Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg is the author of What’s Your Problem? (Harvard Business Press, 2020), a book on how to solve the right problems. He is also the co-author (with Paddy Miller) of Innovation as Usual, a Harvard Business Review Press book on the art of driving innovation in regular organizations.
Thomas has worked with managers in nearly all parts of the globe, including China, India, Russia, Singapore, Britain, France and his native country, Denmark. His research has been featured in Harvard Business Review, The Economist, The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, BBC Radio, Bloomberg Businessweek and the Financial Times. His work on innovation led HR Magazine to recognize him as a “Top 20 International Thinker”.
As an executive advisor and keynote speaker, Thomas has addressed organizations such as Cisco, Microsoft, Citigroup, Time Warner, AbbVie, Caterpillar, Amgen, Prudential, Union Pacific, Credit Suisse, Deloitte, the Wall Street Journal, and the United Nations.
Thomas holds an MA in Media Science from the University of Copenhagen and an MBA from IESE Business School. Prior to his business career, Thomas served for four years as an officer with the Danish Royal Guards.
Selected publications
Full list
- “Are You Solving the Right Problems?“, article in The Economist, October 2020
- “What’s Your Problem? To Solve Your Toughest Problems, Change the Problems you Solve“, Harvard Business Review Press, March 2020.
- “Are you Solving the Right Problems?“, article in Harvard Business Review, Jan/Feb 2017 issue.
- “The Secret to Better Problem Solving“, HBR Ideacast with Sarah Green Carmichael, December 2016.
- “Video: Are You Solving the Right Problems?“, HBR Facebook Live video, December 2016.
- “How to Bring Innovation to Life“, interview with David Burkus, October 2016.
- “Is the Customer Always Right?“, article in Business of Fashion by Kate Abnett, September 2016.
- “What’s in a wine store?“, article in Dialogue, June 2016. (Print version here).
- “Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg: Innovation as Usual” Interview in St. Gallen Business Review, March 2016.
- “Startup as a Service: The Prehype Model“, case study, IESE Business Publishing, February 2016.
- “To find ideas, seek new worlds” (in Danish), article in Kommunen, February 2016. Coauthored with Rikke Berg.
- “What is your philosophy of innovation?” (in Danish), Berlingske Business, November 2015
- “The 10 Best Books on Innovation“, The Observer, November 2015
- “Harvard’s seal of approval” (in Danish), interview with Vibe Hyltoft in Berlingske Business, October 2015
- “Crowdsourcing inside your company“, HBR video interview, July 2015
- “Gonzo innovation and Tinder for dogs” (in Danish), F5 Magazine, August 2015
- “When storytelling and sci-fi sells the message” (in Danish), interview with F5 Magazine, August 2015
- “How to make ideas happen in a big company“, Prehype podcast, May 2015 (abstract here)
- “Over there” (in Danish), radio interview with Christiane Vejlø from Elektronista, May 2015
- “The Danish Harvard Author”, portrait in Berlingske Tidende, April 2015.
- “Feature: Samsung’s European innovation Team”, featured case on the Case Centre, April 2015
- “From innovation to bottom-line value“, interview in Eksportmagasinet, Marts 2015
- “What It Really Means to Be a Chief Innovation Officer“, Harvard Business Review, December 2014
- “Get more actionable ideas from your employees“, Harvard Business Review, November 2014
- “Top 20 International Thinkers“, HR Magazine UK, September 2014
- “Samsung: How much innovation risk to take?“, IESE Insight case forum, September 2014
- “Innovation navigation”, interview on Wharton Business Radio, hosted by Prof. David Robertson, September 2014
- “Companies and innovation” (audio file), BBC radio interview by Peter Day, June 2014.
- “The invention of the rolling suitcase“, HBR video interview, June 2014
- “4 ways to fix the Q&A session“, blog on Harvard Business Review, August 2014
- “Architekci innowacyjności“, Polish edition of “Innovation as Usual”, 2014
- Deloitte coverage of Wedell-Wedellsborg’s book tour in Warsaw, June 2014
- “Wheels on suitcases change the world” (in Polish), feature in Sukces Magazine by Karolina Kowalska, June 2014
- “You do not have to be Steve Jobs“, interview in Gazeta Wyborcza (Poland) by Katarzyna Zachariasz, June 2014.
- “Architekt innowacyjności – kim jest?” (in Polish), article on NF.pl, May 2014
- “Leaders need to get better at directing innovation“, article in HR Magazine by Katie Jacobs, May 2014
- “Turn your office into a creative space“, HBR video interview, May 2014
- “Focus trumphs freedom in innovation“, HBR video interview, May 2014
- “The Case for Corporate Disobedience“, blog on Harvard Business Review, May 2014.
- “How Samsung Gets Innovations to Market“, blog on Harvard Business Review, May 2014.
- “Use social proof to change behavior“, HBR video interview, April 2014
- “Samsung’s European innovation team: Fueling consumer-driven growth“, case study, IESE Business School, March 2014 (7 EUR purchase).
