Tom, author of the book, "Evolve or Die: Lessons for World-Class Innovation & Creativity" delivered an innovative keynote that entertained and educated giving practical knowledge to impact your business and personal life. Some of the topics discussed at AlphaGraphics were:

• How do you drive innovation and leapfrog your competition?
• How do you develop a culture of creativity that transforms your business?
• What are the differences between a company calcifying into mediocrity and one having a real impact?

Enjoy some key wisdom shared to support your professional and personal life growth:

• Emerging Technologies to Watch:
  • AI is going to be cheap, powerless, and ubiquitous. Planetary in dimension, embedded, and connected.
  • Robotics: Everything that can be automated will be automated. Humans= Work hard and long and think. Computers can now do this and more, but still struggle with ability to think ahead and be creative. A rise ahead in robotics and AI so be prepared
  • Ubiquity in Technology: Internet is a service like a utility. It's ubiquitous. In future always connected to products, services, intelligence, and each other. 
• Being connected makes the unimaginable possible. Think Wikipedia with thousands of people distributed across the world creating millions of entries for free to give biggest depository of information. Think "RedHat" and  power of open source. 
• Hard work, incremental improvements, and team work collaborating well leads to success
• Every extraordinary performer intentionally evolves. Purposely making intelligent advances.  Nature vs. Searcher. Continually improve and innovate.  Discover. To find is the thing. Picasso said, "I'm always doing that what i can't not do so I can learn how to do what I aim to do"
• Pixar definition of success for a company with their executions, iterations, crafting and refinement for films taking 3-5 years in which they continuous evolve. 
• First start what you aim to achieve. Then apply your creative genius and growth factor. The growth factor is the continuous learning and improvement. 
• Regain creative genius. Unleash your 5 year old self. Use more AWE. Use more AWE. (Abundance Of Ideas.) (Withhold Criticism) (Exercise Your Creativity). Increase in capability. Evolve! Increase in capability. Evolve!
• Picassos's favorite period of all time for art is then next one. 
• A team working hard collaboratively together like stones banging up against each other makes everyone more polished and beautiful. 

Thank you Tom Triumph and Eric Webb  from Alpha Graphics for hosting.

It's always great to know habits that affect happiness, health, productivity, and success. I been reading on these related topics for years to gain wisdom to apply toward a good life! I read a good article by Andrew Merle that shared insights on this succinctly and they match my own reading and personal experience! Here are top 20 best habits for happiness, health, productivity, and success to support you and your endeavors! Hope this helps!


20. Be generous — Spending money on other people leads to greater well-being and happiness than spending it on yourself.


19. Ask more questions and listen. Paul Sloane, author of "The Innovative Leader", says asking questions is the single most important habit for innovative thinkers.

18. Make Your Bed — Making your bed starts a chain reaction of other productive habits throughout the day.


17. Celebrate — Pause to enjoy your successes before moving on to the next thing. David Campbell, former senior fellow with the Center for Creative Leadership, notes: “Celebrations are the punctuation marks that make sense of the passage of time; without them, there are no beginnings and no endings. Life becomes an endless series of Wednesdays.”


16. Smile — The simple act of smiling reduces stress and increases happiness, even if you need to force a smile. Putting on a happy face actually makes you happier.
15. Buy experiences, not things — Research shows that experiences actually bring people more happiness than material goods.


14. Say no more often — Trying to do everything usually means not doing anything very well.
13. Be on time — Being on time is one habit that accomplishes two important things — it melts away stress and improves relationships at the same time. Consider adding a 50% buffer to the amount of time you estimate something will take in order to show up on time.


12. Choose a good attitude — Attitude is a decision that we make every day. Strengthen relationships and increase your chances of success by deciding to have a good one.


11. Block off time on your calendar to think — Take inspiration from top leaders like Jeff Bezos & Bill Gates by building uninterrupted thinking time into your schedule.
10. Don’t check email first thing in the morning or last thing before bed — Email first thing derails your priorities for the day and email right before sleeping gives you insomnia.


9. Do one thing at a time — Do one thing at a time and pay attention while doing it. Giving our attention only to the task at hand enables us to accomplish more while feeling less anxious and less scatterbrained.


8. Wake up early — Get a jump-start on the day and tackle your most important task first-thing.
7. Limit your daily to-do list to your 3 most important items — And watch your productivity skyrocket. This habit is one of the absolute best ways to positively impact your work and life on a daily basis.


6. Write down the 3 things you are most grateful for at the end of each day — Having an attitude of gratitude has been shown to improve mood and physical health. Lewis Howes, author of The School of Greatness, says “If you concentrate on what you have, you’ll always have more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you’ll never have enough.”


5. Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants. — This is the philosophy endorsed by leading food researchers. Eat your way to health with this optimal nutrition plan.
4. Read — Reading is one thing all successful people have in common.


3. Get 8 hours of sleep per night — Anything less is not good. Experts recommend sticking to a consistent sleep schedule, going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day.


2. Maintain close relationships — Social connection is the greatest predictor of happiness
1. Exercise — “The single-most powerful tool you have to optimize your brain function,” says John J. Ratey MD in book Spark. Exercising daily can change your life.


Hope you enjoy those 20 best habits for happiness, health, productivity, and success. Learn more wisdom like this at TechAndWisdom.com

The Innovation Summit is here bringing people together to re-imagine the way we live, work, and play. The conference brought together business owners, thought leaders, change-makers, and entrepreneurs to discuss, challenge, and learn about innovation in a cross-disciplinary environment. The focus for this year's conference was around sustainability. The event defined sustainability as it relates to individual industries per socio-cultural, economic, and ecological initiatives. A wonderful conference packed with engaging interactive talks with audience-generated content, hands-on workshops with resources as takeaways, and connections with industry experts in an accessible, open forum. We went beyond conversation and took some new first steps to break barriers, build relationships, and forge a better future. Here is some key wisdom points shared from the speakers:

• Where do good ideas come from? Real break-through in ideas come from a collision of people and diverse minds coming together to do idea creation.  MetLife started a "Sprout" internal program dedicated to idea creation and new business generation coming from people at the company who dedicated time and conscious thought to create new business. In 10 years they have done 150 challenge runs and 18,000 employees engaged and hundreds of managers trained on process.  Now they have "Ignition" program investing and incubating startups that look outside the company via co-innovation. 90 test launches and 37 contracts signed with startups over last 6 years. Now active with 27 venture funded investments in this startup partners.
• 4 Lessons Learned: "All I need to know, to successfully innovate, I learned in kindergarten"

1. "When you go out into the world and cross streets, hold hands, look out for traffic, and cross together". The key is to form good friends & allies. Don't waste time with non-believers. Do a few things well to gain early wins and celebrate them. Use those wins to build momentum and recruit those on the fence.  Leverage your network to get warm intros (advisers, mentors). Ensure you communicate in ways that is all about the people you are communicating to and how you can help them achieve their goals and improve their life. 
2. Innovation is a team sport. Win or lose together. Form innovation teams. Understand the goals of partners and sponsors and find unique ways to achieve them. Know the customer priorities and focus. Show how you add value and make things simpler and do not create duplication or add clutter. Make their life easy and business better through your differentiation.
3. Successful take-off do not necessarily mean successful landing. Need a clear plan and clear target. Define the value proposition on your program. Align metrics/goals to those of your partners and customers.  Breakdown and link large objectives to small, measurable goals.  Agree to target outcomes and how metrics will be measured afterward.
4. Flush!  Know when to walk away. You have precious time, don't waste it.  Fail fast and inexpensively. Incubate ideas to understand key assumptions, then execute small tests or Proof of Concepts (POCs). If the POC fails, strongly consider walking away. Understand the business case and talk costs before investing heavily. 

• Never stop learning.  Stay humble, hungry, and keep open mind to learn and grow!

Magical Combo In Marketing Success: Clarity, Community, and Testing!

• Clarity, look out for "can't see the forest from the trees".  Strategy is what you say no to as much as to what you say yes to.  You need to be clear in who you are and what you stand for that sets you apart. What are you the best at and focus on that clearly. 

• Community: Invite people to be part of something bigger.
• Testing: Know your audience and then test the different platforms to see what works best for reaching them and securing engagements.  Test strategies like "Hype". Need to know someone to get you in or discount. Test "Influencers" to share your message. "Talk Triggers" per strategy around word of mouth marketing. For example, Double Tree word of mouth around their fresh baked cookies. Use cool quotes and talking points that result in "Talk Trigger". Example, "Just Salad", we give you your own reusable bowl, fastest service, and 10 items for under 10 dollars.  Talk trigger when you walk into boutique womans' store, "would you like a Raspberry Margarita or bubbly to sip on while you shop?"
• FYSO (Figure Your SH*T Out), stop and take time to grind out and get through things needed to be discussed and items needed to be done. 

Best practices in "DESIGN SPRINT"-Framework for solving problems. Involves prototyping via Idea, Build, Launch, and Learn. (2-5 day process to answer question or test hypothesis). There is normally 5-7 people for ideal sprint team. Know why they are there and intentions.

