Carrie Vanston presents “5 Keys to an Engaged & Innovative Culture” at CTXWFS, May 27, Austin, TX

May 26, 2015

Come hear me speak on “Five Keys to an Engaged and Innovative Culture” at CTXWFS on Wed, May 27, 7pm at Café Express, 3418 N. Lamar Blvd in Austin, Texas! No charge or need to register. Food and beverage available for purchase, but please arrive early to order. Details below. Hope to see you there!

Warm regards,
Carrie

Five Keys to the Engaged and Innovative Culture of the Future

 By Carrie Vanston

This presentation provides individuals and organizations five key ways to create and grow an engaged and innovative culture that is cutting-edge, while increasing retention, productivity, employee and customer loyalty, and profitability. A strong purpose, vision, and the inclusion of all stakeholders is vital to accomplish these goals.

Attendees will gain an understanding of why companies that establish and maintain innovative cultures are the ones most likely to succeed and thrive. They will learn practical ways for staying ahead of the latest industry trends and for creating a caring environment that encourages the highest engagement of an organization’s most important resource – the creativity of its employees.

Speaker Bio for Carrie Vanston

Carrie Vanston is VP of Communications and Culture Coach at Technology Futures, Inc. She excels at helping clients create and grow innovative cultures that succeed and thrive by staying on the cutting edge of industry trends with maximum engagement by all stakeholders. She is a consummate connector, who enjoys bringing like-minded people together to share, learn, and grow. Carrie is Co-Author of the award-winning book MINITRENDS: How Innovators & Entrepreneurs Discover & Profit From Business & Technology Trends. Recent articles by Carrie have appeared in Texas CEO Magazine and the Austin Business Journal.

Note from Carrie: 

We at TFI have been enthusiastic supporters/members of CTXWFS and its parent World Future Society for many years. These are wonderful organizations for those who see foresight as an important way to improve our businesses and our world. We appreciate CTXWFS and WFS for sponsoring our 2012-2014 MiniTrends Conferences and providing excellent CTXWFS speakers including Steve Pearson, Wayne Caswell, Jeffrey Fry, and Joyce Gioia. Long-time Contributing Editor to WFS’s The Futurist Magazine, David Pearce Snyder, was so well-received as our 2012 Keynote, we had him back in 2014! Dr. John Vanston, David, and I did Master Courses in 2013 and 2014 at WFS’s annual WorldFuture Conference. This year I am honored not only to be speaking on the Five Keys here at CTXWFS, but also at July’sWorldFuture 2015 in San Francisco. Thanks, CTXWFS and WFS!

Central Texas World Future Society: Formed in 2003, CTXWFS is a nonprofit educational and networking organization.  Members come from all walks of life, professions, ages and experiences.  We are drawn together by a common desire to learn how emerging issues, disruptive technologies, ongoing trends and current events interact to shape our collective future.

The Ultimate Quesiton – Do You Validate? World Champion Speech by Lance Miller

March 13, 2015

The Ultimate Question by Lance Miller

“…every person goes through life wanting to be right, wanting to be valuable. Find that, bring it out in them.”

I recently had the pleasue of attending a wonderful talk by professional speaker and speaking coach Lance Miller. He believes that great presentations are not about the speaker, but about how the speech improves the way your audience thinks and lives. In addition to speaking about great ways for speakers to connect with audiences, and yes, connecting with us, Lance shared with us the video of the “The Ultimate Question,” the speech he used to win the Toastmasters International 2005 World Champion of Public Speaking.  Being that he was competing against thousands of Toastmasters from around the world, not surprisingly it is an AMAZING speech.

Lance’s winning speech focuses on the importance taking the time to validating yourself and others.  As related to JDonavon on how Lance found his message ““Early on in my Toastmasters experience, I asked what the International contest was.  Somebody told me that it is your five to seven minutes to say something important to the world. So, I asked myself, ‘If I could make one change in the world, what would it be?’  It struck me that if we just validated each other, by looking for what is right rather than for what is wrong, then the world would be a much better place.”

The speech reminds me of the classic “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. Thank you very much to District 55 Toastermasters and Event Organizer Jerry Barrett for bringing Lance to Austin.

I hope you will enjoy the video as much as I do.

Warmly,
Carrie

Always Super Bowl Ad “Like a Girl” – Great Example of Purpose Branding

February 6, 2015

P&G’s Always Super Bowl Ad “Like a Girl” is such a great example of Purpose Branding — creating brand with a visionary purpose that makes a difference in the world.  Always isn’t just feminine products but “Rewriting the Rules” and changing “like a girl” to represent the strength, talent, character and downright amazingness of every girl.

