Steve Katz, Editor03.10.15
Charles MacLean, president and CEO of ASL Print FX and chairman of the Converter Meeting, in his introductory remarks, said, “The future is under crisis, but it’s a crisis that can bring transformational change. As an industry, we have weathered the storm while acquiring flexibility, and have shown that we can adapt.”
Speaking first, on Tuesday, March 10, was Mike Walsh, founder and CEO of Tomorrow, a consumer innovation research lab. Walsh is a futurist, and also the author of Futuretainment. He advises business leaders on how to thrive in an era of disruptive technological change.
Walsh drew the audience’s attention to the year 2007, which was notable for a number of things: Harry Potter, Al Gore’s Nobel Peace Prize win, the start of the global financial crisis, and most importantly, Steve Jobs’ introducing the iPhone. “This changed the way we interact with the world,” Walsh said, adding, “Virtual and augmented reality is going to redefine our experience with the digital world. And smart labels and data will be very important.”
Emphasizing this increasing importance, Walsh said data is what smart companies will design their services around. He also stressed the profound effect “disruptive technologies” such as digital printing will have on the consumer. “Tomorrow’s consumers will have a radically different mindset shaped by a childhood of disruptive technologies,” he said. “They will expect us to deliver better, faster, richer and more personalized experiences – and will ‘unfollow’ us the moment we don’t.”
In order to address this mindset, Walsh suggests action. He said, “Recruit the next generation as your alpha users and ask them to imagine how they would use your products in a way consistent with their worldview and lifestyle.”
Throughout his presentation, Walsh introduced what he referred to as “Mind Grenades,” critical and sometimes provocative questions label business leaders should be asking themselves. One of the Mind Grenades he presented asked: “In what categories might an Amazon not only start manufacturing the items it sells, but also starts printing its labels on demand?”
In addition to focusing on data and interactive technologies, Walsh emphasized that it's a company’s relationships to key people – its customers and employees – as paramount to surviving the future. With regard to the workforce and workplace culture, he said, “Survival depends on high performance, rather than process-driven people."
Walsh pointed out that customers should be used as a valuable resource. He asked, “What are your customers telling you that you don’t want to hear? Look at customer behavior – your next big idea may come from the least likely of places.
“Companies that survive the future will be those that stay closest to their customers. Real innovation comes from being able to see the world through your customers’ eyes, even the ones that cause you the most problems,” Walsh said. “To gain new insights, challenge your teams by taking them out of their comfort zones and into spaces consistent with customer’s direct experience.”
Looking Ahead of What’s Next
Tuesday’s second session featured Geoff Colvin, a senior columnist at Fortune magazine. He began by discussing some of the day’s headlines, which included stories on both Apple and Candy Crush. Through both, he offered instances of highly successful companies and business models that are making the best use of the infotechnology tools they have.
Colvin talked about innovation, and innovating the business model itself. He used Instagram and Kodak as examples – one was sold to Facebook for $1 billion and the other recently came out of bankruptcy. “This was a changing business model,” he said of photography. “The key is being able to recognize when a business needs to be changed, and be ready and willing to make the changes.”
Colvin used Apple’s success with the iPod as a striking example of the power of integrating a whole enterprise to create a great customer experience. He said that the Sony Walkman had every advantage to beat the iPod, but Apple leveraged the integration of its hardware and software to become the premier mobile music-playing device, soundly beating the fragmente d Sony.
Company culture and personnel were topics also addressed by Colvin. “Ask Google what its core competency is,” he said. “They don’t say anything about algorithms – they point to hiring. And they attract and keep the best people.”
Hiring and keeping the best of the younger members of the workforce, Colvin said, is crucial to success. “Younger employees are especially attracted to companies that have a mission. They want to work for companies that are doing something right and have good, global intentions – a noble purpose.”
The 2015 TLMI Converter Meeting continues Wednesday with John Standish discussing improved recyclability of PET bottles and thermoforms. Economist Alan Beaulieu also returns to the meeting to give his predictions on the economy.
For live updates from the 2015 TLMI Converter Meeting, follow @LabelSteve on Twitter.