One simply cannot be in Innovation management without having a pulse on what is happening internationally. In the case of my industry, being at the intersection of media, telecom and technology is a must and finding those leading-edge markets and regions where innovation is accelerating ahead of the USA is critical to my practice. For my industry these regions and countries are Europe, Korea and Japan.
One simple example is broadband penetration in Japan. While in the USA we get excited about 5Mg download speeds for $40 a month, in Japan the going deal is 100Mbps for $19.99. Now, that is what I call broadband. And, oh yes, I forgot to mention, it is fiber and not cable.
Two weeks ago I had the chance to feel the international pulse via a conference in Europe; Berlin, Germany to be exact. The event was wonderful and what struck me the most about the event was the seriousness of the proceedings and the dedication and attention given by the attendees to the topics and discussions. There seemed to be a genuine, intellectually-based desire to learn and explore new horizons. I compare this with US-based events where there always seems to be an undercurrent of stress characterized by attendees looking to sell their next deal. Moreover, the attention spans in the USA are supremely short and getting shorted every day. It seems as though we no longer care about learning about new ideas, business models, etc...
Being an internationalist, this reinforces my lifelong mission to educate about the benefits of learning from our fellow human beings across our shores.
One simple example is broadband penetration in Japan. While in the USA we get excited about 5Mg download speeds for $40 a month, in Japan the going deal is 100Mbps for $19.99. Now, that is what I call broadband. And, oh yes, I forgot to mention, it is fiber and not cable.
Two weeks ago I had the chance to feel the international pulse via a conference in Europe; Berlin, Germany to be exact. The event was wonderful and what struck me the most about the event was the seriousness of the proceedings and the dedication and attention given by the attendees to the topics and discussions. There seemed to be a genuine, intellectually-based desire to learn and explore new horizons. I compare this with US-based events where there always seems to be an undercurrent of stress characterized by attendees looking to sell their next deal. Moreover, the attention spans in the USA are supremely short and getting shorted every day. It seems as though we no longer care about learning about new ideas, business models, etc...
Being an internationalist, this reinforces my lifelong mission to educate about the benefits of learning from our fellow human beings across our shores.
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