Technology Revolution: The Future of Now

Throughout recorded human history, people have figured out how to use the latest “technology” to scam, con or hack others for their own benefit. William Chaloner (1650–1699): Serial counterfeiter and confidence trickster proven guilty by Sir Isaac Newton. Gregor MacGregor (1786–1845): Scottish con man who tried to attract investment and settlers for the non-existent country of Poyais. Cassie Chadwick (1857–1907): Canadian who defrauded banks out of millions by pretending to be the illegitimate daughter and heir of Andrew Carnegie. Joseph Weil (1875–1976): Chicago’s infamous Yellow Kid posed as bank presidents, inventors, millionaires, and scientists. “I have played more roles in real life than the average actor ever dreamed of.” Frank Abagnale, Jr. (born 1948): U.S. check forger and impostor turned FBI consultant, who impersonated a PanAm airline pilot, a doctor, a lawyer, and a teacher to illegally make over $2.5 million. The 2002 movie Catch Me If You Can is based on his autobiography. Is there a term for this? Yup. Social engineering is the psychological manipulation of a person by a malicious attacker/s into performing actions or divulging confidential information for the purpose of information gathering, fraud, or system access. It differs from a traditional “con” when it is one of many steps in a complex scheme. Social engineering techniques are based on specific attributes of human decision-making known as cognitive biases, aka “bugs in the human hardware” that are exploited to create attack techniques. Did you know that you risk being hacked when you use the forgot password function on websites that require login? An improperly secured password-recovery system can grant a malicious attacker full access to your account, and lock you out. The good news: Social engineering as a force for good can be in your future — to help you regain your confidence and control. When you use human hacking for good, you can become more empathetic, generous and kind, and leave people feeling better for having met you, says master hacker and social engineering pioneer and author Christopher Hadnagy, who is on this panel. We’ll ask Chris Hadnagy, Ryan MacDougall, Maxie Reynolds and Shane McCombs for their take on The Future of Social Engineering: You As The Good Human Hacker!

The Buzz 1: “Don’t it always seem to go That you don’t know what you’ve got Till it’s gone.” (Big Yellow Taxi, Joni Mitchell, 1970) The Buzz 2: “I would be proud to partake of your pecan pie.” (Harry Burns (Billy Crystal), When Harry Met Sally, 1989 film) The Buzz 3: “Covid-19 revealed the everyday activities many people take for granted until they’re no longer for an option—like eating out in a restaurant…more than 70,000 restaurants across the U.S. have permanently closed. Restaurants had to quickly pivot to curbside pickup and delivery and adjust their menus and staffing in hopes of staying afloat…to find new, creative ways to serve customers.” [www.forbes.com] We'll ask your food futurists Kerry N. Brown at SAP, Chef Chris Hall at Unsukay, Lisa Allen at Wine Insite, and Chef Andy Gonzales at Steinbeck’s & The Companion for their take on The Future of Dining: Restaurants, Menus, Takeout, Delivery and AI.

The Buzz 1: “You care more about that car than you do about most people.” [Thelma (Geena Davis) to Louise (Susan Sarandon) in Thelma & Louise (1991) The Buzz 2: “A driver don't pick the cars. Mmm-mm. Cars pick the driver. It's a mystical bond between man and machine.” (Bernie Mac as Bobby Bolivia in Transformers,2 007 film) The Buzz 3: “The next few years should be exciting. We’re in the midst of an electric vehicle onslaught and seeing a flood of new EV pickup trucks. We're also watching more supercar and hypercar debuts than ever before.” [www.motor1.com/car-lists/future-cars] Fast-forward to 2025. Will you own, lease by the hour, day, season or year, share, borrow, or be cargo in a vehicle that moves you from point A to point B? As the automotive industry literally shifts gears and accelerates, concepts like ICE, BEV and AV are grabbing headlines and the steering wheel as mainstream options for your future transportation comfort, speed and safety. Whether you're driving or simply along for the ride, will you want or need technology-enabled, driver-assisted, touchless/online, or virtual experiences? Remember how semiconductors changed the speed and capabilities in the computer industry? Let’s see what's changing the automotive industry. We'll ask five car futurists – Tom Madonna at SAP, Julie Fream at OESA, Otto Schell at IGDCR, Clint Crook at Accenture, and Marco Gollarza at SAP – to predict our automotive journey, including the economic and environmental impacts of this evolution. Join us for The Future of Cars: What Will You Be Driving – Or Not – By 2025?

The Buzz: “The Fourth Industrial Revolution…a fusion of advances in AI, robotics, IoT, 3D printing, genetic engineering, quantum computing, other technologies…collective force behind many products and services that are fast becoming indispensable to modern life.” [salesforce.com] Every industrial revolution has had a profound impact on how we live, work and relate. The first industrialized our world with steam and water. The second electrified it. The third computerized it, setting the technology stage for the fourth and an unprecedented pace of transformation. What’s in it for you? Advances that often seem like a sci-fi movie. GPS systems that recommend the fastest route. Netflix’s personalized recommendations for you. Voice-activated virtual assistants that answer your questions, play your music, find recipes, tell corny jokes, bring you the news. We’ll ask Marty Groover, John Gretter, Derek Dyer and Don Young for their take on The Future of the 4th Industrial Revolution: What’s In It For You?

The Buzz 1: “During the Revolutionary War, women served the U.S. Army in traditional roles as nurses, seamstresses and cooks for troops in camp. Some courageous women served in combat either alongside their husbands or disguised as men, while others operated as spies for the cause. Though not in uniform, women shared Soldiers' hardships, including inadequate housing and little compensation.” [www.army.mil] The Buzz 2: “The U.S. military has been one of America’s most progressive institutions…But it also embodies a traditional, conservative, and in some ways “macho” culture…There is so much further to go and addressing these issues of gender equity will not be easy.” [brookings.edu/essay co-written by retired General Lori J. Robinson] We’ll ask Colonel Deb Lewis, Major General Suzanne P. Vares-Lum, former US Army officer Donna Matturro McAleer and Chief Warrant Officer Five Phyllis Wilson to predict The Future of Women in the Military: Mental Toughness Required?

The buzz 1: “Women earn about half of science and engineering degrees, but they make up less than 20 percent of people employed in those fields.” (mckinsey.com) The buzz 2: “Women are missing out on entrepreneurial success, making up just 17% of IT specialists in the UK. Worse still, a new survey shows that the number of women in the tech sector has barely moved over the past 10 years despite an industry-wide push. When tech has never had it so good, where are the women?” (theguardian.com) The buzz 3: “Women who have decided to pursue a career in computer science…credited early exposure to programming as the greatest factor in their decision to become engineers. Conversely, a lack of early exposure to computer science was the primary deterrent for women who leave—or never join—the field.” (themuse.com) We ask SAP's Maria Villar, NTT DATA's Theresa Kushner, Treeverse's Einat Orr and VMware's Radhika Rangarajan to predict The Future of Women in Tech: How to Level The Playing Field?

The Buzz 1: “Social media can also be a powerful tool for your professional life…It can also be full of pitfalls. More employers and recruiters now regularly check candidates’ social media profiles before hiring them, and screenshots of status updates and tweets mean your electronic words can live forever, even if you delete them later…it’s not just your own posts—your activity, including those stealth “likes,” can come back to haunt you, too… every post you’ve liked, commented on, or shared, in addition to any posts you’re sharing to your feed.” [themuse.com] The Buzz 2: “Creating a personal brand on social media…it’s about what you stand for and what people should expect when they see you’ve posted a new piece of content.” [digitalmarketinginstitute.com] We’ll ask Loic Simon, Lindsey Boggs, Jonathan Pogact and Sylvia Lachkar to predict How Your Personal Social Brand Could Help or Hurt Your Future Career, Business, Influence, Reputation and Life.

The buzz: In a 2017 ISACA survey, only 53% of surveyed business technology professionals believe their organization’s leadership is digitally literate. The other 47% don’t think their leaders have a solid understanding of tech and its impacts or are unsure. (helpnetsecurity.com) Despite better AI, easier app developing, and robots joining the workforce, there’s still a huge disconnect between non-technical CXOs and their tech teams, even in Silicon Valley. If you are a non-techy entrepreneur or CXO, how do you ask for technical solutions or hire engineers if stack, back-end or RAM are gibberish to you? Executives need to develop technical intuition and systems-thinking to be proficient at technical communication and ability, says Aman Agarwal, Sanpram Transnational founder and CEO. We’ll ask Aman, Dr. Sharon Jones, John Lester and Justin Bouldin to predict whether speaking tech will be a basic business requirement on The Future of Digital Literacy: Will CXOs Have to Talk Tech?

Buzz 1: “Time spent in conversation is never wasted.” [Insidious: Chapter 3] Buzz 2: “I had a really long talk with a squirrel one time, longer in fact than I can with most people.” [Charlie’s Angels] Buzz 3: “Do you always begin conversations this way?” [The Princess Bride] If you’re hoping to gaze into a crystal ball to see what 2021 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. You’ll hear predictions on the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2021 and beyond, from ten panelists on our 2020 series, Think Tank: Conversations in a Digital World. Added to the prognosticators who participated on Parts 1 through 6, today’s episode brings our total to more than 70. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for Technology Revolution: The Future of Now 2021 Crystal Ball Predictions – Part 7 live. Working together, let’s make 2021 a great year!

Buzz. 1: Robin to Batman: “In the circus, the Flying Graysons were a team. We had to trust each person to do their jobs.…Sometimes, counting on someone else is the only way you win.” Buzz 2: Fred Astaire: “For ballroom dancing, remember that your partners have their own distinctive styles also…adapt your style…you are not surrendering your individuality, but blending it with that of your partner.” If you’re hoping to gaze into a crystal ball to see what 2021 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. Over our 7-week Special, which concludes on January 27, you’ll hear more than 60 experts cover the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2021 and beyond. Today we'll ask 10 thought leaders to predict the future of business partnerships. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for Technology Revolution: The Future of Now 2021 Crystal Ball Predictions – Part 6 .

Buzz. 1: “Oh, my goodness! Shut me down! Machines making machines. How perverse!” (C-P3O in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, 2002 space-opera film). Buzz 2: “Never send a human to do a machine’s job.” (Agent Smith in The Matrix, 1999 sci-fi film). If you’re hoping to gaze into a crystal ball to see what 2021 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. On our 7-episode 2021 Predictions Special [more on Jan. 20 and 27], you’ll hear insights from more than 65 experts covering a range of technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2021 and beyond. Today, 11 thought leaders predict the future of industry 4.0, including automation, Internet of Things connected devices, machine learning, digital workers and more. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for Technology Revolution: The Future of Now 2021 Crystal Ball Predictions – Part 5 live. Working together, let’s make 2021 a great year!

Buzz 1: Doc Brown: “Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads” (Back to the Future). Buzz 2: Mr. Spaceley: “Where's Jetson, and why is the plant shut down?” Rudy2: “It's the middle of the night, sir.” Mr. Spaceley: “Machines don't sleep. Start it up! Every second lost means money lost. And money lost means I scream a lot!” (Jetsons). If you’re hoping to gaze into a crystal ball to see what 2021 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing: thought leaders predicting the future of mobility, automotive, manufacturing and related technologies. On our 7-episode 2021 Predictions Special [continuing Jan. 13, 20, 27], you’ll hear insights from 50+ experts covering the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2021 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for Technology Revolution: The Future of Now 2021 Crystal Ball Predictions – Part 4 live. Working together, let’s make 2021 a great year!

“If you focus on what you left behind, you will never see what lies ahead!” (Gusteau, played by Brad Garrett in Ratatouille, 2007 computer-animated comedy film) “Your problem is not technology. The problem is you. You lack the will to change.” (Klaatu, played by Keanu Reeves in The Day the Earth Stood Still, 2008 sci-fi drama film) If you’re hoping to gaze into a crystal ball to see what 2021 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. On December 9, 2020, we'll ask 11 thought leaders what awaits the CFO and Finance in 2021 on our Annual Crystal Ball Special. Our Special continues on Jan. 6, 13, 20 and 27, 2021, featuring other topics. In total, you’ll hear insights from more than 50 experts covering the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2021 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for Technology Revolution: The Future of Now 2021 Crystal Ball Predictions – Part 2.

The buzz: “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” (Søren Kierkegaard,1813-1855, Danish philosopher, theologian, poet, social critic, author) If you’re hoping to gaze into a crystal ball to see what 2021 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. Live today, December 2, 2020, we'll focus on the Future of Digital Selling on Part 1 of our Annual Crystal Ball Predictions Special. The Special will continue on December 9, 16 plus January 6, 13 and 20, 2021, focusing on other topics. In total, we’re bringing you insights from 60 thought leaders covering the exciting technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2021 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for Technology Revolution: The Future of Now – 2021 Crystal Ball Predictions – Part 1 live. Working together, let’s make 2021 a great year!

The Buzz #1: Mr. Spaceley: “Where's Jetson, and why is the plant shut down?” Rudy 2: “It's the middle of the night, sir.” Mr. Spaceley: “Machines don't sleep. Start it up! Every second lost means money lost. And money lost means I scream a lot!” [Jetsons: The Movie, 1990] If you’re hoping to gaze into a crystal ball to see what 2021 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. On December 16, 2020, we'll ask ten thought leaders to predict the future of IoT and other disruptive technologies on our Annual Crystal Ball Special. Our Special continues on Jan. 6, 13 and 20, 2021, on other topics. In total, you’ll hear insights from 60 experts covering the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2021 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for Technology Revolution: The Future of Now 2021 Crystal Ball Predictions – Part 3 live. Working together, let’s make 2021 a great year!

“If you focus on what you left behind, you will never see what lies ahead!” (Gusteau, played by Brad Garrett in Ratatouille, 2007 computer-animated comedy film) “Your problem is not technology. The problem is you. You lack the will to change.” (Klaatu, played by Keanu Reeves in The Day the Earth Stood Still, 2008 sci-fi drama film) If you’re hoping to gaze into a crystal ball to see what 2021 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. On December 9, 2020, we'll ask 11 thought leaders what awaits the CFO and Finance in 2021 on our Annual Crystal Ball Special. Our Special continues on Dec. 16 plus Jan. 6, 13 and 20, 2021, with other topics. In total, you’ll hear insights from 60 experts covering the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2021 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for Technology Revolution: The Future of Now 2021 Crystal Ball Predictions – Part 2 live.

The buzz: “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” (Søren Kierkegaard,1813-1855, Danish philosopher, theologian, poet, social critic, author) If you’re hoping to gaze into a crystal ball to see what 2021 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. Live today, December 2, 2020, we'll focus on the Future of Digital Selling on Part 1 of our Annual Crystal Ball Predictions Special. The Special will continue on December 9, 16 plus January 6, 13 and 20, 2021, focusing on other topics. In total, we’re bringing you insights from 60 thought leaders covering the exciting technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2021 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for Technology Revolution: The Future of Now – 2021 Crystal Ball Predictions – Part 1 live. Working together, let’s make 2021 a great year!

The buzz: Although they comprise more 50% of the population, women hold far fewer positions in the wine industry, fewer leadership roles, and fewer ownership roles. Wine expert and The Wine Bible author Karen MacNeil’s Second Annual Report on Women in the Wine Industry reveals an estimated 10% of winemakers in California are female, 7% in Washington, and 5% in New York. She closed her keynote at the 2019 Wonder Women of Wine (WWOW) inaugural conference with this advice: “My friends, men are not going to fix this. Many of them don’t even think a problem exists. The situation is ours to change, and the time is now. So, move forward unwaveringly and ambitiously…Be supportive of other women…And help create a new terroir of wine feminism.” We’ll ask Susie Selby at Selby Winery, Sharon Cohn at Breathless Wines, Jane Uttley at Unfiltered Unfined Wines and Karen Maley at Robert Young Estate Winery for their take on “We’ll Drink To That: The Future of Women and Tech in the Wine Industry.”

The buzz: “Today, anyone with a bit of technological know-how and an internet connection can publish—offering digital or physical editions, on the same online retail shelves—alongside Alexander Chee, Rebecca Makkai, or Tom Clancy.” For printed books, a slew of new funding, production, and distribution tools make creating and selling a physical artifact much easier…The books look fabulous. This proliferation of new technology and services has altered author economics. Almost half of author earnings now come from independently published books. For the first time—perhaps since the invention of the printing press—authors and small presses have viable independent options beyond the “traditional” publishing path with its gatekeepers. [wired.com] We’ll ask Water Street Press publisher, editor and author Lynn Vannucci, ad-copywriter-turned-novelist Arthur Vibert, and CPA-turned-novelist Joe Calderwood for their take on The Future of the Novel: Writers, Publishing and Technology.

The buzz: “In its hundred-year history, the drumset has been adorned by temple blocks, timpani, and bass drumheads with nature scenes…introduction of the hi-hat, Rototoms, Octobans… bass drums with no front heads at all…entire drumsets would spin in the air, be aided by powerful electronics, and explode in size with additional bass drums, toms, and snare drums and enough cymbals to equip a large marching band.” “So what of drumming’s future?…How will such buzz phrases as “Internet of Things” and “Industry 4.0” change the way drummers interact with their environment? A basic understanding of electronic instruments, which is already a required part of a working drummer’s vocabulary, will surely become more ingrained in our skill sets. Or will some as yet unknown drummer or technology alter the game entirely?” moderndrummer.com We’ll ask musicians Kevin McCollom, Brian McCollom and Lou Wysocki for their take on Behind The Beat: The Future of Drums, Drummers and Music Technology.

The buzz: “In the unknowable future, all leaders will need to be entrepreneurs: visionaries that can imagine, adapt, and act nimbly to address whatever challenges come their way.” (Bhatia and Levina, hbr.org) With global businesses impacted by Covid-19 and other disruptions, companies that survived are looking at their future workforce through a new lens. No more obey-the-status-quo hires. They need creative, entrepreneurial, collaborative problem-solvers to help them turn obstacles into positive results. Where to find them? In school! Since 1987, NY City-based nonprofit Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) has taught project-based entrepreneurship to 500,000+ under-resourced students, now in 18 U.S. states and 10 countries. Will these grads snag top jobs in the coming years? We’ll ask Dr. J.D. LaRock, Kyle Garman, Dr. Karina Edmonds, Srinivas Rapthadu and Dr. Malcolm Woodfield for their insights on Back to School: The Future of The Entrepreneurial Mindset and Technology.

The Buzz 1: “The future holds unparalleled visions of progress and intrigue for the curious…where we manifest our hopes, dreams and even worst fears…While we've had our fair share of inventive breakthroughs in the past that have changed the world, the dazzling and world-shaking inventions of the future will change the world in even stranger and greater ways.” bigthink.com The Buzz 2: In the 19th century, inventors were heroes…Stephenson, Morse and Goodyear were the shock troops of the Industrial Revolution. Their ideas helped drag humanity from agrarian poverty to manufactured plenty. These days, though, inventor-superstars, while not absent, are fewer and farther between.…Patent records reveal that the way inventions are made has changed over the years.” economist.com We’ll ask modern inventors Brian Fried, Alex Tholl, Samantha St. Raymond and Shawn Taylor for their take on Your Great Idea: The Future of Inventors, Inventing and Technology.

The buzz: Futurists are people who attempt to predict the future – authors, consultants, thinkers, organizational leaders and others who engage in interdisciplinary and systems thinking to advise private and public organizations on diverse global trends, possible scenarios, emerging market opportunities and risk management. Futurists are motivated by change. Not content merely to describe or forecast, they desire an active role in world transformation. Futurology is concerned with ‘three P's and a W’, i.e., ‘possible, probable, and preferable’ futures, plus ‘wildcards’, which are low-probability, high-impact events. In The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin distinguished futurology – the business of prophets, clairvoyants, and futurists – from novelists, whose ‘business is lying.’” en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futurist We’ll ask futurists Mike Bechtel, Frank Diana, Tom Raftery and Alexandra Whittington for their take on The Future of Futurists, Futurology and Crystal Ball Tech.

The buzz: “We become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.” (President Jimmy Carter) But Canadian social psychologist John Berry observes that multiculturalism is dependent on both the “cultural maintenance” by immigrant groups and “cultural acceptance” by host societies. Strong cultural maintenance by immigrants and weak cultural acceptance by a host society lead to separation and marginalization. Conversely, weak cultural maintenance by immigrants leads to assimilation into the host culture. (psychologytoday.com) Through media globalization and cross-border connectivity, technology is playing an integral role in balancing cultural preservation with fluid cultural exchange. And this creates a real-time multicultural experience. We’ll ask Court Stroud, Sarah Carberry, Diego Lastra and Ana Crandell for their take on No More Tower of Babel: Multiculturalism, The Media & Technology.

The buzz: “Over the centuries human beings have always loved to laugh. We can imagine jokes being shared by our cave dwelling ancestors about the two woolly mammoths. Today comedy is shared with vast audience by world-famous arena-filling comedians. Comedy is part of human culture. “There seems to be more comedy than ever. There are local comedy clubs, the Edinburgh Fringe, YouTube, comedy series and Hollywood movies – however you like your comedy served up, there is probably a source catering to your taste. “Still some key challenges…for all but the very top tier of acts to make a living…comedy has always lingered slightly in music’s shadow in terms of new media – lagging behind embracing digital platforms.” (Sarah Henley, co-founder of NextUp, www.tvbeurope.com/features/what-impact-might-technology-have-on-comedy We’ll ask Eddie Sarfaty, Lori Hammel, Peter Michael Marino and Karen Bergreen for their take on “What’s So Funny?!? The Future of Humor and Technology.”

The buzz: Although they comprise more 50% of the population, women hold far fewer positions in the wine industry, fewer leadership roles, and fewer ownership roles. Wine expert and The Wine Bible author Karen MacNeil’s Second Annual Report on Women in the Wine Industry reveals an estimated 10% of winemakers in California are female, 7% in Washington, and 5% in New York. She closed her keynote at the 2019 Wonder Women of Wine (WWOW) inaugural conference with this advice: “My friends, men are not going to fix this. Many of them don’t even think a problem exists. The situation is ours to change, and the time is now. So, move forward unwaveringly and ambitiously…Be supportive of other women…And help create a new terroir of wine feminism.” We’ll ask Susie Selby at Selby Winery, Sharon Cohn at Breathless Wines, Jane Uttley at Unfiltered Unfined Wines and Karen Maley at Robert Young Estate Winery for their take on “We’ll Drink To That: The Future of Women and Tech in the Wine Industry.”

