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Creativity conference whets the appetite |
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Monday, 12 May 2008 |
By Lydia Dishman
SCBIZ Daily Contributing Writer
GREENVILLE -- Joe Erwin considers himself to be in the idea business. So, the president of Erwin-Penland Advertising based in Greenville, thought that staging conference to celebrate and foster great thinking made sense. To do this, he put together a team of his staff to figure out how to explore creativity in a creative fashion.
“We stole the best parts of other conventions,” Erwin said, citing the Idea Convention as an example, “and we made up the rest.”
The result was the first annual Food for Thought Creativity Conference held in various locations, including Michelin headquarters and BMW’s Performance Center, over three days last week. In attendance were just 50 people who Erwin said were here “because they were identified as someone who works in creativity.”
Participants included the city manager, Jim Bourey; economic development director, Nancy Whitworth; and executives from advertising agencies from New York, Boston and of course, Greenville.
Instead of a series of seminars, Erwin and team, with the conference’s executive director Syndey Fanning, put together a varied program of speakers and experiences, with plenty of opportunities to sit, eat and dialogue.
“We wanted a food component because sitting around a dinner table brings out the best discussion. Food encourages interchange,” said Erwin.
Beginning with bruschetta and cocktails, the conference kicked off with an evening reception at the historic Wyche Pavilion on the banks of the Reedy River. Dr. Rosabeth Kanter of the Harvard Business School gave an impassioned speech about what makes and marks a culture of success in individuals and organizations. Kanter’s research identified the Upstate as a legitimate and emerging center of economic innovation over a decade ago.
What followed was a second day packed with activities from a presentation on innovative ways to market to increasingly selective consumers to a few high-speed laps around the track at the BMW, to dinner with Southern culinary legend Nathalie Dupree, and an après-dinner talk about Southern politics by author, historian and commentator Jack Bass, moderated by John L.S. Simpkins, founding director of the Center for a Better South.
The conference wrapped up with two final presentations at Michelin. Robert Stephens, Founder and chief inspector of the Geek Squad, delivered laughs along with information on the most innovative ways to market and grow a small business. After leaving the attendees with food for thought about Geek Squad’s unusual recruitment efforts (sponsoring a Kung-Fu film festival in London) Bart Thompson, Michelin’s innovation engineer zipped in on a Segue transporter to demonstrate the Tweel , Michelin’s non-pneumatic tire as well as the “disruptive innovation” that allowed a 100-year-old company expand and create a breakthrough product instead of simply incrementally improving the existing.
Erwin said he was excited about the future possibilities for the conference to become a destination event in Greenville. “I hope to leave attendees with a new appreciation for this part of the country and its emergence as a global center of innovation,” he said.
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