EP  10 —  Paragon's Grant Anderson on Building Teams that Make Innovation in the DIB a Regular Process

On this week's episode of the DIB Innovators podcast, David talks with Grant Anderson, President, CEO, and Co-Founder of Paragon Space Development Corporation. They discuss why Paragon Space Development Corporation does not use PowerPoint and how Paragon Space Development Corporation's flagship products have contributed to the defense space. 

Grant also shares his approach to leadership and some advice on building an innovative team. He also talks about how Paragon Space Development Corporation stays up to date with industry standards and continues to drive innovation.

Topics discussed:

• Grant's journey from being the controller of an aviation company to working with Lockheed Martin to starting Paragon Space Development Corporation.
• How Paragon refuses to use PowerPoint, which sets them apart from other organizations in the best way. 
• Paragon's flagship products and their contributions to the defense space.
• Grant's approach to leadership and his advice on building a team that makes innovation a regular process.
• Why Paragon has avoided organizing itself based on team functions, instead opting for a process-based, collaborative approach.
• How Paragon stays ahead with industry changes and continues to drive innovation in response.

Guest Quotes: 

“That's where the little bit of incentive to do women-owned business and stuff helped us. And as Lockheed put it, we tried five companies out, and you were one of the two that really performed like we wouldn't believe.”

“Frankly, running the calculations with all the computers we have nowadays, that's the easy part. It's making sure we all agree on the assumptions on which those calculations are based. That's where the real work happens.” 

“The part about that whole thing is a process that gets lost. And what I think Paragon has done is we've almost made a process of being innovative.” 

Get in touch with Grant Anderson:  

LinkedIn 

Twitter 

Website 

Get in touch with your host, David Graff: 

LinkedIn 

Listen to more episodes: 

Apple 

Spotify