Thank you Tom …
It is an honor to be here among so many outstanding leaders and innovators.
Congratulations to all of the winners – I am certainly inspired by the creativity and energy that you bring to your work!
I want to begin by recognizing the members of the Wrigley team who are here tonight – it’s been fun to re-connect.
Tom mentioned that I now spend my time on a variety of business and philanthropic ventures, so today my “playing field” for innovation is broader than it has ever been…
Which has led me to an important realization.
Innovation should be the engine that powers EVERY facet of our lives …
yes, our business lives …
but also our personal lives …
our relationships with family members and friends
how we spend our time outside of work …
even our political convictions.
For that reason, I hesitate to even use the word Innovation, because we tend to associate it with product and business-related ideas.
I think a better word to describe the driving force behind innovation and creativity is ENERGY.
So rather than focus specifically on innovation tonight, I want to talk about the energy and innovation we all need to bring to our lives every day …
How do we create energy?
For me, it is when I am doing something totally new. When there is a learning curve – something that pushes me out of my comfort zone.
No matter what age we are, it is important that we still do “1st time things”!
Everyone here knows …. Without innovation, we stagnate. Without growth, we decay.
[slide of law of thermodynamics]
I would go into the theory of entropy and the 2nd law of thermodynamics… because when we talk about decay, that’s what we are really talking about … but we are a little short on time.
So I will stick to this message:
Now is the time we need to re-invent ourselves and infuse and channel energy into everything we do, whether it is …
1) Creating an environment in our country that is conducive to innovation and growth
2) Building a culture of energy and innovation within our companies or organizations
3) Or, Identifying ways to bring energy and innovation into our personal lives
Let’s start with the state of our country … and the need we have to re-energize our nation
No doubt, the times we live in are some of the most challenging we’ve ever seen.
We are in the midst of an ongoing global economic crisis, as well as a crisis of leadership, especially in the United States.
We are struggling to implement solutions, and the future looks more difficult than ever.
That said, we all know that dire times have sparked some of the most creative thinking.
One of my favorite examples of this comes from Wrigley … of course … when, during the Second World War, the ingredients we needed for our gum were being re-allocated to the war effort. Rather than compromise on quality, we pulled our product from the civilian market and ran an ad campaign entitled simply …
“Remember this Wrapper,” promising our customers that we would return.
[slide “Remember this Wrapper”]
After the war, we re-launched our gum, and sales came back stronger than ever.
Today we face a different kind of battle …
Think for a moment of the seed of a plant
or a tree. Before it is able to grow, it must firmly
plant its roots to provide the lifeblood for growth.
We need to return to our roots of enterprise, creative thinking and entrepreneurship if we are to remain a strong world economy …and work through our present state.
To accomplish this, we need to re-establish an environment in our country that fosters innovation … which means we need to be vocal about finding leaders who will put policies in place that give businesses a platform to succeed.
Our policies need to be based on long-term solutions that are right for our country … not short term gimmicks designed to win the next election.
And we need a strategy that is consistent and competitive. It is extremely difficult to play on a moving field of laws and regulations.
While I want to be clear that I am NOT running for office … I do think it’s important and timely to talk about how our economic and fiscal policies impact our ability to innovate.
So what can we do as individuals?
We need to continue to speak out, take action, vote and demand that our political leadership supports policies that promote innovation … because innovative businesses create jobs and prosperity.
And if you think it’s not possible for an individual to make a difference politically, or be creative within the political process, think about what one entrepreneur is doing to shake up the system.
Have you heard about Americans Elect? Americans Elect is a completely new alternative to our current Presidential and Vice Presidential nomination system.
It’s not a new party or a set ideology … it’s an Internet-based, non-partisan process for nominating a presidential ticket.
Think about it … it is incredibly hard to be placed on the ballot in all 50 states if you do not go through the Republican or Democratic convention process and consequently affiliate or align with one of those two sets of ideals.
With Americans Elect, instead of a candidate launching a campaign and focusing on winning primaries in a few key states to ultimately win their party’s nomination, these candidates are directly nominated online by the broader population. The lead candidate is then part of the normal election process competing against the Republican and Democratic nominees.
This allows for, among other things, a non-partisan ticket and for a qualified candidate to run with far less funding than the $800million to $1billion it presently takes to run for president.
Now, I’m not here to pitch this approach, but it is pretty interesting …
They have gathered 1.9 million signatures and they are already on the ballot in 7 states.
What’s even more interesting is that someone had the energy, the passion and the courage to re-think something that I think many of us agree needs some serious re-tooling.
Net … it’s a great example of energy and creativity at work.
OK – enough about politics.
Let’s shift to bringing energy and innovation into the workplace.
All of you know there are a myriad of ways to spark innovation at work, but here are three that I find most important.
First … creativity needs to fostered, not forced. It’s all about creating the right environment.
When I took over as the fourth generation leader of the Wrigley Company, we knew that one of our first priorities had to be re-igniting a spirit of innovation.
