The art of innovation | Guy Kawasaki | TEDxBerkeley

Summary

In this TEDx talk, the speaker, a Stanford graduate with a career spanning Apple, venture capital, and advising Google, shares his top ten insights on innovation. He emphasizes starting with a desire to make a meaningful impact rather than just money, crafting a mantra, and jumping to the next curve in technology. The speaker also discusses the importance of perspective, DICEE qualities in innovation, embracing initial imperfections, and letting a hundred flowers blossom in terms of unexpected uses. He advises on the art of pitching, positioning, and dealing with naysayers, concluding with a humorous take on overcoming 'Bozos' to drive innovation.

Takeaways

• 🎓 The speaker is a Stanford graduate and has a connection to Cal through his son, emphasizing the honor of opening a TEDx event.
• 🤝 The theme of the talk revolves around innovation, with the speaker sharing his top ten insights on the art of innovation gleaned from his diverse experiences.
• 💡 Innovation should start with the desire to make a meaningful impact rather than just making money, as changing the world often leads to financial success.
• 📜 The importance of creating a mantra—a concise explanation of a company's purpose—to guide innovation and differentiate it from generic mission statements.
• 🔄 The concept of 'jumping curves' to innovate is highlighted, using the evolution of the ice industry as an example of how innovation disrupts the status quo.
• 🎲 The DICEE framework is introduced as a guide for creating innovative products that are deep, intelligent, complete, empowering, and elegant.
• 🚀 The speaker encourages embracing imperfection in early innovations, advocating for the release of 'crappy' versions to kickstart the innovation process.
• 🌼 The idea of 'letting 100 flowers blossom' suggests that innovation should welcome unexpected uses and users of a product, as they can lead to success.
• 🔮 Products that polarize opinions are a sign of great innovation, as they evoke strong reactions, indicating that they have made a significant impact.
• 🔄 The necessity of continuous improvement, or 'churning', is stressed to evolve a product and respond to feedback from users and critics.
• 📈 The marketing principle of 'niching' oneself is presented as a strategy to position a product as both unique and valuable in the market.
• 📊 The importance of perfecting one's pitch is underscored, with advice on customizing introductions and adhering to the '10-20-30 rule' for effective presentations.
• 🦸‍♂️ Lastly, the speaker advises not to let 'Bozos'—naysayers or detractors—discourage innovation, drawing from examples of past failed predictions by industry leaders.

Q & A

What is the speaker's educational background mentioned in the script?

The speaker is a Stanford graduate.

What is the speaker's connection to Cal mentioned in the script?

The speaker's son goes to Cal, which establishes his link to the University of California.

Why does the speaker believe the top ten format is effective in speeches?

The speaker believes the top ten format helps the audience track progress through the speech and know how much longer the speaker will be speaking if they find the content unsatisfactory.

What is the speaker's first key point about innovation?

The first key point about innovation is to have the desire to make meaning rather than just make money, as making meaning often leads to both success and financial gain.

Can you provide an example of a company making meaning as mentioned in the script?

Apple is given as an example, with their mission to democratize computers and bring computing power to everyone.

What does the speaker suggest instead of a traditional mission statement?

The speaker suggests creating a mantra, a short phrase of two to four words that encapsulates the purpose of the company or idea.

What is the issue with Wendy's mission statement according to the speaker?

The issue with Wendy's mission statement is that it is too long and complex, failing to provide a clear and memorable reason for the company's existence.

What concept does the speaker introduce with the term 'jump curves'?

The concept of 'jump curves' refers to the idea of moving to the next level or innovation curve instead of making incremental improvements to the current one.

What are the five qualities of great innovation represented by the acronym DICEE?

The acronym DICEE stands for Deep, Intelligent, Complete, Empowering, and Elegant, which are the five qualities the speaker believes great innovations should possess.

What does the speaker mean by 'Don't worry, be crappy'?

The speaker uses 'Don't worry, be crappy' to suggest that it's acceptable to release a product with some flaws when it represents a revolutionary step forward, as long as it's not outright poor quality.

What advice does the speaker give regarding the use of a product by unintended users or in unexpected ways?

The speaker advises to embrace and be thankful when users find unexpected uses for a product, as this can lead to innovation and new markets.

What does the speaker mean by 'Let 100 flowers blossom'?

The phrase 'Let 100 flowers blossom' is used to encourage the acceptance of diverse and unexpected uses of a product, which can lead to innovation and success.

What is the importance of polarizing people in the context of innovation, according to the speaker?

The speaker suggests that great products and services can polarize people, meaning they elicit strong reactions, both positive and negative. This is a sign of a product making a significant impact.

What does the speaker suggest is the key to successful innovation in business?

The speaker suggests that continuous improvement, or 'churning', is key to successful innovation. This involves iteratively refining and evolving a product post-release.

What is the significance of the 10-20-30 rule of presentations mentioned by the speaker?

The 10-20-30 rule is a guideline for effective presentations: use no more than 10 slides, aim to present them within 20 minutes, and ensure the font size is no smaller than 30 points for readability.

What does the speaker advise innovators to do when faced with naysayers?

The speaker advises innovators to initially ignore naysayers who may discourage innovation, but once a product is shipped, to start listening to feedback and make necessary changes.

What is the speaker's strategy for dealing with 'Bozos' who may try to discourage innovation?

The speaker suggests that innovators should not let 'Bozos', or naysayers, grind them down. He differentiates between two types of Bozos and advises building up resistance to their negative influence.