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Unlocking Innovation

kcaron — Wed, 18 Sep 2019 21:15:23 +0000

Unlocking Innovation kcaron Wed, 09/18/2019 - 16:15

At Las Vegas Market last month, I had the privilege of attending the CEO Summit, which offered an opportunity to learn about external factors affecting our industries as well as actionable strategies to address some of them.

The morning’s speakers, Gary Locke and Dr. Evan Feigenbaum took us Far East, sharing their economic expertise on China; and Vietnam, India and Indonesia, respectively. Their insights on economic development, trade wars, tariffs, politics and manufacturing advantages and pitfalls were both enlightening and a little unnerving as the balance of opportunities, growth and trade disruption came across as delicate. As Ben Stein said in his keynote wrap-up, “We don’t control the world.”

But fret not. While we may not control external factors that can affect our respective businesses, we are not powerless. As our first post-lunch speaker, Stephen Shapiro, assured us, we have innovation at our disposal. We can find the creative solutions to just about any challenge if we approach it correctly.

“Innovation is staying relevant, being adaptable and doing it quickly,” Shapiro says, adding, “Expertise is the enemy of innovation. Our brains are wired for survival,” and that means doing what has worked before. At the pace business is changing in today’s environment, however, we may want to consider some rewiring.

So, how do we overcome our natural tendencies to fall back on what we know? It really comes down to asking the right questions, Shapiro suggested. “If you are asking the wrong question, you’ll never get the right answer.”

Our tendency is to ask questions that are too broad or too specific. In either case, we likely won’t get to the answers we need. We need to find the question that falls somewhere in the middle. Changing the question changes the solution.

One example focused on The Mall of America in Minneapolis. The quandary was, “How can we use social media to drive traffic?” It’s a mall. There is traffic already. The more specific concern that needed to be addressed was engagement. So the question was flipped to “How can we use traffic to drive social media?”

As a solution, they created a Twitter campaign, #Twizzard. It encouraged visitors in the mall to tweet to drive the temperature down on a giant thermometer; the more tweets, the lower the temperature went. When it hit the freezing mark, guests were treated to falling snow. The campaign skyrocketed social media engagement and delighted those who were there for the experience. It was a success because someone thought to revise the question.

It’s not necessary to think outside of the box to find innovative solutions. It’s about being inside the right box, Shapiro says, and it can be as simple as changing just one word. “It’s never the answer you have to worry about,” he says. “It’s always the question.”

So for homework this month, consider a challenge that’s dogging your retail or design business, and rework that question. It could be the key to unlocking an innovative solution.

Photo: Unsplash user Riccardo Annandale

How to Prioritize Quality Over Quantity in Your Digital Strategy

kcaron — Fri, 12 Apr 2019 21:19:42 +0000

How to Prioritize Quality Over Quantity in Your Digital Strategy kcaron Fri, 04/12/2019 - 16:19

High Point Market Announces Schedule for The Point

kcaron — Tue, 05 Mar 2019 15:59:52 +0000

High Point Market Announces Schedule for The Point kcaron Tue, 03/05/2019 - 09:59

The High Point Market Authority (HPMA) today announced a robust lineup of personalities and programming for its third market in the popular pop-up, The Point, for spring market, April 6-10.

Located on Commerce Ave, between S. Main and Wrenn streets, The Point debuted in April 2018 during spring market as the first freestanding, High Point Market-branded venue conceived to enhance the buyer experience.

The Point will open on Friday, April 5, at 11 a.m., and the programming is open to all market attendees. Hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 6, through Monday, April 8, and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 9. During the hours of operation, a team of Market Advisors will be on hand to offer one-on-one consultations to attendees in need of information or support. Market-goers are encouraged to drop in throughout market for specific events or to utilize the lounge area.

The schedule of events and programming changes daily. The full listing of programs and events for The Point is located in the events section of the High Point Market website and at www.highpointmarket.org/the-point.

On Friday, programming begins at noon with a welcome reception hosted by industry partner Steelyard. Offering a designer-friendly guide to market, exhibitor information, a roundtable for discussing designer-friendly tips, tricks and tools for working market, a swag bag giveaway and even an exclusive High Point Market/Steelyard nail polish, the reception will focus on both networking and information-sharing for designers coming to market.

Roundtables, the most popular programming element to date, will be hosted each day Saturday through Tuesday at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Designed to be 60-minute, interactive conversations led by well-known experts on industry-relevant topics, this market’s roundtables will be split into two tracks. Retailer-focused roundtables will occur each morning at 10 a.m., with designer-focused roundtables occurring each afternoon at 2 p.m.

For retail buyers, roundtable topics include discussions about tips for selling outdoor furniture with Tim and Ashley Newton of Leader’s Casual Furniture in Florida, building your retail assets with Teddie and Courtney Garrigan of Coco & Dash in Texas, tariffs and other 2019 economic impactors with Jerry Epperson of Mann, Armistead and Epperson, LTD. and Ken Smith of Smith Leonard PLLC, and digital tools to drive retail sales with marketing and tech firm Stratagon.

For interior designers, roundtable topics include discussions about tips, tricks and tools for working market as a designer with the Steelyard team, insights into the popular social media channel Instagram with designer and influencer Farah Merhi, how to add home staging to your design business with home staging industry veterans Jennie Norris, Sandra Holmes and Blair Hamaty, advice for getting published with strategist and journalist Sophie Donelson and designer, influencer and author Erin Gates, and building your brand with personal style with designer Traci Zeller and professional stylist Whitley Adkins Hamlin.

Saturday afternoon will feature two celebrity meet and greet events, first with artist, designer, entrepreneur and Emmy and Golden Globe winning actress, Jane Seymour, at 3:15 pm, followed by designer and star of HGTV’s Love It or List It, Hillary Farr, at 4:15 p.m.

Returning programming includes the Parson’s Table Pop-Up, offering homemade lunch service from 11:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. each day and the hashtag printer and photo wall, offering attendees the opportunity to take home with them a branded market memory by posting to Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #HPMKTmemory.

Evening offerings will include After Hours at The Point, featuring craft beer and wine from local brewery, Brown Truck Brewery, and local food trucks Friday through Monday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. This will run concurrently with industry mixers hosted by the Black Interior Designers Network, High Point Discovered and the International Furnishings and Design Association (IFDA), who will announce the winners of their IFDA Selects awards program during their event on Monday evening.

The interior space for The Point was developed in collaboration with celebrated design firm Barbour Spangle Design Group. Lighting, furnishings and decorative products to be used in The Point were donated by Modway, Nuevo, Raffel Systems, Shaw Contract Flooring, Sunpan, Surya, Thayer Coggin and WaterMark Living.

5 Apps To Boost Your Social Media Game

kcaron — Fri, 24 Aug 2018 14:36:44 +0000

5 Apps To Boost Your Social Media Game kcaron Fri, 08/24/2018 - 09:36

How to Remember to Post on Social Media

amartin — Wed, 18 Apr 2018 14:37:37 +0000

How to Remember to Post on Social Media amartin Wed, 04/18/2018 - 09:37

How Houzz Fits With Your Social Media Strategy

amartin — Wed, 25 Oct 2017 15:28:25 +0000

How Houzz Fits With Your Social Media Strategy amartin Wed, 10/25/2017 - 10:28

4 Tips for Finding Instagram Hashtags

kcaron — Fri, 18 Aug 2017 17:32:30 +0000

4 Tips for Finding Instagram Hashtags kcaron Fri, 08/18/2017 - 12:32