
Growth and Exponential Organizations
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A globally recognized technology entrepreneur and renowned futurist, Salim Ismail is a sought-after exponential strategist who advises organizations of all sizes and across industries on how they can turn cutting-edge ideas into viable business opportunities and apply inventive thinking to drive innovation and achieve their desired futures sooner. He is the Founder and Chair of OpenExO and ExO Works, a team of innovation experts who create customized solutions for corporations and organizations seeking to remain relevant in today’s rapidly changing business environment.
Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, Ismail shares a global perspective on the impact of breakthrough technologies and how organizations can leverage these disruptions to grow 10 times faster than the other players in their industries. His talks have been described as jaw-dropping, educational, and even mind-blowing, as he shares five internal and five external characteristics that exponential organizations have in common and walks audiences through how any company, from a startup to a multinational firm, can streamline its performance and grow to the next level. Audiences walk away with a tailored action plan for moving forward, a new process for leading-edge thinking, and an understanding of what emerging technology trends mean for the future.
Ismail co-founded ExO Works to help transform global business by catapulting organizations into the world of exponential thinking. ExO Works delivers a 10-week program called the ExO Sprint that leapfrogs an organization's mindset forward by two years. He also has ties to some of the world’s largest companies, serving as Singularity University’s founding executive director and global ambassador, as well as previously holding the role of vice president and head of innovation at Yahoo!, where he built and ran Brickhouse, the company’s internal incubator. He co-founded and built Ångströ, a news aggregation start-up, which he later sold to Google, as well as the Fasttrack Institute, which harnesses new technologies to solve the most pressing problems faced by cities today. He sits on the board of Rokk3r, Inc. and is a general partner at its Rokk3r Fuel ExO venture fund where he identifies the next founders of exponential growth companies.
As one of the thought leaders at the forefront of solving humanity’s challenges, Ismail consults with governments and the world’s top Fortune 500 companies on innovation and growth, and his work has been featured in premier media outlets, such as The New York Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Fortune, Forbes, WIRED, Vogue, and the BBC. He is also the author of Exponential Organizations, which quickly reached number one on Amazon’s “Best-Sellers in Business Management” list and was named Frost & Sullivan’s “Growth, Innovation and Leadership Book of the Year.” Being of the mindset that if you aren’t disrupting your business or industry, someone else is, Ismail’s insights and forward-looking approach invigorate the organizations he advises to get out ahead of disruption on the path to dominating their industries.
We have two possible futures ahead of us: Mad Max or Star Trek. In this talk by Salim Ismail, he’ll paint the picture with examples of the two possible futures that lay in front of us, Mad Max or Star Trek. Right now, we may feel like humanity is headed towards a Mad Max dystopian future with more people being disenfranchised. But in fact, we do have a choice to move towards more of a Star Trek-like utopia. In Star Trek, diversity and tolerance are encouraged and inclusivity and equality are the norms. Technology can make the impossible, possible. Salim will explore this further with participants.
Salim will discuss some of the powerful myths and stories that can guide us away from Mad Max and toward a Star Trek future. He’ll invite participants to think, question, and challenge the status quo with the intention of creating a brighter future.
Exponential Organizations. As a result of accelerating change, a new breed of businesses is scaling 10 times faster than established organizational structures. Salim Ismail calls these exponential organizations. This talk describes the characteristics and attributed of these organizations and finishes with how to implement these ideas into established companies. He looks at today’s fastest growing technologies and the social impact they will have on our organizational, political, legal, educational, and medical systems. From artificial intelligence to biotech, these disruptive technologies are changing the face of many disparate industries and creating new innovations and opportunities. Audiences walk away with a tailored action plan for moving forward that utilizes five internal and five external strategies to spur astounding growth—like partnering with an incubator and transforming their organization’s leadership team.
Disruptive Convergence. Salim describes major breakthroughs occurring in a series of accelerating technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics, biotech, sensors, neuroscience, medicine, and even energy. He describes the implications of these breakthroughs on both society and business, and will give a perspective on their impact tailored to each specific audience.
Future of Entrepreneurship. The confluence of new developments makes today the best time ever to be an entrepreneur. Salim talks about how accelerating technologies, crowd funding, incubators, fablabs, and cloud computing have made it faster, better, and cheaper to be an entrepreneur. This talk also covers the steps needed to create entrepreneurial ecosystems and start-up communities in different regions.
Exponential Medicine. The fastest technological improvement today is being seen in biotechnology. According to technology strategist Salim Ismail, by the year 2020 it will be cheaper to sequence your genome than to flush your toilet. What will this mean for personalized therapies? Will we eradicate allergies? Or grow replacement organs? Will artificial intelligence make better, more accurate diagnoses than human doctors? Could a computer be your future surgeon? Ismail tells incredible stories of the research and development he’s seen first-hand and the potential for next-generation disruptive technologies. He weighs the benefits with the sinister side and calls on society to prepare our systems from running the world (legal, political, medical) to meet the realities of the very near future.
Exponential Finance. Today there are eight billion internet-connected devices in the world. By 2020, Salim Ismail predicts there will be 50 billion. Will computer driven cars be a reality in three years? Will we see a dramatically lengthened lifespan and delayed retirements in a matter of 1-2 decades? What does this mean for investment, growth, and contraction in key industries? As the world becomes more digital, advancements in technology are skyrocketing. Technology strategist Salim Ismail knows the trajectory of fascinating projects that are sure to change our lives and challenge societal norms as we know them. His take on the impact of the financial services sector will have you thinking twice about where to put money and how much is needed for the future.
Future of Democracy. The information age and the resulting transparency is causing enormous stress for governments around the world. However, major opportunity exists in leveraging new technologies to transform major government activities such as regulatory frameworks, information management, intellectual property, and public services.
Future of Education. From his vantage point at Singularity University, Salim is at the forefront of the transformation occurring in education. He talks through the structural changes occurring in the education space and how governments and regions can chart a future for education systems.
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