In June the Public Utilities Board (PUB) of Singapore is
holding an invite-only Technology and Innovation Summit for the global water
industry. It is going to be a terrific 2 day event, involving 200 senior ‘water’
executives from around the world. If it goes well (and PUB events usually do)
then it has the potential to make real change.
I have been given the astonishing honour of chairing one of
the first sessions. As anyone who knows me can attest, I have an enormous ego. I
can’t help but tell myself that Chairing the first session is a
position of considerable power: I set the tone for the rest of the event (deep
down I grudgingly accept that the CEO of PUB, who will give the key note opening
speech, is arguably more important….but I supress this thought).
Earlier this week I spoke with PUB about how they wanted the
event to run. They have given me a blank sheet of paper. I have a 2 hour session
to engage with the audience and get them thinking about what drives
successful innovation. The goal of my session is not to identify the
solutions, or even the areas of focus, but to identify the behaviours, values
and experiences that create a culture for successful innovation.
I can’t tell you how excited I am about this event. It is
going to be awesome.
With a blank sheet of paper my mind is racing with ideas. We
could obviously do the traditional ‘Speakers+Q&A’…but for 2 hours?
Seriously? I could make it a bit more exciting by bringing in speakers from
other industries to mix things up (Google? IBM? Glaxo?). Or we could have a
panel discussion, with quick fire questions to keep it lively.
These are all ideas that have been used before. They work
well. They are tried and tested. But I want something different. I want the
audience walking away thinking ‘Wow, that definitely wasn’t what I
expected!’
I am toying with some other ideas: give the audience a case
study to work through in small groups to tease out key innovation principles? Or
run a session specifically around values and behaviours using a professional
clinical psychologist? Or do the whole thing through interpretive dance (I look
particularly good in tights)? Or mime (I can do a man in a shrinking box)?
At the end of this week I need to submit my ideas to PUB. I
know that many of the people who get these Notes are far more skilled and
informed about what drives good innovation than I am. Despite my ego, I would
honestly welcome your suggestions. I have a blank sheet of paper that needs
filling….
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