The buzz: “We’ve all been there — woken up from a night’s sleep thinking about a dream from the night before. Why did the dream happen? What does it mean? (Jean-Marc Emden, DreamsCloud. www.wired.com/insights/2014/10/dreaming-innovation) Finally, answers! The Aurora headband from iWinks gives us the opportunity to control our dreams and access lucid dreams – awareness that one is dreaming – by prompting them in our sleep. The headband measures brain wave and eye movement activity, while tracking body movements to figure out when a user is in their dream state. Using Bluetooth technology, personal dream data is transferred to a mobile app, allowing us to analyze our sleep patterns over time. We’ll ask Roberta Moore at EQ-i Coach, Therapist Scott Schenck, Licensed Counselor Dr. Francesca Ferrentelli and Psychiatrist Leonard Cruz, MD, ME, for their take on “It's All In Your Head: Technology for Remembering Your Dreams.

The buzz: Vrooomm. Today, women account for only 27% of the US auto manufacturing workforce as compared to about 47% of the overall labor force. This talent gap is counterproductive for companies looking to tap into the rising opportunities for innovation, transformation, and disruption by digital technologies such as AI, AR, and the IoT. (www2.deloitte.com) Bogi Lateiner, owner of 180 Degrees Automotive in Phoenix, wanted to be a mechanic. “I had to go to 20 shops before I got the first job to say yes to hiring me”. She started her shop in her driveway. (cronkitenews..azpbs.org) In 2000, Automotive News had a difficult time filling its first list of 100 Leading Women in the North American Auto Industry. By 2015, it had hundreds of powerful female execs to choose from. (autonews.com) We’ll ask Julie Fream (OESA), Laurie Harbour (Harbour Results), Shannon Quinn (Bridgestone) and Jennifer A. Dukarski (Butzel Long) for their take on the future of women in the automotive industry.

The buzz: Cyberpsychology is the study of the human mind and behavior and how the culture of technology, specifically, virtual reality, and social media affect them. Hot topics: online identity, online relationships, personality types in cyberspace, transference to computers, addiction to computers and Internet, regressive behavior in cyberspace, and online gender-switching. For example: Comparison, low self-esteem, depression, loneliness, and negative relationships are possible detrimental consequences associated with frequent use of Facebook. en.wikipedia.org And there’s cyberpsychiatry, which includes virtual reality, telepsychiatry, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and chatbot therapists. “There is always a risk of taking the humanity out of medicine by relying too heavily on technology,” according to Edward Kaftarian, MD. psychcongress.com We’ll ask Chris Kalaboukis, Lynda Roth, Jacob Perkins and Roberta Moore for their take on CyberPsychology: What Would Dr. Freud Say?

The buzz X 3: Make me laugh! Though seemingly innocuous, cartoons, caricatures, comic strips and comic books are representative of important issues in society. Years ago, cartoons were handmade, frame by frame. Now many use flash, aftereffects or other software with interpolation features to produce movement illusion. (engadget.com) Caricature artists once heavily relied on pens and paper. Now, many use digital artistic tools for molding their imagination. (bmmagazine.co.uk) Storytelling using pictures, often with words, has existed at least since the ancient Egyptians. The American comic strip adapted this for the 20th century. (newworldencyclopedia.org) Comic books were once created using typewriters, pencils, pens, brushes, inks, and dyes. Now it's all ones and zeroes. (pcmag.com) We’ll ask visual artists Bruce Outridge, Sandra Bell-Lundy, Rina Piccolo, and Joe Bluhm for their take on the future of technology and the visual art they create to make us laugh or just think.

The buzz: “Web marketing is about delivering useful content at just the right moment that a buyer needs it.” (David Meerman Scott, The New Rules of Marketing and PR) For companies trying to sell you something right now, while you’re listening to us and in the midst of a pandemic, is this the right moment? How do you want them to find you, pitch you, engage you, earn your trust and get you to buy their products or services? Are you annoyed by their intrusion or do you welcome it? Today’s dynamic business and social landscapes are forcing sellers and marketers to creatively find you wherever you are – on social platforms, websites, email, perhaps still in the physical commerce world. As the world and society evolve, so does business. We’ll ask Lorraine Maurice at SAP, GL Hendricks at Chirp PR, and Brian Moran at Brian Moran & Associates to predict the post-pandemic 'next normal' for modern marketers with something to sell to consumers, including you, me and even each other.

The buzz: According to Engineering the Future of Creativity: How Technology is Revolutionizing Art (techspective.net 2019, technology has created more accessible tools for the production of art, changed the arena of self-expression, and accelerated the process of art funding and distribution. The artist’s palette now includes 3D printers. Eyal Gever is working with NASA scientists to create visualizations of human laughter that will be 3D printed on the International Space Station. Technology is redefining the canvas. The Bjork Digital traveling exhibition uses virtual reality and music to create a personalized experience that connects people to art. Via the Internet, art now can be produced and distributed all over the world, beyond the realm of the elite or the exceptionally talented. We’ll ask artist Dr. Lucie Marlo, gallery owner Jason Horejs, sculptor Philip Payne and art consultant Lynn Marks for their take on Draw Me A Picture: The Future of Art and Technology.

The buzz: Hard to imagine, but not so long ago, products and services were sold in the physical world and salespeople were the go-to experts before a sale. Remember being invited to coffee or lunch by a salesperson? But consumer habits change, often due to technology. Over the past few years, social selling has gained the attention of sales professionals. With nearly 3.6B people now using social media worldwide, and consumers now 5 times more reliant on digital content than in the early 2,000’s, the digital space is here to stay. Social selling is defined as when salespeople use social media to interact directly and build trust with target audiences until prospects are ready to buy a service or product. [digitalmarketinginstitute.com, statista.com, businesswire.com] We’ll ask Jason Taylor at Grapevine6, Julio Viskovich at NexLevel Sales, Chris Diskin at TIAA and Brandon Bornancin at Seamless.AI for their take on The Future of Digital Selling: Coming to Your Favorite Social Media.

The buzz: Cyberpsychology is the study of the human mind and behavior and how the culture of technology, specifically, virtual reality, and social media affect them. Hot topics: online identity, online relationships, personality types in cyberspace, transference to computers, addiction to computers and Internet, regressive behavior in cyberspace, and online gender-switching. An example: comparison, low self-esteem, depression, loneliness, and negative relationships are possible detrimental consequences associated with frequent use of Facebook. en.wikipedia.org And there’s cyberpsychiatry, which includes virtual reality, telepsychiatry, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and chatbot therapists. “There is always a risk of taking the humanity out of medicine by relying too heavily on technology,” says Edward Kaftarian, MD. psychcongress.com We’ll ask Chris Kalaboukis, Lynda Roth, Jacob Perkins and Roberta Moore for their take on CyberPsychology: What Would Dr. Freud Say?

The buzz! “As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, restaurants are still doing what they always do: taking care of their communities.…free food to medical workers on the frontlines, laid-off restaurant staff and their families, and basically anyone else in need.” (blog.opentable.com) “Giving back to others has had another much-needed consequence: It’s helping keep those restaurants in business and their staff working.” (cnbc.com) “Through the generosity of patrons, the fundraised meals are provided by area restaurants…many businesses [are] pivoting to stay afloat during the pandemic crisis.” (abc7ny.com) What’s on the menu to help restaurants owners and workers survive the pandemic? Virtual tastings, more carryout options, enhanced guest-centricity, new food sources, site purchase vs. lease, and more. We’ll ask restaurateurs Ryan Turner, Ryan Pernice, Bryan Schroeder and Mike Patrick for their take on The Care & Feeding of Restaurants Post-Pandemic: Technology on the Menu.

A social good is something that benefits the largest number of people in the largest possible way, such as clean air, clean water, healthcare, and literacy. Aka common good, social good can trace its history to Ancient Greece philosophers and implies a positive impact on individuals or society in general… Today, social good is used to refer to corporate initiatives that aim to enhance the social contract of corporations by promoting practices that are better for the environment and overall society.…and gain employee trust and loyalty…Social media platforms are an efficient way to educate the public, and advocate and fundraise for programs that support the social good. Social good has been connected with social media, as its definition has expanded to include a shareable deed or sentiment.” (www.investopedia.com/terms/s/social_good.asp) We’ll ask IDC’s Bob Parker, Ruthbea Yesner, David Reinsel and Cynthia Burghard for their take on The Future of Connectedness for Social Good.

The buzz! Europe-based Just Eat Takeaway, a merger between U.K.’s Just Eat and Netherlands-based Takeaway, is set to acquire its US competitor Grubhub in a $7.3B deal, beating out Uber. The new company will have an active customer base of 70M. When the pandemic forced restaurants to close on-site dining and find other ways to stay in business, Glasserie, a Brooklyn, N.Y. Mediterranean restaurant, experimented with delivery and takeout apps including Seamless, Grubhub and DoorDash. But they were disappointed by the fees and difficulty getting help using the apps’ service. It took one delivery app more than six weeks to update menu photos and other requested changes. Owner Sara Conklin said about 95 percent of sales are now coming directly from the restaurant’s website rather than through app companies. We’ll ask Chef Chris Hall of Local Three pizzeria, and Randy Evins, Evan Bowler and David Gruehn at SAP for their take on What’s For Dinner? The Future of Meal Delivery Apps.

The buzz! Yogurt is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. Yogurt is related to the verb yogurmak, to be curdled or coagulated; to thicken”. Ancient Greek cuisine included a similar dairy product, oxygala. Yogurt was introduced to the US in the early 20th century. In 2017, the average American ate 13.7 pounds of yogurt. Because it may contain live cultures, yogurt is often associated with probiotics, postulated as having positive effects on immune, cardiovascular or metabolic health. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogurt) According to NIH, “The future of yogurt is in the hands of scientists, technologists, and policy makers. There is a clear opportunity to build the knowledge, tools, and products needed to position a portfolio of new foods based on the concepts of traditional yogurt.” (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) We’ll ask Matt Billings at AYO Yogurt, Lori Corbin at ABC7, The Fit Foodie Mareya Ibrahim and Bernadette Judge, RN for their take on Yogurt of The Future: A Taste of Technology.

The buzz! themuse.com “Social media can also be a powerful tool for your professional life…build your personal brand, grow your network, establish yourself as an expert in your field, or give prospective employers a glimpse into your personality. It can also be full of pitfalls. More employers…check candidates’ social media profiles before hiring…screenshots of status updates and tweets mean your electronic words can live forever, even if you delete them later…not just your own posts—your activity, including those stealth “likes,” can come back to haunt you, too… every post you’ve liked, commented on, or shared, in addition to any posts you’re sharing to your feed.” digitalmarketinginstitute.com “Creating a personal brand on social media isn’t easy… not about what you look like or where you live, it’s about what you stand for.” We’ll ask Ashley Welch, Stuart Paap, Loic Simon and Sylvie Lachkar for their take on Personal Social Brands: Helping or Hurting Career, Business, and Life?

Ripped from the headlines: transwood.com: “Technology is becoming an increasingly important part of everyday trucking life…improving trucker safety, efficiency and saving transportation companies…a new mobile app [Jan. 2019] helps truckers find safe and close-by parking spaces via smart phone, in-cab information systems and the DOT 511 platform.” trucks.com: “Zero-emission (ZE) truck and bus models are on the verge of a major surge in the United States and Canada. Among the fastest-growing vehicle segments in the U.S. and Canada are medium-duty trucks typically used for urban delivery.” inboundlogistics.com: “Trucking companies and fleet managers must incorporate emergent tech and process innovations to stay relevant and retain their competitive edge.” We’ll ask Bruce Outridge, The Lead Pedal Podcast for Truck Drivers; Chris Harris, Dawg On-It Trucking PAWEDcast; Vickie DeVos, Fleet-Tax Services and iMVR Canada; Jeremy Thiel, DriverCheck, for their take on Tech and Future Trucking.

The buzz: Lifeboat Foundation Scientific Advisory Board member Michael Anissimov says, “Transhumanists advocate the improvement of human capacities through advanced technology. Not just…in gadgets you get from Best Buy, but technology in the grander sense of strategies for eliminating disease, providing cheap but high-quality products to the world’s poorest, improving quality of life and social interconnectedness…Technology we don’t notice because it’s blended in with the fabric of the world, but would immediately take note of its absence if it became unavailable.…looking…twenty years, thirty years, and beyond.” Anissimov’s top ten transhumanist technologies: Cryonics, Virtual Reality, Gene Therapy/RNA Interference, Space Colonization, Cybernetics, Autonomous Self-Replicating Robotics, Molecular Manufacturing, Megascale Engineering, Mind Uploading, Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). We’ll ask Prof. Agnis Stibe, Chris Kalaboukis, Jacob Perkins and Lynda Roth for their predictions.

The buzz: Ripped from the headlines. WebMD.com: “Contact tracing is essentially detective work.“… “One of the oldest public health tactics, dating back centuries.” CNN.com: …public health staff work with a patient to help them recall everyone with whom they have had close contact during the timeframe while they may have been infectious. To protect patient privacy, contacts are only informed that they may have been exposed to a patient with the infection…not the identity of the patient… [CDC) . ZDnet.com: “…gathering information about people's geo-location and other personal data, to aid management of the pandemic, risks infringing on our individual privacy more than ever before.”…“We might never get rid of it (Prof. Ross Anderson). We’ll ask Heather Federman at Big ID, Joe Jerome at Common Sense Media, Sara Collins at PublicKnowledge, and Kenesa Ahmad at Aleada for their take on these privacy issues on We Know Where You Were Last Night and Right Now: Contact Tracing & Your Future.

The Buzz: “The Factory of the Future…Perhaps manufacturing will at last be able to leave behind the public impressions of labor-intensive, dirty and dangerous worksites…There is only one characteristic of the Factory of the Future that is essential: A creative mindset for problem-solving and out-of-the-box thinking is key to embracing new technologies.” (industryweek.com) So many questions! What will future factory jobs look like – only programmers, AI experts and supervisors in Silicon Valley and MIT Boston? Will there be a role for the not-so-educated, perhaps today’s burger-flipping job level? Will everyone receive a base welfare-level monthly allowance for life? Will the work week be reduced to 35 or 30 hours for all? Will first the Chinese and then Europe have truly smart factories before the US does? We’ll ask Gerd Hoppe at Beckhoff, Dr. Christian Liedtke at KUKA AG, Rakesh Gandhi and Nils Herzberg at SAP about Jobs in the Factory of the Future: Who, What, Where, How Much $?

The Buzz: “For better and for worse, robots will alter humans’ capacity for altruism, love, and friendship…‘hybrid systems’—where people and robots interact socially—the right kind of AI can improve the way humans relate to one another” (theatlantic.com). “The internet acts like a kind of digital-fuelled alcohol, freeing us to say things to strangers that we would never dare to say if we met them” (bbc.com). “Being a good online citizen is more than being a safe Internet user—it’s about being responsible, smart, and having respect for yourself and others” (goguardian.com). In our global pandemic, more people are online more than ever– working, learning, meeting from home. Are they always nice to each other? No, continuing a pre-Covid-19 trend. We’ll ask Frank Diana, Prof. John H. Shannon, Ruchin Kansal and Kevin Benedict if AI, machine learning and other technologies will boost humans’ civility and respect online and offline? And will a “New Nice” last?

The buzz: “Pet adoptions are way up amid coronavirus crisis, even with shelters closed to public” (USA TODAY). “Like everyone else forced to improvise in the face of an unprecedented crisis, America's animal shelters are coming up with creative ways to stay open, so they can continue pairing people and pets. Americans are rushing, well, not to their local shelters but to their phones and laptops to check out available pets, to donate money and supplies, to share the word on social media about rescuing homeless balls of furry fun. Appointment-only and call-ahead adoptions, drive-up fostering and curbside adoptions, online training and at-home volunteer projects…are some of the solutions…to help care for vulnerable animals during the pandemic.” We’ll ask four pet-loving-and-adopting actors – Lori Hammel, Samantha B. Northart, Neal Mayer and Shirleyann Kaladjian – for their take on Technology and The Future of Pet Adoptions.

The buzz: “Even incubators/accelerators [in India] that have been around for years, and have “processed” 50+ startups, usually don't have even one startup that has achieved impressive revenues/valuations” (Source). 90% of startups fail. Doomed from the start? Likely if they work with accelerators, which invest low seed capital in multiple startups for 12-week mentoring, expecting most to flop when Demo Day investors say No. If you’re a wannabe entrepreneur or a serial entrepreneur with your eye on the next big prize, here’s another path. Venture studios dawned in the late 00’s when successful-exit tech entrepreneurs assembled experts and investors to create their own ventures or boost the commercialization of post-incubator, post-accelerator, post-corporate innovation labs. We’ll ask Don Deloach at Rocket Wagon Venture Studios, Chris Morgan at Lantern Partners, and Chris Rezendes at Spherical | Analytics for their take on Hatching Your BIG Idea: Venture Studios and Startup Success.

The buzz X2: “Humans have been co-evolving with their technologies since the dawn of prehistory…. Coping with this new means liberating ourselves from such categories as ‘human,’ ‘technological,’ and ‘natural’ to embrace a new techno-human relationship” (Allenby & Sarewitz). “Growing up I always considered the interaction of humanity and technology presented in the original Star Trek series as a fairly accurate representation of the way things would someday go. Then came the Next Generation’s Borg…our future may have more in common with the Borg” (J. Huang). Uncertainty and dramatic changes are not new, but our human window of tolerance is being stretched to the limit more than ever. As a global civilization, we’ve been catapulted into the awareness that we need new technohuman ecosystems. How we react, adapt and evolve will define our success. We’ll ask Judy Ryan, Jacob Perkins, Marti Konstant and Lynda Roth for their take on Falling to Pieces? Technohuman Game-Changers to the Rescue!

The buzz: “The Factory of the Future has an evolving definition…even different names…Smart Manufacturing, Industry 4.0 or the Digital Enterprise…Perhaps manufacturing will at last be able to leave behind the public impressions of labor-intensive, dirty and dangerous worksites…Only one characteristic of the Factory of the Future that is essential: A creative mindset for problem-solving and out-of-the-box thinking is key to embracing new technologies…Stubborn adherence to traditional processes…will cause serious roadblocks.” (industryweek.com) “Industry 4.0, smart manufacturing, the next industrial revolution…more than just a flashy catchphrase.…Reports peg the smart factory industry to touch USD 215B by 2025…there has been no major economy in the world that is not embracing it.” (cio.economictimes.indiatimes.com). We’ll ask Marty Groover, Derek Dyer and Matthew Stemmler at C5MI and Don Young at YASH Technologies and C5MI for their take on The Future of the Factory of The Future.

The buzz: Ripped from the headlines. “Your Apps Know Where You Were Last Night, and They’re Not Keeping It Secret” (NY Times 12/18): “Dozens of companies use smartphone locations to help advertisers and even hedge funds. They say it’s anonymous, but the data shows how personal it is…One path tracks someone from a home outside Newark to a nearby Planned Parenthood, remaining there for more than an hour…” And April 3, 2020: “Google is publicly releasing the data it's already collecting about people's movements during the coronavirus pandemic…to show the types of places people are visiting across 131 countries and regions…it hopes tracking movement trends over time and by geography could help shape and inform governments' and public health officials' response to the coronavirus pandemic. We’ll ask Heather Federman at Big ID, Joe Jerome at Common Sense Media and Kenesa Ahmad at Aleada for their take on “Everyone Knows Where You Were Last Night and Right Now: The Future of Location Data.

The Buzz: “Entertainment is ultimately an attention business, and the competition for attention has never been fiercer with new entrants from tech firms and non-media brands jumping into content production … With the explosion in content, consumers today are often overwhelmed when choosing content to watch.” Apple unveiled star-studded content slate for its TV+ streaming service. Walmart is reportedly developing Vudu-branded streaming original content. Quibi, mobile-first short-form video content from top Hollywood creators, sold $100M in upfront ads with six advertisers. Netflix nears 150M subscribers globally. Hulu, fully owned by Disney, is ramping up original programming. Amazon Studios is hoping the majority of the audience will watch its Oscar hopefuls on a smaller screen. We’ll ask entertainment industry veterans Lori Hammel, Victor Verhaeghe, Joanna Bonaro and Alex Webb for their take on Make Me Laugh, Make Me Cry, Make Me Smart! The Future of Entertainment Delivery.

The Buzz: “To become a Hacker you need skills, a strong presence of mind and what not? But before that all you need is an inspiration with a pinch of motivation….” (www.tech2hack.com). “What hackers do is figure out technology and experiment with it in ways many people never imagined. They also have a strong desire to share this information with others….” and “Most hackers are young because young people tend to be adaptable. As long as you remain adaptable, you can always be a good hacker” (Emmanuel Goldstein, Dear Hacker: Letters to the Editor of 2600). Human Stupidity, that’s why Hackers always win” (Med Amine Khelifi). “The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear…” (Kali Linux). “Never tell everything you know…” (Roger H. Lincoln). Will the rest of us ever catch up to them? We’ll ask George Rettas at TF7 Radio, Erich Kron at KnowBe4, Mike DePalma at Datto, and Alex Reid at Green Cloud Technologies for their take on The Future of Out-Hacking The Hackers.

The Buzz: “As video adoption for content marketing continues to rise, there’s no doubt that more organizations are looking to online video to improve their strategies…smartphone and tablet adoption has created a prime opportunity for more mobile video content” (www.brainshark.com). Still not convinced? “The sheer cost of video production has come down to a point where there are no barriers to entry. Buyers have devices that can play videos with them at all times” (Joe Pulizzi). “Humans are incredibly visual and powerful, moving images help us find meaning” (Dan Patterson). “More than 150 million people view videos online every year, most of them ripe to hear your business’s pitch if you produce and market your video effectively” (Vern Marker). We’ll ask these experts for their take: Lorraine Maurice, SAP; Richard Hegarty, Digital Marketing Institute; Barbara Giamanco, Social Centered Selling; and Marco Cai, SAP. Join us for Look Ma! I’m On Camera. The Future of B2C Video.