As Entrepreneur notes so nicely, “Of course it’s no secret that a great many commercials from Super Bowls past put the emphasis on objectifying women rather than empowering them, so it’s gratifying to see the support for Always’ ongoing efforts to turn “like a girl” into a positive rather than a put down.”

You may want to consider the purpose-oriented trend in company culture and in branding for your own organization.

Cheers,
Carrie

5 Keys to an Engaged and Innovative Culture by Carrie Vanston, Texas CEO Magazine – January Issue

January 30, 2015

My Texas CEO Magazine article “MiniTrends: Five Keys to an Engaged and Innovative Culture” is up! The  article discusses 5 ways to combine the process of finding emerging trends with engaging employees in order to improve your culture and bottom line.To stay successful, organizations must constantly look for the latest emerging trends and incorporate the most relevant ones into their business strategy. Not surprisingly, the organizations most likely to thrive are the ones that have the highest engagement of their most important creative resource — their employees.

Favorite Takeaways From Roy Spence of The Purpose Institute & GSD&M Speaking at ABJ’s Face-2-Face AKA Straight From the Top

January 13, 2015

Roy Spence with Carrie Vanston after his Face-2-Face Interview

I had the pleaure of attending the Austin Business Journal’s Face-2-Face Breakfast last week at Whole Foods featuring the very funny and inspiring Roy Spence, Co-Founder and Chairman of GSD&M, a leading marketing communications and advertising company here in Austin. He is also Co-Founder and CEO of The Purpose Institute and author of the Wall Street Journal bestselling book It’s Not What You Sell, It’s What You Stand For: Why Every Extraordinary Business is Driven by Purpose. He was interviewed by the always delightful Colin Pope, Editor of the Austin Business Journal, and host of F-2-F. Face-2-Face airs on Time Warner TV on Sunday mornings in Austin under the name “Straight From the Top.”

Here are my favorite takeaways from this great interview:

Roy’s mentor and customer Herb Kelleher, Founder of Southwest Airlines, taught him “Take the competition seriously, but not yourself.” He has also been greatly inspired by author Jim Collins’ book Built to Last.

Colin Pope, Austin Business Journal, interviews Roy Spence for Face-2-Face, also known as TV show Straight from the Top

Roy calls the group that has taken on much of GSD&M’s day to day business responsibilities “The Eagles” because you should always be building a better nest. Eagles work first for customers, then company, then community, and then world. The Eagles carry out the vision and purpose that is set, but do so in the way THEY see fit.

Purpose is most important. Always have a purpose beyond making money. Your purpose is where your talents meet the needs of the underserved. Start with integrity and everything else can be taught. It’s all about engaging with integrity, honor, and respect.

GSD&M’s Purpose: Create visionary ideas that make a difference.

With their campaign “Don’t Mess with Texas,” GSD&M created a 76% drop in litter by appealing to pride not litter. It’s not the litter business, its the pride business.

With Southwest they found purpose was not about flying, it was about freedom.

You’re only as young as the new stuff you do. Roy’s mother always told him, “Be great at what you’re good at, don’t be average at what you’re bad at.” Play to your strengths and encourage your kids to do the same. “What do you love to do?”

Smallness can be a huge asset, embrace it. Transform yourself to be happy, not necessarily big. Aristotle stated “Where your talents and the needs of the world cross; there lies your vocation.” When starting out, your biggest asset is naivety because you are not already set in your way of perceiving things.

Roy wrote the book 10 Essential Hugs of Life to encourage fathers to hug their children and encourage people to embrace life. Some of the essential hugs are yourself, your family, your friends, your flag, your coach/teacher/mentor, your mind/heart/future, etc. Fully embrace your journey because the destination will get here faster than you think. Whenever you get lost, you’ll find yourself in the service of others.

You become what you look for. Roy hit the road and took a picture of something good every hour and found lots of good things! If you look for friends, you’ll find them, etc.

Politics is the business of freedom. If we can get the government to agree on a higher ground that we can do better at satisfying the purpose of our nation and not just coming up with tactics.

The purpose of business is to improve life. In visionary mode you do well and are liberated. In self mode, not so much. How does Roy make decisions? He tries to look around the corner. What postive impacts will a decison make? If negative impacts, he walks away.

Don’t reinvent or rebrand your company, it’s about transformational change. You keep or find your vision and purpose and keep that intact.

