Held in Washington, DC, it’s one of the world’s most prestigious health care events.
Jim spoke about the long term trends that will provide for transformative change in the world of health care
“Those are people who died” – the “other” Jim Carroll, dies at 60
Almost fifteen years ago, when I first got onto the speaking circuit, I registered the JimCarroll.com domain name. Often, that drew me many visitors looking for the “other” Jim Carroll.
Sadly, that other Jim Carroll is no longer with us.
Jim Carroll, poet, punk rocker, Pulitzer Prize winner, and best known as author of the Basketball Diaries, died of a heart attack in New York at the age of 60.
When I was in my 20’s, I bought all his albums, and several of his books. I was a fan. I am sad to see him go. I did meet him in person once.
For more information on Jim Carroll, visit the CatholicBoy.Com Web site, which has been meticulously maintained by a fan through the years.
Jim Carroll, futurist, trends & innovation expert
Speeding into recovery – what’s up for the fall of 2009?
Summer’s over, and things are happening fast!
I’m off tomorrow, to deliver the closing keynote for the 2009 Missouri Governor’s Economic Development Conference in St. Louis.
After that, I’ll be spending time with executives at such organizations as Microsoft, General Dynamics, Oracle, the National Recreation and Parks Association, and many others, all around the theme of “innovating into the recovery.”
One group has used this description for an upcoming keynote:
What Comes Next: And What Should We Do About It?
Is there a future out there? Definitely yes, but a constant drumbeat of negative news can cause people to lose sight of what will happen as we return to a period of economic growth. That’s where Jim Carroll comes in — this noted international futurist, trends & innovation expert spends his time with globally innovative leaders. He’s gained keen insight into some of the key trends which will impact industries, organizations and careers in the next few years to come, in a wide variety of industries from health care, to technology and manufacturing, to the skilled trades. Jim is a passionate believer that we live in transformative times — and in five or ten years, will look back at this time with awe at the new industries, products, careers, and opportunities that were developed.
Jim Carroll will challenge you to focus on the opportunities of today and tomorrow, rather than the challenges of the past.
He will cover the trends that will provide for major growth markets through the next five years; where we will see the emergence of new careers, industries, business models and opportunities; and how a relentless focus on opportunity and growth is directly linked to future success. He will help you to make sense of what happened ; where we are now; and what do we do next!
That pretty well sums up my perspective on things.
Stay tuned as we launch into the fall of 2009!
A brief vacation update: a tornado!
I’m off till the end of the month, but with a bit of an update: we’ve been through a tornado.
This is a photo just about 1/2 mile from our place ; we saw it from a window as it passed by. If you look at the 2nd, lower funnel, we were just about below that to the east.
Quite the experience!
The great news is: everyone in the area is ok, the damage was significant but restricted; the swathe was just about 100 feet wide!
There are more photos at my twitter feed, http://twitter.com/jimcarroll
Why innovation thrives in the building of sandcastles…
I’m now into a bit of a slow stretch for some summer; postings here will be slow for a time.
Years ago, inspired by similar times, I wrote about how innovation thrives in the building of sandcastles. It was a great post — and it made it into BusinessWeek. I thought it a fitting post to leave here while I’m busy doing other things — such as building sandcastles.
With that line of thinking,. here’s my list of “10 Reasons Why Innovation Thrives in the Building of Sandcastles: and What We Can Learn From Such Creativity.”
- Hierarchy has disappeared: In most cases, there isn’t a boss, a reporting structure, or anything else that can cause organizational sclerosis. People just pitch in and do what needs to be done. The lack of a hierarchy is implicit to most successful teams.
- Creativity is implicit: Anyone can build a sandcastle. There are no rules or preconceived notions, other than some sand and water. The same thinking should drive corporate innovation efforts. Make do with what you’ve got and what you can find, and use creativity as your main asset.
- If it doesn’t work the first time, do it again: It’s inevitable that a rogue wave will destroy your work. This only encourages you to fix the design, or rebuild it altogether. Setbacks are meaningless, and indeed, are part of the plan.
- Experience doesn’t cloud insight: Parents listen to kids, kids get bored and move on to another rampart and do something awesome. The key to sandcastle building is the combined insight of several different generations: likely one of the most important foundations for success in corporate innovation today. (See my 10 Ideas post for more on this theme.)