• Monday-Map, Tuesday-Sketch, Wednesday-Decide, Thursday Prototype, Friday- Test. Have CEO ("Chief Energy Officer" to cheer team on through all)

1. Map: Map the problem and create a shared brain. Do lighting talks with experts. Get leaders in on your subject matter in early and gain informed mindset upfront. Outline goal trying to achieve or problem to solve. Do Empathy Building Exercises. For example use sticky notes and start with question "How might we...." Then Build Success Metrics. Have KPIs. A realistic facade is all you need to learn from customers. Know when enough is enough. Don't aim for perfection rather what is good enough to understand people through reactions. (ABC method. Always be capturing. Write down useful things to sprint)
2. Sketch: Crazy 8s, divide 1 piece of paper into 8 squares, and draw 8 sketches of ideas in 8 minutes. "Creativity loves constraints and time is a great constraint." Have solution sketch.
3. Decide: What to prototype and build to test. Make group decision. Democratize. Allow for debate. Low impact collisions are healthy. Heat map voting. (Green, yellow, red stickers).
4. Prototype: The origin of great design is great responsibility. Quickly build to validate ideas. Storyboard, Assign Tasks, Prototype.
5. Validate: 5 customer interviews is enough to get confident assessment otherwise diminishing returns. Test with real people and gather feedback you can act upon.

How To Be A Vulnerable Leader that can create a sustainable business and raving fan base for your brand.

• Instead of focusing on what you have to do. Think about who you have to be! That is your unique value prop and special key.
• The more authentic and vulnerable you can be, the more people message resonates with. Be real and attract real people. The more human you can be, the more impact you can have.
• Think of confidence spectrum, Dependent-On the opinion of others vs. Independent-of the opinion of others. Goal is to move over to your independent side of spectrum. The way to be more confident is to have more strength in your skills, talents, and abilities in which you know that you know your as good at or better then most or close enough!
• Know your goal and steps needed to accomplish. Every moment counts. Do the things you need to do to propel you and your confidence will be boosted.
• Your thoughts create your reality. Focus on what you can control to build your confidence.

Your Brand- The Screen Play

• Your brand is your promise to fulfill expectations
• Branding as a business discipline is: The process of coming to conviction about the expectations you want established, understanding every mechanism that affects those expectations, and managing those mechanisms to deliver a consistent, positive promise at every point of contact
• Ask yourself is your brand bingeworthy? Like "Stranger Things". 
• Make people want to be engaged so much in what you are doing that they want to be a part of it and support it. Bingeworthiness= Sustainability (Good to community, Good To Employees, Good business model)
• Great stories end up making history. Like "Rudolph The Red Noised Reindeer". 
• Good story makes you feel something and is universal. If a commodity tell your story moving them with laughter or pulling at the heart strings.
• Strategy first then build content that support your brand building strategy.
• Brand comprised of: Purpose, Positioning, Values Of What You Offer and What You Stand For!

• Think of the Hero Journey in your story telling....From normal world to unknown world....First Just do it and start the journey to leave the known behind to go into the bigger aim unknown, Keep walking in your journey to cross the thresh-hold when times get hard, 3rd get the diamond and reward
• Most important three elements in story telling are: Theme, Character, and Plot. The theme drives the character through the plot!
• For example, The theme is what business you are really in and what you are really offering. Know your "Why". Disney is= keeping alive the magic of childhood. This is the "Why" they get up each day and deliver!
• Plot is around your Brand Positioning. Three things to execute on your positioning. Know your: Target Audience, Competitive Category, and Difference.

• Think of the Hero Journey in your story telling....From normal world to unknown world....First Just do it and start the journey to leave the known behind to go into the bigger aim unknown, Keep walking in your journey to cross the thresh-hold when times get hard, 3rd get the diamond and reward
• Most important three elements in story telling are: Theme, Character, and Plot. The theme drives the character through the plot!
• For example, The theme is what business you are really in and what you are really offering. Know your "Why". Disney is= keeping alive the magic of childhood. This is the "Why" they get up each day and deliver!
• Plot is around your Brand Positioning. Three things to execute on your positioning. Know your: Target Audience, Competitive Category, and Difference.
• Remember your brand personality is who you really are, the human traits that acts out in your brand persona and perception to the world. 
• Don't tell your brand story, show how your brand makes someone feel or adds value and promise is delivered. "Show & Tell".
• Ensure story makes emotional connection and covers human elements to pull at the heart strings.

