Searching for New (and Better) Ideas

 Instead of your normal annual conference or convention, consider something different as a potential source of inspiration, creativity, innovation, and new ideas.  The new conference experience can help with developing a higher sense of purpose and thinking about new problems/solutions and skills.  One key point - - engineers need to become much better at collaboration and stepping outside of their organizational and knowledge boundaries.  Look at the new conference experience as the intersection of different fields and perspectives.  The new conference experience exposes you to the nontraditional - - where the nontraditional can take you down different paths with richer connections and opportunities.  You can see and experience thinking and doing from people in fields and disciplines not directly related to yours - - ideas and thinking that you might be able to integrate into your career, industry, or organization.  Different conference content gives you the opportunity to see and experience different real world contexts.

Consider the following - -

• Google Zeitgeist - Invite-only conference where speakers range from business leaders to politicians offering views on big global topics.
• Like Minds - Annual UK event with an emphasis on participation promising "brain food" to help attendees build better businesses.
• PSFX Conference - Claims to bring together creative thinkers and established and emerging business leaders.  This year being hosted in London, New York and San Francisco.
• TED - Annual event in Long Beach, California and Europe (this year in Edinburgh) TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) has become famous through its online videos that have been viewed by millions.  Has also inspired TEDx, independently organized events that are arranged arranged at a local level.
• South By Southwest Interactive - Technology conference in Austin, Texas that grew out of the SXSW Film and Music festivals.  Has now expanded to include the broader digital entrepreneur community, who come to discuss new ideas.
• The 99% - Annual event in New York focused on how to turn ideas into action.  The name is taken from the Thomas Edison quote that "genius is 1 per cent inspiration and 99 per cent perspiration."