Innovation and the Future of Work| The 21st Century Business Challenge – Highlights from the 2018 Gennari-Aronson Authors & Innovators Business Ideas Festival
Why are we here?
Challenges abound for today’s employers, whether large companies or entrepreneurs. The structure of the 
workforce has changed. Higher education may or may not be producing the best job candidates. New company cultures are emerging, old ones are being reevaluated. For the time being, employment is high – yet many are not qualified for the jobs that are available. These are just some of the realities debated by the presiding experts at the second annual Authors and Innovators Festival this past week. This unique event is a gift to the business community – a chance to learn and mingle in a breezy format that doesn’t get caught up in slide shows, but encourages all of us to up our game on the latest trends in business, engage in face-to-face friendly “debate,” get exposed to some emerging entrepreneurs, and perhaps get out of our “comfort zone” relative to our daily routines.
Resetting the Culture|Table Stakes
Evening Keynote Nigel Travis – above
Morning Keynote William Kerr – below
Thursday evening kicked off with Nigel Travis, Executive Chair of the Board of Dunkin Brands. He discussed the fundamental premise of his book, The Challenge Culture. He reinforced the notion that most people do not like to be challenged and most employees are not comfortable challenging or “pushing back” on authority. Yet, creating a “safe environment” for this type of behavior is critical to solving problems and coming up with innovative solutions. His own tactics, such as “coffee conversations” were held to create this open exchange and he continues to find new ways to introduce this thinking into other organizations where he can make an impact. A lifelong learner – he continues to challenge himself to think bigger on this issue – how to create a healthy tension in the workplace. He cited the book Jeapordy (ala Netflix) and encourages business leaders to constantly absorb new thinking. It’s all out there – books, podcasts, blogs, and videos. As Nigel embarks on his upcoming Asia-Pac meetings, he looks forward to finding out how these ideas will be received or “pushed back!”
Kindly step outside your comfort zone
The first morning panel consisted of an entrepreneur, Jeff Gushard who left a cozy spot at Bain to launch a menswear company, Manual Outifitters; Andy Molinsky, author of Reach; and Leanne Ross Founder of of Ivy Ladder who left a senior position in the insurance industry. Her business premise was to bridge the gap between the skills of entry level job candidates and the needs in companies. Having seen this challenge day to day in her role, she decided it was an area of personnel development that needed to be fixed for employers, parents, and students.
Each panelist addressed the issue of why they felt they needed to make a major professional pivot– a common thread was being able to see an idea all the way through – something that rarely happens in a large entity. Equally importantly, they shared their journeys and how they incrementally challenged themselves along the way to prepare for a more radical change. Andy made the analogy – “you don’t actually jump from the couch to the 10K – you have to build those muscles over time.” Among the key messages from this session was in fact that there is no “leap” into the entrepreneurial path. It’s actually an evolution and may start small and while you are in the comfort zone. However, once the leap is made, you have to have the full conviction to succeed.
A Workforce Transformed
Breakout presentation Evolving Workplaces & Workplaces with Jones Lang Lasalle
This robust panel focused on the challenges and opportunities in finding diverse talent and harvesting it to catalyze change. This panel evolved into a more debate-style conversation. The astounding statistic that millennials are experiencing “40% underemployment” is a call to action according to author, Ryan Craig of A new U: Faster & Cheaper Alternatives to College Education. Craig focuses on “the last mile” to close the skills gap which drove the debate about whether technology is helping or hurting job and growth opportunities long term. MIT’s Inclusive Innovation Challenge, for example (represented by Devin Cook) rewards over one million dollars to global entrepreneurs using technology to drive economic opportunity for workers.
Is this issue “solvable” through alternative forms of training creating a more diverse work force (Carol Fulp, Success through Diversity), changes in higher education, or looking for a complete alternative to formal education- emergence of a “new collar” category of worker? Ellen Ruppel Shell (B.U.) highlighted 8 years of research behind what she calls a “National Work Disorder.” Her thesis distinguishes the work we do vs. the job itself. The impact we can have on a “job” sets up false expectations. Whereas striving for satisfaction from our work is more realistic. One of the key issues that struck a chord with listeners was the lack of problem solving and analytical skills… Share on X
Innovation as the Strategy for the Future of work
After listening to the panelists, I would have called this “A new paradigm for the Hare and the Turtle.” Almost all of the panelist took a virtual step back to tame the innovation beast, reminding the audience that there are alternative strategies to speed and best practices to be shared.
Startups naturally are at the heart of this topic and Will Herman, Startup Playbook was there to remind entrepreneurs that there are plenty of lessons learned upon which they can build. One he chose to highlight was on the importance of culture and getting it right early in the game. “What happens if you are not here?” is a key question he asks of tightly bonded founders. He also emphasized the importance of vetting the product-market fit right even if it takes longer. If you can prove early success, you have a better shot at qualifying for an
Women@Work – by Christina Van Houten dedicated to the economic advancement & self-reliance of women and girls around the world
A-round of funding and give away less ownership.
In his overview of Detonate, Geoff Tuff advocates to replace the word “Innovation” with the idea of “creating new economic value.” By making this shift, it opens the door for more subtle changes that can make a big impact inside of established organization. Not everything has to be totally “disrupted” and he bemoans the overuse of this concept. Building on this notion, Christina Van Houten, Chief Strategy Officer, Mimecast (and author of a book series called Women@Work) shared the experience of acquiring companies – another route to growth that brings its own set of cultural challenges. She cleverly compares buying a company to buying a shiny new car. If you don’t understand and nurture the “people” inside the acquired company, you might find yourself without an “engine” inside. To grow strategically, one must capture the operations, ecosystems, and DNA of the culture you are acquiring to ensure it creates the value you are seeking.
Larry Gennari center
Laura Burke, Chatham Bars Inn left
Jacqueline Ganim-DeFalco right
In Gigged Sarah Kessler discusses the impact of workers that are NOT part of a founding culture effectively, the diverse “freelance” economy that is now comprised of one of three workers. Using Uber as another example, it seems a steep challenge to impose a company culture on contract employee. Sarah raised many questions relative to the satisfaction of these workers, the economic viability long term, and challenges to employers to create a “community.” Concerned? We have time to figure this out. Earlier in the day, William Kerr, author of The Gift of Global Talent assured us that in the large employment picture, digital labor has not moved the needle substantially. At the entry level, it is still well below the workforce engaged by the top ranking temp agencies. He also argues that it is not a zero-sum talent game and that whatever benefits we are seeing today of the global workforce are coincidental – there is much for to do proactively and strategically to benefit our economy and culture.
Let’s hear it for Larry Genarri whose enthusiasm for this festival is contagious. Larry was described as an “encyclopedia” by his colleagues and recently featured in the BBJ for his pursuit of great business books!