Top Takeaways from the February Exponential Innovation Program

author
Chipp Norcross
published
Apr 8, 2019
category

February’s Exponential Innovation Program (EIP) was a success, and participants are already hard at work applying the new tools, frameworks, and insights from the program. As always, I’d like to share my takeaways from this most recent program, as identified by the members of our cohort.

1. Instead of talking about the importance of ethics, we need to find a resolution.

More and more medical and technological ethical dilemmas have moved from the realm of the hypothetical into reality. Is our ethical training sufficient to carry us forward into a successful and ethical future?

2. We must prepare for a world in which humans and machines can co-exist.

SU’s Robotics and AI Faculty, Dr. Suzanne Gildert, helped February’s EIP class to focus on AI and robotics. It’s clear we’ve come a long way in a very short time (Roomba, Pepper, Alexa).But what does the future look like with unimaginable robotics progress? Would you become friends with a robot? Will robots have the same rights as humans?

3. Train the monkey first!

When faced with the challenge of training a monkey to recite Shakespeare while standing on a marble podium, many people will start by first building the podium, according to Entrepreneurship Faculty Chair Pascal Finette. Except the real magic is in training the monkey! Building the support only just delays you from doing meaningful work to truly change the world.So the next time you are staring at your to-do list, don’t hesitate to start training the monkey and get the important work started!

Participants at EP

It’s always fascinating to observe the insights that arise from each program and to see what’s top-of-mind among the leaders who come from around the world to spend three days together to contemplate life, leadership, and innovation along the exponential curve.SU’s focus on the implications of our exponential future on corporate innovation and strategy is a unique opportunity and one from which our participants, faculty, and SU team all benefit. If you’re an innovator who wants to bring 10x thinking to create your organization’s future, I encourage you to join us for an upcoming Exponential Innovation Program in May (some seats still remain) or July.