Innovation is a wonderful, inspiring goal—and a great way to sell a lot of books. In reality, it is a lot of hard work and never easy. However, when innovation comes out of deep customer needs then it can have real impact, and at scale. Today technology is moving so fast many customers may not know how to ask the right questions or be able to imagine what is possible—which can result in incremental action. What is needed to achieve truly breakthrough innovation? What is the role of the customer in shaping future disruptive technologies? What does it mean to “listen to the customer” in a world of growing complexity and connections? How do leading innovators engage customers in their innovation processes now and in the future?
Cities will drive the future as they become the critical component of the human landscape, with an estimated two-thirds of the world’s population living in cities by 2050. The challenges of infrastructure, services, and development—combined with escalating pressures from changes in climate, demographics and growth – impact all cities, and especially “energy cities,” those that have relied upon traditional oil and gas industries for much of their economic development. One of the most powerful solutions will be innovation—around all these challenges, and around their core economic structure. How do cities effectively support innovation? How do they attract, and retain, the resources—talent, investment, research, industry—that make innovation real?