What lessons can we learn from the people that are at the forefront of the creative revolution? What lessons can be gleamed from the cutting edge of modern day innovation? and how can we harness these lessons to improve our own companies, brands, advertising and marketing?
The Sound attended this years Fast Company: Innovation Uncensored event looking to find the answers to questions just like these. We heard from visionary speakers, creative masterminds and Fortune 500 CEO's. They spoke and we listened.
We got inside PepsiCo's playbook, heard about the new customer experience and learnt the secrets to building a cult brand. We heard about how to lead a creative company, why innovation is everything and how crowd funding will continue to disrupt well established industries - better yet, we synthesized the learnings and implications to share with you all.
Here they are, 10 carefully crafted lessons we think will benefit companies and professionals in any industry.
2. 2
...speakers that were truly thought provoking and inspiring
THIS YEARS INNOVATION UNCENSORED EVENT HELD APRIL 10TH AT THE TIMES
CENTER, NYC PLAYED HOST TO AN AMAZING PANEL OF SPEAKERS...
3. The New
Customer
Experience
The secret to
building a cult
brand
Entrepreneurship,
innovation and
empowerment
How to lead a
creative
company
How crowd
funding will
continue to
disrupt the
classroom
Why innovation is
everything
What happens
when competitors
collaborate
Evernote’s China
Cheat Sheet
Why Aereo will
prevail
Inside PepsiCo’s
playbook
3
THEY SPOKE ABOUT...
4. 4
We were lucky enough to
attend, take in and be inspired
by their thinking... in the spirit
of transparency and
conversation, we wanted to
share our takeaways with you.
Here we go...!
5. 5
“Most
problems
have
been
solved
already,
it’s
more
about
how
do
we
learn
and
solve
them
more
ef9iciently”
Chelsea
Clinton
Business today is more about
refining than re-inventing the wheel
#1
6. 6
“We’re
now
seeing
a
con9luence
of
government
and
business
at
not
just
the
national
but
state
and
even
local
level...
There
are
now
more
people
in
New
York
selling
on
Etsy
than
there
are
cab
drivers”
Chad
Dickerson,
CEO
Etsy
...and craft entrepreneurship is
revitalizing industry. Everywhere!
7. 7
“Don’t
show
up
one
guy
one
day,
and
then
another
guy
the
next
day
-‐
no
one
will
know
how
to
be
friends
with
you”
Sophia
Amorusu,
Founder
and
CEO
Nasty
Gal
Brands need to give people something
that’s compelling, consistent and
transparent - it needs to feel real
#2
8. 8
“Brands
are
still
best
experienced
in
the
real
world”
Sophia
Amorusu,
Founder
and
CEO
Nasty
Gal
...because while digital breaks
down barriers to entry, it’s still all
about the experience
9. 9
“Being
a
cult
brand
to
me
is
when
people
like
us,
and
other
people
don’t
know
why”
James
Freeman,
Founder
and
CEO
Blue
Bottle
Coffee
Building a “cult” brand, depends on
having very clear values that your
community can understand and share
#3
10. “I
wanted
to
create
something
that
was
the
anti-‐thesis
of
the
rat-‐race
mentality.....ToughMudder
is
about
building
something
bigger
than
yourself”
Will
Dean,
Founder
and
CEO
ToughMudder
...something that’s founded on a
bigger premise, a goal your
community can share, shape, re-
interpret and work towards
10
11. 11
“If
it’s
too
perfect,
too
pre-‐meditated
it’s
going
to
put
people
on
edge”
James
Freeman,
Founder
and
CEO
Blue
Bottle
Coffee
...principals that guide the brand
without micro-managing or over-
engineering its journey
12. 12
“With
modern
day
food
there’s
very
little
new
invention
and
a
lot
of
collage.
It’s
about
seeing
something
and
thinking
how
can
i
do
this
in
my
voice”
Seamus
Mullen,
Chef
and
Owner
Tertulia
and
El
Comado
By changing the paradigm and seeing
the landscape as a communal
marketplace, you can be inspired by
the competition not afraid of it
#4
13. 13
“I’m
not
competing
with
the
guy
down
the
street,
i’m
competing
with
myself
-‐
people
need
to
love
what
i
do”
Christian
Pappanicholas,
Chef
and
Owner,
Resto
and
The
Cannibal
...because ultimately it’s about you
and your offer. If you build
something great, they will come
14. 14
“Understand
that
you’re
going
to
be
wrong
way
more
often
than
you’re
right
because
creativity
is
about
solving
problems,
when
we
9irst
put
something
up
it
usually
sucks”
Ed
Catmull,
President
Pixar
and
Disney
Animation
Studios
Embrace the “ugly baby” and try not to
over-romanticize the creative process
#5
15. 15
“The
cost
of
preventing
mistakes
is
far
greater
than
the
cost
of
9ixing
them
-‐
mistakes
are
an
indication
that
you’re
trying
something
new”
Ed
Catmull,
President
Pixar
and
Disney
Animation
Studios
...don’t be afraid of making
mistakes, see them as stepping
stones or fuel for the process
16. 16
“A
mediocre
team
will
take
a
good
idea
and
screw
it
up.
