Paul Roberts

Exponential Innovation Expert and an Economist

Location
United States of America
Area of Expertise
Innovation, Leadership, Exponential thinking
Type
Expert

Paul is an exponential guide helping organizations see the future and find their place in it. He is a sought-after consultant and international speaker, guiding thousands of executives globally. He has delivered hundreds of talks and over a 100 programs to global audiences on a range of topics including Exponential Technologies, the Power of Platforms and Network Effects, Digital Transformation, Building Exponential Organizations, Exponential Innovation, and Exponential Leadership, and Navigating Uncertainty and Change, and Antifragility.

Paul is an Exponential Innovation Expert and an Economist. He worked for several years at Be Courageous in California and the UK, and as Singularity’s Senior Director of Innovation, Design and Strategies, and in innovation at Synecticsworld in Boston, and at IHS Global Insights (formerly Standard & Poor’s DRI) in Washington D.C. and Toronto where he synthesized emerging trends across multiple sectors to produce Economic Impact Studies and Forecasts for private and public sector clients. Paul has a Masters Degree in Economics, focused on Development Economics and the Secondary Market buy-back of Sovereign Debt, he also earned an undergraduate degree in Life Sciences, both from Queen’s University, Canada. Paul spent eight years as a professional actor, host, screenwriter, and filmmaker in Hollywood with 50+ professional acting credits on IMDB.

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Sessions

Fundamentals of Exponentials: A Tale of Two Cities

What: The exponential future is here, we are living in it, and it is only going to get faster, and more amazing. In this 45 minute talk participants explore the mindsets, dichotomies, unlearnings, and huge opportunities of living in Exponential Times.

Why:

We are living in exceptional times, with more power at our fingertips than any generation that came before us. Driven by ever cheaper computational power, laying a foundation for the exponential rise and intertwining of Artificial Intelligence, Digital Biology, Exponential

Sensing Communications, Space Travel, and Longevity we have the ability to create an abundant future for all. We have great challenges ahead of us, and to harness the exponential power we need to think differently, we need to unlearn engrained “truths” and see new possibilities. It is a daunting and exciting time.

How: Across this 45-75 minute talk participants will explore the tectonic technological shift that are changing our futures, and begin to unpack some of the key unlearnings that can provide the foundational thinking that can drive the future we want to live into. Participants will practice decoupling their thinking, and create new future-ready unlearnings.

Who: Those who want to harness exponential power to build an abundant future.

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Engineering Exponential Innovation

Why: The future is exponential and if we stay in the linear lane we will be at best relegated to the shelves of the antique, niche, and bespoke. Exponential innovation is table stakes of the rapidly changing future, and it needs to be careful engineering.

What: We live in a world of linear thinking and linear mindsets, and although we now recognize that we are living in exponential times, our default mode remains linear. Getting onto the exponential curve therefore takes intentional exponential thinking, and creating an environment where we can build the present from the future.

How: In this workshop participants explore exponential innovation models that enable the participants to see clearly into the exponential future. They will examine how to manage the 8 gaps inherent in organizations when truly moving forward with exponential innovation.

Certainty Gap: How can you manage the uncertainty of rapid change?
Risk Gaps: Where are you putting the risk inherent in innovation, and is it stifling the bold moves you need?
Alignment Gaps: What are you asking people to do, and how are you actually rewarding them?
Vision Gap: Is your idea so new, people can’t see or relate to it?
Execution Gap: Are your organization’s skills/tech are for the current business and operating model. You don’t have the skills/tech for this new one?
Expectations Gap: How to manage the rewards of exponential innovation, which are heavily skewed to the back end of the project?
Metrics Gap: How to use the right metrics to track exponential change, as old metrics don’t track new progress properly (related to Expectations)?
Resource Gap: How to build for exponential success? When the exponential nature of this kicks in, it will be running beyond a human level of management and execution.

Who: For executives and managers charged with leading exponential change within their organizations.

