# From the Stage: The Most Innovative Industries Aren’t the Usual Suspects
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From the stage Speaking to Genentech, I was asked where I see the most innovation. My answer surprised people. Not just Silicon Valley, but farming and trucking. In precision agriculture, a square yard of crop throws off data; a combine is linked to GPS and a back-end database. In trucking: "the typical truck cabin today contains more technology than a typical Cessna airplane." "So a lot of industries out there and some of the ones that I think are the most innovative are not the ones that you think are the usual suspects." Why it matters We tend to assume innovation lives in tech companies and startups. In reality, some of the fastest adopters are the industries that quietly have to get better every year: farmers chasing yield, truckers chasing uptime. Their attitude is the lesson: open to science, open to new ideas, and practical about results. The takeaway Look outside your industry for innovation ideas, especially in "unexpected" sectors. Ask what a farmer or a trucker would do with your data. Never assume your industry is too traditional to change. Related: Case Study: Genentech: Personalized Medicine Is Moving From Possibility To Platform. · Event Highlight: Genentech, San Francisco : The Acceleration of Personalized Medicine in the Era of Exponential Genomics · Earlier: Daily Inspiration: 24 Strategies for 2024 #16 - "Fail at fewer first impression failures" (2023) · Earlier: Daily Inspiration: AI in Agriculture - "The future belongs to those who dare to go there!" (2023) · Healthcare & Pharma From the Stage is a weekday series of short clips from more than 30 years of keynotes, and the leadership lessons that still matter.

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Source: https://jimcarroll.com/2026/11/from-the-stage-the-most-innovative-industries-arent-the-usual-suspects/