2011 Autodesk University Leadership Forum. Image credit: Shaan Hurley

The inaugural Autodesk University Leadership Forum at the Venetian Hotel last week in Las Vegas was a complete success. The Leadership Forum was a focused one day session where 500 Design Technology Leaders and Executives from over 30 countries were able to have an open dialog and sharing of ideas, challenges and solutions. The keynote presentation focused not only on the idea of innovation, but the five technology trends that are changing the world, which would be a reoccurring theme throughout rest of the conference.

First, a group of executives from Autodesk presented the idea of competing through innovation, and further discussed that if your organization is competing on price you’re in a race to the bottom. Another interesting topic presented was that “operational effectiveness is not a strategy” and firms need to look at ways to create the “wow” reactions and have their competitors to say “how did you do that?” These are the opportunities we need to look for to create the competitive separation and sustaining solutions that will allow firms to be successful today and into the future.

The keynote continued on with a discussion of the five technology trends that are changing the world:

• Reality Capture
• Cloud Data
• Infinite Computing
• Simulation
• Digital to Analog Reality (3D Printing)

 
While these trends are being impactful today, it’s critical to understand that investing in technology is also an exercise in timing. While all innovation follows a continuum of “Impossible > Possible > Impractical > Expected > Required” it is important to leverage these tools during the “Impractical” stage to stay ahead of the competition.

The Leadership Forum had a thought provoking start and personally generated a lot of ideas to think about and carry-on throughout the rest of the Leadership Forum and AU Conference. It was interesting to write this post and think about the presentations I lead and how these ideas really applied.

As Design Technology Leaders we have the power to create these “wow” moments and have people ask “how did we do that” due to our innovative spirit. As T-Shaped professionals and natural cross-pollinators we’re always looking to juxtapose technology solutions with design processes for unique outcomes. Being at the forefront of these technology trends is an exciting place to be with endless possibilities that I’m looking forward to continuing to participate in.

More to come from Autodesk University 2011…