As we close in on Innovation Enterprise’s annual Chief Innovation Officer Summit in NYC, I caught up with Carrie Nauyalis, Executive in Residence, dynamic speaker and attendee at the Summit, to get her thoughts on how to get the most out of your experience at this great innovation event. Read this short interview for answers and tips.
Q: Who sees the most value out of this conference?
A: Innovation Enterprise organizes their conferences by role, so it makes it very easy to determine where you are likely to learn specific content tied to what you do every day. But what isn’t specifically stated is that these are actually just conference “tracks” within a single conference and you are free to hop between tracks to find the sessions that are most beneficial to you. So, if you’re signed up for the Chief Innovation Officer Summit, but you’re struggling with how best to align your innovation strategy with the programs you’re planning, why not check out the sessions in the Strategic Planning Innovation Summit? Check the Agenda for all tracks and find the content most compelling to your needs.
Q: What are some key themes that a Chief Innovation or Strategy Officer should be on the lookout?
A: Some of the trending topics that hot right now include:
- Strategic Innovation – It’s a waste of time and money to innovate for innovation’s sake unless you’re ideating on moonshots, so tying innovation to strategy is critical to drive the business forward and actually obtain measurable ROI from innovation.
- Innovation Culture – Creating a company culture that celebrates innovation is not as easy as it sounds. So hearing from people who have been there and done that can be wildly helpful.
- Open Innovation and Collaboration – Gone are the days of thinking that good ideas can only come from R&D. But partnering outside of your own department or company and even with the competition (whaaa?) can be challenging. Take a few tips from the experts if you think this will give your innovation program a boost.
Keep your eyes open for these themes to show up in a variety of presentations throughout the conference.
Q: What can I do to get the most out of this 2-day show?
A: Good question! I believe there are 3 things you can do to get the most out of the event:
- BE THERE FULLY – I attend anywhere from 5-10 events a year and it’s easy to get distracted or pulled into things going on in the office. But the more present you can be, the more your mind can spark and make connections on how to advance your own innovation program. That’s how creativity works and it can’t work if you’re multi-tasking.
- BE NUGGET-FOCUSED – Have the goal of gathering 1 or 2 nuggets from each presentation. What would you share with a colleague? What would you tweet in 140 characters or less? Write them down and review them the day after you get back to the office. Or, do what I do and live tweet at the event – my twitter feed becomes a review of the most important lessons I learned. (Check out my event tweets @PDPMprincess.)
- NETWORK – This can be painful for us introverts, but in a world of open innovation, it’s critical. Talk to the vendors. Sit by the people you don’t know at lunch. Ask questions of the speakers. The event will be so much more valuable if you stretch out of your comfort zone.
Q: What’s your favorite place to visit in NYC?
A: Well, I’m a complex girl, Tim – both a lover of the city and the peacefulness of the park. There is an amazing calm and quiet that happens in Central Park, so, that is an easy choice. When it comes to the energy and electricity of Manhattan, there is a vibration you can feel coursing through your blood when you visit Times Square and Broadway. There is no other place on earth like it. And for the folks who want something in between, I’m madly in love with the High Line. It’s so eclectic and funky. (And then there is always honey pizza . . .)
You can find out more about the Chief Innovation Officer Event, as well as Carrie’s scheduled Presentation: Strategies First. Resources Second. Innovations Delivered
Don’t forget to stop by Planview’s booth at the event! See you there.
