If you’ve been part of the Innov8rs tribe for a while, you must have seen we’ve hosted events in 15+ innovation hotspots around the world.
London, Paris, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Munich, Chicago, New York, Silicon Valley, Montréal, Toronto and Singapore, just to name a few.
It’s our mission to support corporate innovators on their journeys to impact their organizations, and to share their stories of success and failure (and everything in between) so that we all learn from it, and collectively advance the field.
You bet- there are tons of amazing stories to be shared, and a rapidly growing group of innovators to support. By choosing a different host city for every new event, we aim to bring the local community together, and connect them with our “glocal” tribe.
When we got an invite from Robin Bienfait, who spoke at our Silicon Valley event in fall 2016 as Chief Enterprise Innovation Officer for Samsung, to host our next event in Atlanta, we said – YES, let’s do Atlanta next. And we invite you to join us for Innov8rs Atlanta, March 22-23: a 2-day immersive and impactful innovation learning experience, at Atlanta Tech Park and several innovation hotspots around the city.
As always, we work with several local “heroes and gurus” to co-create an impactful event experience. You won’t fall afsleep during boring keynotes at our events- they are designed for you to come with actual challenges, and leave with tangible solutions to implement.
So, we asked some of our local partners and speakers to share two things with you: What’s the ONE word that describes what is happening in the Atlanta region? And what are you contributing to Innov8rs Atlanta?
Here’s what they said.
We’re pleased to announce all expert sessions for Innov8rs Atlanta… Scroll down for more info!
Nashlee Young – Director Business Operations at Atlanta Tech Park: Uprising.
Atlanta has become the top contender in the film industry, the tech industry and fortune 500. In order to reach its full potential, Atlanta needs awareness and connection to other entrepreneurs around the world.
That’s why we are building an ecosystem for innovators to thrive, and we’re excited and proud to host Innov8rs Atlanta at our beautiful new space.
Tim McMullen – CEO at red pepper: Leader.
The ingredients are here for Atlanta to become one of the most innovative cities in America. But making that short list requires intentionality. All the most innovative cities in the world have decided that is something they want and they put real strategies in place to foster that environment.
Atlanta should become a disruptors market. With the amount of corporate headquarters in the region, it is primed to be a true enterprise innovation environment. Leveraging each other, the university eco system and the plethora of customers to use for validation. All the ingredients are there….and proximity and discipline are two secret ingredients that most companies don’t value enough. Billion dollar companies can create new billion dollar companies faster than any startup can.
Innovation is the sexy word in corporate America today...but so many companies are still struggling to become a successful Innovation Enterprise. We are going to discuss what are often the missing ingredients that may be holding your success back. And how including these strategies can create a return for your enterprise in both the near and long-term.
Nicola Smith – Founder at Rebels & Reason: Convergence.
Because one of the things that is amazing about the Atlanta market is the diversity of the people, businesses and skillsets in the city. Over the last few years we have seen different communities and organizations within the city working together to push change forward in an inclusive and thoughtful way, and it is this type of cross-collaboration that drives innovation and new ways of thinking.
There are a number of companies and organizations that embody this trend. Brands like MailChimp, Cox Enterprises, Chick-fil-A, and many others in the region are investing in both innovation and the community through arts and civic programs as well as technology and innovation incubators. We also have some really interesting, future-focused initiatives coming out of the The City of Atlanta, The Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, and the Georgia Department of Economic Development like SmartATL, a Smart-Cities initiative, Invest Atlanta and the THEA content network.
I am contributing my 15+ years of experience in futurism and emerging trends which has helped me build a repeatable framework for innovation along with tangible, executable strategies for creative problem solving and developing a culture of innovation within the Enterprise. I am also contibuting my love of all things sci-fi and my techno-optimist perspective on innovation and the future. I believe that the brands that will succeed in the future are those that see disruption as an opportunity as opposed to a threat.
Kacie Lett – Vice President at 352 Inc.: Collaboration
Large enterprises for a long time had the mindset of “this is my business”, and that worked well. As we have seen over the past decade, other major innovation hubs like Silicon Valley and Tel Aviv have disrupted that model. In the past five years Atlanta has made a shift to bring in that model, but still most companies are not there yet- there’s a fear of truly opening up.
I’ve seen lately that people actually want to collaborate across businesses. They know they can’t do smart cities for example on their own- the challenges require multiple parties at the table. Also with the rise of innovation as a practice in itself, there’s an eagerness to learn from each other.
If we collaborate, there’s more value-add to the whole ecosystem. That’s why and how we started our community called Enterprise Entrepreneurship Series – grown from 30 to 700 people in under two years. And that’s also what we contribute to Innov8rs Atlanta, so we hope to meet, work with and learn from you there.
So… bring it on: announcing all expert sessions at Innov8rs Atlanta
Despite all the talk about innovation, it’s not easy to effectively and successfully implement company-wide innovation programs. During Innov8rs Atlanta, you’ll learn from the best local and (inter)national experts on corporate innovation, so that you can further improve the impact you’re having at your organization. We'll be diving into crucial issues and key topics for all corporate innovators- regardless of industry, and regardless of the current level of innovation maturity of their organization.
Click here for the full agenda
On day 1, you’ll get served four short and snappy “trending topic talks”.
Is it time to dump the lean startup approach? How to design a system of record for innovation and develop innovation management as a core competency? How to make sense of the impact and speed of disruption for your organization in the first place? Plus: How do you build the case for change - convincing the leadership and bringing the employees on the journey with you?
We'll get clues, answers and guidance from experts Mike Maddock, Ludwig Melik, Seyi Fabode and Sonja Kresojevic.
After lunch, you’ll hear the real-life stories of success, failure and everything in between from your peers from companies like Humana, AT&T, Porsche, EY and FedEx (more info soon).
Closing day 1, you’ll get to work on your challenges in hands-on workshops and collaborative whiteboard sessions.
You'll be able determine your current innovation capability, and what/how to improve. Or you'll work on teams and talents: recognizing and developing innovators. Another session will offer you the chance to tackle the challenge of going beyond the one-time ideation bootcamp; aligning your innovation agenda with the broader organization.
For these sessions, you'll be working with Mike Maddock, Janice Francisco, Tim McMullen, Ludwig Melik and Robyn Bolton.
But it won’t be over just yet. On the second day, we’ll be splitting up in smaller groups visiting some of Atlanta’s innovation labs and hubs. On those locations, you’ll engage in deep-dive 3-hour master classes to experiment with new frameworks and learn new skills.
On the agenda? Essential frameworks and crucial skills- and mindsets like corporate and startup collaboration, advanced design thinking, creative problem solving and a culture of innovation, as well as translating insights into growth. Your hosts? Carie Davis, Robert Berris, Nicola Smith and Jonathan Dalton.
And since most of the sessions during Innov8rs Atlanta are organized in tracks and thus happening at the same time, you best bring your team with our special team packages. That way you won't miss too much, and you'll maximize outcomes for the 2 days.
