McDonald - Innovation : How innovators think, act and change our world

This ebook published in 2013 by

Kogan Page Limited

120 Pentonville Road

London N1 9JN

UK

www.koganpage.com

Kim Chandler McDonald, 2013

E-ISBN 978 0 7494 6967 2

For Michael

Most.

We are like dwarfs on the shoulders of giants, so that we can see more than they.

Bernard of Chartres [ th century]

Theres a way of playing safe, theres a way of using tricks and theres the way I like to play, which is dangerously, where youre going to take a chance on making mistakes in order to create something you havent created before.

Dave Brubeck

The theory of relativity occurred to me by intuition, and music is the driving force behind this intuition My new discovery is the result of musical perception.

Albert Einstein

CONTENTS

Disclaimer: The interviews in this book have been edited for print. All the opinions expressed herein are strictly those of the respective interviewees and interviewer (myself); they do not represent the views of any companies or company affiliates.

Thanks to:

Michael for everything.

The McDonalds for sharing their farm and their family with me.

Marco Del Vecchio who was the first to suggest that not only should this book be written, but that I should be the one to write it.

Andy Rotman-Zaod and Julian Keith Loren for the introductions they made and their faith that I would live up to their effusiveness.

Donna DuCarme, Diane Macey, Jason Revere, Russell Watson, Tracey Gibson and Agnes Benjamin for being bothered to stay close, even while far away and Carl Lewis who knows he doesnt have to.

Linda Tolbert and Simon Kearns for their energy, enthusiasm and extraordinariness.

Shelby Piton for knowing where its all buried and guarding the shovel.

Liz Gooster for taking a chance.

All the !nnovators, and their teams, for their inspiration, their insight, their generosity of spirit and their graciousness in putting up with a pestering author such as myself.

To all of these wonderful people I owe at least a glass of wine (though a few may have to wait a couple of years before theyre legally old enough to drink it). Some of them I owe a winery Ill see what I can do!

Kim Chandler McDonald is Executive Vice President of KimmiC, a company she co-founded with her husband Michael, which specializes in adaptive approaches, robust technologies and leading edge innovations. A thought leader, sought after speaker and advisory board member, Kim is an advocate for disruptive approaches and transformational trends such as Flat World Navigation, meHealth and empowered endusers.

Kim has built and maintains a far-reaching network of global thought leaders. As the worlds first, branded, Flat World Navigator, Kim was included in the inaugural LinkedIn Power Profiles Australia list of 2012. Formerly, Kim was immersed in media as a writer and editor for national and international newspapers and magazines as well as being one of the host/producers of the award winning English Breakfast radio show. Kim specializes in interviewing international thought leaders and influencers in particular those who shed like to share a bottle of bubbles with.

She loves chocolate, champagne and beer but not together usually

T hree core axioms infuse this book: 1) innovation drives change cultural, societal and economic; 2) innovation, in some form, touches each and every one of us, wherever we may be, as individuals, communities and societies as a whole; and 3) innovators deserve recognition, celebration and applause. This book is my hands clapping. I hope, by the end of our time together, you join me in my ovation.

I am taking you on a journey around the world. On the way I will introduce you to innovators who have broken the mould, led the pack, and moved their own particular mountains in fields as diverse as business and technology, engineering and education, government and social policy, media, medicine and more. While they are as diverse as any other group as are the areas from which they draw inspiration there are traits that link many, if not most of them.

Though at times it may be daunting, innovators are compelled to tell their truths whether we, the public want to hear them or not. Some boldly go where no one has been, or thought to be, before. Most of them are applauded for it, but that is not why they do what they do. Innovators run when most are content to walk; this is true even when their leaps of faith can leave some of us queasy with anxiety. Without their willingness to delve into the depths of the unknown, we would all be lessened; their innovations have changed the way we see, and live in, our world.

Think where we might be if Michael Faraday hadnt brought us the innovation of electromagnetism, or Nikola Tesla the alternating current. Niels Bohrs work with quantum mechanics is the basis for all we take for granted in communication and modern electronics. Perhaps my favourite historical innovator is Johannes Gutenberg, he of the precious printing press. His work, which brought books to the masses, led to reformations in religion, politics and society as a whole.

Looking forward, innovation will be as important in our next great leap forward as it was during the Industrial Revolution. Without the steam engine and Spinning Jenny, our world economy would look much different. In all likelihood the same can be said for those innovations that are now, or will soon be, presenting themselves. It is these innovations that will ensure that we survive and, with any luck, thrive in the new Global Digital Economy (GDE) and it is innovators that we have to thank for this.

Together, were going to find out what makes innovators tick, talk and tremble. Perhaps, by understanding these things, we will be able to understand the future that awaits us all a little more comfortably. In the interviews in this book youll find answers from artists and authors, engineers and entrepreneurs, doctors and designers, educators and architects, scientists and explorers of space, business people, bankers, politicians, printers, and many more. There are those who focus on the micro, the macro, the profit, the public, the bold, the beautiful, the richest, the poorest, the sun, the moon, the earth, and almost everything in between. There are no right or wrong answers in this book: there is only the exploration and the celebration of innovation and of how these world-class innovators rock their roles.

In travelling through !nnovation you also have an opportunity to explore your own innovative thinking. I begin each chapter with a word cloud. Look out for these words as you read each interview. They are the commonalities the themes, if you will that link and lead. They are the warp and weft, the contexts and concepts, the melodies and harmonies of this symphony of extraordinary, and extraordinarily innovative, individuals.

Following each main interview I have included a simple Keyword imagination exercise. Take five minutes, close your eyes, and see what thoughts and ideas they inspire. Take some time some you time to allow your mind to wander freely and make an innovation investment in yourself. There are no right or wrong answers, no test to study for this is your time to delve into the deep insights shared in these interviews, investigate your own connection to innovation and explore the potential differentiation that you can bring to your world, your business and yourself.