Today’s buzz: “Auto makers look into their crystal balls – and their shops – to get an idea as to what's fueling the car of 2025. Most car makers agree: The next 10 years will see more change in the auto business than the last 20” (theglobeandmail.com). “Self-driving cars…once found only in science fiction, are about to become a reality” (Goldman Sachs, 2016). “When you think of a flying car one might think of The Jetsons. The company Terrafugia is working to get its flying car off the ground by 2025” (Business Insider, 2016). “In any major city in the world, you’ll find smog…mostly from cars, SUVs, and pickup trucks…things are about to get better.…the car won’t disappear, it will just be powered by different energies, and in some cases, take on new shapes” (thoughtco.com). We’ll ask the experts for their take: Meg Divitto, Divitto Design Group; Mike Lackey, SAP; Marty Groover, C5MI; and Bill Newman, SAP. Join us for Fasten Your Seatbelt: Ready for Your Future Ride? – Part 2.

The buzz (according to www.impactbnd.com): “Social media is ever-changing. There’s always a new crazy way people can document every aspect of their lives, but what if you’re a business? With so many social media sites already out there and even more popping up each day, where do you begin? Do you create a Facebook account or do you hop on whatever “the new Pinterest” is today? Utilizing social media in your business strategy…gives you the chance to connect with fans, customers, and prospective customers on a more personal, human level.” Popularity stats in terms of registered users: Facebook – 1.7B users, Twitter – 310+M, Instagram – 500M age 18–29, Flickr – 100M, Pinterest – 84M, LinkedIn – 20M, YouTube – 2B. Join us for Digital Selling Wheel of Fortune 2025: Insta, LinkedIn, iPhone, YouTube, Twitter, FB? as we ask experts Kirsten Boileau at SAP, Mark “The Sales Hunter” Hunter and Nicho Lagersten at Digiteyes for their predictions.

The Buzz [literally!]: “Drones in the sky, drones in the sea, drones on land: this is the future of human augmentation” (popularmechanics.com). “From a military innovation, to an exciting hobby, to a technology that’s transforming commercial industries, the use of drones has rapidly changed over the past years — and future opportunities in the field are limitless” (calu.edu). What does this have to do with YOU? Public safety and emergency services professionals in law enforcement, fire rescue, emergency management, and the non-profit/NGO sector are already using drones aka UAS – unmanned aircraft systems – to help save lives and protect property. What does this mean to your future health and safety? We’ll ask four experts: Christopher Todd, AIRT (FL); Captain Vern Salle, Chula Vista Police Department (CA); Chief Charles Werner (ret.), DRONERESPONDERS (VA); Captain Michael Leo, Fire Department of NYC (New York). Join us for What’s Up? It’s A Drone for Your Good!

The Buzz: “Passwords are an integral component of security hygiene, but beyond password strength requirements, it’s largely a user-driven initiative” (digitalguardian.com). How is your password hygiene? Not to get personal, but passwords are our first line of protection against cyber criminals, so password health matters. Digital Guardian surveyed 1,000 people’s password security habits. 44% changed passwords once a year or less, 11% never. 20% experienced online account compromise. 70% had 10+ password-protected accounts online, nearly 30% had “too many to count”. In the U.S., the average email address is associated with 130 accounts. And password cracking is easy with tools like John the Ripper and social engineering that manipulates us into divulging confidential info. We’ll ask four experts – Matt Beckert at NPI, Erich Kron at KnowBe4, Michael DePalma at Datto, Alex Reid at Green Cloud Technologies – for their take on Pathetic vs. Powerful Passwords: Your Hackable Future?

The Buzz: “As more and more consumers embrace CBD and its reputed benefits, companies are jumping on the CBD bandwagon. According to the Brightfield Group, a CBD and cannabis market research firm, the legal CBD market is projected to surpass $23 billion in annual U.S. sales by 2023…Recreational marijuana is legal in 11 states and medical marijuana is legal in 23 states.…The firm’s 2019 report on the U.S. CBD market, From Farm to Aisle…notes that large retailers, such as CVS and Walgreens, are leading the charge in introducing the ingredient to mainstream consumers…[and] what products are growing in popularity, such as tinctures, topicals, vape oil and cartridges, and capsules” (www.americanspa.com/cbd/sweeping-nation-future-cbd). We’ll ask Autumn Shelton, CFO, Autumn Brands; Tina Fanucchi-Frontado, CEO, KopSun LLC; Diana Star-Langely, Co-Founder, Infused By Epic; Leialoha Cail, Manager, The Farmacy, for their take on The Highs and The Lows: Cannabis Industry 2020 and Beyond.

Today’s Buzz: “By 2030 the average person in the U.S. will have 4.5 packages a week delivered with flying drones. They will travel 40% of the time in a driverless car, use a 3D printer to print hyper-individualized meals, and will spend most of their leisure time on an activity that hasn’t been invented yet … Most people will have stopped taking pills in favor of a new device that causes the body to manufacture its own cures. Space colonies, personal privacy, and flying cars will all be hot topics of discussion, but not a reality yet” (Thomas Frey, futuristspeaker.com). Wow! In 2030, will YOU be that “average person” or a different statistical notation in a rear-view-mirror blog? We’ll ask futurists Michael Gale, Frank Diana, Kevin Benedict, and Gray Scott for their take on Life in 2030: How Will YOU Eat, Play, Work, Drive and Do Everything Else?

“Just about everyone involved in the show brought their A-game this year, with several major product categories seeing some truly transformative technology, namely in computing, gaming, and the smart home…the public debut of the first-ever laptop with a foldable display…the smart home is bound to get even smarter in 2020 …including smart door locks, connected toothbrushes, and the fastest beverage cooler we've ever seen…” (https://www.businessinsider.com/best-products-ces-2020) What are they talking about? CES 2020 is where the globe’s technology ecosystem met to solve some of the world’s most challenging issues. More than 4,500 exhibitors launched ~20k new transformative tech products including 5G connectivity, AI, AR and VR, smart cities, resilience, sports, robotics and more. We’ll ask experts Lori H. Schwartz, Clint Crook and Ryan Schram for their take on CES 2020: What Can YOU Do with Robot Kitties, Smart Trash Cans & Oodles of Gadgets?

Here’s today’s buzz: “The one thing all small businesses have encountered…is the fact that people don’t know who they are, what they do, or where they can be found. How can a business owner solve this issue? It’s easy. Social media is the first step to take” (www.klusster.com/). “Social media is constantly evolving and it’s exciting to think about what it will look like in just a few years’ time.” (blog.logograb.com) Today, we’ll ask four bold FemPreneurs to predict the future of social media platforms. Who? Oh yes. Fempreneurs, aka “mumpreneurs” and aka “lipstickpreneurs”, are female entrepreneurs who individually or as a group run a business enterprise. (medium.com/ent101/fempreneurs-1199a2b33810). We’ll ask Tori Dunlap, Her First $100K; Alisha Kumar, The Social Project; Lorena Soriano, Every.1; and Gena Wynkoop, Seattle Refined, for their take on the future of social media in general and of their favorite platforms. Join us for Fempreneurs Speak: Social Media Coming of Age.

Today’s Buzz: “If you have to tell people on your social media profiles you're an ‘influencer’, you are probably not. Reality check” (Rebecca Aguilar). Level set: An influencer is an individual who has the power to affect purchase decisions of others because of his/her authority, knowledge, position or relationship with his/her audience. According to InfluencerMarketingHub.com, “Influencer marketing has grown from strength to strength over the last few years. Sure it has suffered a few hiccups, thanks to fake followers, a lack of transparency in some influencer posts, and a few clueless ‘influencers’ without influence, but its effectiveness must surely now be beyond dispute. However, any marketplace changes over time, and influencer marketing will adapt to follow these changes.” We’ll ask four experts for their take: Jen Evans, Andrew Steane, Sarah Robinson and Rob Levin. Join us for The Era of Brand Influencers: Whom Do YOU Trust?

The buzz: “Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes Turn and face the strange.” (David Bowie) If you’re hoping to gaze into a crystal ball to see what #2020 holds for your company, your industry, yourself and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. Live today, January 15, 2020 – and on-demand from December 4, 11 and 18, 2019 and January 8, 2020 – we’re bringing you predictions from more than 50 thought leaders covering the exciting technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2020 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for Technology Revolution: The Future of Now – 2020 Crystal Ball Predictions – Part 5 live. Together, let’s make 2020 our best year ever!

The buzz: “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards” (Søren Kierkegaard). If you’re hoping to gaze into a crystal ball to see what 2020 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. Live today, January 8 and on January 15, 2020 – and on-demand from December 4, 11 and 18, 2019 – we’re bringing you predictions from 60 thought leaders covering the exciting technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2020 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for Technology Revolution: The Future of Now – 2020 Crystal Ball Predictions – Part 4 live! Together, let’s make 2020 our best year ever!

The buzz: “Tomorrow belongs to those who can hear it coming” (David Bowie). If you’re hoping to gaze into a magical crystal ball to see what 2020 holds for your company, your career, your industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. Live today, December 18, 2019, and on January 8 and 15, 2020, plus on-demand from December 4 and 11 – we’re bringing you predictions from 60 thought leaders covering the exciting technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2020 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for Technology Revolution: The Future of Now 2020 Predictions – Part 3 live. Together, let’s make 2020 our best year ever!

The buzz: “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards” (Søren Kierkegaard). That’s why this show is called Technology Revolution: The Future of Now!! If you’re hoping to gaze into a magical crystal ball to see what 2020 holds for your company, your industry, your career and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. Live today, December 11, 2019, and on December 18 plus January 8 and 15, 2020, and on-demand from December 4 – we’re bringing you predictions from 60 thought leaders covering the exciting technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2020 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for Technology Revolution: The Future of Now 2020 Predictions – Part 2 live! Together, let’s make 2020 our best year ever!

The buzz: “The future is not what it used to be” (Laura Riding & Robert Graves, 1937). If you’re hoping to gaze into a crystal ball to see what 2020 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. Live today, December 4, 2019, and December 11 and 18, and January 8 and 15, 2020 – we’re bringing you predictions from 60 thought leaders covering the exciting technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2020 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for Technology Revolution: The Future of Now – 2020 Crystal Ball Predictions – Part 1 live. Together, let’s make 2020 our best year ever!

The Buzz: “Drones in the sky, drones in the sea, drones on land: this is the future of human augmentation” (www.popularmechanics.com). “There are few pieces of technology that excite tech lovers and the general public quite like drones” (www.roboticsbusinessreview.com). “… Business execs with their finger on the pulse of tech trends and updates realize the myriad of benefits drones could offer by integrating the tech into their operations” (www.mondo.com). “From a military innovation, to an exciting hobby, to a technology that’s transforming commercial industries, the use of drones has rapidly changed over the past years — and future opportunities in the field are limitless” (www.calu.edu). All true? We’ll ask five experts: Robert Biggs, Phoenix Drone Pros; Christopher Todd, Airborne International Response Team; Kerry Brown, SAP; Patrick Egan, sUAS News; David Patterson, Ardenna. You are invited to join us for Look Up! It’s Not a Bird or a Plane. It’s A Drone! Are You Ready?

Today’s Buzz: Auto makers look into their crystal balls – and their shops – to get an idea as to what's fueling the car of 2025. Most car makers agree: The next 10 years will see more change in the auto business than the last 20. theglobeandmail.com Self-driving cars…once found only in science fiction, are about to become a reality. (Goldman Sachs, 2016). When you think of a flying car one might think of The Jetsons. The company Terrafugia is working to get its flying car off the ground by 2025. (Business Insider, 2016). infogram.com In any major city in the world, you’ll find smog…mostly from cars, SUVs, and pickup trucks. But things are about to get better…the car won’t disappear, it will just be powered by different energies, and in some cases, take on new shapes. thoughtco.com. We’ll ask the experts for their take: Meg Divitto, Divitto Design Group; Bill Newman & Mike Lackey, SAP; José Negron, AVANTI Technologies. Join us for Fasten Your Seatbelt: Ready for Your Future Ride?

Here’s today buzz: “Technology has changed how we listen to music…and the way music is made…and created new genres” (www.ronaldshannonjackson.com). The Internet has changed the music industry drastically…early issues like illegal downloading and music sharing sites (like the now-defunct Napster) to current disputes over music streaming services and how much the artists/labels should be paid in royalties” (www.recordingconnection.com). In our era of instant access, streaming has become ‘ground zero’ for new music (musicfirstcoalition.org). UK music revenues grew by 9.6% in 2017…Brits spent £577m on streaming subscriptions in 2017, up 41.9% from 2016 (www.telegraph.co.uk). We’ll ask 5 experts for their take: Michéal Castaldo, Tenor, Producer, Songwriter; Karen Willough, World Artist, Vocalist; Sandy Gennaro, Professional Touring Musician, Drummer, Speaker; Darwin Deano and Abby Samargya, Deloitte Consulting. Join us as we explore “Music and Technology: Sweet vs Sour Notes.”

Today’s Buzz: “I connected as many of my appliances and belongings as I could to the internet: an Amazon Echo, my lights, my coffee maker…baby monitor…my bed…to find out whether it would betray me” gizmodo.com. “In a world where we’re all paranoid about devices spying on us (and rightfully so), perhaps no other devices receive more scrutiny than smarthome products. But is that scrutiny warranted?” howtogeek.com “Just about every smart device, that is connected to the internet and offers personalized services is spying on you” lifewire.com. “Kashmir Hill…turned her one-bedroom apartment into a smart home and was measuring how much data was being collected by the firms that made the devices…like living in a ‘commercial, surveillance state’ bbc.com. We’ll ask experts for their take: Ashwin Krishnan, UberKnowledge; Kristina Podnar, The Power of Digital Policy; Jessica Groopman, Kaleido Insights; Fiona McEvoy, YouTheData.com. Join us for Is Your Smart Home Spying On You & Is It OK?”

Today’s Buzz: clickz.com reports that 44% of shoppers indicated they would become repeat buyers after a personalized experience, and adoption of AI by marketers is expected to increase by over 250% over the next two years. According to smartdatacollective.com, “Retailers are saying goodbye to intuitive guessing based on old-school data-gathering methods to convert customers. Welcome to the age of machine learning in retail.” howtotoken.com reports “Artificial intelligence and big data are being applied in new ways across the entire retail product and service cycle – from assembly to post-sale customer service interactions. According to Gartner, by 2020, AI chatbots will manage 85% of customer interactions in retail. We’ll ask five experts for their take: Gray Scott, Futuristic Now; Kashif Rahamatullah and Chip Kleinheksel, Deloitte; Roger Roney, SAP; Brian Kilcourse, Retail Systems Research. Join us as explore “AI Goes Shopping: Humanizing the Retail Customer Experience.”

Today’s Buzz: “As the concept of “New Retail” spreads globally, many Fortune Global 500 retail companies are implementing AI technologies such as computer vision and NLP in unmanned stores and warehouses or virtual stores and are accelerating supply chain upgrades to better position themselves for the future of shopping” (medium.com). “Retailers often feel understandably reluctant to give emerging technologies a try unless they feel extremely confident in the eventual payoff. A Capgemini Research Institute study…showed that if retailers branched out and deployed AI across their operations, they could save more than $340 billion by 2022” (www.mytotalretail.com). We’ll ask four experts for their take: Brian Kilcourse, Retail Systems Research; Praful Karanth, SAP; Matt Laukaitis, SAP; Roger Roney, SAP. Join us for “Truth or Dare: Is AI the Future of Retail?”

Today’s Buzz: “It's hard to believe that only a few generations ago, women had three career options: teacher, secretary or a nurse. Fast forward to 2017 and women have blurred the lines of traditional gender roles. … women and millennials disrupting the workplace and changing the business world as we know it” (forbes.com). “Unlike previous generations who may have either looked at self-investment as self-indulgence or who simply didn’t have the resources or technology available to make supplementary investments in themselves, today’s badass millennial women are unapologetic about their desire to invest in their own success and well-being…She-conomy 2.0” (techcrunch.com). We’ll ask four millennials for their take: Cait Scudder, Business Coach & Success Catalyst; Reena B. Patel, Parenting Expert & Behavior Analyst; Sharron Clear, Style, Beauty, and Lifestyle Influencer; Emilia Taneva, Bubbly Moments Blog & Orthodontist. Join us for Millennial Women Taking Charge: Badass Superstars.

The buzz: I would like to see people more aware of where their food comes from (Anthony Bourdain). Food safety is becoming a serious concern along the entire “food chain” – hunters, fishers, farmers, processors, transporters, preparers, cooks, sellers, and, of course, eaters. How and where was your food obtained? Was anything added to it? Who touched it before it landed on your plate? Good news! Technology can now inform and ensure us that the food we consume is the real deal. Today, on our new series debut, we’re saving a seat at the table for you, as our experts serve food for thought: Tony Costa, Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer for Bumble Bee Foods. Drew Hingorani, CEO at Ai-BlockChain. Randy Evins, Business Development Lead for Food and Drug Retail, SAP America. Paul Larson, Senior Principal, Industry Executive Advisor for Consumer Products at SAP. You are cordially invited to join us for Today’s Lunch Special: Tuna & Blockchain Sandwich!

The Buzz: “Despite the intrinsic contradiction, it’s clear that artificial intelligence and machine learning are primed to play a leading role in HCM’s future.…AI’s ability to consume and analyze massive quantities of data, manipulate variables and discover patterns makes it ideal for candidate sourcing” (Adam Rogers). “The future of HR is both digital and human as HR leaders focus on optimizing the combination of human and automated work. This is driving a new priority for HR: one which requires leaders and teams to develop a fluency in artificial intelligence while they re-imagine HR to be more personal, human and intuitive…it's the combination of AI and human intelligence that will transform work and workers as we know it” (Jeanne Meister). We’ll ask 4 experts for their take: Dr. Steven Hunt, SAP Innovation Office; Dr. Charles Handler, Rocket-Hire; Kevin Wheeler, The Future of Talent Institute; Ben Taylor, Ziff.ai. Join us for “HR Human vs AI: Who Will Be Hiring and Firing You?”

Here’s today’s Buzz: “If you spend more on coffee than on IT security, you will be hacked…you deserve to be hacked” (Richard Clarke). “People are doing things on free Wi-Fi that are really alarming” (Doug Shadel). “As the world is increasingly interconnected, everyone shares the responsibility of securing cyberspace.” (newton lee). “Hackers find more success with organizations where employees are under appreciated, over worked and under paid” (James Scott). “…the idea that security starts and ends with the purchase of a prepackaged firewall is simply misguided” (Art Wittman). “If security were all that mattered, computers would never be turned on, let alone hooked into a network with literally millions of potential intruders” (Dan Farmer). We’ll ask four experts about the future of Cybersecurity: George Rettas, Task Force 7 Radio; Dan Lohrmann, Security Mentor; Tom Pageler, BitGo; Andy Bonillo, Task Force 7 and Ciena. Join us for CyberSecurity Wars: Will Tech Help YOU or THEM?

Here’s today’s Buzz: In a Kantar Retail study, only 2% of US food and alcohol sales are made online. 84% of respondents in a 2017 Morgan Stanley study prefer to grocery shop in person. But change is coming to grocery! Supermarket chain Kroger plans to partner with Nuro on a driverless food delivery service. The futuristic grocery, kickstarted in 2016 by Amazon Go, offers a connected grocery store with no checkouts using deep learning, computer vision, and sensor fusion. Microsoft and Kroger announced data-driven connected grocery stores in Ohio and Washington. At Food Lion, Marty the Robot clean-sweeps the store a dozen times daily, scans shelves for out-of-stocks and ensures shelf pricing is aligned with front-end registers. We’ll ask four experts if legacy grocery stores have an expiration date: Bill Bishop, Brick Meets Click; John Lert, Alert Innovation; Scott DeGraeve, Locai Solutions; Will Treasure, Javelin Group. Please join us for Grocery Expiration Date: Automate or Die?

The Buzz: “Like many technology driven industries, [Fintechs] regulations are horribly outdated, authored at a time when an app meant fries for the whole table, and spam was just canned meat. Imagine running a business under laws written before your industry or product ever existed…Congress directions for regulators about what “banks” are and do are based on how banking worked in the 1970s…Banks, as institutions, do not really exist anymore. Customer activities exist and financial services exist and they are part of a complex and perpetually shifting network of problems and solutions Customers expectations have changed every bit as much for financial services as for the music industry” (fortune.com). We will ask four experts about the future of banking as we know it: Penny Crosman, American Banker; Brett King, Breaking Banks Podcast; Usman Aijaz, Deloitte Consulting; Jerry Silva, IDC Financial Insights. You are invited to join us for Banking on the Future: Fintechs Finance Makeover.

Here’s today’s Buzz: Theceomagazine.com reported the rise of the ‘fempreneur’. “It’s fairly clear that women are starting businesses faster than ever…According to the ABS, 34% of businesses operators in 2014 were women…an increase in business ownership by females of more than 46% in the last twenty years.” According to Inc.com, “the top 20 most influential millennial entrepreneurs all created an internet-based service… 87% of millennials believe the success of a business should be measured on its impact on the world” (forbes.com). “Millennial entrepreneurs…are changing the way companies function” (blog.markgrowth.com). Who are these FemPreneurs? What future do they envision for their companies and markets, and those who aspire to follow in their steps? We’ll ask Tori Dunlap, Her First $100K; Makenzie Davies, davies and Dixon, Lorena Soriano, Isoline Consulting and Global Girls Give; Les Alfred, BalancedBlackGirls Podcast. Join us for Her First $100K: The Tech-Fueled FemPreneur.