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Turning Uncertainty and Exponential Change Into Your Strategic Advantage - Becoming Antifragile

What: Participants will learn to harness the uncertainty of these exponential times - where do they need to fortify the castle to weather the storms of change and where they need to boldly run raiding parties to the future.

Why: Inspired by the work of Nassim Taleb Antifragile: Things that Gain from Disorder, Antifragile strategies are designed to enable people and companies to eliminate the risk of ruin through exponential change (Fortify the Castle), while taking courageous options on a the massive upsides embedded in the exponential change and radical uncertainty (Raiding Parties to the Future). Antifragile is more than resilience and robustness (which are associated with a strong ship in a stormy ocean), it is a mindset and process that actively looks to get stronger from all of the volatility and change - it is the opposite of fragile. In a world soaked in negative news and the latest negative black swan we should cower from, we often forget that there are positive black swans on the horizon and that we must actively seek. This seeking is what we call Going a Viking or Raiding Parties to the Future, and it is a strategic approach to taking advantage of the massive upsides of exponential change.

How: In this interactive talk, participants will explore their Antifragilities in this exponential world. Where and how do they need to Fortify your Castle? Participants examine their critical fragilities, those fragilities that have accelerating negative consequences (nonlinear negative outcomes). We ask “What external/internal force, if it becomes bigger, would go from being a challenge to a disaster for you?”. Similarly, participants step into the future and ask the simple question “Where are there massive upsides here that they should take an option on?”. Finally, we examine where participants are dabbling in the mediocre middle. This final critical aspect to the Antifragile approach (avoiding allocating resources to the mediocre middle) is what Taleb describes as the “Suckers Game” of a Barbell Strategy, and is to be avoided.

Who: Leaders charged with the strategic futures of their organizations and their divisions within organizations. Antifragile is applicable at all levels of an organization.

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Thriving in a Changing Future: Becoming Antifragile - Turning Uncertainty and Exponential Change Into Your Strategic Advantage

What: In this workshop, participants will learn to harness the uncertainty of these exponential times - where do they need to fortify the castle and where they need to boldly run raiding parties to the future.

Why: Inspired by the work of Nassim Taleb Antifragile: Things that Gain from Disorder, Antifragile strategies are designed to enable people and companies to eliminate the risk of ruin through exponential change (Fortify the Castle), while taking courageous options on a the massive upsides embedded in all of the change and radical uncertainty (Raiding Parties to the Future). Antifragile is more than resilience and robustness (which are associated with a strong ship in a stormy ocean), it is a mindset and process that actively looks to get stronger from all of the volatility and change - it is the opposite of fragile. In a world soaked in negative news and the latest negative black swan we should cower from, we often forget that there are positive black swans on the horizon, that we must actively seek out and find a way to harness and gain from. This seeking is what we call going a Viking or Raiding Parties to the Future. Finally, we examine where participants are dabbling in the mediocre middle. This final critical aspect to the Antifragile approach (avoiding allocating resources to the mediocre middle) is what Taleb describes as the “Suckers Game” of a Barbell Strategy, and is to be avoided.

How: In this 2-4 hour workshop we explore the future and its relationship with today by Zooming out to the Future, then Zooming in to what it means for us today. Participants will explore where to... Fortify the Castle - Where are they and their organizations exposed to this changing world, so exposed that they must take action to eliminate the risk of ruin. Raiding parties to the Future - Where is there massive upside in this possible future. How do they take a bet, a hedge, on these massive upsides, such that should they happen, the participants will gain and thrive. Where and how do they place their bets? Stay away from the Suckers’ Game - Where are the participants wasting their valuable and limited resources dabbling in the low upside, mediocre middle?

Who: Ideally for leaders in a single organization. The workshop is designed to openly explore the fragilities (Fortify the Core) and key opportunities (Raiding Parties to the Future) of an organization.

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Paul Roberts

Sessions

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Paul Roberts

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