Overview

I often give team talks, keynotes, and presentations on topics related to strategic innovation, maintaining creativity and imagination in the enterprise, Design Fiction, 'Future of..' topics, and deep-dives on specific projects we've done. An inspiring talk (virtual or in-person) on these and related topics can be part of a standalone keynote, team building exercise, internal events, or as part of an offsite.

Outcomes & Deliverables

Our keynotes provide provide employees encouragement and practical approaches to increase their creative thinking and problem solving. Our approaches provide a protocol for activating the imagination in order to navigate the unexpected vagaries of "what's next", the uncertainty implicit in any consideration of "the future" of any sector, industry, company, or products.

Near Future Laboratory talks specifically provide an experience that:

• Inspire new perspectives by showcasing how Design Fiction pushes boundaries through speculative prototypes and narratives. This sparks ideas employees may not have considered previously.
• Allow employees to envision how their company and industry may evolve 5, 10 or 20 years from now. This influences strategic planning and product roadmaps.
• Demonstrate how Design Fiction and speculative design can identify unintended consequences of new technologies. This promotes discussing ethics and responsibilities.
• Highlight how Design Fiction is a powerful team ideation technique. Coworkers can collaboratively craft stories and artifacts imagining desired futures.
• Provide takeaways, such as books and work kits from our publishing department, with material and creative ideation systems that employees can apply in their daily work to inject more creativity into problem solving and concept generation.
• Encourage interdepartmental collaboration, as Design Fiction brings together diverse skillsets in research, design, writing, prototyping, and more.
• Inspire attendees with examples of innovative companies using Design Fiction, showing its growing relevance.
• Allow employees to engage directly through a Q&A session to explore use cases tailored to their company's needs.