The Buzz: “The transition from high school to college life is difficult enough for any number of students without considering a disability” (edsmart.org). Bryan Stromer describes Cerebral Palsy as a part of his identity: “If someone has already written me off because of the way I walk, it gives me the opportunity to prove them wrong and exceed their expectations, while also hopefully redefining how they think about disability” (forbes.com). The Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973…many college campuses began to rethink their facilities…powered accessible doors, wheelchair ramps and elevators in all multi floor buildings” (collegechoice.net). We’ll ask five experts about the future of higher education for students of all abilities: Patricia Parrish and Delaina Parrish, Fearless Independence; Ali Parrish, Physical Therapist; Gerry Altamirano, Disability Resource Center, Univ. of Florida; Jarrod Rowles, Numotion. Join us for Tech At College: Opening Doors for Unique-Ability Students.

Here’s today’s Buzz: Theceomagazine.com reported the rise of the ‘fempreneur’. “It’s fairly clear that women are starting businesses faster than ever…According to the ABS, 34% of businesses operators in 2014 were women…an increase in business ownership by females of more than 46% in the last twenty years.” According to Inc.com, “the top 20 most influential millennial entrepreneurs all created an internet-based service… 87% of millennials believe the success of a business should be measured on its impact on the world” (forbes.com). “Millennial entrepreneurs…are changing the way companies function” (blog.markgrowth.com). Who are these FemPreneurs? What future do they envision for their companies and markets, and those who aspire to follow in their steps? We’ll ask Tori Dunlap, Her First $100K; Makenzie Davies, davies and Dixon, Lorena Soriano, Isoline Consulting and Global Girls Give; Les Alfred, BalancedBlackGirls Podcast. Join us for Her First $100K: The Tech-Fueled FemPreneur.

The Buzz: “Drones in the sky, drones in the sea, drones on land: this is the future of human augmentation” (www.popularmechanics.com). “There are few pieces of technology that excite tech lovers and the general public quite like drones” (www.roboticsbusinessreview.com). “… Business execs with their finger on the pulse of tech trends and updates realize the myriad of benefits drones could offer by integrating the tech into their operations” (www.mondo.com). “From a military innovation, to an exciting hobby, to a technology that’s transforming commercial industries, the use of drones has rapidly changed over the past years — and future opportunities in the field are limitless” (www.calu.edu). All true? We’ll ask five experts: Robert Biggs, Phoenix Drone Pros; Christopher Todd, Airborne International Response Team; Kerry Brown, SAP; Patrick Egan, sUAS News; David Patterson, Ardenna. You are invited to join us for Look Up! It’s Not a Bird or a Plane. It’s A Drone! Are You Ready?

The buzz: “From tin-can robots to sophisticated, sentient virtual environments, artificial intelligence is a dominant theme in science fiction. With real-world advances in machine learning and deep learning, the gap between fact and fiction is narrowing. Real AI is not all about robots and self-aware computers. From Siri, search engines and motion-sensing video games to medical imaging and diagnostics, artificial intelligence is an increasingly significant part of our lives” Cray.com. Today we use various techniques to achieve AI with multiple levels of intelligence. We have made significant progress since the term artificial intelligence was first coined by John McCarthy and team in 1955 Mark Etwaru, CIO.com. How does AI in sci-fi match up with reality? We will ask the experts: Frank Diana, TCS and John H. Shannon, Seton Hall University and Gray Scott, Futuristic Now and Daniel Wellers, SAP. Please join us for Welcome To Your Digital Life: Science Fiction vs. Science Fact.

How are you hearing me: Live on internet radio? On a recorded podcast? Steve Jobs said in 2005: “Podcasting is the next generation of radio and users can now subscribe to more than 3,000 free podcasts and have each new episode automatically delivered over the Internet to their computer and iPod.” By 2018, the iTunes store had 500,000+ podcasts. The world's first internet radio station was launched by Carl Malmud in 1993. The internet’s first live video stream was a performance by garage band Severe Tire Damage in June 1993. In August 2015, Facebook launched Live. On average, people watch live streams three times longer and comment 10 times more than on regular video. We’ll ask four insiders to predict the future of how we listen: Ryan Treasure, VoiceAmerica Talk Radio Network. Rob Greenlee, Libsyn. Dr. Judy Morgan, Doctor of Veterinarian Medicine. Randall Libero / VoiceAmerica Talk Radio Network. Join us for Are YOU Talking To ME? Podcasts, Radio, Live-Streaming: Craze or Classic?

Who’s at the desk next to me? What – a robot? The buzz: “They record our shows, cook our food, play our music, and even run our cars. We just don't see it because these robots don't have a face we can talk to or a butt we can kick. I know four things robots can do right now that will change our lives for the future, and all in a good way. The first is entertainment (done that), the second is grunt work in dangerous places (coming up), third is elderly care, and last but not least is telepresence shopping, tourism, and assistance” (Mark W. Tilden, robot physicist www.theguardian.com). How will robots change the workforce and our ability to earn a living in the future? We'll ask four thought leaders for their take on this: Scott Feldman, Independent Management Consultant; Stephen Reed, Co-Founder at Ai-BlockChain; Kerry Brown, VP Workforce Adoption at SAP; and Jonny Bourgeois, CTO at Ai-BlockChain. Join us for AI At Work: Ready to Meet Your Robot Co-Workers?

The buzz: '[CBD] is a Disneyland for a pharmacologist. There are so many possible mechanisms, so many possible ways it can be useful' (Francisco Guimaraes, Brazil pharmacologist, www.washingtonpost.com). According to board-certified physician and nutritionist Eddie Fatakhov, M.D., “Cannabidiol is quickly becoming a household name better known as CBD. This marijuana plant-derived, non-psychoactive, natural remedy is being adapted to treat a wide variety of ailments from anxiety and pain to various seizure disorders.” We have so many questions: Is CBD Legal? Is it safe? Does CBD get you “high”? Can CBD calm anxiety, cure cancer, eliminate epileptic seizures and give insomniacs a full night’s sleep? We'll ask four experts about CBD fact vs. fiction and their predictions for its future: Eddie Fatakhov, MD, Autumn Shelton at Autumn Brands, and Karl Wes Young, WeSparkLabs. Join us for A-B-C-D – CBD: Miracle Med, Dubious Drug or Wishful Woo-Woo?

The buzz: AI is now the most in-demand tool in the media market…According to a report, viewers are 85 percent more likely to buy a product after watching a video…The technology is making things easier. Even giants like YouTube and Netflix have adapted to AI for better user experience…From data analytics to filming, this revolutionary technology is changing the way [the] video industry used to work” (Akash Deep, HackerNoon.com). Cameras! Lights! Action! We'll speak with Jesse Ariss at Vidyard, Matthew Trushinski at Miovision, and Kirsten Boileau and Charrele Robinson-Brown at SAP. Join us for The Future of AI and Your Videos: Coolness Beyond Cute Cats.

The buzz: Soon there will be entire American football league built on the premise that fans should be able to choose the players and coaches that make up each of the eight inaugural teams and even pick the teams' offensive plays. The innovative league is based on the belief that fans will enjoy a product that feels more like a video game than a traditional football-watching experience.” When Darren Heitner reported this in 2017 for Forbes SportsMoney, he was talking about the new Fan Controlled Football League (FCFL) powered on the Ethereum blockchain. Wow! The league ranks fans’ voting power for drafting players, picking coaches and calling the plays by the seven-on-seven teams on the field – using a new FAN Token cryptocurrency. Prognosis? We'll speak with Ray Austin and Jason Chilton of the Fan Controlled Football League, Andy Dolich of Dolich & Associates, and Carsten Winsnes at Strive Tech. Join us for High-Tech Touchdown! Fan-Controlled Football and Future of Sports.

The buzz: We now have the world in our pockets. Our TVs are smart. Our cars soon to be driverless…The technology we craft creates new use cases, opportunities, and dangers. The tech and its application cannot be separated. This brings us to larger questions of how we should employ technology, what risks new tech may bring, and what the arrival of these new futures means to us as humans on our little ball of dirt. This is the sphere of digital ethics.” (Adam Henshall). Are you loving the technologies that are making your work easier, your home smarter, your healthcare more efficient, and your social life more fun? We don't mean to be a Debbie Downer, but the tech you love may be compromising your privacy and more in ways you can’t imagine. Who is making the new rules? We’ll ask the experts: Frank Diana at TCS, Seton Hall Law Professor John H. Shannon and Dan Wellers at SAP Insights You are invited to join us for Brave New World of Digital Ethics: Who's Deciding Our Technology Rules?

The buzz: The fashion industry is starting to care about people with disabilities…designing apparel, shoes and other products for consumers with non-standard body types, boosting an overlooked population's confidence – and their own bottom lines” cbsnews.com). When you got dressed today, other than deciding what to wear, was it EASY? Not if you have a disability that makes it challenging to use buttons, snaps, zippers, hooks, or pull on shirts and pants. Where to find “stylish adaptive clothing” with easy-on-off features? Many mainstream clothing retailers mostly ignore Americans with disabilities, despite their total disposable income of $490B. Can technologies like AI algorithms, robotics, and 3D printing help manufacturers adapt production processes to this market? We'll ask Mindy Scheier, Runway of Dreams Foundation; Billy Price, Billy Footwear; Matt Laukaitis and Maria Morais, SAP. Join us for Help Me Get Dressed! 1 Billion Reasons for Adaptive Fashion!

The buzz: I would like to see people more aware of where their food comes from (Anthony Bourdain). Food safety is becoming a serious concern along the entire “food chain” – hunters, fishers, farmers, processors, transporters, preparers, cooks, sellers, and, of course, eaters. How and where was your food obtained? Was anything added to it? Who touched it before it landed on your plate? Good news! Technology can now inform and ensure us that the food we consume is the real deal. Today, on our new series debut, we’re saving a seat at the table for you, as our experts serve food for thought: Tony Costa, Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer for Bumble Bee Foods. Drew Hingorani, CEO at Ai-BlockChain. Randy Evins, Business Development Lead for Food and Drug Retail, SAP America. Paul Larson, Senior Principal, Industry Executive Advisor for Consumer Products at SAP. You are cordially invited to join us for Today’s Lunch Special: Tuna & Blockchain Sandwich!

The buzz: “The future is already here”? Tired of the hearing this? We are, too. That was yesterday’s future. Today’s future hasn’t happened. After 7.5 years and 372 episodes heard by millions around the globe, Coffee Break with Game-Changers will be reborn as Technology Revolution: The Future of Now, produced and hosted by me, Bonnie D. Graham, in partnership with VoiceAmerica.com. Today you’ll get a preview of the new show with 4 savvy futurists. Frank Diana, TCS: “The longer you can look back, the farther you can look forward” (W. Churchill). Gray Scott, Futurist: “One of the definitions of sanity is the ability to tell real from unreal. Soon we'll need a new definition” (A.Toffler). Kai Goerlich, SAP: “Consistency is the playground of dull minds” (Yuval N. Harari). J. Paul Duplantis, Emergentweb.org: “The self is not something ready-made, but something in continuous formation through choice of action (John Dewey). Join us for Preview for Technology Revolution: The Future of Now!

The buzz: “Today’s average high-end car has roughly seven times more code than a Boeing 787” (mckinsey.com). The auto industry faces unprecedented changes: ride and car-sharing, electrification, autonomy, climate change regulation, new ownership and distribution models. Each one challenges the industry’s ability to be nimble and quickly reinvent itself, neither of which automotive does well. What will it take to turn customers into fanatics, products into obsessions, employees into ambassadors, and brands into religions? The experts speak. Jordan Katz, Qualtrics: “The dinosaurs became extinct because they didn't have a space program. And if we become extinct because we don't have a space program, it'll serve us right! (Larry Niven as quoted by Arthur C. Clarke). Moncombu Raju, SAP: “The world’s gone from flat, to fast, to deep (and probably be psychic next)!” (Thomas L. Friedman). Join us for The Key to Automotive Industry Disruption: Become Customer-Obsessed – Part 2.

The buzz: “In this century the paramount moral challenge will be the struggle for gender equality around the world” (Nicholas D. Kristof). Organizations from the United Nations to university clubs have been trying to secure a world of equality in business for years. Recent initiatives like the UN Women Global Innovation Coalition for Change (GICC), WiDS and FQ (Female Quotient) have created a vast ecosystem matrix focused on creating change. How and where is it happening? The experts speak. Shelley Zalis, The Female Quotient: “In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different” (Coco Chanel). Judy Logan, Women in Data Science (WiDS) Conference, Stanford University: The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams (Eleanor Roosevelt). Anita Varshney, SAP: “Hope lies in dreams, in imagination and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality” (Jonas Salk). Join us for The Future of Equality in Business, Technology and Innovation – Part 2.

The buzz: “The idea that social selling is dead or dying is a bit over exaggerated…Cold calling should be dead” (Koka Sexton). In conversations about account-based marketing, we keep hearing that cold calling, email and social selling aka digital selling are dead. True or false? It depends. The key to the longevity and success of any channel is its rocket fuel: content. Timely, targeted and relevant messages can help you break into target accounts and drive ongoing buyer engagement in a range of channels. The experts speak. Paul Slack, Vende Social: “What we've got here is failure to communicate” (Cool Hand Luke). Tom Martin, Converse Digital: “Man looks in the abyss, there's nothing staring back at him. At that moment man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss (Lou Mannheim). Charrele Robinson-Brown, SAP: “Invest your evaporating time and leave a legacy behind for future generations” (Sunday Adelaja). Join us for Is Digital Selling Dead? – Part 2.

The buzz: When UX doesn’t consider ALL users, shouldn’t it be known as “SOME User Experience” or… SUX?” (Billy Gregory). The World Health Organization estimates 1B people, 1 in 7, live with a disability. Per the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, access to information technology is a basic human right. The impact of design and user experience (UX) on business success is profound. User experiences impact customer satisfaction and loyalty in a competitive marketplace. How to eliminate disability barriers in workplace software? Harness advances in natural language processing and artificial intelligence. The experts speak. Neil Milliken, Atos: “Diversity is reality, inclusion is a choice” (Stephen Frost). Debra M. Ruh, Ruh Global Communications: “It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see (Henry David Thoreau). Nicole Windmann, SAP: “Done is better than perfect” (Sheryl Sandberg). Join us for Accessible and Inclusive UX Design: The Business Case.

The buzz: “Augmenting human decision-making at the enterprise level will bring us to the next level in growth” (Joseph Byrum, Principal Financial Group). Companies are exploring how to cope with the volume and velocity of change, as political turmoil, climate change, market and supply chain globalization, rise and fall of economies converge into a perfect storm of business disruption. Will becoming an Intelligent Enterprise solve these challenges? If yes, are Machine Learning, Blockchain and IoT enough to get you there? The experts speak. Chris Beiswenger, PwC: “Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, ... distinguishes the strong soul from the weak” (Thomas Carlyle). Scott Feldman, Technology Evangelist: “Only the paranoid survive” (Andy Grove). Shammy Sohal, SAP: I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet” (Sadi). Join us for Do Intelligent Technologies Make The Intelligent Enterprise? – Part 2.

The buzz: “The global human resource management (HRM) sector is projected to reach $30 billion by 2025. in other words, the business of creating innovative HR solutions is booming” ?(learn.g2crowd.com/2019-hr-trends). In 2016 Dr. Steve Hunt created the “Wine Bottle Index” to categorize HCM forecasts, trends and predictions by whether they address well-established vs. novel challenges (old vs. new wine) and use familiar vs. innovative solutions (old vs. new bottles). What is truly new in HCM versus old stuff in new bottles? The experts speak. Dr. Steve Hunt, HR Consultant: “The future looks a lot like the past, but different” (NZ Philosopher). Stacia Sherman Garr, RedThread Research: “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever” (Mahatma Gandhi). David Youssefnia, Uplevel: “Entrepreneurship is at its best when it alters the future, and it alters the future when it jumps curves” (Guy Kawasaki). Join us for HCM Trends: The Wine Bottle Index.

The buzz: “Few business applications have attracted as much management attention over the years as ERP systems … the line between fact and fiction or myth and best practice can be difficult to discern.”?(www.atkearney.cz) In IT, curiosity drives innovation, some of it pie-in-the-sky buzz and some essential to modern life and business. New ERP and intelligent technologies and systems promise breakthroughs in organizations focused on healthcare, finance, retail, manufacturing and consumer products. How to separate fiction from fact? The experts speak. David Lowson, Capgemini “A dream will not become an innovation if there is no realization” (Ciputra). Alex Bulat, Capgemini: “It’s not a good idea if it has not been killed at least three times” (Safi Bahcall). Brad Borkan, SAP: “Science is a process of investigating … posing questions and coming up with a method. It's delving in” (Sally Ride). Join us for ERP and Beyond: From Techno Buzz to Value-Add Solutions.

The buzz: “We will design products differently if we knew that those products were going to come back to us…and we could extract value from them” (T. Domenech). 150 years of industrial evolution have been dominated by a one-way Linear Economy model of production and consumption. Goods are manufactured from raw materials, sold, used, discarded or incinerated. How to get past this unsustainable practice? Welcome to the circular economy model, which maintains products, extends their service life, and repurposes one product’s waste to maintain another – reuse, repair, remanufacture. The experts speak. Dan Wellers: Questions you cannot answer are usually far better for you than answers you cannot question” (Y.N. Harari). Christopher Koch: “There are no gray areas when it comes to survival. Either we go on as a civilization or we don't (Greta Thunberg). Will Ritzrau: “Action expresses priorities” (Gandhi). Join us for Circular Economy: Radical and Unproven or Saving the Planet? Part 3.

The buzz: “The fourth revolution brought by digital is a turning point for the fashion industry”?(Hasna Kourda, Save Your Wardrobe). Technology has infused itself across how consumers expect to engage with retailers and vice versa – in Fashion more than other industries. Why? Fashion retailers need technology to achieve creation-to-reuse sustainability; hyper-personalization; responsive manufacturing; just-in-time delivery; and instant inventory insight. For up-and-coming design houses and legacy design brands alike, nano seasons have no respect for laggards. The experts speak. Oliver Stocks, SAP: “Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world. Unreasonable people attempt to adapt the world to themselves. All progress, therefore, depends on the unreasonable people” (George Bernard Shaw). Rick Barber, SAP: “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever” (Mahatma Gandhi). Join us for Dress for Success: The Future of Fashion Is Here! – Part 2.

The buzz: “Most people that I know are interested in on-demand stuff. Podcasts are essentially audio Netflix” (Jordan Harbinger). In our current digital renaissance, with disruptive breakthrough technologies maturing, an old-school yet cutting-edge marketing tactic is resurging: audio. From podcasts to audio whitepapers, apps to smart speakers, the world of sound is immediate, portable, affordable, customizable, and wherever you go. Are you on-board with audio yet? The experts speak. Pam Didner, Consultant and Author: “The word 'listen' contains the same letters as the word 'silent’” (Alfred Brendel). Kenneth Kinney, AI Media Group: “The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus” (Bruce Lee). Ginger Shimp, SAP: “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can” (Arthur Ashe). Jeff Janiszewski, SAP: “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing” (Walt Disney). Join us for Hear and Now: Audio Content in Digital Marketing – Part 2.

The buzz: “If we have data, let’s look at data. If all we have are opinions, let’s go with mine!” (Jim Barksdale). Machine Learning is impacting core business processes, but many companies are struggling with how to operationalize it. The key – and what data scientists spend 80% of their efforts on – is having the right data. What is good data? The experts speak. Ginger Gatling, SAP: “Chemistry is the study of matter, but I prefer to see it as the study of change” (Walter White, Breaking Bad). Blake Howitt, SAP: “If everyone is thinking alike, then someone isn’t thinking” (Gen. George S. Patton). David Quirk, SAP: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now” (Chinese Proverb). John Schitka, SAP: “We classify things for the purpose of doing something to them. Any classification which does not assist manipulation is worse than useless” (Randolph Bourne). Join us for Can’t Live Without You: Predictive Machine Learning Needs Data Management – Part 2.

The buzz: “The test for whether or not you can hold a job should not be the arrangement of your chromosomes (Bella Abzug). Organizations from the UN to university clubs have been trying to secure a world of equality in business for years. Initiatives like the UN Women Global Innovation Coalition for Change (GICC), WiDS and FQ (Female Quotient) have created a vast ecosystem matrix focused on creating change. But how and where is it happening? In honor of International Women’s Day, our panel will discuss where things stand and what is needed to accelerate change. The experts speak. Anita Varshney, SAP: “Making money is no fun. Contributing to and changing the world is a lot more fun (Muhammed Yunus). Shelley Zalis, The Female Quotient: “Trying to be a man is a waste of a woman” (Coco Chanel). Judy Logan, Women In Data Science, Stanford Univ.: “Set your life on fire. Seek those who fan your flames” (Rumi). Join us for The Future of Equality in Business, Technology and Innovation.

The buzz: “In coming years, the most intelligent organizations…will have an advantage over their rivals” (sloanreview.mit.edu). Companies are trying to cope with the volume and velocity of change, as political turmoil, climate change, supply chain globalization, rise and fall of economies converge into a perfect storm of business disruption. Will becoming an Intelligent Enterprise solve these challenges? If yes, is it enough to embrace Machine Learning, Blockchain and IoT or is more needed? The experts speak. Chris Beiswenger, PwC: “I guess it comes down to a simple choice really. Get busy living or get busy dying!’’ (Shawshank Redemption). Scott Feldman, SAP: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles...” (Theodore Roosevelt). Sameer Padhye, SAP: ““Everyone here has the sense that right now is one of those moments when we are influencing the future” (Steve Jobs). Join us for Do Intelligent Technologies Make The Intelligent Enterprise?