By creating value for all stakeholderrs, more value is created for shareholders. An alternate to the traditional business model of only maximizing profit for shareholders, Whole Foods has been very successful with what CEO John Mackey calls “conscious capitalism.” With Whole Foods great success, the new model is catching on as a movement.

GSD&M has “Correction of Errors” meetings. “Hug your mistakes.  The ‘failures’are the character flaws. Fess up when you mess up.”

Roy likes people who like him. His mother said there are honey people and vinagar people. He likes honey people.

Marry the dreamers and the doers. Look for people with shared values. It makes no sense to him when people say don’t be partners with friends. Who makes better partners? He loves people who enjoy winning – in a good way. Take the “Strengthfinder” test and look for your partners that complement you.

Thanks to ABJ, the sponsors, and Roy Spence for sharing this fun and insightful morning.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! Best wishes for a Happy New Year!!

Warmly,
Carrie

P.S. If you missed our home-made holiday card, check it out! We’ve been designing our own holiday cards for many years now around an interesting current event or trend.  This year’s celebrates the Philae robot landing on a comet. The verse is always by Our Chairman Dr. John Vanston, design by our Creative Director Helen Mary V. Marek. (Past cards are linked at the bottom of that page.)

MiniTrends 2014: Thank You, Slides & More

October 29, 2014

Thank you to everyone who had a part in making MiniTrends 2014: Insight, Innovation & Strategy such a huge success! The speakers were fantastic, the synergy between attendees exciting, and the overall response great. Now let’s build on the connections we made and all we learned!

We want to give special thanks to our Keynotes David Pearce Snyder, Brett Hurt, and Dr. John Vanston. They brought to life our theme of the importance of foresight and culture for the success of organizations. Ditto to Dr. Jani Byrne, Joyce Gioia, and our distinguished panel.

We also greatly appreciate our wonderful Sponsors and Partners, as well as our Planning Committee and Advisory Board for their integral role in making this such a valuable and fun event.

Conference slides are up! We will post conference pictures of the sessions, meals, and reception on our MiniTrends Facebook soon. We are also preparing a video of the proceedings for purchase.

Thank you to those attendees who turned in an Evaluation Sheet. If you didn’t, please fill it our now by clicking here. We take your comments very seriously for future planning.

Join our LinkedIn MiniTrends Group and/or guest blog on our MiniTrends Blog to share thoughts about the conference and your own minitrends, experiences, and resources. Twitter is @MiniTrendsBook, #minitrends.

We welcome feedback on the book MINITRENDS: How Innovators & Entrepreneurs Discover & Profit From Business & Technology Trends that attendees received at the conference. (A quick read of the Preface (Page xxi) and Chapter 10 (Pg 185-186) gives a good overall theme of the book.) MINITRENDS also available on Amazon.

Please keep us in the loop on your activities and how you are applying methods and ideas you picked up at the conference and in the book. We use examples in our talks, blogs, and/or they may be speaking subjects for you next year.

Also please let us know if we might bring a MiniTrends Mindset to your organization through a presentation, workshop, and/or other in-house services. We want to know the direction you are heading and how we and the MiniTrends Community can help you get to where you want to be. We look forward to continuing the conversation.

IBM’s Dr. Jani Byrne joins MiniTrends 2014 (Sept 26) – Special $150 rate ends Noon Monday Sept 22

September 19, 2014

Dr. Jani Byrne
Director of Marketing, Cloud, IBM

We are delighted that Dr. Jani Byrne, Director of Marketing, Cloud, at IBM has joined the program for our 3rd annual MiniTrends 2014: Insight, Innovation & Strategy. Jani will be sharing her experiences as corporate innovator in her talk “Musings of a Wild Duck in a Big Pond.”

Jani is responsible for Content Marketing globally for Cloud, one of IBMs leading strategic initiatives, creating and distributing consumable, relevant content to drive client acquisition and purchase. Previously she served as IBM’s Director, Marketing Strategy for Global Mid-Markets MSPs and Director, Strategy.

Jani is on the Boards of The Seton Fund at the Seton Family of Hospitals’ and Austin Chamber of Commerce Technology Partnership.

Register Now for special price for full conference of only $150 until noon, Monday, September 22.

Our Keynotes are Austin Tech Leader and Bazaarvoice Founder Brett Hurt, top D.C. Futurist David Pearce Snyder, and award-winning author Dr. John Vanston. Also headlining is USA TODAY’s Road Warrior of the Year Joyce Gioia.

