Three core axioms infuse this book: 1) innovation drives change – cultural, societal and economic; 2) innovation, in some form, touches each and every one of us, wherever we may be, as individuals, communities and societies as a whole; and 3) innovators deserve recognition, celebration and applause. This book is my hands clapping. I hope, by the end of our time together, you join me in my ovation. I am taking you on a journey around the world. On the way I will introduce you to innovators who have broken the mould, led the pack, and moved their own particular mountains in fields as diverse as business and technology, engineering and education, government and social policy, media, medicine and more. While they are as diverse as any other group – as are the areas from which they draw inspiration – there are traits that link many, if not most of them. Though at times it may be daunting, innovators are compelled to tell their truths – whether we, the public want to hear them or not. Some boldly go where no one has been, or thought to be, before. Most of them are applauded for it, but that is not why they do what they do. Innovators run when most are content to walk; this is true even when their leaps of faith can leave some of us queasy with anxiety. Without their willingness to delve into the depths of the unknown, we would all be lessened; their innovations have changed the way we see, and live in, our world. Think where we might be if Michael Faraday hadn’t brought us the innovation of electromagnetism, or Nikola Tesla the alternating current. Niels Bohr’s work with quantum mechanics is the basis for all we take for granted in communication and modern electronics. Perhaps my favourite historical innovator is Johannes Gutenberg, he of the precious printing press. His work, which brought books to the masses, led to reformations in religion, politics and society as a whole.
[...]... politicians, printers, and many more There are those who focus on the micro, the macro, the profit, the public, the bold, the beautiful, the richest, the poorest, the sun, the moon, the earth, and almost everything in between There are no right or wrong answers in this book: there is only the exploration and the celebration of innovation and of how these world- class innovators rock their roles In travelling... enhance and expand the relationship between their business and their communities – and the empowered endusers within them The advantages of this new type of relationship are myriad, and go far beyond sales figures However, they do take work and they involve the evolution of ROI, in as much as no longer will ROI mean ‘Return On Investment’: in the me-conomy it will equate to ‘Return On Involvement’; and the. .. players ‘their lunch’ shows how inadequate moving 1980s business concepts forward has been The problem has been: how to empower endusers in the new GDE? The lazy solution has often been the crux of the problem: the dreaded app Why are apps the problem? Because they create and control their own abstract view on the world – this almost never is the same from app to app The vendor has control over their... and radical rethink, as it steps back from positing that the web will soon be, for all intent and purposes, the essential economy of the GDE and the ‘real’ world will simply exist to deliver what is agreed upon online Coupled with the ever increasing acceptance of, and reliance upon, remote working and workers, this is proof – if it were needed – of the ever-increasing flattening of the world and the. .. communities and societies as a whole; and 3) innovators deserve recognition, celebration and applause This book is my hands clapping I hope, by the end of our time together, you join me in my ovation I am taking you on a journey around the world On the way I will introduce you to innovators who have broken the mould, led the pack, and moved their own particular mountains in fields as diverse as business and. .. Smart phones and tablets will be the tools of choice to empower budding entrepreneurs around the world As the business world becomes flatter and horizons and time zones mean less and less, the M ajority World is coming online and they are on point to take advantage of these tools’ inherent agility and mobility Traditional, massive multinational organizations have now got competition in the guise of... arena – are likely to lose their slice of the GDE/me-conomy pie The following interviews are with business thought leaders and innovators from around the world Each of them defines and delineates aspects of success and awareness of both the pitfalls and potentials inherent in this time of great opportunity Innovators speak Michael McDonald Co-founder and CTO of KimmiC Since the late 1990s IT has been... to your world, your business and yourself 01 The me-conomics of the GDE Innovating from the e-conomy to the me-conomy We are in theItmidst of an unprecedented time of change and for upheaval is, therefore, a time of fantastic opportunity those who act decisively and bravely, and a graveyard for those who do not The world is changing irrevocably due to three major influences and innovations in the business... technologist and lecturer, Matt Barrie is the founder and CEO of the world s largest outsourcing and crowdsourcing marketplace, Freelancer.com As an educator, an innovator and an entrepreneur, how do you define innovation? The way I see it, it’s looking at inefficient industries, processes and technologies – and the way they’re doing things – and trying to come up with better solutions that make the world. .. in the US, but then get cloned and imitated around the world Then they’ve got a real situation on their hands, which at some point they’re going to have to try and mop up In the past, you have made it clear that you are less than impressed with the lack of emphasis Australian schools place on IT Why is that? The future of this country is not digging rocks out of the ground and shipping them overseas . Author The orchestration of innovation 01 The me-conomics of the GDE Innovating from the e-conomy to the me-conomy 02 The state of the nation addressed Taking stock of how things stack up 03 Flat. and almost everything in between. There are no right or wrong answers in this book: there is only the exploration and the celebration of innovation and of how these world-class innovators rock. I owe a winery… I’ll see what I can do! ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kim Chandler McDonald is Executive Vice President of KimmiC, a company she co-founded with her husband Michael, which specializes in adaptive