The buzz: “A techno-philanthropist can be ‘a young, idealistic iPad jet setter who cares about the world–the whole world–in a new way' (Peter Diamandis). Technology has created techno-philanthropists who use their money to try to solve seemingly unsolvable problems such as hunger and disease, by driving acceleration across the Sciences and Technology. For example, Bill Gates’s brainchild Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) investment fund aims to accelerate energy innovation via high-profile investors Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Jack Ma, and Michael Bloomberg. Why and what would you give? The experts speak. Frank Diana, TCS: “On the face of it, shareholder value is the dumbest idea in the world’’ (Jack Welch). Gray Scott, Futuristic Now: “Right now, and for the first time ever, a passionate and committed individual has access to the technology, minds, and capital required to take on any challenge” (Peter Diamandis). Join us for Digital Giving: Will You Be A Techno-Philanthropist?

The buzz: “…Smart Cities will vacuum up data — and attempt to protect it” (cbinsights.com). The data revolution and the competition to become the smart city of the future are combining to exponentially transform our cities. Visionary city leaders are embracing business model innovation to re-imagine public services, urban sustainability?and economic growth – all powered by data. Is your city in the running? The experts speak.Harald Wouters, City of Den Bosch: “… our personal data is probably the most valuable resource most humans still have to offer, and we are giving it to the tech giants in exchange for email services and funny cat videos (Yuval Noah Harari). Ivan Caballero, Citibeats: “When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills” (Chinese Proverb). Max Claps, SAP: “Do not go where the path may lead you; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail” (Ralph Waldo Emerson). Join us for Data-Driven Cities of the Future – Part 2.

The buzz: Podcasts aren’t a bubble, they’re a boom—and that boom is only getting louder” (Miranda Katz). In the midst of our current digital renaissance, with breakthrough technologies maturing, an old-school yet cutting-edge marketing tactic is resurging: audio. From podcasts to audio whitepapers, apps to smart speakers, the world of sound is immediate, portable, affordable, customizable, and wherever you go. The experts speak. Pam Didner, Consultant and Author: “Keep it simple stupid” (Kelly Johnson). Kenneth Kinney, AI Media Group: “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift…the present” (Alice M. Earle). Ginger Shimp, SAP: “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it” (Henry Ford). Jeff Janiszewski, SAP: “Everyone wants some magic pill—some life hack—that eliminates the need to do the work. But that does not exist” (Jocko Willink). Join us for Hear and Now: Audio Content in Digital Marketing.

The buzz: “Sales Isn’t A Laughing Matter. But Maybe It Should Be?” (yesware.com). Good salespeople understand the science behind selling – an ironclad knowledge of their products or services coupled with the calculated practice of qualifying a prospect’s needs. Truly great salespeople, also tap into a psychological component by positioning themselves as the most engaging and likeable option. Today, a strategic alliances exec, partnership relationship manager, and IT sales rep turned comedian-and-motivator make the case for using right-timed appropriate humor as a sales tool. The experts speak. Jon Selig, Comedian: “Once in a while you can get shown the light in the strangest of places, if you look at it right” (Grateful Dead). RJ Bibby, NetApp: “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately” (Ben Franklin). Casey Ryan, SAP: “Laughter is the shortest distance between two people” (Victor Borge). Join us for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Sales Pitch.

The buzz: “Even though the future seems far away, it is actually beginning right now (Mattie Stepanek). If your #1 business wish is knowing what 2019 holds for your company, your industry and the world, stay tuned. Live today, January 23 – and on-demand from Dec. 5, 12, 19, 2018 and Jan. 9 and 16 – we’re bringing you 80+ thought leaders’ predictions covering the exciting technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2019 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, Dom, and join us for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2019 Predictions – Part 6 live. Guests: Werner Zeitlberger, Hackett Group; Rita Sallam, Gartner; Rogan Morrison, Olayan Group; Uli Muench, Lori Mitchell-Keller, Werner Baumbach, Timo Elliott, and Matt Jennings, SAP; Erika Hovland, IOLITE360; Barbara Giamanco, Social Centered Selling; Michael Bernard, Vertex; Joanne Black, No More Cold Calling; Sven Denecken, SAP; Lisa Durrett, Broad Insite; Chris Kernaghan, Bluefin Solutions; Jim Davis, SAP.

The buzz: “The future is not what it used to be” (Laura Riding & Robert Graves, 1937). Welcome to 2019! If your #1 business wish is knowing what the year holds for your company, your industry and the world, stay tuned. Today, January 16, and on January 23 – and on-demand from December 5, 12, 19, 2018 and January 9 – we’re bringing you 80 thought leaders’ predictions covering the exciting technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2019 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2019 Predictions – Part 5 live. You’ll hear from James Rothwell, AgilityWorks; Shannon Platz, SAP; Dr. John Frey, HPE; Chris Carlstead, Thomson Reuters; Matt Creason, SAP; Brian Everett, itelligence; Brandon Bornancin, Seamless.ai; Tom Franklin, TCS; Christopher Koch, SAP; Will Ritzrau, SAP; Dan Wellers, SAP; Paul Lewis, Hitachi Vantara; Loic Simon, PartnerWin; Benjiman Zimmerman, EY. Happy new year from SAP Game-Changers Radio!

The buzz: “It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future.” (Karl. K. Steincke, Danish politician, 1948). If your #1 business wish this new year is knowing what 2019 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. We’re bringing you six weeks of predictions from nearly 80 thought leaders about the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete in 2019 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2019 Predictions – Part 4 live. You’ll hear from Perry van Beek, Social.ONE; Thiagu Bala, Deloitte; Nicholas Whittall, Accenture; Tina Rosario, SAP; Andy Steer, itelligence; Sana Salam, Sodales Solutions; Yusuf Jazakallah, Recruitment Smart; Frank Diana, TCS; Casey Ryan, SAP; Mic Adam, Vanguard Leadership; Mashhood Alam, SAP; Sabrina Sigourney, Blue Marble Consulting; Nicole Sahin, Globalization Partners; Jesse Samberg, IBM. Happy new year from SAP Game-Changers Radio!

The buzz: “I am interested in the future because I expect to spend the rest of my life in the future” (C.F. Kettering). If your #1 business wish this holiday is knowing what 2019 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. We’re bringing you six weeks of predictions from a total of 80 thought leaders about the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete in 2019 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2019 Predictions – Part 3 live. You’ll hear from Tom Raftery, SAP; Alistair Wheate, Onalytica; David Graham, City of Carlsbad, Ca; Kay Sargent, HOK; Devraj Bardhan, IBM; Frederick Ronse, Ovinto; Meg Divitto, Divitto Design Group; Harpreet Singh, Deloitte; Alexandra Witte, SAP; Kyle Tate , Eventful Conferences; Birgit Starmanns, SAP; Joe Renz, New Mobility Lab; Mike Lackey, SAP; William Newman, SAP; and Hudson Harris, HarrisLogic. Happy holidays from SAP Game-Changers Radio!

The buzz: “The future is not what it used to be” (Laura Riding & Robert Graves, 1937). Good news! If your #1 business wish this holiday season is knowing what 2019 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. Over six weeks, we're bringing you predictions from 80 thought leaders about the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete in 2019 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2019 Predictions – Part 2 live featuring Surendra Reddy, Quantiply Corporation; Ton Dobbe, Value Inspiration; Jochen Nagel, Accenture; Mark Hunter, The Sales Hunter; John Walker, Chirp; Bryan Mattimore, The Growth Engine Company; Robert Thiele, OpenText; Michael Harding, Virtustream; Chip Kleinheksel, Deloitte; Sebastian Valencia, Clarkston Consulting; John Schitka, SAP; Margaret Laffan, SAP; Juliet Henry, EPI-USE America; Craig Stasila, SAP. Happy holidays from SAP Game-Changers Radio!

The buzz: “It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future” (K.K. Steincke). Good news! If your #1 business wish this holiday season is knowing what 2019 holds for your company, industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. Coffee Break with Game-Changers Radio is bringing you six weeks of predictions from 80 thought leaders about the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete in 2019 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2019 Predictions–Part 1 live. You’ll hear from Shaun Syvertsen, Convergent IS; Brian Kalish. Kalish Consulting; Gerard Das, SAP; Christian K. Kugelmeier, VORSPRUNGatwork; Maggie Goralska, SAP; Ellen Sasson, SAP; Jim Harris, JimHarris.com; Julio Viskovich, NexLevel Sales; Christopher Carter, Approyo; Richard Mooney, SAP; Sam Smith, Stellar One Consulting; Gray Scott, GrayScott.com; Praful Karanth; SAP; David Jonker, SAP. Happy holidays from Game-Changers Radio!

The buzz: “Artificial Intelligence, deep learning, machine learning?—?whatever you’re doing if you don’t understand it?—?learn it. Because otherwise you’re going to be a dinosaur within 3 years” (Mark Cuban). No longer just for “cool” early adopters, AI, ML, and IoT are moving into the core of business systems, potentially shaping the new economy. What would you do if an ML-educated AI CEO took the reins of your company? The experts speak. Owen Pettiford, BackOffice Associates: “Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't they?” (The Scarecrow). Carsten Nitschke, SAP: “Sacred Cows Make The Best Burgers” (R. Kriegel & D. Brandt). Frank Diana, TCS: “We have a duty to think hard about what may be so as to better prepare society for the changes that may come” (Richard Baldwin). Gray Scott, Futurist: “Prediction is not just one of the things your brain does. It is...the foundation of intelligence” (Jeff Hawkins). Join us for The Bots Are Coming: Ready to Meet Your AI CEO?

The buzz: “Data is the new oil? No: Data is the new soil” (David McCandless). Big data has officially crashed into the business world, taking competition to new levels. Can your organization benefit if you don’t have qualified data-science resources like a data science lab or pedigreed experts to navigate and take advantage of AI, Machine Learning and other powerful technologies? Good news. Packaged application software has lowered the skills barrier to data mining. Our panel offers proof that anyone can successfully use data analytics tools. What did they wish they’d known when they began? The experts speak. Chris Carter, Approyo: “You miss 100% of the shots you don't take” (Wayne Gretzky). Jason Olsen, Kimberly-Clark: “When eating an elephant, take one bite at a time” (Creighton Abrams). Samantha Wong, SAP: “If you see it there, darling, then it’s there” (Freddy Mercury). Join us for Business Analyst by Day, Data Science Hero by Night – Part 2.

The buzz: “Videos are more frequently shared on social media as compared to written content.” (Koka Sexton) Whether you are in sales or marketing, it’s time to think outside of the box to reach and encourage prospects to buy from you. How? Create videos in-house using your own people. Then use the video content in sales and social selling strategies. We have tips and tricks to optimize engagement and pipeline from your videos. The experts speak. Mark Lotenero, Grapevine6: “No matter what happened to you in your past, you are not your past, you are the resources and the capabilities you gain from it. And that is the basis for all change” (Jordan Belfort). Julio Viskovich, NextLevel Sales: “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall” (Confucius). Alexandra Witte, SAP: “If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be” (Maya Angelou). Join us for Social Sellers and Video: Look Ma – I’m on Camera! – Part 2.

The buzz: “Using Instagram in B2B marketing actually isn’t a bad idea” (komarketing.com). If your business is unsure about which social channels to focus on, here's the scoop. “When most B2B marketers think of Instagram, they may think of teenagers or millennials who are using it to post photos about their lives...a 2017 Marketing Profs infographic reports that Instagram is the fastest growing platform for B2B marketers... actually has the highest engagement rate...” Is Instagram right for you? The experts speak. Vanessa Baker, Tribal Impact: “Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story” (Desiderata). Kirsten Boileau, SAP: “We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men” (Herman Melville). Charrele Robinson-Brown, SAP: “You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water” (Rabindranath Tagore). Join us for Insider Secrets: Instagram for B2B Social Selling.

The buzz: “Our emerging workforce is not interested in command-and-control leadership. They don't want to do things because I said so; they want to do things because they want to do them” (Irene Rosenfeld). Businesses are drawing on full-time and external employees – contingent workers, SOW-based consultants, freelancers, contractors, gig workers – to get work done in new ways. The new employment model reality requires strategies to shape new talent and a culture that reimagines, enables and motivates tomorrow’s total workforce. Ready? The experts speak. Nicholas Whittall, Accenture: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time” (General Creighton Abrams). Dr. Autumn Krauss, SAP SuccessFactors: “Out of intense complexities intense simplicities emerge” (Winston Churchill). Mark Shaw, SAP Fieldglass: “Understanding is a three-edged sword, your side, their side, and the truth” (Babylon 5, 1997). .Join us for Total Workforce Management: The Good, The Bad and The Possible – Part 2.

The buzz: “Technology is reinventing the store and reimagining the customer experience….experts encourage retailers to…shift mindsets to customer behavior” (medium.com). From social showrooming to crowdsourcing, smart curation to sustainable fashion, the fashion industry is evolving and technology plays a key role in how we dress. IoT sensors and beacons recognize shoppers and personalize offers. Near-field communications make impulse offers to nearby shoppers. Blockchain facilitates sustainable supply chains. The experts speak. Dr. Timo Sandritter, LDJ Productions: “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect” (Mark Twain). Adrian Slater, Keytree: “If you think good design is expensive, you should look at the cost of bad design” (Dr. Ralf Speith). Peter Akbar, SAP: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” (Nelson Mandela). Join us for The Future of Fashion: Will Technology Dress Us for Success?–Part 2.

The buzz: “In the old days, sellers would bring their Rolodex from company to company – now they bring their LinkedIn network” (@RobBois). Top salespeople have mastered social networks to grow revenue potential, exceed quota, prospect efficiently, and maintain a robust pipeline. How? They play by each network’s etiquette and what, how and when customers want to see information. Our panel shares pro and con guidelines for your social selling playbook. The experts speak. Joanne Black, No More Cold Calling: “Even though I get older, what I do never gets old, and that's what I think keeps me hungry” (Steven Spielberg). Lori Richardson, Score More Sales: “Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared” (Buddha). Phil Lurie, SAP: “When in doubt tell the truth. It will confound your enemies and astound your friends” (Mark Twain). Join us for Social Sellers Playbook: Top 5 Do’s and Don’t Do’s.

The buzz: “Modern Corporate Real Estate Management can surely contribute to the transformation of real estate from being a mere ‘cost of doing business’ to a true value generator” (servicefutures.com). Of the $25T in U.S. real estate assets, $10T+ is owned by non-real-estate companies, municipalities, and institutions. For most of them, it is the second largest balance sheet item and operating cost. Yet most C-Suites overlook the earnings and optimization potential of capital dedicated to real estate. The experts speak. David Wilk, Colliers International: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts” (Winston Churchill). Kay Sargent, HOK: “A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world” (John le Carré). Thomas Anderson, SAP: “Do more than belong; participate … Do more than believe; practice … Do more than dream; work” (William Arthur Ward). Join us for Real Estate and Your Workforce: Optimizing Space Management–Part 2.

The buzz: “If you plan cities for cars and traffic, you get cars and traffic. If you plan for people and places, you get people and places” (Fred Kent). By 2030, 2/3 of humanity will live in urban areas and megacities with 10+ million populations will increase by 65%. Good news: cities bring innovation and economic progress. Not-so-good-news: cities are bogged down by traffic congestion, aging infrastructures, quality of life threats. Can smart city technologies focused on automotive – intermodal transportation planning and intelligent traffic management– alleviate these challenges? The experts speak. Joe Renz, New Mobility Lab: “Just do it!” (Nike slogan). Monali Shah: “Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray” (Rumi). Dante Ricci, SAP: “Be the change you wish to see in the world” (Gandhi). Join us for Urban Mobility and Smart Cities – Part 2.

The buzz: “56 cents of every dollar spent in a store is influenced by a consumer’s digital interaction with the product over multiple connected devices.” (deloitte.wsj.com/cmo/2017/01/26/2017-consumer-products-outlook). Consumer Product (CP) companies are being forced to rethink channel partner relationships, product mix and pricing strategies. Why? Because of business-as-usual disruption by eCommerce giants like Amazon, direct-to-consumer subscriptions, and expanded retail private label lines. How can CP companies use data to bolster their brands and strengthen consumer loyalty? The experts speak. Jerry Wolfe, Vivanda: “Give me only what I need, It doesn't take too much to keep me satisfied” (Rival Sons). Barbara Thau, Retail Writer: “…one job is not better than another” (Geoffrey Owens). Colby Sheridan, SAP: “Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing” (Benjamin Franklin). Join us for Consumer Products Under Attack: Time to Reclaim Market Share – Part 2.

The buzz: “…we are in the middle of this Platform Revolution. The platform facilitates an accessible, scalable and efficient network of users, services, devices and intermediaries … value is created, distributed, discovered and consumed.” (ING, 2016). In this digital age, successful platform businesses are using scalable cloud system architecture and sophisticated technology, and implementing smart adoption and monetization strategies. The result? Market dominance, exploding margins and volumes of sensitive data. Is your company on board yet? The experts speak. Dr. Bernd-Uwe Pagel, SAP: “The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom” (Isaac Asimov). Claus von Riegen, SAP: “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end” (Seneca). Nils Herzberg, SAP: “After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb” (Nelson Mandela). Join us for Platform Business Models: Friend or Foe? – Part 2.

The buzz: “No one in the world needs a Rhino horn but a Rhino” (Paul Oxton). Africa’s wildlife threat levels are growing at alarming rates – particularly from the poaching of elephants and rhinos. Traditional conservation methods fall short due to lack funding and people-power. Enter a creative solution: technology with purpose involving drones and GPS, sparking a new definition of ERP: Elephants, Rhinos and People. We'll catch up with ERP to get a update on how technology is helping the organization meet its worthy goals. The experts speak. Quintin Smith, EPI-USE: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” (Edmund Burke). David Allen, EPI-USE: “It's the ones without scars – those are the people you have to watch out for….” (Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam). Ashley Tully, SAP: “Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance” (Samuel Johnson). Join us for ERP, Tech and Purpose in the Wild: Elephants, Rhinos, People – Part 3.

The buzz: “There are loads of studies which show that marketers struggle with measuring ROI from social media” (David Moth). If you’re the designated social selling results “bean counter” for your company, the standardization of digital performance metrics will give you relief. How? You’ll be able to measure the business impact of all digital selling performance across the organization and provide timely feedback to reinforce what’s working vs what can be improved or eliminated. The experts speak. Mark Hunter, The Sales Hunter: “You don't have to be great at something to start, but you have to start to be great at something” (Zig Ziglar). Scott Santucci, Social Enablement Society: “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty” Sir (Winston Churchill). Marco Cai, SAP: “If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things (Einstein). Join us for Social Sellers’ Playbook: Making It Count – Part 2.

The buzz: “Chief sustainability executives the new environmental chiefs…wield extraordinary power” (www.sustainabilitydegrees.com). More employees, consumers and stockholders expect the companies they work for, buy from and invest in to be purpose-driven. How to get on board? Hire a Sustainable Innovation Technologist to develop teams, solutions and procedures to grow efficiency, employee retention, global impact and profits, all while reducing costs. Who knew purpose could be so good? The experts speak. Dr. John Frey, HPE: “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other” (Mother Teresa). Rob Thiele, OpenText: “Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge” (Plato). Jim Sullivan, SAP: “Do you know what my favorite renewable fuel is? An ecosystem for innovation” (Thomas Friedman). Join us for Now Hiring on Purpose: Sustainable Innovation Technologist – Part 2.

The buzz: “We will design products differently if we knew that those products were going to come back to us as manufacturers and we could extract value from them and create new products from them” (Teresa Domenech). The last 150 years of industrial evolution have been dominated by a one-way Linear Economy model of production and consumption. Goods are manufactured from raw materials, sold, used, then discarded or incinerated as waste. How to get past this unsustainable practice? Welcome to the circular economy model, which maintains products, extends their service life, and repurposes one product’s waste to maintain another – reuse, repair, remanufacture. Is your company on board yet? The experts speak. Christopher Koch, SAP: “Say something once, why say it again?” (David Byrne “Psycho Killer” lyrics). Will Ritzrau, SAP: “Difficulties are just things to overcome, after all” (Ernest Shackleton). Join us for Circular Economy: Radical and Unproven or Saving the Planet? – Part 2.

The buzz: “The qualities that make Twitter seem inane and half-baked are what makes it so powerful” (Jonathan Zittrain). If your business is reviewing social media channels to determine where to focus your people and time, you may be dismissing Twitter as not a serious tool. Facebook has the most users. LinkedIn is for serious professionals. Twitter is in-between. Per the American Press Institute, 79% of its members use Twitter to get the news, 36% to pass the time, and 19% to network. But 19% doesn’t mean you should omit Twitter as a social selling tool. The experts speak. Sarah Goodall, Tribal Impact: “Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm” (Winston Churchill). Kirsten Boileau, SAP: “One of my favorite things is to have a three-hour conversation over coffee with someone” (Andy Grammer). Michael LaBate, SAP: “The heart, like the stomach, wants a varied diet” (Gustave Flaubert). Join us for Insider Secrets: Twitter for Social Selling – Part 2.

The buzz: ”…women are starting to gain ground as consumers and workers in a traditionally male-dominated industry, and brands should be taking note (Jose Costa, Huffington Post). Women driving the automotive industry? In 2014, Mary Barra broke the automotive industry’s boys club gender barrier when she became GM’s first-ever female CEO and Chairman. Women are also driving car purchase decision traffic. Our panel of powerful women in automotive will share their playbooks. The experts speak. Pamela Niekamp, Nielsen: “I think the most important thing, and the key ingredient for a woman, is to act like you belong there and believe that you belong there” (Chelsea Handler). Meg Divitto, IBM: “If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat! Just get on (Sheryl Sandberg). Ellen Sasson, SAP: “My philosophy is that losers have goals and winners have systems” (Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert). Join us for Women Take the Wheel: Transforming The Automotive Ecosystem - Part 2.

The buzz: “…there are some job perks that will make millennials consider working for less, by as much as 12 percent” (cnbc.com). Few things impact employee productivity, engagement and well-being as much as compensation. But as definitions of work and workforce change, top talent may not be interested in traditional pay-for-performance formulas. The experts speak. Dr. Gabby Burlacu, SAP SuccessFactors: “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get” (W.Buffett). Lauren Bidwell, PhD, SAP SuccessFactors: “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place” (G.B.Shaw). John Weldon, Baylor Univ.: It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it” (Aristotle). Chris Seifert, Baylor Univ.: ‘Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't” (E.Roosevelt). Join us for Getting Serious About Getting Paid: Your Company’s Compensation Part 2.

