Visiting GE Edgelab
Posted on 04. May, 2009 by Ira Yellen in Uncategorized
A lighter workload is an opportune time for professional development. Last month I took some staff and clients to the University of Connecticut – Stamford GE Edgelab, a top notch operation where graduate students create and put together new products and ideas for the GE Corporation. It’s kind of like an incubator hotbed, where they’re earning their degree, while providing GE with ideas that come out of their business units. Essentially they create chaos to create order. It’s what they call “disruptive creative process.” I wanted to show one of our clients and our staff that this is basically what we do in our business. You can’t have growth without disruption. It’s the nature of how we get in front of our clients. We learn about them. And go beyond them. We challenge them to improve what they’re doing with their business and marketing practices.
So these are things I have been talking about. We advise people to look towards the future. In the short-term it’s hard to do. Riding it out is easier said than done. Most people are concerned about their jobs and creating revenue, which is pretty normal during this time. We all are concerned. You can’t predict the future and it’s hard to predict revenue stream. But we’ll get through this. As bad as it is. And as disruptive as it is, in many ways it’s a chance for great opportunity. So you need to look at it that way.