Oct 13, 2026 · 23 min · 13 segments
Natalie Johnson is Co-Founder & Chief Visionary Officer of Vidl Work where she is leading business development, strategy, innovation, and thought leadership while also working directly with clients…
Natalie JohnsonGuest
Mike PetruskyHost
Hey, the other thing I like to do before we get into the topic deeply is learn a little bit more about what inspires you in the way of quotes.
Um, you hear the quote out there in the world from many people all the time that your people at work are your most valuable assets, and while that's true, and we believe that that is true, we actually believe, and it's one of the reasons that it... it's one of the things that inspired our book, that it's not just people that are your most gra- valuable assets, it's the relationships between people that are your most-
That's what I love talking about here, and inspiring my audience to really focus on what can they do to move the needle in helping their teams work better together, collaborate, you know, cooperate, and understand and empathize with each other because people are people, as Depeche Mode told us back in the '80s.
You know what I'm saying, Natalie? Hey, um, one last question about the title of this show, the Workplace Innovator Podcast.
I always ask my guests what do they think of when they hear they're gonna be a guest on this podcast.
Mike, I think it's actually pretty common sense, it's just not common practice.
When I think about innovation, it really requires that people are leaning into, um, all the values and all the strengths that a team can bring, and I think what makes innovation difficult isn't our inability to do it, it's all the other things at work that get in the way.
And so when we're working at a pace that many of us are today, where we're f- working very pa- very, very fast-paced, moving from one thing to the next, to the next, to the next, there's deadlines, there's schedules, we are pushed naturally, physiologically and neurologically, to just move quickly.
It takes an intentional connection and seeking to understand other people, which requires more time and more energy.
And so when I think about innovation, I think about, yes, we all want innovation.
We all recognize there's a value in connecting to each other, and yet we live in this world where the conditions at work are not easy to make it happen.
And so that's really what comes up for me is, well, innovation is the thing, this thing we all know.
Hey, the other thing I like to do before we get into the topic deeply is learn a little bit more about what inspires you in the way of quotes.
Um, you hear the quote out there in the world from many people all the time that your people at work are your most valuable assets, and while that's true, and we believe that that is true, we actually believe, and it's one of the reasons that it... it's one of the things that inspired our book, that it's not just people that are your most gra- valuable assets, it's the relationships between people that are your most-
That's what I love talking about here, and inspiring my audience to really focus on what can they do to move the needle in helping their teams work better together, collaborate, you know, cooperate, and understand and empathize with each other because people are people, as Depeche Mode told us back in the '80s.
You know what I'm saying, Natalie? Hey, um, one last question about the title of this show, the Workplace Innovator Podcast.
I always ask my guests what do they think of when they hear they're gonna be a guest on this podcast.
Mike, I think it's actually pretty common sense, it's just not common practice.
When I think about innovation, it really requires that people are leaning into, um, all the values and all the strengths that a team can bring, and I think what makes innovation difficult isn't our inability to do it, it's all the other things at work that get in the way.
And so when we're working at a pace that many of us are today, where we're f- working very pa- very, very fast-paced, moving from one thing to the next, to the next, to the next, there's deadlines, there's schedules, we are pushed naturally, physiologically and neurologically, to just move quickly.
It takes an intentional connection and seeking to understand other people, which requires more time and more energy.
And so when I think about innovation, I think about, yes, we all want innovation.
We all recognize there's a value in connecting to each other, and yet we live in this world where the conditions at work are not easy to make it happen.
And so that's really what comes up for me is, well, innovation is the thing, this thing we all know.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.
