian has spent years navigating the real-world dynamics that determine whether a bold idea ever sees daylight. His core belief: the innovators who win don’t just move fast. They move meaningfully—by understanding the relationships between people, systems, tools, and value. Curious? You should be. Here’s why connection is the edge nobody’s talking about (yet).
THE HIDDEN COST OF MOVING TOO FAST
Speed is seductive. In startups, it's a survival mechanism. In corporates, it's a performance target. But speed without clarity often leads to premature execution on ideas that are only half-formed, solving problems no one truly cares about.
As Julian puts it:
“You can create a great solution to a problem that people don’t care about. And that’s what a lot of failed products do.”
When teams fixate on speed alone, they risk bypassing the deep, cross-functional conversations that build shared understanding. They skip the slow work of probing the problem. They forget to map the connections that bring a concept to life in-market, from supply chains and technical feasibility to emotional resonance and brand fit.
STARTUPS VS. CORPORATES: WHAT CONNECTION ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE
Startups tend to be better wired for this kind of connection. Not because they have better tools, but because their survival depends on aligning every part of the business around a clear, high-stakes goal.
- Founders don’t just build; they sell, pitch, test, and pivot.
- Teams aren’t siloed; roles blur, and knowledge circulates fast.
- Strategy is shaped by urgency and lived feedback, not just quarterly reviews.
Corporates, on the other hand, are often built for preservation. Julian doesn’t sugarcoat it: big companies move like the Titanic. The systems, incentives, and structures are all designed to avoid risk, not chase opportunity. They’re built for defense, trying not to lose, instead of offense. That’s why you rarely see real innovation coming from inside a Fortune 500. The real breakthroughs are more likely to come from a scrappy startup (where hunger and risk are survival tools) or from outsiders who can bridge gaps between worlds.
The pitfalls for corporates:
- Innovation often gets stuck in “sandboxes” that don’t actually integrate with the rest of the business.
- Real risk-taking is rare until it’s too late until a crisis hits.
- Decisions get made by looking backward at costs, not forward at new value.
CONNECTION AS COMPETITIVE STRATEGY
Julian calls himself a "connection designer" because he sees innovation as the process of linking the right people to the right needs in the right moment. Whether it’s collaborating across disciplines, mapping startup partnerships, or challenging siloed academic models, his work always returns to the same principle: connection is what drives relevance and resilience.
For corporate innovation leaders, this means:
- Designing teams that think beyond function and title
- Building processes that reward learning and lateral thinking
- Measuring progress not just by speed, but by depth of insight and clarity of value
WHAT REALLY HOLDS PEOPLE BACK: HOW WE TEACH AND THINK
A big issue, Julian says, starts in the classroom. Too many educational systems teach what to think, not how to think. Standardized testing rewards picking the “right” answer from four choices, not defining the real problem, challenging assumptions, or thinking sideways. As a result, most students and young professionals enter the world unprepared to innovate, collaborate, or connect ideas across fields.
He shares a telling classroom moment: when he asked engineering students about AI, they couldn’t imagine anything more disruptive than “easier web searches.” The ability to think critically to see connections and value where others can’t, is at risk of being lost.
THE BIG TAKEAWAY: CONNECTION OVER SPEED
Yes, technology has democratized the tools of innovation. Anyone can now reach a market or launch an idea. But that means the signal-to-noise ratio is lower, and finding true value takes more than speed. It takes the human skill of seeing what connects—across industries, roles, or even generations.
“Technology has no intrinsic value. Zero. All the value is in the application. And value is a human construct, it doesn’t exist outside of people,” Julian says.
SO WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT IT?
Start by asking harder questions about how your team works:
- Who else needs to be in the room earlier?
- Are we solving the right problem, or the most visible one?
- What connections (between teams, data, consumers, or tech) are we missing?
Once you see the gaps, shift how you hire and build teams. Don’t just look for quick executors. Go after people who can connect the dots - those who ask the questions no one else is asking and see patterns others overlook. This is the kind of thinking Bamboo Crowd is built around. We don’t just send you the first candidates with the right job titles. We hunt for:
- People who bridge disciplines, not just fill a role and clock out
- Problem definers, not just problem solvers
- Talent that values how to think over just knowing what to do
READY TO BUILD TEAMS THAT SPOT CONNECTIONS, NOT JUST TICK BOXES? FILL OUT THE FORM BELOW.
If your innovation team is stuck chasing speed without traction, maybe it’s time to rethink what you’re really optimizing for. Fill out the form below and let’s talk about how Bamboo Crowd can help you find the kind of talent that actually moves things forward. We’ll help you find the connectors and big-picture thinkers who can finally give your innovation efforts some real momentum.
.webp)