Truth time: Do you stalk prospects to get into their Facebook newsfeed? Or are you a patient advisor in their buying journey? We continue our discussion about the do’s and don’ts of Social Selling, and how you and your team “should” vs. “should not” behave in the digital world. Yes, the Golden Rule still applies. The experts speak. Barbara Giamanco, Social Centered Selling: “Words, once they are printed, have a life of their own” (Carole Burnett). Viveka von Rosen, Vengreso: “You should never view your challenges as a disadvantage. Instead, it's important for you to understand that your experience facing and overcoming adversity is actually one of your biggest advantages” (Michelle Obama). Charrele Robinson-Brown, SAP: “I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles that he has had to overcome ...” (Booker T. Washington). Join us for Mind Your Manners: Social Selling Etiquette and The Golden Rule – Part 5.

The buzz: “The strategic and financial importance of Corporate Real Estate is growing” (www.pwc.de) $10+T of the $25T in U.S. real estate assets is owned by non-real estate companies, municipalities, and institutions. Corporate real estate is often their second largest balance sheet item and operating cost. But it is not getting the respect it deserves in the C-Suite as enterprises overlook the earnings and optimization potential of capital dedicated to real estate. The experts speak. David Wilk, Colliers: “When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock … without as much as a crack showing...” (Jacob Riis). Kay Sargent, HOK: “It’s important to live it, to experience things and to see things from a different perspective...also important that we move…” (John Le Carre). John Chapman, SAP: “When did Noah build the Ark? Before the rain, before the rain” (Spy Game, 2001 film). Join us for Real Estate and Your Workforce: Optimizing Space Management.

The buzz: “Those who have knowledge, don't predict. Those who predict, don't have knowledge.” (Lao Tzu) Given the uncertainty, pace, and unexpected nature of today’s world, there are too many unknowns for us to effectively predict the future. Reality check: A convergence across science, technology, politics, society, economics, the environment, and growing ethics discussion, has created a complex web that requires the type of system thinking that may exceed our human capacity. Do machines hold the answer? Can they predict the path of an overwhelming number of possible futures? The experts speak. Frank Diana, TCS: “We have a duty to think hard about what may be, so as to better prepare society for the changes that may come” (Richard Baldwin). Gray Scott, Futurist: “Prediction is not just one of the things your brain does. It is the primary function of the neo-cortex, and the foundation of intelligence” (Jeff Hawkins). Join us for Tech Magic or Hype: Can We Teach Machines to Predict?

The buzz: “No one in the world needs a Rhino horn but a Rhino” (Paul Oxton). Africa’s wildlife threat levels are growing at alarming rates – particularly from increasing poaching of elephants and rhinos. Traditional conservation methods fall short due to lack funding and people-power. Enter a creative solution: technology with purpose involving drones and GPS, sparking a new definition of ERP: Elephants, Rhinos and People. The experts speak. Quintin Smith, EPI-USE: “I guess it comes down a simple choice, really. Get busy living or get busy dying” (Shawshank Redemption). David Allen, EPI-USE: “There are some four million different kinds of animals and plants in the world. Four million different solutions to the problems of staying alive.=” (Sir David Attenborough). Ashley Tully, SAP: “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how” (Friedrich Nietzsche). Join us for ERP, Technology and Purpose in the Wild: Elephants, Rhinos, People

The buzz: “The era of diversity as a “check the box” initiative owned by HR is over. CEOs must take ownership and drive accountability among leaders at all levels to close the gap between what is said and actual impact” (Deloitte). Diversity is an X-factor that overcomes the trappings of bias, but there needs to be a second ingredient that overcomes the tenacity of bias. Enter data. Diversity plus data empowers women beyond reactive leadership to be strong transformational leaders, anticipate and plan for change, and open new competitive doors for business. The experts speak. Shannon Platz, SAP: “It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so” (Mark Twain). Rita Sallam, Gartner: “Having courage does not mean we are unafraid (Maya Angelou). Cindi Howson, Gartner: “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you” (Maya Angelou). Join us for The X Factor: STEM, Diversity, Bias and The Competitive Business.

The buzz: “We’ll never know our full potential unless we push ourselves to find it” (Travis Rice). Career stretch opportunities – temporary work assignments for expertise outside regular job duties – are embraced by companies and by their workers eager to showcase new skills and passions. Is this the right thing for you? Hear more insights on how each gender can accept and negotiate stretch assignments on your own terms. The experts speak. Selena Rezvani, Be Leaderly: “Never think of yourself as ‘finished’; otherwise you really will be finished” (Thomas L. Friedman). Robert Solomon, NEW: “…criticism without a viable solution is nothing more than an arrogant show of words laced with barren self-importance (Stanley Tookie Williams). Shuchi Sharma, SAP: “Work hard to seem infallible and others will work to find our flaws. Admit our shortcomings and others will work to help us be infallible” (Simon Sinek). Join us for Career Stretch and Readiness: Gender Lens Differences? – Part 2.

The buzz: “It's easy to forget that for centuries – for millennia – the 'workforce' was all of us” (Peter Diamandis). Businesses today are drawing on multiple talent sources – full-time employees, contingent workers, SOW-based consultants, freelancers, contractors, gig workers – to get work done. This new employment model reality, influenced by new technologies and changing consumer preferences, requires developing strategies to shape new talent and create a culture that reimagines, enables and motivates the total workforce of tomorrow. Are you ready? The experts speak. Nicholas Whittall, Accenture: “Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward” (Nelson Mandela). Dr. Autumn Krauss, SAP SuccessFactors: “Who is wise? He that learns from everyone….” (Benjamin Franklin). Jim Brozny, SAP Fieldglass: “The meaning of life is just to be alive...” (Alan Watts). Join us for Total Workforce Management: The Good, The Bad and The Possible.

The buzz: “Robots have already taken over Wall Street, as hundreds of financial analysts are being replaced with software or robo-advisors” (theconversation.com). Machines are beginning to do the work of Finance professionals, using AI and ML technologies. Beyond automating transactional processes, they are beginning to augment value-based activities like analytics, forecasting and performance management. As AI and ML use grow, they may eliminate some human roles and create entirely new jobs.The experts speak. Nilly Essaides, The Hackett Group: “We’ve been merging with tools since the beginning of human revolution, and arguably that’s one of the things that makes us human” (Franklin Foer). Anders Liu-Lindberg, Maersk: “Fail fast to succeed sooner” (David Kelley). Vanessa Keating, The Hackett Group: “…the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do” (Rob Siltanen). Join us for Finance Talent in the Machine Age: Human or Bot?

The buzz: “While upgrading all 160,000 streetlights in Los Angeles with remote monitoring and smart controls will cost about $14 million, the city is saving $8 million per year by switching to more energy-efficient LED bulbs (CNN Money). Digital communications and energy-efficient LED lighting are revolutionizing and transforming urban lighting infrastructures into information pathways with the capacity to collect and share data and offer insights that enable and drive the smart city. Is your city “bright” enough yet (pun intended)? The experts speak. Susanne Seitinger, Philips Lighting: “You can’t think seriously about thinking without thinking about thinking about something” (Seymour Papert). David Graham, City of San Diego: “This is an adventure” (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou). Marlyn Zelkowitz, SAP: “A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle” (James Keller). Join us for You Light Up My Life: Smart Cities, Smart Lighting – Part 4.

The buzz: “I’m late, I’m late for a very important date” (White Rabbit). Don’t like sitting in traffic? No one does. More drivers around the world are enduring traffic delays due to soaring economic growth, residential housing closer to the urban core, and infrastructure that can't keep up with demand. Cities are looking at the costs: commuter stress, impacts on family and business, housing prices, demand for city services. Can smart citizens engage with governments and technology to get anywhere on time? The experts speak. Donovan Guin, IBM: “We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us” (John M. Culkin). Jesse Samberg, IBM: “You can't always get what you want, but if you try some times, you just might find, you get what you need.” (Rolling Stones) Mike Eberhardt, SAP: “If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government, then you are doomed to live under the rule of fools” (Plato). Join us for Smart Citizen Engagement and Transportation: Get Me There On Time!

The buzz: “…it’s clear that AI (and robotics) will change the face of sales” (www.i-scoop.eu/). Reality check: Buying and selling have changed dramatically in the Digital Age. Traditional sales methodologies will not work the way they used to. How to solve this selling dilemma? Picture this: The world of digital leaves data-point breadcrumbs of a buyer's behavior. The world of AI never gives up, never sleeps, never errs, never misses opportunities. When these worlds collide, their synergy could solve your challenges. The experts speak. Mario Martinez, Jr., Vengreso: “Don't persuade, defend or interrupt. Be curious, be conversational, be real. And listen (Elizabeth Lesser). Paul Teshima, Nudge.ai: “No stop signs, speed limit, nobody's going to slow me down” (AC/DC). Kirsten Boileau, SAP: “Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible” (Francis of Assisi). Join us for Digital Sales Meets AI: Two Worlds Colliding – Part 2.

The buzz: “The blockchain does one thing: It replaces third-party trust with mathematical proof that something happened” (Adam Draper). Yes. Blockchain is redefining how we transact in the digital world where digitized trust is required. According to WEF research, 58% of tech execs expect 10% of global GDP ($5.3t) to be stored on the blockchain by 2025. Are you on board? The experts speak. Drew Hingorani, Ai-BlockChain: “Behind every cloud is another cloud” (Judy Garland). Peter Ebert, CryptoWork: “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” (Leonardo da Vinci). Andreas Fichter, SAP: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” (Sir Arthur C. Clarke). Jonathan Bourgeois, Ai-BlockChain: “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark” (Michelangelo). Join us for Blockchain, Trust and Startups – Part 2.

The buzz: “…We are all looking for the magic formula. Well, here you go: Creativity + Iterative Development = Innovation” (James Dyson, 2005). Welcome to the Digital Era, where new technology terminology, hype and interpretations bombard us daily at work and at home. What do IoT, ML, Big Data, and Blockchain really mean? How will they impact your organization, customers, business partners, and lifestyle? The experts speak. Tom Raftery, SAP: “I want to die on Mars – just not on impact” (Elon Musk). Dion Hinchcliffe, Constellation Research: “Everything flows and nothing abides, everything gives way and nothing stays fixed” (Heraclitus). Tamara McCleary, Thulium: “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep” (Scott Adams). Join us for The State of Innovation 2018: Fluff vs. Fact – Part 2.

The buzz: “Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life” (Confucius). Few things impact employee productivity, engagement, and well-being as compensation. But as definitions of work and workforce change–diversity, telecommuting, contingent labor–traditional pay-for-performance formulas could cost you the ability to engage top talent. The experts speak. Dr. Gabby Burlacu, SAP SuccessFactors: “I think the definition of a book is changing” (Jeff Bezos). Lauren Pytel, SAP SuccessFactors: “After a certain point, money is meaningless…The game is what counts” (Aristotle Onassis). John Weldon, Baylor University: “You must be ready to give up even the most attractive ideas when experiment shows them to be wrong” (Alessandro Volta). Chris Seifert, Baylor University: ‘People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity…” (Andrew Carnegie). Join us for Getting Serious About Getting Paid: Your Company’s Compensation.

The buzz: “The golden rule for every business man is this: 'Put yourself in your customer's place” [Orison S. Marden]. Yes, the rule still applies in our Age of Social Selling. Do you stalk prospects to get in their Facebook newsfeed vs. being a patient buying journey advisor? Tune in for our ongoing discussion of social behavior do’s and don’ts. The experts speak. Viveka von Rosen, Vengreso: ‘Leadership is not about men in suits. It is a way of life for those who know who they are and are willing to be their best to create the life they want to live” (K. Schafer) Barbara Giamanco, Social Centered Selling: “Behavior is the mirror in which everyone shows their image” (Johann W. von Goethe). Charrele Robinson-Brown, SAP: “A brand is the set of expectations, stories, memories and relationships, that taken together account for a customer’s decision to choose one product or service over another” (S. Godin). Join us for Mind Your Manners: Social Selling Etiquette and The Golden Rule–Part 4.

The buzz: “The human spirit is like an elastic band. The more you stretch, the greater your capacity” (Bidemi Mark-Mordi). Career stretch opportunities–temporary assignments requiring expertise outside an employee’s regular job duties–are embraced by companies as well as their workers who are eager to showcase new skills and passions. What does this mean for you? Our panel will share insights on how to accept and negotiate stretch assignments on your own terms, and on a Be Leaderly report about how each gender decides their readiness to stretch. The experts speak. Selena Rezvani, Be Leaderly: “You will never climb Career Mountain and get to the top and shout, 'I made it!’” (Amy Poehler). Robert F. Solomon, Jr., Network of Executive Women (NEW): “The world is not changed by people who sort of care (Sally Hogshead). Schuchi Sharma, SAP: “The greatest contribution of a leader is to make other leaders” (Simon Sinek). Join us for Career Stretch and Readiness: Gender Lens Differences?

The buzz: “Just as salespeople are moving into the future, the buyers are already ahead of us” (K.Sexton). Your staff may be excited about social selling training and enablement. But will they put those lessons into practice in their day-to-day jobs? The gauges of your social selling success should reflect how well and how consistently your staff executes their lessons – and how well you monitor them in the real business world. Tune in for best practices to encourage social selling adoption, maintain momentum, and monitor execution. The experts speak. Mic Adam, Vanguard Leadership: “...People will do business with, and refer business to, those people they know, like, and trust” (Bob Burg). Loic Simon, PartnerWin: “It's not about the shoes, it's about what you do in them (Michael Jordan). Marco Cai, SAP: “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving” (Einstein). Join us for Social Selling Post-Training Momentum: Strategies and Best Practices – Part 2.

The buzz: “No one in the world needs a Rhino horn but a Rhino” (Paul Oxton). Africa’s wildlife threat levels are growing at alarming rates – particularly from increasing poaching of elephants and rhinos. Traditional conservation methods fall short due to lack funding and people-power. Enter a creative solution: technology with purpose involving drones and GPS, sparking a new definition of ERP: Elephants, Rhinos and People. The experts speak. Quintin Smith, EPI-USE: “I guess it comes down a simple choice, really. Get busy living or get busy dying” (Shawshank Redemption). David Allen, EPI-USE: “There are some four million different kinds of animals and plants in the world. Four million different solutions to the problems of staying alive.=” (Sir David Attenborough). Ashley Tully, SAP: “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how” (Friedrich Nietzsche). Join us for ERP, Technology and Purpose in the Wild: Elephants, Rhinos, People

The buzz: “By 2030…8.3 billion people with an urban proportion of about 51%. So out of necessity, smart cities are needed …” (Dr Gráinne Watson, Fujitsu) In our mobile-first, digitally connected world, consumers expect to access digital services whenever and wherever they want. Citizens expect the same personalized communications with their city governments. Is this possible? The smart future city will put the citizen at the center of service delivery models. Is your city there yet? The experts speak. Donovan Guin, IBM: “All politics is local” (Tip O’Neill). Kirk Talbott, City of Atlanta: “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog … build a wall…pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects” (Robert A Heinlein). Mike Eberhardt, SAP: “Walk a mile in my shoes” (Joe South, 1970). Join us for Smart Cities Citizen Engagement: Mobile, Connected and Digital – Part 2.

The buzz: “…it’s clear that AI (and robotics) will change the face of sales” (www.i-scoop.eu/). Reality check: Buying and selling have changed dramatically in the Digital Age. Outreach to today's buyer is more difficult using traditional sales methodologies. Where to turn? Hint: The world of digital leaves data point breadcrumbs of a buyer's behavior. The world of AI never gives up, sleeps, or misses opportunities. When these worlds collide, can their synergy boost your sales? The experts speak. Mario Martinez, Jr., Vengreso: “Good, better, best. Never let it rest. ‘Til your good is better and your better is best (1897). Kirsten Boileau, SAP: “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity” (Amelia Earhart). Paul Teshima, Nudge.ai: “Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose” (Friday Night Lights). Alex Terry, Conversica: “The best way to predict the future is to create it” (Peter Drucker). Join us for Digital Sales Meets AI: Two Worlds Colliding.

The buzz: “UI is the saddle, the stirrups, and the reins. UX is the feeling you get being able to ride the horse, and rope your cattle” (Dain Miller). Remember your anticipation when you got your first smartphone? Your curiosity the first time you typed “@” online? As the world gets increasingly digital, we expect great experiences in every interaction with every organization. Do UX designers ever sleep? The experts speak. Matt Grajcar, Google: “The good building is not one that hurts the landscape, but one which makes the landscape more beautiful than it was before the building was built (F.L. Wright). RJ Owen, CreativeMornings: “People ignore design that ignores people” (Frank Chimero). Shaun Syvertsen, Convergent IS: “Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again” (R. Branson). Maricel Cabahug, SAP: “If we don’t change direction soon, we’ll end up where we’re going” (Prof. Irwin Corey). Join us for UX 2018: User Experiences for a New Generation – Part 2.

The buzz: “I refuse to be intimidated by reality anymore. What is reality? Nothing but a collective hunch” (Lily Tomlin). Welcome to the Digital Era, where new technology terminology, hype and interpretations bombard us daily at work and at home. What do IoT, ML, Big Data, and Blockchain really mean? How will they impact your organization, customers, business partners, and lifestyle? The experts speak. Tom Raftery, SAP: “When wireless is perfectly applied the whole earth will be converted into a huge brain…” (N. Tesla). Dion Hinchcliffe, Constellation Research: “We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us” (J. Campbell). Tamara McCleary, Thulium: “It's never too late to be what you might have been” (G. Eliot). Jim Harris, Management Consultant: “… the unreasonable [man] persists in trying to adapt the world to himself…all progress depends on the unreasonable man” (G.B. Shaw). Join us for The State of Innovation 2018: Fluff vs. Fact.

The buzz: “Energy is the new new Internet” (Brian Lakamp techcrunch.com/2017/01/22/energy-is-the-new-new-internet). The dynamic, distributed, and multi-participant Energy Internet – aka Enernet – is positioned to transform our lives – perhaps on a larger scale than the Internet before it. It is built around clean energy generation, storage and delivery. With a long list of innovators emerging, the resulting innovation will drive massive change, including how we think about cities, municipal services, transportation, insurance, real estate, financial services and more. The experts speak. Frank Diana, TCS: “You've got to think about big things while you're doing small things, so that all the small things go in the right direction” (Alvin Toffler). Gray Scott, Futurist: “It always seems impossible until it is done” (Nelson Mandela). Tom Franklin, TCS: “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage” (Anais Nin). Join us for Exploring The Future of Energy: Welcome to the Enernet.

If your #1 business wish is to know what 2018 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. Our five-part 2018 Predictions Special brings you 75 thought leaders’ insights into the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you and your business grow and compete better in 2018 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2018 Predictions – Part 5 live. All episodes will be available on-demand. You’ll hear from Perry van Beek, Social.ONE; Morgan Jones, Televerde; Adam Quinton, Lucas Point Ventures; Jeroen Kusters, Deloitte; David Jonker, SAP; Fabiana Lacerca-Allen, Ethiprax; Joe Burton, Whil Concepts; Maricel Cabahug, SAP; Mario Martinez Jr., Vengreso; Travis Tompkins, Deloitte; Paul Modderman, Mindset Consulting; Gray Scott, Futuristic Now; Joshua Bernstein, Dell EMC; Hosin Min, SAP; and Daniel Wellers, SAP. Happy New Year from SAP Game-Changers Radio!

The buzz: Welcome to 2018! If your #1 business wish is to know what 2018 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. We’re bringing you predictions from 70 thought leaders about the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete in 2018 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2018 Predictions–Part 4 live. And mark your calendar for Jan. 17 [Part 5]. All episodes will be available on-demand. You’ll hear from Amit Rustagi, Western Digital; Tom Raftery, SAP; Frank D. Geisler, ERPsourcing AG; Kirsten Boileau, SAP; Chandran Saravana, SAP; Bill Powell, ARI Fleet; Michele Hovet, KSM Consulting; Roger Quinlan, SAP; Nathan Ott, The GC Index®; Cara DeGraff, Vistex; Vanessa Edmonds, TMG Consulting; David Den Boer, Column5 Consulting; Windie Wilson, SAP; Brian Katz, VMware; David Parrish, SAP. Happy New Year from SAP Game-Changers Radio!

The buzz: Welcome to 2018! If your #1 business wish is to know what 2018 holds for your company, industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. We’re bringing you predictions from 70 thought leaders on the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete in 2018 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2018 Predictions–Part 3 live. And mark your calendar for Jan. 10 [Part 4] and Jan. 17 [Part 5]. All episodes will be on-demand. You’ll hear from Brynne Tillman, Vengreso; Rasmus Nelund, NNIT; Thiagu Bala, Deloitte; Rob Kugel, Ventana Research; Owen Pettiford, BackOffice Associates; Bryan Mattimore, Growth Engine Company; Seth Marlow, Wells Fargo; Susanne Seitinger, Philips Lighting; Annie Hayward, SAP; Ronald Schell, Metropolitan Utilities District; Bill Newman, SAP; Mike Lackey, SAP; Ben Zimmerman, EY; Patrick Hickey, Jump Analytics; Peter Ebert, Cryptowerk Corp. Happy New Year from SAP Game-Changers Radio!

The buzz: Your crystal ball for 2018 is here! If your #1 business wish this holiday is to know what 2018 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. We’re bringing you predictions from 70+ thought leaders about the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete in 2018 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2018 Predictions–Part 2 live. and there's more on Jan. 3, 10 and 17. All episodes will be available on-demand. Today you’ll hear from Torsten Welte, SAP; Jason Averbook, Leapgen; Brian Kalish, Kalish Consulting; Stefan Guertzgen, SAP; Brenda Cooper, Futurist Author; Yvette Cameron, SAP SuccessFactors; Luisa Silva, SAP Startup Focus; Tom Foley, Lenovo; Kenny Hawk, Mojio; Heather Ashton, IDC; Barbara Ocain, SAP; Matt Singer, Videolicious; Tim Hughes, Digital Leadership Associates; Jeff Hattendorf, Macrospect; Laz Uriza, SAP. Happy holidays from SAP Game-Changers Radio.

