The world is changing fast. People today are more global than ever and move often between many cultures and countries. Companies, cities, and nations must compete on a global basis. In this new order of rising economies and beleaguered first-world nations, diversity is more important than ever for innovation. Frans explains how today’s most innovative companies form culturally diverse talent pools and teams as a specific strategy to innovate. These companies have become #1 brand leaders, R&D centers—and very profitable. In this program, Frans clearly and persuasively shows what happens when companies make diversity their most powerful innovation tool.

What do goat milk, spiders, and fishing lines have in common? Fiber optics and concrete? Ant hills and architecture? Most of us would assume nothing. But out of each of these seemingly random combinations have come radical innovations that have created whole new fields. In this talk, Frans Johansson takes us on a fascinating journey to The Intersection™—a place where ideas from different fields and cultures meet and collide, ultimately igniting an explosion of extraordinary new innovations. Through the Medici principles of innovation, see how companies become global leaders; how products and services yield huge margins; and how the most unlikely of people have outdone the experts in their own fields.

With global economies, business and people more connected than ever, unpredictability and volatility are the new normal. This is true whether you are a bellwether company, category leader, or innovator with history behind you. How can leaders navigate in this uncertain climate? Frans Johansson believes that tomorrow’s most successful leaders will be Intersectional Leaders who tear down silos, embrace diversity, and plan for the unexpected. This new class of Intersectional Leaders will spark organization-wide culture change to drive growth for their firm. In this talk, the audience they will discover how they can develop their leadership abilities to inspire change, breakthrough innovation and growth, even when the answer is not so obvious.