Voting Deadline: Midnight, Friday August 27th

Its that time of year again where SXSW posts the ideas for this years speaker/panel topics and asks for people to vote.  The panel that have been proposed for me to talk to is:

Hacking The Future

Can you predict what the future will look like in 5 to 10 years? Hacking the future requires the ability to dream, to visualize and the ability to connect the impossible with the possible. In this session, Phil McKinney will make some bold predictions for the future – backed up with a number of breakthrough prototypes. This session is a futurist’s view of the world that will surprise and alarm you.

Your Chance To Contribute

I and my innovation team are hard at work on our annual project of conceiving and  building out the library of prototypes for what technology will look like 5 to 10 years in the future.  Traditionally, we keep these for internal use and inspiration.  If we get enough votes and are asked to present at SXSW, then we will show our work and open up the project for your input and contribution.  So if you would like to see and contribute to what the technology in 2015 will look like, then vote! (even if your not planning to attend SXSW as we will post the work so you can comment and contribute).

Last week, I gave a keynote speech at Edelman’s Leadership event in Chicago.  Once a year, the company brings together the top ~100 executives from around the world.  Richard Edelman asked me to present a talk at lunch about the “future of technology”.  I took some liberty with the topic and focused on the needed skill of “planning for the future”.  One statistic I shared in the speech is .. “.. the 10 most in-demand jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004″.  How do you plan for this uncertainty for your family, your kids, your job and you company?  The first half of the presentation is similar to that of the Maker Fair speech (video).  The second half focuses on the critical skill of asking “killer questions”.

If Edelman makes the video available, I will post it here.

If you are interested in the list of killer questions, then follow on twitter where each week, one question is posted with the objective of igniting your creativity.

With the recent rash of movies like Avatar, moviegoers are gaining a new love for everything 3D.  As a result, theaters are enjoying a positive impact to their bottom line.  But 3D isn’t just about the movies.  It has a role in the business world ranging from medical (3D medical imaging), oil and gas (3D geo-spatial) and financial services (3D modeling of markets).  Below is a short video where I share some thoughts on the trends in 3D, the challenges facing the industry and the future impact on our lives.

For those who want more on 3D, watch the “3D Workshop For Filmakers” presented at the Sundance Film Festival.

The video of the “Hacking The Future” speech I gave at Maker Faire 2010 has been posted over at Fora.tv.  The foundation for the speech is the precept that the world in changing at an ever increasing pace.  To ensure we, as a civilization, are prepared for this changing future, we need to spend the time and try to understand what the future will/could look like.

One word of caution.  Anyone who says they can predict the future is fooling themselves.  Its not about predicting “the” future but instead getting a feel for the “range of possible futures”.  Once you have an understanding of these possible futures, you can ensure your strategies, plans, R&D, investment, etc are robust enough to withstand the most likely changes.

In the speech, I talk specifically about the role of science fiction impact on ideas/innovations.

NOTE:  Fora.TV only allows me to embed the first 10 minutes of the speech.  If you want to watch the whole speech, you will need to go to:

Hacking The Future on Fora.tv (38 min)

One of a handful of events that get locked on my calender each year is Maker Faire.  For those of you not aware of Maker Faire, its a weekend event where the DIY (Do-It-Yourself,), inventors, innovators, hackers, etc come out and show off their creations.  The event is VERY family friendly with activities and experiments for the kids in all of us to do.

I will be speaking at this years Maker Fair on Saturday, May 22nd (this coming Saturday) @ 3:30PM.  The “official” title/description is:

Title:  Hacking The Future

What would you do if you could see the future?  Not just one or two years out but 5, 10 or even 20 years out.  Hacking the future requires the ability to dream, to visualize and to create, using a full range of creative tools, models and concepts. Come see Phil McKinney, CTO of HP’s Personal Systems Group and contributing columnist at Forbes, reveal concepts and prototypes never before shown outside the walls of HP.  This family friendly session is a futurist’s view of what the world will look like. Be inspired to create and do amazing!

In addition, I get the privilege of introducing Adam Savage from MythBusters for his speech @ 2:00.  At last years Maker Fair, I spoke just before Adam … I guess you could call me his “warm-up” act.

SPECIAL GIVE-AWAY: For the first 25 people who find me at Maker Faire and give me their name/address, I will mail them a free copy of the “Creating Killer Innovations” CD.

Future Savvy: Identifying Trends to Make Better Decisions, Manage Uncertainty, and Profit from Change

This is the book that I’m carrying with me and its fantastic.  The writing is well balanced on the pros and cons across the range of tools and approaches to planning for the future.  The description posted on Amazon is ….

There’s no shortage of predictions available to organizations looking to anticipate and profit from future trends. Apparently helpful forecasts are ubiquitous in newspapers and business magazines, and in specialized sources such as government and think-tank forecasts, consultant reports, and stock market guides. These forecasts are important for navigating to future success, but they are also of very mixed quality. What information from the endless sea of sources is valid? How does one know which predictions to take seriously, which to be wary of, and which to throw out entirely? Future Savvy shows readers how to discern quality in forecasts and future thinking. It views the predictions as a crucial resource, but sharpens the critical tools in the hands of forecast readers and users.

In a colorful book with many examples, Adam Gordon synthesizes information-assessment skills and future studies tools into a single template that allows managers to apply systematic "forecast filtering" to reveal strengths and weakness in the predictions they face. The better leaders’ view of the future, the better their decisions – and successes – will be. Future Savvy empowers both business and policy/government decision-makers to use forecasts wisely and so improve their judgment in anticipating opportunities, avoiding threats, and managing uncertainty.

This books comes highly recommended …

You may not agree with what is presented.  That’s fine.  The objective is to use this presentation as a catalyst for discussion.