The buzz: Your crystal ball for 2018 is here! If your #1 business wish this holiday is to know what 2018 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. We’re bringing you predictions from 70+ thought leaders about the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete in 2018 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2018 Predictions–Part 2 live. and there's more on Jan. 3, 10 and 17. All episodes will be available on-demand. Today you’ll hear from Torsten Welte, SAP; Jason Averbook, Leapgen; Brian Kalish, Kalish Consulting; Stefan Guertzgen, SAP; Brenda Cooper, Futurist Author; Yvette Cameron, SAP SuccessFactors; Luisa Silva, SAP Startup Focus; Tom Foley, Lenovo; Kenny Hawk, Mojio; Heather Ashton, IDC; Barbara Ocain, SAP; Matt Singer, Videolicious; Tim Hughes, Digital Leadership Associates; Jeff Hattendorf, Macrospect; Laz Uriza, SAP. Happy holidays from SAP Game-Changers Radio.

The buzz: Crytal ball for 2018! If your #1 business wish this holiday is to know what 2018 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing: predictions from 75 thought leaders about the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete in 2018 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for Game-Changers Radio 2018 Predictions–Part 1 live. And mark your calendar for Dec. 13, Jan. 3, 10 and 17. Guests: John Santagate, IDC; Andrew Mack, AMGlobal Consulting; Prof. Rajeev Srinivasan, Indian Institute of Management; Nance L. Schick, Esq., The Law Studio of Nance L. Schick; Brian Kilcourse, Retail Systems Research; Prithvi Sen Sharma, Prakshep; Dr. Sara Diamond, OCAD University; Sherryanne Meyer, ASUG; Otto Schell, Opel.com; Tami Reiss, Just Not Sorry; Elizabeth Milne, SAP; Dirk Lonser, DXC Technology; Gary Adams, Vistex; Thorsten Leiduck, SAP; Barbara Giamanco, Social Centered Selling. Happy holidays from Game-Changers!

The buzz: “Companies that view technology as a tool rather than an integrated part of a vastly different business future–risk their very survival” (SAP Executive Study). Welcome to the 4th industrial revolution, with digital technologies changing the world and challenging businesses. What does today’s digital transformation leader need to do to ensure their company remains relevant tomorrow? SAP researchers and futurists report. The experts speak. David Jonker, SAP: “Moonshots don’t begin with brainstorming clever answers. They start with the hard work of finding the right questions” (Inside Google’s Moonshot Factory). Michael Rander, SAP: “Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow” (William Pollard). Dan Wellers, SAP: “What we spend our time on is probably the most important decision we make (Ray Kurzweil).Join us for Today’s Digital Disruption: How Leaders Prepare for Tomorrow – Part 2.

The buzz: “Companies that view technology as a tool rather than an integrated part of a vastly different business future – risk their very survival” (SAP Executive Study). Welcome to the 4th industrial revolution. The economy is increasingly based on knowledge, creativity, and adaptability. Digital technologies are changing the world and challenging businesses. SAP researchers and futurists are studying the major trends to understand what today’s digital transformation leader needs to start and what to stop, when to zig and when to zag, to ensure their company is relevant tomorrow. The experts speak. David Jonker, SAP: “Fortune's wheel never stands still–the highest point is therefore the most perilous” (Maria Edgeworth). Michael Rander, SAP: “You don't take a photograph, you make it” (Ansel Adams). Dan Wellers, SAP: “Living at risk is jumping off a cliff and building your wings on the way down” (Ray Bradbury). Join us for Today’s Digital Disruption: How Leaders Prepare for Tomorrow.

The buzz: “You’ll be in trouble quickly if you assume your only–or biggest–competition looks exactly like you” (Paige Leidig). All brands operate in a competitive global environment. Some prefer to ignore the competition. Others are obsessed, using under the radar” spying to track other players. If traditional wisdom still holds–that strong knowledge about competitors’ strengths and weaknesses positions you to make smart marketing strategy decisions–then it’s time to add social media to your competitive info-gathering toolkit. The experts speak. Frank D. Geisler, ERPsourcing: “Don't play the saxophone–let it play you” (Charlie Parker). Simon Deschênes, Oak3s: “If you have everything under control, you’re not moving fast enough (Mario Andretti). Kirsten Boileau, SAP: “If I had no competitors, I would be lazy, incompetent and inattentive…I salute my competitors...They make and keep me strong” (Paul Lee Tan). Join us for Modern Competitive Analysis: Remember Social Media – Part 2.

The buzz: “Companies that view technology as a tool rather than an integrated part of a vastly different business future – risk their very survival” (SAP Executive Study). Welcome to the 4th industrial revolution. The economy is increasingly based on knowledge, creativity, and adaptability. Digital technologies are changing the world and challenging businesses. SAP researchers and futurists are studying the major trends to understand what today’s digital transformation leader needs to start and what to stop, when to zig and when to zag, to ensure their company is relevant tomorrow. The experts speak. David Jonker, SAP: “Fortune's wheel never stands still–the highest point is therefore the most perilous” (Maria Edgeworth). Michael Rander, SAP: “You don't take a photograph, you make it” (Ansel Adams). Dan Wellers, SAP: “Living at risk is jumping off a cliff and building your wings on the way down” (Ray Bradbury). Join us for Today’s Digital Disruption: How Leaders Prepare for Tomorrow.

The Buzz: “The robots really embody that love-hate relationship we have with technology.” (Daniel H. Wilson) Headline news: “Security robot 'in critical condition.’” Say what? It’s true. When Washington D.C. security robot “Steve” took a plunge in a nearby pond, his on-the-job self-drowning accident raised two pivotal questions: Do we really wants robots in the workforce? And which jobs should go to robots versus to humans? In an SAP Digitalist Magazine online survey of more than 1,000 respondents, 60% said they would want robots to help them on the job. And Andra Keay, managing director of Silicon Valley Robotics, says robots are best suited to jobs that fall in the “Four D” categories: dirty, dull, dangerous, deadly. Is it that simple? The experts speak. Kai Goerlich, SAP: “Life finds a way” (Dr. Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park, 1993 sci-fi film). Gray Scott, Futurist: “Everybody's out there wrestling like a robot” (Hulk Hogan). Join us for Robots at Work: Whose Job Is It Anyway?

The buzz: “CHROs using artificial intelligence in the workplace…to transform recruiting, HR service centers, and learning and development? I believe the answer is yes” (J. Meister). As AI moves from ideation to reality, businesses face a challenge: how to use AI systems to help human employees be more productive and happier, rather than to replace them. Good news: The new digital workforce has room for both. Ready to integrate this next AI wave into your processes? The experts speak. Darwin Deano, Deloitte: “I can choose either to be a victim of the world or an adventurer in search of treasure. It's all a question of how I view my life” (Paulo Coelho). Dr. Patti Fletcher, SAP SuccessFactors: “We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology” (Carl Sagan). Stephanie Stachura, Deloitte: “The most complicated skill is to be simple” (Dejan Stojanovic). Join us for AI at Work: Is Human-Centric Possible?

The buzz: “79% of sales people that use social media outsell their peers” [Forbes]. Social selling is at a tipping point, “that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, spreads like wildfire” (Malcolm Gladwell). It is impacting how sales and marketing teams collaborate, do business and engage customers. But the laggards – organizations just now joining the social bandwagon – are in “reactive” instead of “proactive” mode. How can they incorporate social selling into their company’s DNA? The experts speak. Brynne Tillman, Vengreso: “Social does not take the place of a handshake, but it turns a handshake into a hug” (Brian Fanzo). Mario Martinez Jr., Vengreso: “Just remember, you can't climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets” (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Kirsten Boileau, SAP: “There’s a way to do it better – find it” (Thomas Edison). Join us for Social Selling at the Tipping Point – Part 2.

The buzz: “New research provides compelling evidence that diversity unlocks innovation and drives market growth” (hbr.org). With the commoditization of technology, your company may have focused on improving efficiencies. But if you used a cookie-cutter approach to reshape business processes, organizational models, data and architecture, you may have an unwelcome by-product: the inability to innovate. How to fix? Build-in diversity at every level–systems, data, processes, ecosystems, people and skills across your entire organization. The experts speak. Bronwyn Hastings, SAP: “Dreams and dedication are a powerful combination” (William Longgood). Darwin Deano, Deloitte: “Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future” (Deepak Chopra). Jodie Stahly, Deloitte: “The real secret of success is enthusiasm” (Walter Chrysler). Join us for Redefining Innovation to the Power of D: Multiple Layers of Diversity.

The buzz: “Today thoughtful people everywhere are trying to understand the implications of a protocol that enables mere mortals to manufacture trust through clever code. This has never happened before” (Don and Alex Tapscott). Just when the switch to digital money threatens the banks’ cash-handling function, blockchain technology is attacking their role as a trusted intermediary. This is just the tip of the blockchain iceberg. Blockchain is emerging across other industries and lines of business. How to distinguish wishful hype from concrete cases to re-think business processes of the future? The experts speak. Raimund Gross, SAP: “There are no fast followers in a paradigm shift–only winners and losers” (T. Smith). Dr. Gideon Greenspan, Coin Sciences: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it” (Y. Berra). Kris Hansen, Portag3 Ventures: “We look at the present through a rearview mirror. We march backwards into the future” (M. McLuhan). Join us for Money’s Digital Makeover–Part 3.

The buzz: “Male VCs—obviously most are—are very comfortable now giving female entrepreneurs capital for ‘girl stuff’” (Vivoom). Don’t be fooled. Sexual harassment and discriminatory treatment toward women are not a Silicon Valley-only problem, nor can they be undone by men’s “nice” blogs. Female-founded businesses are out-performing male-started businesses 5 to 1, boosting the US economy by $1.6T. Yet only 2% of funding has gone to women startup founders. What will it take to lift these gender barriers? The experts speak. Adam Quinton, Lucas Point Ventures: “Power’s not given to you. You have to take it” (Beyoncé). Victoria Pettibone, Astia: “You've got only one lift to live. You can either make it chickens**t or chicken salad (Cousins). Dr. Patti Fletcher, SAP SuccessFactors: “What has destroyed every previous civilization has been the tendency to the unequal distribution of wealth and power” (Henry George). Join us for Don’t Start with Me: Funding Female-Founded Startups – Part 2.

The buzz: “Motivation is an art, not a science” (Dan Tyre). If you’re regularly paying sales incentives to customers and partners but getting nothing in return, you know the challenges of juggling an array of programs and pressure to achieve bottom line visibility. Wouldn’t it be helpful to learn how to optimally manage complex partner programs for contracts, pricing, rebates, incentives, and more? The experts speak. Cara DeGraff, Vistex: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them” (Albert Einstein). Gary L. Adams, Vistex: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts” (Winston Churchill). John McDonnell SAP: “While physics and mathematics may tell us how the universe began, they are not much use in predicting human behavior…I'm no better than anyone else at understanding what makes people tick…” (Stephen Hawking). Join us for Target Incentive and Rebate Programs: Driving Digital Transformation.

The buzz: “You can invent alone, but you can’t innovate alone” (G. van Wulfen). Business leaders have long pondered whether culture impacts an organization’s evolution and growth. If culture is the “personality” shaping the ability to drive innovation, what type of culture will spark new ideas while disrupting old models? Will multiple personalities fight each other? The experts speak. Dan Seewald, Pfizer: “Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something” (S. Jobs). Ingo Rauth, PhD, Rotman DesignWorks: “If you want a robot to maneuver aggressively, it has to be small. As you scale things down, the 'moment of inertia' - the resistance to angular motion - drops dramatically” (V. Kumar). Jennifer Ford, SAP: “I don't go by the rule book.I lead from the heart, not the head.” (Lady Diana) Join us for Innovation Culture: Is Your Business A Split Personality?

The Buzz: “Tax complexity itself is a kind of tax” (Max Baucus). The confluence of global trade, new technologies and governments' increasing need for tax revenue is impacting the global commerce landscape, challenging you and your competitors. To stay afloat, you need to understand, prepare for and stay on top of changing tax and regulatory compliance rules, as well as new technologies and platforms – including blockchain, machine learning, and big data. Got your lifejacket ready? The experts speak. John Viglione, Vertex: Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose” (Bill Gates). Robert Kugel, Ventana: “The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest possible amount of hissing” (Jean-Baptiste Colbert). Camilla Dahlen, SAP: “Strength lies in differences, not in similarities” (Stephen Covey). Join us for Global Commerce, Tax and Technology: Navigating Rough Waters Ahead.

The Buzz: “Disruption is a process, not an event, and innovations can only be disruptive relative to something else” (Clay Christensen). Rapid change has forced today’s visionary business leaders to replace conventional growth models with a Disruptive Solutions mindset. Say what? This creative thinking methodology enables leaders to anticipate and quickly react to industry disruptions, identify unplanned opportunities, and move past internally-directed core competency thinking to leverage open innovation. We’ll tell you how. The experts speak. Bryan W. Mattimore, Growth Engine: “If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old” (Peter F. Drucker). Erica Dhawan, Cotential: “If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun” (Katharine Hepburn). Denise Fletcher, EZassi: “The most profound technologies are those that disappear. They weave themselves into everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it” (Mark Weiser). Join us for Disruptive Solutions Mindset 101.

The Buzz: “Don't annoy science fiction writers…people who destroy entire planets before lunch. Think of what they'll do to you” (John Scalzi). Think a beach day with a sci-fi page-turner is an escape from reality? Not! Sci-fi could prepare us for the possibilities of tomorrow hurtling at us via tech advances like AI, robotics, IoT. Should it be mandatory reading for business leaders? The experts speak. Gray Scott, Futurist: “Science fiction writers foresee the inevitable, and although problems and catastrophes may be inevitable, solutions are not” (Isaac Asimov). Brenda J. Cooper, Sci-Fi Author: “Change is the principal feature of our age and literature should explore how people deal with it. The best science fiction does that, head-on” (David Brin). Dan Wellers, SAP: “For me science fiction is a way of thinking, a way of logic that bypasses a lot of nonsense. It allows people to look directly at important subjects. (Gene Roddenberry). Join us for Sci-Fi, AI, Wi-Fi: What’s the Story?

The buzz: “It's actually women who are creating and leading some of the most established and promising companies overall” (@DrewAHendricks). Female entrepreneurs’ accusations of sexual harassment from male VCs and others, are symptoms of entrepreneur ecosystem gender bias. Female startup founders received $1.46B in VC funding (2016) vs $58.2B to males. Does Silicon Valley mirror global tech-intensive industries? How to access power and capital for all? The experts speak. Adam Quinton, Lucas Point Ventures: “[In politics] If you want anything said, ask a man; if you want anything done, ask a woman” (Margaret Thatcher). Sharon Vosmek, Astia: “Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible (Dr Maya Angelou). Dr. Patti Fletcher, SAP Successfactors: “There is no female mind. The brain is not an organ of sex. As well speak of a female liver” (Charlotte Perkins Gilman). Join us for Don’t Start with Me: Funding Female-Founded Startups.

The buzz: “You always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” (Wayne Gretsky). Despite headlines about companies that make regulatory missteps and have lax internal controls, many are still playing catch-up to grasp pitfalls in the business environment. In contrast, risk-aware organizations frame risk as an enabler of business performance vs containing it, and embed risk management in day-to-day. If you’re one of the former, can technology – cloud, analytics, robotics – help gain a competitive edge via effective risk management? The experts speak. Ben Zimmerman, EY: “The biggest risk is not taking any risk...in a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks” (Mark Zuckerberg). Brian Ocampo, EY: “Data is the sword of the 21st century, those who wield it well, the Samurai (Eric Schmidt). Kevin McCollom, SAP: “Test fast, fail fast, adjust fast” (Tom Peters). Join us for No Reward Without Risk: Your Company in the Digital Economy.

The buzz: “Human resources professionals have long worked to earn a voice in the C-suite and boardroom; yet the Chief Human Resources Officer role remains elusive…many companies still lag in their perception of HR’s value” (Boyden). The unique human capital in your workforce is your only true competitive differentiator. But as the power of the employee takes center stage, does your board have CHRO expertise to guide policies and strategies? The experts speak. Chris Johnson, Mercer: “Society only exists as a mental concept; in the real world there are only individuals” (Oscar Wilde). Fabiana Lacerca-Allen, Ethiprax: “Acknowledge and watch your habits, for they shall become your values. Understand and embrace your values…they become your destiny” (Gandhi). Dr. Patti Fletcher, SAP SuccessFactors: “Digital is the main reason just over half of the companies on the Fortune 500 have disappeared since the year 2000” (Pierre Nanterme). Join us for CHRO: New Roadmap to the Boardroom? – Part 2.

The buzz: “While efficiency…is important…[the HR] function has to think of itself as talent consultants not service deliverers.”” (Josh Bersin, Forbes.com) HR evolved in Europe during the Industrial Revolution from an idea by Robert Owen and Charles Babbage to structure, organize, pay and develop the people who lead and execute on business strategy. Fast-forward. The advent of technology and the need to scale have management evaluating HR with a focus on efficiencies, more than people. Now the workforce is demanding HR put the ‘human’ back into Human Resources. The experts speak. Tim Aldrich, EY: “If I went to work in a factory, the first thing I would do is to join a union” (F.D. Roosevelt). James Sinclair, EnterpriseJungle: Success is 1% inspiration, 98% perspiration and 2% attention to detail (Phil Dunphy). Dr. Patti Fletcher, SAP SuccessFactors: “if it doesn’t make the world a better place, don’t do it” (Kid President). Join us for Humanizing HR: Is Technology the Answer?

The buzz: “We don’t even know If a salesperson replying to us in real-time in the year 2020 would be a human or a robot…AI has already penetrated into our lives with or without our consent” (Mehreen Siddiqua). AI is changing business in ways not seen since the Industrial Revolution, says Accenture. But when we apply AI technologies to human interactions, particularly in B2B Social Selling, will it add value for modern B2B salespeople? The experts speak. Bernie Borges, Vengreso: “The secret to success is good leadership…making the lives of your team members or workers better” (Tony Dungy). Tim Hughes, Digital Leadership Associates: Sometimes it is the people no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine (Alan Turing). Kirsten Boileau, SAP: “As more and more artificial intelligence is entering into the world, more and more emotional intelligence must enter into leadership” (Amit Ray). Join us for Social Selling and AI: New Frontier or Pricey Gimmick? Part 2.

The buzz: “49% of employees feel that a future in which people will ‘work from anywhere in the world’ is now” (ADP “The Evolution of Work” 2016). Reality check: Your company can’t be global without being local. What is your CHRO's role in this? HR needs to understand and comply with local and global cultures, practices and regulations – recruiting, interviewing, hiring and compensation – while supporting a globalized business with a local feel. Say what? The experts speak. Nicole Sahin, Globalization Partners: “For the first time in human evolution … the individual mind is now a constituent player in the global transformation of human culture” (William Irwin Thompson). Dr. Patti Fletcher, SAP SuccessFactors: “Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark … there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves” (Carl Sagan). Join us for HR, Globalization, and Localization: More than Meets the Eye – Part 2.

The buzz: “You already have zero privacy – get over it” (Scott McNealy). We as individuals have welcomed Internet-connected, mobile devices to help us make daily decisions. But when we share data with companies, and they share it with their business partners, are their built-in and bolted-on data security capabilities enough to protect our personal information? The experts speak. Brian Kilcourse, RRS Research: “If you spend more on coffee than on IT security, you will be hacked. What's more, you deserve to be hacked” (Richard Clarke). Frank Diana, TCS: “You could go crazy thinking of how unprivate our lives really are–the omnipresent security cameras, the tracking data on our very smart phones… (Susan Orlean). Larry Stolle, SAP: “I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it says something about human nature that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive…” (Stephen Hawking). Join us for You Don’t Own Me: What About My Data? – Part 2.

The buzz: “Stories give people enough space to think for themselves” (Annette Simmons). Your favorite movie, book, and song are memorable because the director, author and songwriter told an engaging story using drama and emotion. Storytelling is also important for everyone in sales for the same reasons. Prospects need to feel, believe and remember you in order to be moved to make a purchase. If you don’t make it easy for them, you risk becoming the next book they forgot they ever read. The experts speak. Heidi Berenson, Berenson Communications: “It is no secret in television that the best ad-libs are always thought out and put into notes ahead of time. Two or three words will remind you of whatever the point is... (David Brinkley, A Memoir). Janis Fratamico, SAP: “My mother wanted us to understand that the tragedies of your life one day have to potential to be the comic stories the next (Nora Ephron). Join us for The Art of Storytelling in Sales – Part 2.

The buzz: “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work” (Aristotle). Coffee Break with Game-Changers Radio was invited to broadcast live from SAPPHIRE NOW 2017. Our assignment: ask SAP partners, customers and executives what’s keeping today’s C-Suite awake at night – and what makes them excited to go to work. Today we’re bringing you six “excited” answers: New World of Cognitive Robotic Process Automation (IBM & Mondi); Innovation and Agility: Accenture Liquid Studio (Accenture & SAP); Technology for Humanitarian Good: Addressing the Refugee Crisis (Deloitte & SAP); Blockchain Driving Next Gen Supply Chain (HCL & SAP); Incentives, Rebates and Complex Partner Programs for Digital Transformation (Vistex); Surviving Your Digital Transformation Journey: Business Partnerships (SAP). If you missed the “awake” sessions, click www.voiceamerica.com/episode/99250/c-suite-insights-from-sapphire-now-2017-part-1. Join us for C-Suite Insights from SAPPHIRE NOW 2017 – Part 2.

