In a previous role, my team was responsible for identifying opportunities for innovation and transformation by collecting and curating ideas from employees, customers, partners and the broad ecosystem within which we operated. The hardest part of the job was overcoming internal resistance to change and deeply entrenched biases skewed towards “the way it’s always been […]
Do you think the current education system (wherever you live in the world) adequately prepares children for the future of life and work? Should it? Do you think children will still “go to school” 100 years from now? Why? These are just some of the questions I’m asking children, adults, parents and educators to provide […]
A short while ago I was having a conversation with the co-founder of a startup that had been invited to an exploratory meeting with a big, global brand in their industry. She was excited and perhaps a bit flattered that their startup had hit the radar of this company and she was eager to explore […]
“Digital transformation” (DX) is currently one of the hottest topics with IDC predicting earlier this year that global DX spend will reach $1.8 trillion in 2019 and they forecast $6 trillion in global DX technology spend over the next 4 years. In many respects, this has been great for me personally as the calls for […]
“Who wants a copy of the Partnerships & Acquisitions Playbook????” I asked the audience as I kicked off the day’s proceedings on the Innovation Catalysis stage at Money20/20 this year. I got a few mumbled cheers …….. it was day 2 of the event and the previous night’s party at the fabulous Taste of Amsterdam […]
As I write this, the pain in my aching feet is finally showing signs of subsiding. According to the fitness tracking app on my phone, last week I walked 80.9km (50.2 miles) in 4 days – that’s almost 2 entire marathons back to back!!! While this might not seem to be a great achievement to […]
Has this ever happened to you? You’re browsing the internet, scanning through your social feeds and you come across a proud parent introducing their latest contribution to the gene pool and your first thought is:- “WOW – what a *&%@$ baby!!!”? No? Maybe it’s just me then ……. Now here’s my question to you – “would […]
I frequently find that people focus so much on finding the right answer, that they fail to stop and consider if they are asking the right question……. I was recently contacted by a prospective client that had been pointed in my direction as he had been told that I am “a payments guy” and he […]
I regularly come across new startups as part of my scanning activity. I’m also frequently approached (mainly on Linkedin) by new startups looking for investment which is thinly veiled as seeking my advice as a mentor. The majority of them however don’t appear to have done their homework and don’t actually have a clue what […]
For years now I have cringed when someone introduces me as a “Futurist” Thanks to media attention, marketing hype and the proliferation of snake-oil-salesmen, the once respected academic discipline of foresight now conjures up images of mystics and shamans and if I had a pound for every reference made to me concerning crystal balls then […]
I used to – but no more. Having been brought up in South Africa in a culture where failure was met with physical punishment in school, in sport, at home and in military training, the fear of failure severely impacted my risk appetite and affected my decision making. Fear was seldom a good motivator in my […]
I recently snapped the above photo while wandering in the grounds of a glorious old estate where a friend was working and I was saddened to see what was obviously once somebody’s pride and joy, now abandoned and left to decay. The fact that the registration plate spelled “EGO” led me to reflect on the […]
Every year kicks off with a number of “predictions for the year 20xx” articles and posts as if in some way, the world hits a reset button at midnight on New Year’s Eve and faces a fresh start every calendar year. But as Heraclitus said “change is the only constant in life” and even if your […]
“How do you always find the good stuff?” he said shaking my hand vigorously – “there is just so much noise out there but whenever I see you present I discover something new to think about – what’s your secret?” It wasn’t the first time I’d been asked that question – and hopefully it wouldn’t […]
In spite of the declaration that “Corporate Innovation does not work” by Accenture’s Narry Singh at the WIRED conference in London, Corporate Incubation is a growing hot topic right now. Often fuelled by COAL (Catching On At Last) or driven by FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), many large corporates are setting up their own incubation […]
An article published by TIME magazine in 2015 quoted research from Microsoft implying that humans now have an attention span of just 8 seconds – which is allegedly less than that of a goldfish. Having attempted to validate this, I can’t find any factual evidence to support the allegation (see more here) – but what I do […]
“I’m worried that you would leave after 6 months – you know, after you had done the disruption” the hiring manager said as she looked up from her notes. I was half an hour into the interview and for the first time I was at a loss for words (unusual for me as those of […]
It’s an occupational hazard. Just like the doctor that gets asked at the BBQ “what must I take for that nagging back pain?”, or the mechanic down the pub whose mates always ask just to “have a quick listen to the strange noise under the bonnet”. In my case, it’s “can I have your feedback […]
“Old habits are hard to break” probably resonates all too well with the many people that are already contemplating their New Year gym resolutions but unfortunately the corollary of “new habits are easy to make” just doesn’t hold true. Contrary to popular belief, it does NOT take 21 days to create a new habit. The […]
We all love a good story. I grew up in rural Africa, amidst a rich culture of storytelling and at a young age I was conferred with the honorific of “imbongi” by our local people. In Zulu culture, the word is often reserved for those that change the path of the future by telling stories […]
In the light the events over the last few months, I can’t argue with the sentiment expressed by Hal David’s lyrics in Burt Bacharach’s seminal song of the title (here is a link to Jackie DeShannon’s original 1965 rendition as a reminder) and I make no apology for the fact that many of you will now […]
Don’t panic – calm down – this is not an enticement to partake in hallucinogenic drugs (well, not unless that’s your thing and who am I to judge?) – but this is genuine advice that I received over 20 years ago and it has served me extremely well ever since. In the 90’s, I was […]
If you work in innovation I’m sure you’re tired of hearing Ralph Emerson’s “build a better mousetrap” quote trotted out as the guiding light for new product development. It seems a few too many people have taken the phrase quite literally since the mousetrap is allegedly “the most frequently invented device in US history” according to the […]
The term “Exponential change” has recently become a seriously overused term – one that I myself am guilty of frequently using in my talks. But this morning I heard a news report on the radio quoting a recent Santander survey (which I’m yet to track down – please ping me a link in the comments […]
I had just finished on stage when I was approached by a young man beaming from ear to ear with his hand outstretched “Wow! That was fantastic – my head is like exploding with ideas after that” he blurted out as he shook my hand vigorously. “I wish our company did something like that – […]
I don’t know about you but I’m spoilt for choice. It’s a great time to be a consumer of virtually anything – technology advances have been driving down barriers to entry in almost every industry, meaning that even the most historically stagnant have now become interestingly invigorated by new entrants and challengers. But for many […]