Hasta La Ideas

pimg alt=”wurman.jpg” src=”http://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/wurman.jpg” width=”209″ height=”314″ class=”mt-image-left” style=”float: left; margin: 0 20px 20px 0;” /”What I created, I need to destroy.” Richard Saul Wurman was on fine, curmudgeonly form on the opening day of a href=”http://www.businessinnovationfactory.com/bif-6″BIF6/a. In particular, he seemed indignant that the 18-minute speech format he coined with the a href=”http://www.ted.com”TED conference/a has been so widely replicated around the global conference circuit. “Speakers are practicing!” he said, in outrage. “They know it’s going to be taped and on the fucking television or computer!” This, said one of the world’s most convincing hams, quashes both creativity and sincerity. “When you want me to stop talking, say ‘that’s it’. Be an editor,” he challenged BIF’s organizers, who limit their speakers to a mere 15 minutes. And to his credit, conference founder Saul Kaplan picked up the gauntlet, standing up after Wurman’s time was (well) over and quietly proclaiming “that’s it.” (Wurman, to give him his due, meekly capitulated.)/p

pBIF is a curious conference, held at the Trinity Repertory Theater in Providence, Rhode Island. An acronym for Business Innovation Factory, the nonprofit organization works year-round to create “real world laboratories” in which organizations can “design, prototype, and test new models for delivering value.” Once a year, the team gets to welcome around 300 people to Providence, home of Brown and RISD and a city that’s a mix of swanky and seedy. The two day event, now in its sixth year, features heavy-hitters from myriad disparate fields, from corporate innovation departments to leftfield creatives, who all eschew the traditional Powerpoint dek in favor of giving a more personal insight into their lives and worlds. /p

pHere are some highlights from day one:/pa href=”http://www.core77.com/blog/events/bif6_reporting_from_the_first_day_of_the_business_innovation_factorys_annual_shindig_17399.asp”(more…)/a
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