Day 11
NINJA FUTURE FIRESIDE CHAT
Skip To The Key Takeaways & Action Items
George Mason University hosted a Fireside Chat on Innovation with New York Times bestselling author Gary Shapiro. GMU President Angel Cabrera moderated the discussion as Shapiro, the head of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) discussed how innovation is shaping the future of business.
“Innovation is putting together 2 separate ideas and creating something different with market value & benefit.”
Shapiro talked about many things found in his book, Ninja Future: Secrets To Success In The New World Of Innovation, including the ways that entrepreneurs have to be like ninjas:
Exceptional Training
Diverse Teams
Quick Reactions To Change
Relentless
One of the most interesting topics discussed was the story of Amazon, and how they innovated with the Kindle, a product that was a direct competitor of Amazon itself. This self-cannibalization may seem like a crazy idea, but it was a great way to remain innovative and move the company into the future.
In terms of the local area, we have Amazon coming to the DC Metro region, and Shapiro talked about how that is going to be great for innovation in the area as other companies move to be near Amazon (Amazon started in Seattle to be by Microsoft and get the “scraps” off of their success).
Some of the other big areas of discussion were the wars with hard working and highly populated China in terms of artificial intelligence & technology, Europe’s privacy concerns hurting their innovation and how rules & regulations can be damaging yet necessary.
One thing that I was not aware of was that during the release of the VCR, Hollywood tried to shut down that innovation and make VCRs illegal. Similar big groups have tried to quaff innovation to stop iPods/Mp3s, ride sharing companies (Uber) and hospitality companies (Air B&B).
Here are some of my key takeaways and action items from this event:
Key Takeaway #1: There Are Advantages To Being Small In Terms Of Innovation
A large company often has trouble with innovation because there are so many people and departments involved in decision making that a lot of innovation gets shut down, or it takes a long time to go into place. A small company on the other hand, can quickly implement new ideas and get a leg up on the larger competition.
Action Items:
Read Ninja Future
Key Takeaway #2: Stepping Outside Of Your Comfort Zone Can Lead To Innovation
While many companies look inside their current field of knowledge when it comes to developing new ideas, often times looking into the way things are done in another field can be the catalyst for innovation. The quote above about innovation coming from 2 different ideas is often the work of interdisciplinary collaboration.
Action Items:
Select 3 different industries unrelated to video and read about innovation in those fields
This was a great event at GMU. It cost something like $40 but came with a personally signed copy of the book and some light hors d'oeuvres. The format was more a laid back conversation and less a lecture, which made for an interesting discussion. I look forward to becoming a Ninja Innovator going forward.