Emotional Stability:

• When you know better, you can do better!
• Stay calm and carry on. Be mindful of your state and do not get stuck in "Fight or Flight" mode that leads to extra stress resulting in poor health. 
• Try putting your phones down and make real human to human connection. Look at people, smile, and say hello.  Be connected to people not disconnected from people. 
• Take time to play! Do things you love that make you smile and laugh! 
• Go outside more and be around nature. 15-20 minutes outside gives us more vitamin D and helps refresh & reset the brain. Do walking meetings. 
• Play and nature is our medicine! Community and connection is our medicine!
• Nurturing relationships can help you be healthier and thrive! Form great relationships!
• Take time to look up and connect!

This year Innovate Raleigh led a conference looking at the future of region by exploring how global trends like climate change, population growth, and AI will impact the region over the next 30 years. It was a great conference discussing the future of sustainable development, entrepreneurship, and technology. Specifically the theme around how forward-thinking leadership and innovative thinking are paramount to the community’s success. This Summit served as a catalyst for ideas for innovation and connected to the work of the many partners in the region. Here was some key agenda items and points shared at conference that stood out:

• THE CITY OF TOMORROW: A NEW APPROACH FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH
• CAN CITIES BE ENGINES OF SUSTAINABILITY? THE CHALLENGE OF LIVING ON EARTH IN THE AGE OF HUMANS
• CITIES OF THE FUTURE: INNOVATIONS IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
• THE FUTURE OF INNOVATION

Key Points Shared:

• Think of our impact on environment. Global warming? Three impacts of our growing CO2 levels impacting climate change is earth gets warmer, it rains harder, and seas rise. In addition, consider impacts on human health due to longer higher temperatures that impact productivity and result in more insect borne illnesses from those that breed in hotter weather scenarios. The key to fight this is reducing fossil fuel burning like the fossil fuel plants alongside electricity and heat systems based on fossil fuels and 300 million cars burning this fuel.
• Think about what future we will choose based on our choices? Think of the consequences. Make good changes now to have better future later.
• Look for opportunities to walk more in your city and find the bike and walk paths to utilize for better and healthier ways to transit. Plus encourage your city to do more to support better pathways for pedestrians versus favoring car transit. In 1946 1/3 of Americans walked, biked, or took public transit to work. And travel between cities was mostly by train. Only 50% of people had cars. Think about un-building our transit mistakes and going back to more sustainable and efficient healthier travel.
• How innovation can help cities achieve inclusive and sustainable growth? Provide innovations that scale and cover needs of all constituents. Ensure robust public engagement to educate, communicate, and get people involved in new projects that impact work and living. 

​Local thought leaders who are tackling evolving challenges in entrepreneurship and innovation shared how their work is contributing to a more equitable and sustainable future for the region. Here is some wisdom shared:

• The fashion industry making billions of clothing items result in some of the worst waste water problems like toxic sludge. (ie. 5-10 tons a day from some manufacturing). Through innovations like SeaChange Technologies, waste water and pollution can be reduced while creating re-usable particles. In some cases, 50% reduction in pollution through implementing new technologies during production process.

• New clean tech offerings improving environment, health for people, and generating new jobs. 24+% industry growth in clean tech and leading the number of new patents being generated.  Some new innovations include, creating micro grids and using wind power to create electricity for 15,000 people in Alaska. Self-charging buses that can drive on battery with charging system. Stop to let people off and within 15 seconds of stop, the bus can be re-charged. 

• This is our time to be brave, courageous, and follow what you believe is right.
• Growth of population in city centers is not the problem. Ignoring the growth is the problem.If you adopt and change, new opportunities open up.
• Best practice is to engage with your community to educate and inform. Then engage the public to get informed feedback and help influence in ways best for people.
• Balance both "Equality and Equity" so all sides impacted by actions are covered and have fair share with a voice and participation in cause & effects from changes.

• Ecosystem Building:  Think of nature as best example of community. The plants and animals within mother earth working together to help all in that forest thrive. This is the way ecosystems of people and companies in communities can thrive too.
• Think how you can contribute to all people and companies around you so all grow and thrive. A rising tide floats all boats. What is good for the goose is good for the gander. Think big picture and team work. We are all in this together!
• The Gig Economy:  53 Million Americans are independent work force. Consultants. 61% do so by choice. It's a new powerful workforce! 42% of freelancers do so for flexibility and control over life and family.  Gig economy is now a $200B industry!
• Key to success in your consulting and contracting work is networking and continuous learning and growing. 

Overall a great conference with excellent panel discussions, keynote lectures, and presentations connecting great leaders and participants in all various aspect of work in region creating great dialogue about the most important elements that will contribute to our community’s success. Thank you Bridget and Innovate Raleigh team for setting this up and all the wonderful speakers and moderators!