So, we elevated the R&D function to be part of our core leadership team, better aligned the R&D process with Sales, Marketing, Procurement and other functions …
[slide of GIC]
and we then invested in a $41million Global Innovation Center on Goose Island.
But what really made the difference is what we changed culturally.
[2nd slide of GIC]
We made very clear to our people that it wasn’t about the building, it was about a spirit within the company and within every associate.
We strived to create a spirit that pervaded the entire organization and would thrive over time … that would ignite creativity and energy among our people and that would be deeply woven into our culture.
We trained and rewarded collaboration, risk taking, empowerment, honesty, and trust. We intervened when we saw behavior that worked against that … things like assigning blame, retribution for mistakes, and silos between departments.
I had a baseball coach who used to tell us, “You can’t steal second base if you keep your foot on first.” Experimentation requires risk, and our people needed to know that they had permission to “go for it!”
OK – here’s a second way to energize your team. Focus on anticipating wants vs. satisfying needs
This is particularly difficult … in fact, I’m not sure we ever really figured this one out. It is very tempting to become overly reliant on quantitative research.
Yet … some of the best innovations come from figuring out what customers don’t even know they want.
Ten years ago, if someone asked us how we wanted to listen to music, would our answer have been, on an iPod?
As Steve Jobs said, “It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.”
One of the best ways to break out of this paradigm is to look outside your industry for disruptive ideas around which an innovation can flourish.
Ok, third…our people have heard me say repeatedly,
Respect the past, but, at all times, do what is right for the future.
It seems difficult at times to argue with the person who says, “We tried that two years ago and it didn’t work.” But hasn’t a lot changed over the last two years?
Often, an obligation to do what has been done before is the chain that keeps us from innovating.
Keeping this thought “top of mind” allowed us to preserve what is special about Wrigley in terms of values and culture, but at the same time provide new opportunities for our associates and drive long-term generational growth for our company.
Which brings me to my final point, and that is:
Identifying ways to bring energy and innovation into your personal life
We spend a lot of time channeling our energy into our professional lives, often at the expense of other dimensions … dimensions that could be so much more rewarding if we channeled creativity to them as well … whether it is family, education, art, music, sports, travel, health … or whatever your personal passion may be.
After all, innovation means being open to possibilities and dreams.
What if … instead of being frustrated or worrying about something in our personal lives or the world around us, we took the time to look for creative solutions?
What would that look like?
For me, I have a passion for being around water, which led to an interest in preserving our oceans.
[slide of oceans]
My love of water started at an early age. In fact, last year I spent over 200 hours underwater … in case you’ve been wondering where I’ve been …
When I saw how this incredible and invaluable natural resource was eroding,
I decided to take action.
Working with Conservation International, my wife Heather and I have helped to spearhead their global marine program and to create and launch a new initiative called the Ocean Health Index …
[slide of OHI logo]
The OHI is a mechanism to measure the health of our oceans.
We brought together 50 of the top global scientists and marine biologists who then identified the 100 most important measures of ocean health. These measures will then be weighted and synthesized into one composite score, which can be applied to a large body of water, like the Pacific, or a smaller one, like the Gulf of Mexico.
[2nd slide of oceans]
This is the first holistic system of ocean health measurement. It’s essentially the Dow Jones of our oceans, and it will help us put critical facts in front of business leaders, heads of state, and policy makers … so that we can promote action on a state, regional, country, and global level.
Once we launch our website, you will be able to track the health of our oceans over time and by region.
The initiative has been has been endorsed by the World Bank and we will officially launch OHI in January at the World Economic Forum.
I have worked for years applying the principles of innovation in a business setting, and it is incredibly exciting and energizing seeing these same principles put to work in a completely different forum.
So … my advice here is … pursue your passion, and bring energy and innovation into all of your life experiences.
Maybe this will be my most important legacy.
(storm slide)
The economic storm we face today demands that we as business leaders cooperate …that we work together … with ENERGY … as a powerful force to overcome today’s challenges and create tomorrow’s solutions.
This room is made up of people who have had the good fortune of fulfilling their dreams and those who are still working on them.
Each one of us can be a catalyst for growth … a change agent.
For those who have achieved their dreams.. step back, and help others …
like the strong Chicago community we are.
For those who haven’t yet fulfilled your dream, don’t give up, there is always a silver lining if you allow yourself to see it and learn from it. Even in these discouraging times, there is always an opportunity.
To innovate is to question the nature of things … when we stop questioning, we go on autopilot and we then become victims in life.
Our country was based on the principles of a strong work ethic, challenging the status quo, the freedom to pursue our dreams and the opportunity to explore the unknown.
Let’s not allow our country, our communities, or ourselves to stagnate and decay …we need to grow and seize the opportunities that surround us.
It’s part of our heritage … it is who we are.
After all, the greatest legacy we can leave for future generations is creating an environment that inspires every one of us to learn, grow and become more than we ever thought possible.
Thanks for being here and have a great evening.
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