No. 84: The Blank Sheet of Paper: A curse or an opportunity?

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….