Some say traditional thinking, risk aversion, and incrementalism will cause the demise of companies unable to cope with the coming decades of disruptive innovation. On the other hand, incentivizing breakthroughs can be a key strategy for success.
Peter Diamandis has a lot of experience with incentivizing breakthrough thinking, based on the success of the Ansari X PRIZE (which stimulated the creation of the private spaceflight industry) and more recently, the launch of the $30 million Google Lunar X PRIZE and the $10 million Progressive Automotive X PRIZE. Join us as he explains how the rapid growth of key technologies (nano-, bio-, and information technology) is empowering individuals and companies to do what only governments were able to achieve in past decades. Such technologies will drive a period of significant disruption or opportunity, depending on a company's mind-set. The ultimate message is "evolve or die."
Dr. Diamandis is the Chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation, which awarded the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE for private spaceflight and is now implementing awards in a variety of different arenas. He also serves as the CEO of Zero Gravity Corporation, a commercial space company developing private, FAA-certified parabolic flight using Boeing 727-200 aircraft. In addition, he is the Chairman and cofounder of the Rocket Racing League, and cofounder of Space Adventures, Ltd., the company that brokered the flights of four private citizens to the International Space Station. His personal motto is, "The best way to predict the future is to create it yourself!"
This event is free. All members of the Campus and JPL communities and retirees are welcome. For more information, please send email to <a href=mailto:cma.announce@jpl.nasa.gov>cma.announce@jpl.nasa.gov</a> or call Michael Eastwood, at 818-354-9273, or Emily Abbott, at 626-395-6373.
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