From Airwaves to Pages to Practice

McKinney's podcast "Killer Innovations" started as field notes—a way to document what he was learning about the innovation process in real-time. Eight years and hundreds of episodes later, these insights crystallized into his book "Beyond The Obvious: Killer Questions That Spark Game-Changing Innovation," challenging readers to break free from assumption-driven thinking.

Now, twenty years after that first podcast episode, the conversation continues—but the medium has expanded. The Innovators Studio transforms these principles from concepts to be consumed into practices to be lived.

Retirement That Wasn't

After announcing his retirement as CTO of HP, McKinney planned to step away from corporate innovation leadership. That lasted until industry leaders convinced him to take the helm as CEO of CableLabs—one of the world's leading industry-funded R&D and innovation laboratories. There, he further refined his approach to creating environments where innovation thrives not by accident, but by design.

Questions and Quiet Spaces

When not in the studio, McKinney can be found working on his ranch in Northern Colorado. The rhythm of rural life—problem-solving with limited resources and adapting to nature's unpredictability—continues to inform his perspective on innovation. There's something about open spaces that makes room for better questions.

He believes everyone has the capacity to innovate. His role isn't to give answers but to help others find the questions that unlock their unique creative potential.