We have an excellent applications panel on how to turbo-charge your success and profit by combining MiniTrends methods with your innovation strategy. Panelists include Raj Asava, Jeffrey Fry, Steve Pearson, Carrie Vanston, and Larry Vanston.

The breadth and depth of the speaking talent and schedule for this awesome event it exceptional. In addition we have incredible attendees who are thought-leaders in their own right. (See what our past attendees say.) We hope you, too, will be part of the this year’s amazing event.

MiniTrends 2014: Insight, Innovation & Strategy.

Friday, September 26, 2014
8:30 am – 5:30 pm followed by “Power Hour” Reception
Holiday Inn Lady Bird Lake, Austin, TX
Full Conference for Only $150
(Special ends Noon, Monday, Sept. 22)
All attendees receive Continental Breakfast, Breaks,
and Lunch followed by a Networking Reception!
Please share offer with your friends, colleagues & networks.

2 Weeks Until MiniTrends 2014: Insight, Innovation & Strategy – Sign Up Now at Special Rate

September 12, 2014

See what all the excitement is about! MiniTrends 2014, September 26, Austin, TX

Why attend MiniTrends 2014: Insight, Innovation & Strategy on Friday, September 26, in Austin, Texas? Because it’s all about how YOU can…

1) Do More with Less.

2) Work Smarter, Not Harder.

3) Game the System.

4) Become that Rock Star!

How, you ask? Becoming adept at discerning MiniTrends will first give you insights into innovation. This ability to understand people’s wants and needs, and the underlying causes of change will allow you to see how to achieve a high return on effort, essentially letting you see a path of doing more with less, and in turn working smarter not harder.

With these new insights on possible innovations, you can begin to act on and process these new ideas in the development of new products or methodologies, thus allowing you to get a competitive advantage or as VCs like to say, “game the system.”

Finally, combining these new, undiscovered insights with derived innovations, you can increase your acumen in making or carrying out plans of action to achieve your new strategic goals. In other words, by attending MiniTrends you can become that “Rock Star” everyone talks about!

From the development of the printing press, to the photocopier, to the PC, to the Internet, and the cell phone, each one of the these now “common” inventions began when one individual was able to see an emerging trend way before the rest of crowd.

If you ever wonder how they were able to see that far into the future, you first need to have the ability to recognize what you are looking at. This conference will start you on your way to doing so.

MiniTrends 2014: Insight, Innovation & Strategy

MiniTrends’ ABJ Article – “Here’s how to stay on top of ‘minitrends’ and get ahead of the pack”

September 9, 2014

Austin Business Journal Article and Image – “Here’s how to stay on top of ‘minitrends’ and get ahead of the pack” by Dr. John Vanston and Carrie Vanston – Image from Austin Business Journal

Be sure to check out the Austin Business Journal article by Dr. John Vanston and Carrie Vanston entitled “Here’s how to stay on top of ‘minitrends’ and get ahead of the pack.” Find out how to stay on the forefront of emerging trends in your industry and quickly recognize and appreciate those trends and take advantage of them through action — and fast.

To find out even more about how you can do more with less, work smarter, not harder, game the system, and become that “Rock Star” you always hear about, attend MiniTrends 2014: Insight, Innovation & Strategy on Friday, September 26, in Austin, Texas.

Take advantage of  the special limited rate of just $150 for a full day including lunch and a “power hour” reception packed with top speakers like Bazaarvoice founder Brett Hurt, IBM Marketing Director Dr. Jani Byrne, world-renowned futurist David P. Snyder, award-winning author Dr. John Vanston, and USA TODAY’s Road Warrior of the Year Joyce Gioia — Use code “Special150-2014″ (until Sun Sept 21) or click here. Student rate also available.

A Special Price + 9 More Reasons You Should Be at MiniTrends 2014

September 5, 2014

MiniTrends 2014: Insight, Innovation & Strategy is coming to you on
Friday, September 26, in Austin, Texas. 

MiniTrends Community Special:  20% Off Discount

10 Reasons You Should Attend MiniTrends 2014: Insight, Innovation & Strategy

1. Insights for Innovation

Insight: the ability to understand people and situations in a very clear way.

Becoming adept at discerning MiniTrends will first give you insights into innovation. This ability to understand people’s wants and needs, and the underlying causes of change will allow you to see how to achieve a high return on effort, essentially letting you see a path of doing more with less and in turn working smarter not harder.

