Two events at one. I spoke at dinner for over 300 senior manufacturing executives – and was seated beside the ex-CEO of Porsche. The next morning, an opening keynote for 3,000 manufacturing engineers. Both talks covered the massive trends impacting the sector and providing unparalleled opportunity, including 3D printing, robots and ‘cobots,’ new materials, intelligent product capabilities, rapid prototyping and iterative design.
Archives for September 2011
Keynote: National Recreation and Parks Association: The Future of Recreation.
I was the opening keynote speaker for their annual conference in Salt Lake City, with an audience of over 4,000 sports, recreation and municipal professionals. My keynote took a look at a variety of trends that would shape the future of recreation, sports, local municipal infrastructure and more including : interactive sports technology, the impact of social media on wellness and lifestyle; smart cities and more.
10 More Great Words for Innovation!
The “10 Great Words” page on my Web site is one of the most consistently visited and shared pages on my entire site.
I think that people find the words to be powerful and inspirational, and help to set a good mindset for innovative thinking.
Words are very powerful motivators. I was dealing with a client situation this morning revolving around an upcoming keynote, and during the conference call, jotted down a number of additional words which I think can be powerful motivators.
Words which provide simple insight and motivation are great.
Here’s 10 more to get you thinking about fast change:
- Adapt: Change is happening faster than ever before. Accept that, adapt to it, and go with the flow. It makes everything a lot easier.
- Flex : In times of rapid change, agility is a critical skill. Develop flexibility in attitude, skills and capability in order to thrive.
- Experience: There’s a lot you don’t know. Enhance your knowledge and experience by doing all the things you’ve never done before.
- Create: Stop managing things and create things instead. Focus on doing what makes a difference, rather than trying to make a difference with what you’ve done before
- Focus: You can’t master all the knowledge there is to know, nor can you do everything you want to do. Do what you do well and do that well, and then figure out new ways of doing the rest.
- Partner: Deal with rapid change and complexity by seeking partners who can help you accomplish what needs to be done.
- Shift: Far too many people view the future with fear rather than thinking about opportunity. Shift your focus, and you’ll discover opportunities for growth.
- Imagine: Innovators don’t make a difference by redoing the status quo — they accomplish great things by being different. And they don’t constrain their difference with traditional thinking: they simply think differently.
- Start: You’ve probably been holding off on doing the one thing you always wanted to try to do. Drop your indecision now and begin doing it. Innovators succeed through momentum, and momentum comes from doing.
- Encourage: People who approach things with passion and purpose live a compelling life. Find your spark, and light it! Find other sparks around you, and you’ve got a fire that fuels enthusiasm!
In a perilous economy, innovation is critical!
This article was released in my CAMagazine column in March 2009. shortly after the great economic collapse of 2008.
Given the new economic volatility, shrieking stock market headlines, and the reappearance of a sense of dread in the corporate world in September 2010, it’s probably a good time to re-read the article.
There are countless examples where history has shown us that it is those organizations who focused on ensuring that they were still actively pursuing innovation — whether through product development, the exploration of new business models, external partnerships, the pursuit of new markets and customer groups — were those who managed to achieve the greatest success in the long run.
Catch the key line at the end: “The greatest mistake any organization can make right now is to do nothing.”
Keep Those Ideas Coming
Jim Carroll, March 2009
I have started to think about the events of the past few months in the context of economic grief — an emotional process closely related to the stages of bereavement. The economy unraveled so quickly that many organizations still find themselves in the early phases of economic grief, marked by shock and denial. Corporate idea factories have come to a standstill and innovation paralysis is settling in.
The result is that we’re not just in an economic recession; we’re entering an idea recession, similar to that of the last downturn starting in 2001. Yet, in allowing innovation to dry up, businesses are missing out on great opportunities for success. After all, companies such as Burger King, Microsoft, CNN and FedEx were all started up during recessions.
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania released a provocative article in November 2008 suggesting a recession is the perfect time for disruptive innovation — that is, rewriting an industry’s business model to achieve significant growth. Think of Steve Jobs and the iPod, which he first released during a less-than-rosy economy in 2001.
So what do companies need to do to make the most of this recession? First, accept the economic reality. Those unable to move past shock, denial and anger through to acceptance will be innovation laggards and will only be ready to innovate once the market and industry recovery is underway. Unfortunately, that may be too late.
Innovation leaders, however, are prepared to keep their idea factories running (perhaps not at full tilt, but running nevertheless) in the face of uncertainty. They know there is still a place for innovative thinking despite the vast sections of the economy under stress. They know there are growth markets and opportunities for marketplace, distribution-channel and operational innovation. These leaders are aware ongoing change in consumer behaviour means there are still new ways to brand, grab customer mind share and forge unique and distinct relationships.
It is critical that organizations begin to undertake a series of bold actions that reorients them to face future challenges. These actions should include several integrated elements.
- Boost the experiential capital of the organization. Get your teams working on projects and ideas that build up their experience. For example, they might explore new methods of branding and marketing (particularly to the next generation); investigate technologies that can stream-line business processes; or work with distribution models that expand market potential.
- Identify weaknesses or areas for improvement. Consider what elements of the organization’s product line, skills or structure could benefit from specific innovation efforts. For example, are competitive threats emerging that you haven’t really thought about? What should you be doing to innovate your way around those challenges?
- Explore key opportunities through a variety of risk-oriented initiatives. If, for example, you focus on a customer-retention strategy (such as visiting every customer in the next three months to see if you are meeting their needs) can you put a stop to future revenue leakage?
The greatest mistake any organization can make right now is to do nothing. Inertia — real or implied — establishes a culture of inaction, and that can lead to another slippery slope. Today, innovation isn’t simply an option — it’s critical because it is the best way to gain traction.
Can you innovate with economic volatility? History teaches us – YES!
I’m finally back in the office full time after a very busy summer with my family.
And what do I return to? A September that seems to feature screaming headlines about a potential recession and some pretty wild economic and market volatility.
If you are thinking about how you are reacting to this fast-paced world in which we find ourselves, then here is a key question: are you going to stay focused on the future, opportunity and innovation – or are you going to allow yourself fall into the trap of aggressive indecision.
Watch this clip from a recent keynote I gave in which I challenge the audience on this very issue:
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