- Everyone picks up on the passion: People just join in and help to build. Eventually beach-neighbors join in, and the growing castle becomes a big collaborative effort. Organizations that can build similar levels of interest in the concept of innovation don’t simply succeed: they exceed!
- Feedback is instant: You know right away how well your design works, particularly if it is at the waters edge, since everyone will make a comment on it as they walk by. That parallels’ the instantaneity of today’s markets: things are changing so fast, that you must have a constant ear tuned in to understand what your customers are telling you.
- Competition is easily scoped: Need new ideas? Want to learn from the competition? Spend a few minutes walking up and down the beach and check out the other sandcastles. Study their design, their assumptions, and see how you can improve upon them. Do the same in the corporate world: develop a finely tuned radar that signals to you how and where your world is changing.
- No idea is too dumb: There’s not a lot of criticism and bias in the building of sandcastles. Any idea is welcomed. People can contribute the skills they have. Everyone is a designer, a builder and an owner. Somehow the combination just works.
- The reward is clear: At the end of the day, a great sandcastle provides a sense of accomplishment. Photos are taken, and the team talks about the experience. That’s why every innovation effort needs to be celebrated, highlighted, and championed into the corporate record.
- It’s fun: Enough said. If an organization approaches a problem the same way, innovation and creativity can thrive.
Column: “Don’t be a one night brand”
>by Jim Carroll, CAMagazine, August 2009
When you travel like I do, you spend a lot of time reading. One ofthe recent books on my list provides a fascinating look back at the 1950s and ’60s: Mr. Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream. (No, I didn’t buy it for the pictures, because there are very few.)
I was struck by one paragraph about how Hef worked very hard in the early years to get advertisers on side. He was initially met with resistance, for obvious reasons, but he persisted and eventually succeeded at signing up some of the “leading brands of the time.”
Just what were those brands? Crosswinds House beach towels, Scintella Satin BedSheets, the Lektrostat Record Cleaning Kit, Mansfield Holiday II 8-mm cameras, Leslie Record Racks, Electro-Voice Musicaster loudspeakers, the Ronson Electric Shaver, Max Factor crew-cut hair dressing and the Rogers “Rocket Flame” cigarette lighter. And let’s not forget Merrin Gold Jewelry and the Batch Book, “a new and modern address book that lets you list every pertinent detail — the surest way to avoid social errors.”
Those brands aren’t exactly household names today; in fact, very few of them still exist. Some disappeared due to changing societal norms, others due to technological change. Some probably just ran out of steam.
Brands disappear for a variety of reasons: think Enron, E.F. Hutton and Woolco. Brands can also stick around and become tarnished, losing respect in the eyes of the customer because of a series of missteps. My own client list includes organizations such as Chrysler, Motorola and the US Army Corps of Engineers — brands that for a variety of reasons have lost respect in the marketplace.
Is your brand at risk? That’s a key question, because corporate brands today are no longer guaranteed longevity in the marketplace. They can disappear because of obsolescence, competition and business model change, or simply because, as we have seen of late, failure and error.
Brands now also have to contend with the potentially lethal challenge of social networks. Pizza chain Dominoes quickly discovered how much harm social network “terrorism” can do when employees posted a damaging video on YouTube in which they were less than reverent with customers’ food.
It is isn’t just the risk of events like this that can threaten a brand. People are extremely busy chatting online — on Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere– about the brands that they like, and the ones they dislike.
Consider the effort one customer put into a self-created commercial for US based grocery store Trader Joe’s.
All of a sudden, organizations are discovering a reality that I’ve been pointing out for years: a brand is no longer what you say it is — it’s what they say it is.
Think about your brand, whether you are in public practice, consulting or the corporate sector. Does your brand still resonate? I often talk to my clients about the need for constant brand innovation and challenge them days.” Better yet, I ask them if their brand looks tired because it is tired.
Many people don’t spend much time thinking about branding, but it is becoming more important considering how quickly perceptions can change. Here’s how you should challenge your thinking.
- Recognize that brand longevity is a critical issue.
- Ensure that everyone in the organization is relentlessly focused on the currency of the brand.
- Make sure that continuous brand innovation is part of your corporate mantra.
- Be incessantly focused on the innovations that are most likely to impact your brand.
:
- Video: The impact of social networking on brands
- How a customer sees Trader Joe’s
- Blog post: Is your brand from the olden days?
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