Innotown is a group that was established to promote innovation in economies around the world. Kathy and I are just back from this year’s conference in Ålesund Norway where we joined 450 other people from many countries in exploring the critical role of innovation to the future of our planet and the creatures that inhabit it.  Here is a summary of what has stayed with me as I have been sorting out the sometimes contradictory, but always stimulating presentations.

Lynda Gratton, Professor of Management at the London Business School, confirmed what I already believed about the imperative of avoiding complacency with, as Lynda put it, its inevitable consequence of isolation, fragmentation and exclusion. She pressed the need for a crafted future characterized by transparency, choice, co-creation and balanced living. My thoughts on Lynda’s points are these: she was thinking high level planning and large organizational groups. But organizations are made up of people. In order for the organization to craft its future, every person in it has to do likewise. It is critical that we begin to equip people with the tools, skills and strategies to consciously construct their future so that each one can play a conscious part in crafting the future of their organization and the world.

The story Chris Bangle told of his time as chief designer of BMW Group (1992 – 2009) reminded me to adjure the status quo in favour of imagination and possibility.  I get tired just thinking about it, but how wonderful to hear this voice of encouragement.

Blake Mycoskie, founder and Chief Shoe Giver (love it!) of Tom’s Shoes Inc. is someone who walked to the beat of his own drum, and that took him off the traditional path. One might ask where he got the inspiration to do such a thing. My answer is that he couldn’t help himself. He was one of the few who, all on their own, just shut out the cacophony of external voices telling them what is important, turn up the volume on their internal voice, and head off in directions that make perfect sense because they are living their purpose (sometimes called their passion). Wouldn’t it be great if everyone were equipped to know their purpose and live it?

Rohit Talwar, founder of Fast Future Research caught my attention with his definition of strategy as being the art of when to say yes and when to say no. It sounds simple, but we all know that without a clear set of tools to test each option, decision-making related to our work, learning and life becomes hit and miss. Sometimes we win; sometimes we lose.  But this situation is not good enough. Since defining your purpose, vision and strategy becomes the base on which you build the rest of your plan, it is essential to lay an excellent foundation.  Everyone, not just a few, needs to learn how to do this.

Roger Flynn, former CEO of BBC Ventures Group, stressed the idea that it’s not enough to get a good strategy; you have to get the implementation done well. I liked his framework for describing the people that populate any workplace, and who must be integral to any implementation process. I want to ask Roger about how he increases the number of “players” to the number needed for successful implementation, and how he gets them to remain “players”. On what terms do the “well poisoners” depart if they cannot be co-opted? Is it possible to help everyone get into the best place for them so that they are all “players”?

Jung Chang, author of Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China and Mao: The Unknown Story, gave us a glimpse of the Chinese way of thinking – so different from our own. China looms in the consciousness of everyone and cannot be ignored.

Chris Martenson, creator of The Crash Course, told us that we need to take a look at and acknowledge the inevitable economic, energy and environmental dynamic and find non status quo solutions. If we can’t… no… if we won’t downsize, we will find ourselves in predicaments that have outcomes we cannot influence. I found myself thinking about how each of us frames bad news and decides how to move forward. As long as I have the sure foundational knowledge about what is central to me as I interact with my world, I have the ability to make adjustments that work for me when I am face critical times. I can make a positive difference in my world.

Peter Diamandis, founder and Chairman of X Prize Foundation, told us that the day before something is a breakthrough, it is a crazy idea. X Prize has shifted problem solving away from formal institutions and into the hands of entrepreneurs. They have made it possible for people to explore their crazy ideas – to indulge their imaginations and find new ways to meet the challenges of this world and beyond. Whether team participants are there for the prize, the thrill of the chase or to contribute to the common good, they form lean, mean, innovative teams. I wonder how the teams find their members and what brings each of them to the project? I wonder if they are among the few who have learned to shut out the cacophony of external voices and are simply following their best path instinctively, just as the Chief Shoe Giver did?

The comments above are what stayed with me. If you asked any of the other 449 participants, you would hear 449 different versions of what happened. Why? Because each of us sees the world though our own particular lens – the lens of our intrinsic motivator first, and then in terms of the other lenses we use as we understand and interact with our world. More on that later.