Creativity on Friday

Great article on Steve Jobs and Apple in the last FAST COMPANY issue : « The invincible Apple : 10 lessons from the coolest company anywhere ».

What are these 10 lessons?

1. Go into your cave

2. It’s OK to be the king

3. Transcend orthodoxy

4. Just say no

5. Serve your customer. No, really.

6. Everything is marketing

7. Kill the past

8. Turn feedback into inspiration

9. Don’t invent, reinvent

10. Play your own clock

What dangers is facing Apple in the short run? To  my opinion, there’ re three major obstacles: “Starbuckisation”, “Toyotisation” and “Benettonisation”

Starbuckisation: how could Apple remain exclusive if everybody uses its products? How could Apple move from “fans” to “clients”?

Toyotisation: how could Apple manage high speed growth at engineering and manufacturing level?

Benettonisation: how could Apple guarantee the turnover and the profitability of almost 300 stores with fashionable products? What will happen to the stores if every two years there’s no breakthrough innovation to sell to millions of clients?

The next months will be crucial for Apple. Does Steve have the answers to Apple’s three major challenges?

Source: FAST COMPANY, July/August 2010, The invincible Apple, pages 70-76 and 112-113.

My comments from the N.S.A. Convention “IMAGINE” in Orlando, July 17-20th, 2010

A public presentation should “give the audience something that will help their business, that they will use now, that they will tell others about, and that they will more of” said yesterday Maribeth Kuzmeski from Red Zone Marketing  and author of “The Connectors”.

My comments from the N.S.A. Convention “IMAGINE” in Orlando, July 17-20th, 2010.

The N.S.A. – National Speaker Association - is the greatest American public speakers association. Every summer more than 1000 public speakers gather and share their expertise in the field of public speaking.

But what’s a “public speaker”, a “keynote speaker”?

For Prof. John B.Molidor of the Michigan State University, “a professional speaker is

-          someone who brings expertise
-          in eloquent fashion
-          as part of business
-          in an ethical manner”.

 Thus, for Prof. Molidor, and the National Speakers Association, there are four elements to take into consideration. Very important, here, is the business side: a public speaker is a professional who is regularly invited – and paid!- by companies, administrations, and/or associations to share his/her expertise, knowledge, experience, ideas, insights, vision, and/or achievements.

My comments from the N.S.A. Covention “IMAGINE” in Orlando, July 17-20th, 2010.

For years I have been asking myself, what makes a great speaker great ? Here’s an interesting answer from  Michael Grinder, author of The Power to Inspire:

“The average presenter informs.
The good presenter persuades.
The great presenter inspires”.

My comments from the N.S.A. Convention “IMAGINE” in Orlando, July 17-20th, 2010.

The annual convention of the American National Speakers Association  (N.S.A.) takes place this year in Orlando from today to next Tuesday.. Four days of great conferences and workshop on the art of being an inspiring key notes speaker.

On this blog I will share with you my insights, my discoveries and lessons from the most actual American speakers.
I will also present you the new ideas, projects and visions presented here in Orlando.

‘What makes a great speaker great ?’ that’s the question.

Followers solve problems.
Entrepreneurs tackle opportunities.
Beyonders change the world.

Change the world!

For the Welsh designer Ross Lovegrove « it’s the future only if it’s impossible ». By this the creator of organic design means that creators have today to consider the impossible as a starting point in their creative process.

There’s an obvious chance that starting with a feasible idea, with a clearly accessible target will lead you to a me-too solution. In our HyperCreative era, thousands and  thousands of creative people are working on almost everything.  Creativity and innovation are at the heart of every discipline.

So if you want a make a real difference, challenge your starting-point! Choose an  impossible dream, otherwise you will face a lot of  competition.

Start with an impossible idea!