A Referendum on Vision
By Jim Gibson on September 30, 2018
I have been listening to the discussion on the Calgary 2026 Olympic bid for the past few months with some concern. As someone who has participated in the grassroots discussion on the future of our…
Public / Private Sector: Let’s Talk!
By Jim Gibson on June 16, 2018
I had the true pleasure of speaking this week at the “Policy Matters” conference in Edmonton. Held every two years for leaders in the Government of Alberta, it brings together all of the policymakers under…
Trust & The New Social Contract
By Jim Gibson on March 25, 2018
As we look into the deep challenges of the day including inequalities of wealth and opportunity distribution caused by technology, and the disappearance of trust with all institutions – we can be easily overwhelmed.
Hey America…
By Jim Gibson on March 24, 2017
… just wanted to let you in on a conversation I had this morning. It was with a very successful, Cambridge University educated Asian gentleman whom I will call Shahal. We met virtually through a…
A New Social Contract
By Jim Gibson on December 9, 2016
A funny thing happened on the way to 2017. 2016. Clearly, 2016 is in the pole position for the worst year ever. From dying legends to dying democracies to the rise of fear-based populism and…
Better Purpose
By Jim Gibson on November 15, 2016
Purpose. It is a simple, bold and powerful word. It directs us, anchors us and provides a North Star when the world turns unfamiliar. For our clients, it says everything their customers and employees need to…
Tip of the Spear: Part 4 – A Shot Across the Bow
By Jim Gibson on October 22, 2016
This final blog post before the book Tip of the Spear is finished, stems from my worries about some of the global scenarios that are starting to play out right before our eyes. As anyone…
The Innovation of Things and The Innovations of Ways
By Jim Gibson on July 14, 2016
…while human ingenuity has exponentially increased the transistors on a chip for the past 40 years, we have not applied the same exponential thinking to our dreams nor human compassion.
Tip of the Spear: Part 3
By Jim Gibson on June 9, 2016
Part 3: Action & Answers I have spent much of the past year meeting and talking with people about their thoughts, fears, ideas and reactions to the technological changes happening around us. Between slugs of…
Tip of the Spear: Part 2 – Questions
By Jim Gibson on April 11, 2016
Part 1 of the Tip of the Spear blog post suggested we needed to “appreciate” the scope and speed of the technological change happening around us. It also hinted that there is a growing disconnect…
Tip of the Spear: Part 1
By Jim Gibson on March 21, 2016
“The future has arrived — it’s just not evenly distributed yet.” William Gibson, 1992 Two questions: What do Donald Trump and Ray Kurzweil have in common; and who the heck is Ray Kurzweil? Donald Trump? …
The Future of {Re}search
By Jim Gibson on February 23, 2016
As many of my colleagues and followers know, I have been given the brilliant opportunity through my book research to work with a company called Quid and their extraordinary semantic search tool. This post is…
Strategy is Hard. Tactics are {Easier}
By Jim Gibson on February 15, 2016
Innovation and change comes primarily from the intersection of existing and new disciplines. What makes today’s reality challenging – business, economic, political and social – is that most of these combinations were not possible even…
Alberta’s Start-up Tech Ecosystem: Why not here?
By Jim Gibson on December 3, 2015
It occurred to me as I watched another western Canadian technology firm head down to spend 42 hours in the valley ecosystem, that there is an unfortunate analogy with the Canadian Oil and Gas industry. …
Collective Brilliance: A New Leadership Paradigm
By Jim Gibson on August 17, 2015
If you have read Walter Isaacson’s excellent biography of Steve Jobs you will know that one of the central themes of the book – whether intended or not – is the nature of business leadership. …
On Disruptive Innovation, Safety and Training
By Jim Gibson on June 5, 2016
I recently gave a presentation to a group C-level executives and other leaders from the Safety and Training world on behalf of National Safety Council and United Rentals. It was a chance for me to…
The Rhythm of Innovation
By Jim Gibson on May 30, 2016
When thinking about Innovation, I have been wondering if there is a new way to think about the “process” as companies and individuals embrace the idea that innovation is much more about execution than simply…