Innovation is key for moving forward in business. This month’s TED Talk series takes a closer look at what inspires leading businesses to develop, how the world of innovation is changing, and how to go about putting new ideas into practice.
Carl Bass – The new rules of innovation
In this TED talk Carl Bass, president and chief executive officer of Autodesk, speaks on the importance of companies hiring the right people to promote change. He also discusses five global trends that are affecting innovation today, including ‘open innovation’ and the rise of available information.
Steven Johnson – Where good ideas come from
People often credit their ideas to individual “Eureka!” moments, but Steven Johnson argues that innovation is far more complex than that. In this talk he explains the concept of liquid networks and environments that foster creative thought. He explains how an idea is not a single entity, but often a coming together of ideas from multiple people and places.
Magatte Wade – Disruptive Brands as Cultural Innovation
Magatte Wade was born in Senegal and educated in France. Her first company, Adina World Beverages, was founded in her kitchen and was originally based on indigenous Senegalese beverage recipes using organic ingredients. The company is now the most widely distributed U.S. consumer brand founded by an African entrepreneur.
Wade discusses disruptive brands such as Facebook that have worked their way into people’s everyday lives and how they influence culture. She also speaks on how, with a changing world, innovation can come from anywhere and everywhere.
Joi Ito: Want to innovate? Become a “now-ist”
“Education is what people do to you and learning is what you do to yourself”. Joi Ito speaks on the importance of taking a practical approach to innovation in what he calls becoming a “now-ist”. The head of MIT Media Lab dismisses future predictions and instead discusses a new approach to creating in the moment and being alert in the here and now. Ito speaks on building quickly and improving constantly. He believes a bottom-up approach is what is inspiring some of the most interesting projects emerging in business to date.
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