A
great
team
will
take
a
mediocre
idea
and
9ix
it
or
make
it
better”
Ed
Catmull,
President
Pixar
and
Disney
Animation
Studios
...understand that the right team is
almost always the hardest thing to
put in place
17. 17
“Think
big,
but
start
small
-‐
test
the
market,
tell
your
story,
9ind
out
what
works
then
re-‐tell
it”
Troy
Carter,
CEO
Atom
Factory
Look to find that “slow bake” magic, the
journey of a thousand miles starts with a
single step
#6
18. 18
“There’s
something
special
about
the
discovery
process
as
you’re
starting
out,
it
makes
things
more
meaningful”
Troy
Carter,
CEO
Atom
Factory
...that way you build deeper connections,
ones that both sides commit to and take
an interest in helping grow
19. 19
“The
view
from
the
front
lines
is
often
where
it’s
at
its
clearest”
Charles
Best,
Founder
and
CEO
Donorschoose.org
Your community are best positioned
(and motivated) to solve the
imperfections they see with the market
#7
20. 20
“They
may
not
typically
adopt
9irst,
but
the
teachers
with
years
and
years
of
experience
are
such
a
powerful
force
-‐
they’ve
got
so
much
pent
up
creativity
because
they’ve
gone
without
something
like
this
for
so
long”
Charles
Best,
Founder
and
CEO
Donorschoose.org
...experience always counts, but is so
much more powerful when linked with
new perspectives and innovations
21. 21
“Think
about
all
the
free
stationary
businesses
basically
let
their
interns
steal,
those
supplies
are
invaluable
to
teachers
around
the
country”
Anil
Dash,
Founder
and
CEO
ThinkUp
...because things you take for granted
can impart huge change when
introduced in a different context
22. 22
“When
we
were
looking
at
China
as
a
new
market,
we
constantly
asked
ourselves
how
does
this
improve
us
or
our
mission?”
Phil
Libin,
CEO
Evernote
Growth shouldn’t occur just for
growths sake
#8
23. 23
“You’ve
got
to
maintain
that
element
of
locality
if
you
want
to
continue
to
foster
a
two
way
conversation”
Phil
Libin,
CEO
Evernote
...and the value of local knowledge
is, well it’s invaluable
24. 24
“It
differs
from
corporate
social
responsibility
in
our
eyes
because
it’s
how
we
make
our
money,
not
how
we
spend
it”
Indra
Nooyi,
Chairman
and
CEO
PepsiCo
Merge performance with a
purpose in everything you do
#9
25. 25
“The
process
(eating
Dorito’s)
almost
always
involved
licking
their
hands
periodically
and
tipping
the
bag
out
at
the
end
to
get
all
the
spices
and
crumbs
-‐
great
for
the
guys,
but
not
how
many
women
wanted
to
eat
a
bag
-‐
so
we
had
to
re-‐think
it,
how
do
we
make
it
more
feminine?”
Indra
Nooyi,
Chairman
and
CEO
PepsiCo
...seek to provide a totally inclusive
product experience, think about it on
a human level and perspective
26. 26
“This
is
a
vision
company
and
we
believe
at
the
very
least
it’s
a
step
in
the
right
direction.
We’re
going
to
build
something
and
the
market
will
decide
if
it
has
merit”
Chet
Kanojia,
CEO
Aereo
Trust in your vision and be
prepared to take chances
#10
27. 27
“Chet
Kanojia
is
the
Kanye
West
of
tech”
Baratunde
Thurston,
emcee
for
the
day
and
CEO
Cultivated
Wit
..and if all else fails, remember
you’re a f***ing rockstar...!!!
28. 28
KEEP THE
CONVERSATION
GOING!!!
We’d
love
to
hear
from
you,
get
in
touch
if....
You
were
there
and
have
more
to
add
You
want
to
understand
anything
in
a
little
more
depth
You’re
curious
about
what
this
means
for
your
industry,
brand
or
company
Or
even
if
you’re
just
curious
in
general,
we’re
here
to
help!
29. LEARNINGS FROM THE WORLDS LEADING INNOVATORS
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THANK YOUsimon@thesoundhq.com