• Examine the predictable forces that are reshaping our business and technology environment.
• Learn 20 knowable future trends that you must be prepared for.
• Understand how the MiniTrends Concept can be key for continuing success.
• Use this foundational foresight to build an innovation thought-process and strategy throughout the conference day.

2. Innovation Skills

Innovation: the act or process of introducing new ideas, devices, or methods.

With these new insights on possible innovations, you can begin to act on and process these new ideas in the development of new products or methodologies, thus allowing you to get an unfair competitive advantage or as VCs like to say, “game the system.”

• Discover seven approaches for identifying minitrends.
• Learn eight resources to find where minitrends hide.
• Appreciate the vital role of leadership in promoting an innovation culture where employee creativity becomes the innovative “heart” of the organization.
• See how appreciating all stakeholders, not just stockholders, is the “secret sauce” of success.
• Find and share minitrends of your own with fellow attendees.

3. Innovation Strategy

Strategy: the skill of making or carrying out plans to achieve a goal.

Finally, by combining these new, undiscovered insights with derived innovations, you can increase your acumen in making or carrying out plans of action to achieve your new strategic goals.  In other words, by attending MiniTrends 2014 you can become that “Rock Star” everyone talks about!

• Accelerate your innovation and process development.
• Find the exogenous drivers and constraints that can help with decision making.
• Leverage minitrends in market strategy development.
• Use minitrends in making a market for a new product or service.
• Benefit from personal interaction with conference speakers during special session.
• Bring back ideas and strategies for you and your team.

4. Direct Interaction with Speakers and Expert Panelists

All-star visionaries and thought-leaders will give you the insight and tools you need to stay ahead of the curve and remain innovative in a rapidly changing business environment.Speak directly with the speakers about your own personal interests and ideas during a scheduled session just for this purpose.

5. Individual and Small Group Hands-On Exercises

Individual and group activities at MiniTrends 2014 will help you generate ideas, consider their potential as minitrends, develop partnerships, and leave with actionable plans.

6. Great Networking Opportunities

Meet, mingle, network, and share ideas with marketers, analysts, development managers, strategists, research managers, and others during continental breakfast, breakout groups, breaks, discussions, provided lunch, and the MiniTrends 2014 “power-hour” reception overlooking beautiful Lady Bird Lake.

See what all the excitement is about! Watch the video or visit our testimonial page and find out what our past MiniTrends Conference say!!

7. FREE copy of Award-Winning MINITRENDS book

—Your Own MiniTrends Resource

As a special value add, you will receive your very own description of the MiniTrends Concept to take home—the award-winning book MINITRENDS: How Entrepreneurs & Innovators Discover & Profit From Business & Technology Trends by Dr. John Vanston and Carrie Vanston.

A $19.95 value!

8. Meet our Sponsors and Partners

We appreciate our Sponsors and Partners who share our vision of helping business leaders thrive by combining foresight with a creative culture honoring all stakeholders.

9. Enjoy Tech-Friendly and Beautiful Austin, Texas!

Austin is a thriving, cosmopolitan city and one of the leading high-tech hubs in the U.S. With more than 120,000 people employed by more than 4,400 technology firms, we have the techies, the entrepreneurs, the innovators, the investors, and so much more. And we’re the Live Music Capital of the World! What better place for a cutting-edge innovation conference?

Our MiniTrends 2014 meeting and reception overlooks beautiful Lady Bird Lake. The Holiday Inn Austin Lady Bird Lake (800-593-5676) is in a wonderful location to experience Austin’s major attractions. The hotel has direct access to the lake’s hike & bike trails and is a mile from Austin’s famous 6th Street entertainment district.

10. Special 20% Off Discount for Our MiniTrends Community!

Discount Code: Special20-2013  brings the regular price to $292  or Small business/Government/Academia to  $208.  Students still can come for $65. (Please register as soon as possible so we can have accurate catering numbers for the hotel!)

Join us at MiniTrends 2014: Insights, Innovation & Strategy on Friday, September 26, 2014, 8:30 am–5:30 pm, followed by reception. The full day conference includes continental breakfast, lunch, and evening “Power-Hour” reception. Attend this important event to insure you and your company remain successful and profitable in a constantly changing world.

Take Advantage of MiniTrends Community Special 20% Off Discount

Please feel free to let your friends, colleagues and social networks know about this valuable offer!

Contact TFI at info@tfi.com or (512) 258-8898 or visit Minitrends 2014 for more information.
www.MiniTrends.com/MiniTrends-2014