As both a speaker and a consultant, I am often called into organizations to jump start their creativity and innovative thinking. The advantage I have—whether I am speaking to a hospital association, an educational organization, an energy company or a non-profit organization—is that I am not a part of their immediate culture. I am what some people would call a ”zero-gravity” consultant. That is I am free to float outside of their existing environment because I’m not constrained by the same rules.
The value I bring is that I do specialize in focusing on how emerging and future technologies will impact their business. As just one small sample of this skill, I will use the new lickable ads that the advertising industry is now salivating over.
The Wall Street Journal has done a good job explaining how these ads will be used in magazine inserts, but is that the only thing the technology will provide for?
Hardly.
Innovative grocery stores and retail shops should consider using the technology to entice people to “taste” new foods or beverages. Other companies could market them as a way to help parents to get kids to try a new food or the U.S. Post Office could market new blueberry or strawberry tasting stamps.
The technology shouldn’t stop there. If just the right molecules can be used to create a tasty, lickable ad; it stands to reason that it could also be used to deliver drugs in innovative ways. Perhaps your child hates taking a certain cough medicine. If, however, the medicine could be placed on a “Dora the Explorer” sticker it might be easier to get them to take their medicine.
The bottom-line is that if you want to “jump the curve,” it helps to think different.
Jack Uldrich is a writer, futurist, public speaker and host of jumpthecurve.net. He is the author of seven books, including Jump the Curve and The Next Big Thing is Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will Change the Future of Your Business. He is also a frequent speaker on future technology and future trends, nanotechnology, innovation, change management and executive leadership to a variety of businesses, industries and non-profit organizations and trade associations.
