The life of an innovation speaker is what anyone would expect… explaining what innovation is (and isn’t) to people all around the world.
On top of that, it’s helping them build the organizational capabilities necessary to create continuous innovation.
When my daughter was seven years old, she once said:
“Mommy, how come Daddy is not out in the garage inventing things if he is so innovative?”
I chuckled at that time, but there’s a real lesson behind this question.
Without an ounce of doubt, it’s clear that everyone has their own definition of innovation. And with how overused the word is, there’s a lot of confusion about the difference between creativity, invention, and innovation.
That’s why a big part of what I do is educating people on how these three differentiate, and how to inspire all of them.
Individuals can be creative, but it usually takes teams to invent (see the rise in Nobel prizes awarded to groups), and entire organizations to innovate.
I’ve been fortunate to travel all around the world (Belgium, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Malaysia, Dubai, Bahrain, etc.) and help people define what innovation means for their organization and how to make it happen more consistently and frequently.
Here’s how I define it:
“Innovation transforms the useful seeds of invention into widely adopted solutions valued above every existing alternative.”
Some of the most popular themes for innovation keynotes, workshops, and masterclasses that I’ve delivered for corporate clients like Microsoft, AB InBev, the US Navy, and BASF include:
- Innovation is a Team Sport
- Innovation is for Everyone
- Innovation Excellence
- Human-Centered Innovation
- Creating Continuous Innovation
- The Eight I’s of Infinite Innovation
Companies hire an innovation speaker for a number of different reasons including:
- Starting a dialog about the role of innovation in the organization’s future success
- Bringing in fresh ideas and insights
- Reducing the fear of innovation in their organization
- Increasing the energy for innovation
But those are just a few of the Top 10 Reasons to Hire An Innovation Keynote Speaker.
The biggest and most obvious reason and the one that runs through many of the other reasons is that they know they need more innovation and want to increase their chances of getting it.
Because innovation is such a broad and deep topic, you need a speaker that knows it well, one that is able (and willing) to customize the keynote, workshop, or masterclass to the needs of your company or event, and to put together a compelling and actionable story tailored to your intended outcomes.
An off-the-shelf speech is likely to fall flat and offer no help to enhance your organization’s competitive differentiation.
So, bring in an innovation speaker from time to time to help shape or shift mindsets in the organization, because stoking your innovation bonfire is important and required for success.
Innovation Excellence and operational excellence are equally important and to ignore either is dangerous. Keep innovating!