- “Innovation: Behøver det være så svært“, (Danish) interview on Dansk Magisterforening’s Fagligt Forum, by Anna Dalsgaard, February 2014
- “Top 10 Best Business Books of 2013“, Newstalk Bookbuzz Ireland, December 2013
- “Making innovation simply part of your firm“, article on Forbes.com by Karl Moore, Forbes, September 2013
- “Innovators and their leaders“, 5-star book review in HR Magazine, 2013
- “The 10 best leadership books of 2013” (as no. 7), Berlingske Tidende, December 2013
- “Top 10 business bestseller list“, Børsen, April 2013
- “A Focused Company Culture Equates to Growth“, interview by Sadie-Jane Nuniz in Today’s Manager, Issue 4, 2013
- “Innovation: Just Do It“, article in HR Magazine, July 2013
- Book review in The Big Issue, August 2013
- Book review on Newstalk Bookbuzz (podcast), by Alan Jordan and Ian Guider, November 2013
- “Make Innovation Business as Usual” (Danish), interview by Annemette Schultz Jørgensen, Ledelse i Dag, no. 10, 2013
- Book review in Today’s Manager by Sadie-Jane Nunez, Singapore, Fall 2013
- “Eureka! How to inject innovation into business as usual“, interview by Anis Qizilbash, The Development Post, September 2013
- “Escape from Brainstorm Island“, video interview by Sarah Green, Harvard Business Review video, May 2013
- “Innovation as Usual: Not that usual” (in Danish): Interview and book review in The Leaders’ Magazine, page 66, June 2013
- “The Case for Stealth Innovation“, Harvard Business Review, March 2013. Also available in Danish via Berlingske Business. Also translated to Chinese, Italian, Hebrew, Turkish and Taiwanese
- Book review in Entre Magazine (Swedish), Esbri, 2013
- “How to help your people bring great ideas to life“, article in SME Magazine Singapore, July 2013
- “Be understated or be the underdog“, interview by Frank Dillon, The Irish Times, May 2013
- Book review in Berlingske Business (in Danish), 5 stars by Henrik Ørholdt, May 2013
- “Expert interview: Innovation as Usual“, podcast with Rachel Salaman at Mindtools, June 2013
- “What is innovation?“, podcast with Anna Farmery of The Engaging Brand, May 2013
- “Pfizer’s New Ideas, Ron Johnson’s Disaster“, video interview by Gregg Greenberg at TheStreet.com, March 2013
- “Stealthstorming: How to Navigate the Politics of Innovation“, article on Forbes.com, April 2013
- “Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg: Innovation as Usual“, Article by Nick Smith, E&T Magazine, April 2013
- “The Roundup: Sparking Innovation and More“, Bloomberg Businessweek, March 2013.
- “Innovation in the office: A Six Step guide“, six-part video interview with The Telegraph, March 2013
- “You don’t have to be Steve Jobs“, The Sunday Times article by Hannah Prevett, March 2013
- TV interview with TV2 Finans, March 21, 2013
- “Stealthstorm your next idea” (in Danish), article on Kommunikationsforum, April 2013
- “Innovation is a hands-on affair” (in Danish), Interview in Initiativ by Janus Sandsgaard, Danish Chamber of Commerce, April 2013
- “Innovation as Usual: How to Help Your People Bring Great Ideas to Life“, Harvard Business Review Press, March 2013
- “Clearing the Path to Innovation: How to be an Innovation Architect“. Article in IESE Insight No. 16, March 2013. Also available in Spanish.
- “Sowing the seeds of business creativity”. Article in IESE Alumni Magazine, July-September 2013. Also available in Spanish.
- “How a Snob Stopped Scurvy“, Article in IESE Insight No. 14, September 2012. Also in Spanish translation: “Y la ‘política’ venció al escorbuto“
- “Collisions with Reality”, article in The Conference Board, Spring 2013.
- “FT case study: How to innovate from the bottom up“, article in Financial Times, May 2011.
- “Living architecture: The furtive cities of Burning Man” (in Danish), article in Louisiana Art Magazine, Mar 2011.
- “Six ways to fail at innovation” (PDF), article in Critical Eye, Dec 2010.
- “Where ideas really come from” (PDF), article in IESE Alumni Magazine no. 116, Jan-Mar 2010. Also available in Spanish (full magazine).
- “Jordan Cohen at pfizerWorks: Building the Office of the Future“, IESE Business School case study (2009)
- “Leading Innovation: Four Dangerous Myths“, article in MWorld (American Management Association, 2009).
- “Setting the Standard: Two generations of wireless telecoms“, case study, IESE Business School (2009). Co-authored with Luis Cabral
- “No Limits at work in Abbott France”, case study, IESE Business School (2008). Co-authored with Paddy Miller
- “Trendsetters in Private Networks” (PDF), article about 13 MBAs in Børsen (2008, in Danish)
- “How the Semmelweis Reflex prevents us from knowing our customers” (PDF), article, The Edge (2008)
- “Changing the Culture at Abbott Denmark”, case study, IESE Business School (2007). Co-authored with Paddy Miller
- “TV Formats: Recycling That Works“, interview by Christina Johansen, Samson 2012
- “The Market for Television Formats”, Master’s thesis (2006).
- “Markedet for TV-formater” (PDF), scientific paper, MedieKultur no. 39 (2005).
- “Storytelling as a management tool“, Bachelor’s thesis (2002).
- “Ingen god politik uden spindoctors“, article, Kommunikationsforum (2002)
- “Historiefortælling for 17.000 medarbejdere – og for 35“, article in Kommunikatøren, Dansk Kommunikationsforening (2002)
- “Nyhederne og fremtiden”, interview with Stig Hjarvard, Samson (2002).
- “Reklamespots i TV-avisen“, article, Samson (1999)
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Photo credit: Gregers Heering
Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg 