The buzz: “I made over 40 Westerns. I used to lie awake nights trying to think up new ways of getting on and off a horse” (William Wyler). Coffee Break with Game-Changers Radio was invited to broadcast live from SAPPHIRE NOW 2017 in Orlando [May 16-18). Our assignment: ask SAP partners, customers and executives what’s keeping today’s C-Suite awake at night – and what makes them excited to go to work each day. Today we’re bringing you six “awake” answers: Enterprise Tax Challenges in the Digital Economy: Look to the Cloud (Vertex & SAP). Golf Industry and Technology: Hole in One! (Callaway Golf & SAP). Turn Your Business into An Intelligent Enterprise (Capgemini & MindTouch). E-Signatures: Streamlining Document Processes (DocuSign & SAP). A Stitch in Time: From Industrial Revolution Business to 21st Century (Coats). Reaching the Digital Summit with SOLEX (SAP’s Tom Roberts). On May 31, we’ll cover the “excited” answers. Join us for C-Suite Insights from SAPPHIRE NOW 2017 – Part 1.

VoiceAmerica and SAP team up at SAPPHIRE NOW 2017! Bonnie D Graham, host of, Coffee-break with Game changers and SAP radio. Join in today as are wrapping up the Live event with Thought Leader live at SAPPHIRE NOW 2017! Don't miss the inspiring Thought Leadership talk radio on technology and business topics that are changing the game!

VoiceAmerica and SAP team up at SAPPHIRE NOW 2017! Bonnie D Graham, host of, Coffee-break with Game changers and SAP radio. Join in today as are wrapping up the Live event with Thought Leader live at SAPPHIRE NOW 2017! Don't miss the inspiring Thought Leadership talk radio on technology and business topics that are changing the game!

VoiceAmerica and SAP team up at SAPPHIRE NOW 2017! Bonnie D Graham, host of, Coffee-break with Game changers and SAP radio. Join in today as are wrapping up the Live event with Thought Leader live at SAPPHIRE NOW 2017! Don't miss the inspiring Thought Leadership talk radio on technology and business topics that are changing the game!

VoiceAmerica and SAP team up at SAPPHIRE NOW 2017! Bonnie D Graham, host of, Coffee-break with Game changers and SAP radio. Join in today as are wrapping up the Live event with Thought Leader live at SAPPHIRE NOW 2017! Don't miss the inspiring Thought Leadership talk radio on technology and business topics that are changing the game!

VoiceAmerica and SAP team up at SAPPHIRE NOW 2017! Bonnie D Graham, host of, Coffee-break with Game changers and SAP radio. Join in today as are wrapping up the Live event with Thought Leader live at SAPPHIRE NOW 2017! Don't miss the inspiring Thought Leadership talk radio on technology and business topics that are changing the game!

VoiceAmerica and SAP team up at SAPPHIRE NOW 2017! Bonnie D Graham, host of, Coffee-break with Game changers and SAP radio. Join in today as are wrapping up the Live event with Thought Leader live at SAPPHIRE NOW 2017! Don't miss the inspiring Thought Leadership talk radio on technology and business topics that are changing the game!

VoiceAmerica and SAP team up at SAPPHIRE NOW 2017! Bonnie D Graham, host of, Coffee-break with Game changers and SAP radio. Join in today as are wrapping up the Live event with Thought Leader live at SAPPHIRE NOW 2017! Don't miss the inspiring Thought Leadership talk radio on technology and business topics that are changing the game!

VoiceAmerica and SAP team up at SAPPHIRE NOW 2017! Bonnie D Graham, host of, Coffee-break with Game changers and SAP radio. Join in today as are wrapping up the Live event with Thought Leader live at SAPPHIRE NOW 2017! Don't miss the inspiring Thought Leadership talk radio on technology and business topics that are changing the game!

VoiceAmerica and SAP team up at SAPPHIRE NOW 2017! Bonnie D Graham, host of, Coffee-break with Game changers and SAP radio. Join in today as are wrapping up the Live event with Thought Leader live at SAPPHIRE NOW 2017! Don't miss the inspiring Thought Leadership talk radio on technology and business topics that are changing the game!

VoiceAmerica and SAP team up at SAPPHIRE NOW 2017! Bonnie D Graham, host of, Coffee-break with Game changers and SAP radio. Join in today as are wrapping up the Live event with Thought Leader live at SAPPHIRE NOW 2017! Don't miss the inspiring Thought Leadership talk radio on technology and business topics that are changing the game!

VoiceAmerica and SAP team up at SAPPHIRE NOW 2017! Bonnie D Graham, host of, Coffee-break with Game changers and SAP radio. Join in today as are wrapping up the Live event with Thought Leader live at SAPPHIRE NOW 2017! Don't miss the inspiring Thought Leadership talk radio on technology and business topics that are changing the game!

VoiceAmerica and SAP team up at SAPPHIRE NOW 2017! Bonnie D Graham, host of, Coffee-break with Game changers and SAP radio. Join in today as are wrapping up the Live event with Thought Leader live at SAPPHIRE NOW 2017! Don't miss the inspiring Thought Leadership talk radio on technology and business topics that are changing the game!

VoiceAmerica and SAP team up at SAPPHIRE NOW 2017! Bonnie D Graham, host of, Coffee-break with Game changers and SAP radio. Join in today as are wrapping up the Live event with Thought Leader live at SAPPHIRE NOW 2017! Don't miss the inspiring Thought Leadership talk radio on technology and business topics that are changing the game!

Join Bonnie D. Graham Live from Sap Sapphire Now 2017. Day 2 will bring new level of thought leadership to Gain new and Valuable insight into ways that digital transformation will help you reimagine your business.Take a look at all the reasons why you cannot miss this Broadcast and Discover new industry-tailored products and customer successes that will enable your digital business strategy.Find new ways to reduce complexity and increase responsiveness across your organization.

Join Bonnie D. Graham Live from Sap Sapphire Now 2017. Day 2 will bring new level of thought leadership to Gain new and Valuable insight into ways that digital transformation will help you reimagine your business.Take a look at all the reasons why you cannot miss this Broadcast and Discover new industry-tailored products and customer successes that will enable your digital business strategy.Find new ways to reduce complexity and increase responsiveness across your organization.

Join Bonnie D. Graham Live from Sap Sapphire Now 2017. Day 2 will bring new level of thought leadership to Gain new and Valuable insight into ways that digital transformation will help you reimagine your business.Take a look at all the reasons why you cannot miss this Broadcast and Discover new industry-tailored products and customer successes that will enable your digital business strategy.Find new ways to reduce complexity and increase responsiveness across your organization.

Join Bonnie D. Graham Live from Sap Sapphire Now 2017. Day 2 will bring new level of thought leadership to Gain new and Valuable insight into ways that digital transformation will help you reimagine your business.Take a look at all the reasons why you cannot miss this Broadcast and Discover new industry-tailored products and customer successes that will enable your digital business strategy.Find new ways to reduce complexity and increase responsiveness across your organization.

Join Bonnie D. Graham Live from Sap Sapphire Now 2017. Day 2 will bring new level of thought leadership to Gain new and Valuable insight into ways that digital transformation will help you reimagine your business.Take a look at all the reasons why you cannot miss this Broadcast and Discover new industry-tailored products and customer successes that will enable your digital business strategy.Find new ways to reduce complexity and increase responsiveness across your organization.

Join Bonnie D. Graham Live from Sap Sapphire Now 2017. Day 2 will bring new level of thought leadership to Gain new and Valuable insight into ways that digital transformation will help you reimagine your business.Take a look at all the reasons why you cannot miss this Broadcast and Discover new industry-tailored products and customer successes that will enable your digital business strategy.Find new ways to reduce complexity and increase responsiveness across your organization.

Join Bonnie D. Graham Live from Sap Sapphire Now 2017. Day 2 will bring new level of thought leadership to Gain new and Valuable insight into ways that digital transformation will help you reimagine your business.Take a look at all the reasons why you cannot miss this Broadcast and Discover new industry-tailored products and customer successes that will enable your digital business strategy.Find new ways to reduce complexity and increase responsiveness across your organization.

Join Bonnie D. Graham Live from Sap Sapphire Now 2017. Day 2 will bring new level of thought leadership to Gain new and Valuable insight into ways that digital transformation will help you reimagine your business.Take a look at all the reasons why you cannot miss this Broadcast and Discover new industry-tailored products and customer successes that will enable your digital business strategy.Find new ways to reduce complexity and increase responsiveness across your organization.

Join Bonnie D. Graham Live from Sap Sapphire Now 2017. Day 2 will bring new level of thought leadership to Gain new and Valuable insight into ways that digital transformation will help you reimagine your business.Take a look at all the reasons why you cannot miss this Broadcast and Discover new industry-tailored products and customer successes that will enable your digital business strategy.Find new ways to reduce complexity and increase responsiveness across your organization.

Join Bonnie D. Graham Live from Sap Sapphire Now 2017. Day 2 will bring new level of thought leadership to Gain new and Valuable insight into ways that digital transformation will help you reimagine your business.Take a look at all the reasons why you cannot miss this Broadcast and Discover new industry-tailored products and customer successes that will enable your digital business strategy.Find new ways to reduce complexity and increase responsiveness across your organization.

Join Bonnie D. Graham Live from Sap Sapphire Now 2017. Day 2 will bring new level of thought leadership to Gain new and Valuable insight into ways that digital transformation will help you reimagine your business.Take a look at all the reasons why you cannot miss this Broadcast and Discover new industry-tailored products and customer successes that will enable your digital business strategy.Find new ways to reduce complexity and increase responsiveness across your organization.

Join Bonnie D. Graham Live from Sap Sapphire Now 2017.Gain valuable insight into ways that digital transformation will help you reimagine your business.Take a look at all the reasons why you cannot miss this conference. Discover new industry-tailored products and customer successes that will enable your digital business strategy.Find new ways to reduce complexity and increase responsiveness across your organization.

Join Bonnie D. Graham Live from Sap Sapphire Now 2017.Gain valuable insight into ways that digital transformation will help you reimagine your business.Take a look at all the reasons why you cannot miss this conference. Discover new industry-tailored products and customer successes that will enable your digital business strategy.Find new ways to reduce complexity and increase responsiveness across your organization.

Join Bonnie D. Graham Live from Sap Sapphire Now 2017.Gain valuable insight into ways that digital transformation will help you reimagine your business.Take a look at all the reasons why you cannot miss this conference. Discover new industry-tailored products and customer successes that will enable your digital business strategy.Find new ways to reduce complexity and increase responsiveness across your organization.

Join Bonnie D. Graham Live from Sap Sapphire Now 2017.Gain valuable insight into ways that digital transformation will help you reimagine your business.Take a look at all the reasons why you cannot miss this conference. Discover new industry-tailored products and customer successes that will enable your digital business strategy.Find new ways to reduce complexity and increase responsiveness across your organization.

Join Bonnie D. Graham Live from Sap Sapphire Now 2017.Gain valuable insight into ways that digital transformation will help you reimagine your business.Take a look at all the reasons why you cannot miss this conference. Discover new industry-tailored products and customer successes that will enable your digital business strategy.Find new ways to reduce complexity and increase responsiveness across your organization.

Join Bonnie D. Graham Live from Sap Sapphire Now 2017.Gain valuable insight into ways that digital transformation will help you reimagine your business.Take a look at all the reasons why you cannot miss this conference. Discover new industry-tailored products and customer successes that will enable your digital business strategy.Find new ways to reduce complexity and increase responsiveness across your organization.

Join Bonnie D. Graham Live from Sap Sapphire Now 2017.Gain valuable insight into ways that digital transformation will help you reimagine your business.Take a look at all the reasons why you cannot miss this conference. Discover new industry-tailored products and customer successes that will enable your digital business strategy.Find new ways to reduce complexity and increase responsiveness across your organization.

Join Bonnie D. Graham Live from Sap Sapphire Now 2017.Gain valuable insight into ways that digital transformation will help you reimagine your business.Take a look at all the reasons why you cannot miss this conference. Discover new industry-tailored products and customer successes that will enable your digital business strategy.Find new ways to reduce complexity and increase responsiveness across your organization.

Join Bonnie D. Graham Live from Sap Sapphire Now 2017.Gain valuable insight into ways that digital transformation will help you reimagine your business.Take a look at all the reasons why you cannot miss this conference. Discover new industry-tailored products and customer successes that will enable your digital business strategy.Find new ways to reduce complexity and increase responsiveness across your organization.

The buzz: “There was more than $300M in venture capital invested in AI startups in 2014, a 300% increase (over 2013)” (Bloomberg).These are exciting times for business! Never has it been easier to harness innovations like artificial intelligence systems to drive productivity gains across your company. Think what you can do with speech and text recognition and visual image processing driving chatbots and digital assistants, and real-time complex data analysis understanding operational systems. The experts speak. Travis Tompkins, Deloitte: “If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice” (Neil Peart). Dr. Paul Pallath, SAP: “An approximate answer to the right question is worth a great deal more than a precise answer to the wrong question” (John Tukey). Kevin McConnell, SAP: “Never engage your enemy until you have a substantial advantage. If you do not have an advantage, change the rules until you do” (Sun Tzu). Join us for Machine Learning Trends Part 2: Harnessing AI.

The buzz: “It will not be a world of man versus machine. It will be a world of man plus machines” (Ginni Rometty, IBM). Reality check: The human brain is too slow to uncover complex, nuanced patterns in the massive data produced by today’s digital businesses. Why is this an issue? Your company needs to turn that data into intelligent insights to fuel your day-to-day business operations in every line of business, from Finance and HR to Sales and Marketing. The solution? Machine learning can harness that data into insights you can integrate into your enterprise applications and processes. The benefits? Grow your business, optimize efficiencies, support employees and delight customers. Who doesn't want all of that? The experts speak. David Jonker, SAP: “Just do it” (Nike trademark). Chandran Saravana, SAP: “Everything has to start with empathy for the end user (Bill McDermott, SAP CEO). Join us for Machine Learning Trends – Part 1: Enabling the Intelligent Enterprise.

The buzz: “What do you call a financial controller who always works through lunch, takes 2 days off every 2 years...and leaves every night after 10 PM? Lazy” (Accounting Day humor). Good news for corporate accountants. Continuous Accounting can reduce period-end workloads by distributing departmental workloads continuously across accounting periods via automation, integration, collaboration, streamlined processes, and instant insight to the entire business. You gain back time while transforming Finance. The experts speak. Isaac Tucker, Blackline: “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants” (Isaac Newton). Robert Kugel, Ventana Research: “Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning” (Ben Franklin). Elizabeth Milne, SAP: “The 7 most expensive words in business are: “We have always done it that way!” (C. DeVrye). Join us for Continuous Accounting for Finance: From Bean Counter to Strategic Partner.

The buzz: “This is a tricky universe we’re staffing up and engaging…the core goals are the same…human is the bottom line.” (Meghan M. Biro, TalentCulture). There’s no mistake the CHRO agenda is evolving…for the better. From the role of HR in the business to how people strategy is enabled through innovative processing and technology, now, more than ever, the CHRO is evaluating the who, what, when, where, why, and how of structuring and operationalizing the modern organization. Which business trends are impacting how HR leads and which technology trends will enable their success? The experts speak. Susan Steele, IBM: “I don’t stop when I’m tired. I only stop when I’m done.” (Maya Angelou) Victor Reyes, IBM: “Inspiration is for amateurs – the rest of us just show up and get to work.” (Chuck Close) Dr. Patti Fletcher, SAP SuccessFactors: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' To this day, especially in times of 'disaster,' I remember my mother's words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers--so many caring people in this world.” (Mr. Rogers aka Fred Rogers) Join us for CHROs and People Strategies: New Year Resolutions and Beyond – Part 2.

The buzz: “It was impossible to get a conversation going, everybody was talking too much” (Yogi Berra). 2016 was a pivotal year for Global 2000 companies to align practical AI applications and embrace intelligent, conversational technology. As enterprise tech gurus sang the praises of conversational AI’s potential, enterprises were listening with open minds and checkbooks. If you haven’t entered the Era of AI yet, join us to learn how to avoid pitfalls along the way. The experts speak. Gray Scott, SeriousWonder.com: “Everything we do, every thought we've ever had, is produced by the human brain. But exactly how it operates remains one of the biggest unsolved mysteries, and it seems the more we probe its secrets, the more surprises we find” (Neil deGrasse Tyson). Robin Kearon, Kore: “Success in creating AI, could be the biggest event in the history of our civilization” (Stephen Hawking). Join us for AI and the Conversational Era of Chatbots: Connecting People to Technology – Part 2.

The buzz: “It is as if every dollar bill in your pocket has a list written on it of all the transactions it was involved in prior to reaching your hands. The blockchain ledger infrastructure has huge potential to simplify” (Ted Halpern, www.nasdaq.com 03/29/17). As the switch to digital money via blockchain technology turns central banks into dinosaurs, many people are skeptical about whether to trust the security and privacy of transactions en route to the blockchain. You don't want neighbor Joe to suddenly own your condo. How to separate the hype surrounding blockchain from its real benefits? The experts speak. Jeremy Epstein, Never Stop Marketing: “Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it” (Puck). Alon Kantor, Check Point: “Technology is anything that wasn’t around when you were born” (Alan Kay). Raimund Gross, SAP: “If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old” (Peter Drucker). Join us for Money’s Digital Makeover–Part 2.

The buzz: “The world is drowning in cash – and it’s making us poorer while fueling a corrupt underground economy.” (K.S. Rogoff, The Curse of Cash). Jerry Maguire’s “Show me the money” is taking on new meaning: India demonetized its largest cash bills, switching to electronic money. Sharing Economy icons Uber and Airbnb don’t accept cash. Brick-and-mortar retailers require advance payment via mobile. Will Blockchain make us cashless soon? The experts speak. Prof. Rajeev Srinivasan, Travancore: “The corrupt are incorrigible and are still looking for unfair means to stock black money” (Narendra Modi). Simon Bain, SearchYourCloud: “Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves…tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining…” (A. de Saint-Exupéry). Nadine Hoffmann, SAP: “To find something, anything, a great truth or a lost pair of glasses, you must first believe there will be some advantage in finding it” (All The King’s Men). Join us for Money’s Digital Makeover – Part 1.

The buzz: “It’s getting harder and harder to differentiate between schizophrenics and people talking on a cell phone” (B. Newhart). Is mobile technology improving or endangering us? Picture this: While driving or walking, you find a restaurant, reserve a table for six, get directions, text info to your posse–all on your mobile device. But if you or your property are injured in the process, your next query may be: “Siri, where's the nearest hospital or tow truck?”The experts speak. Gavin Quinn, Mindset: “My friend's trying to convince me…any independent contractors who were working on the uncompleted Death Star were innocent victims when it was destroyed...” (Clerks). Scott Steadman, SAP: “We may encounter many defeats but we must NOT be defeated (M. Angelou). Pankaj Kumar, SAP: “A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools” (D. Adams). Join us for Mobile Technology: Dangerous vs Delightful?

The buzz: “High-impact HR organizations focus on continuous improvement, not radical HR transformation” (Stacey Harris). Organizations that fail to continually update their leadership approach are at risk of falling behind, with the pace of business change showing no signs of slowing. Executives of high-functioning “Digital Winners” excel at communicating a company-wide digital strategy, keeping manager and worker skills up-to-date, and streamlining organizational structure. They embrace diversity as an investment, listen to millennial executives, and invest in their workforce. How does company rate? The experts speak. Deidre Paknad, Workboard: “Time and tide wait for no man” (St. Marher & Chaucer). Jason Averbook, LeapGen: “If the rate of change on the outside exceeds the rate of change on the inside, the end is near” (Jack Welch). Dr. Patti Fletcher, SAP SuccessFactors: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” (Peter F. Drucker). Join us for Digital Winners: Making Digital HR Real.

The buzz: “We have to remember social over selling” (Viveka Von Rosen). “[Social networking risks]…Trickier to manage are lapses of etiquette, tone and consistency” (Barbara Giamanco and Kent Gregoire). The Golden Rule – “Do to others what you want them to do to you” – still applies in our digital world. Pop quiz for social sellers: Are you aggressively pursuing prospects, inundating them with your ads and trying to get into their newsfeed? Stop! It's time to “play nice” in the digital sandbox by serving as a listener, advisor and partner in their buying process. The experts speak. Kirsten Boileau, SAP: “Your customer doesn’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care” (Damon Richards). Hilary Carter, InTune Communications: “A fool with a tool is still a fool” (Grady Booch). Julio Viskovich, rFactr: “Saying hello doesn't have ROI. It's about building relationships” (Gary “Vee” Vaynerchuk). Join us for Social Selling and the Golden Rule: Manners Still Matter!

The buzz: “The most promising privacy thing is stupid phones. I’m dumping all my smart phones” (John McAfee). We as individuals have welcomed Internet-connected, often mobile devices to help us make daily decisions. But whether asking a chatbot for directions or researching products online, youre leaving digital breadcrumbs that advertisers, manufacturers, and others can capture and analyze to build detailed profiles about your lifestyle. Do you care who sees and uses your private data? Should you? The experts speak. Brian Kilcourse, RRS Research: “If we’re going to be connected, we've got to be protected...” (Barack Obama). Frank Diana, TCS: ““Simply put, it is possible to have convenience if you want to tolerate insecurity, but if you want security, you must be prepared for inconvenience” (Gen. B W. Chidlaw). Larry Stolle, SAP: “The way I see it, if you want to see the rainbow you have to put up with the rain!” (Dolly Parton) Join us for You Don’t Own Me: But What About My Data?

The buzz: “Blockchain is much bigger than Bitcoin and its reach is far more holistic.” (forum.daohub.org) In search of the holy grail of a unified customer profile, marketers have built massive databases for up-sells, cross-sells, promotions, retention. But what if the customer forces you to PAY THEM to access and use their data, read your ad, view your video, attend your seminar? Welcome to the new reality of blockchain technology. Best known as the infrastructure for Bitcoin, blockchains are altering the marketer-customer relationship. The experts speak. Jeremy Epstein, Never Stop Marketing: “There’s something happening here, what it is ain’t exactly clear” (Buffalo Springfield). Amanda Gutterman, ConsenSys: “Never allow a person to tell you ‘no’ who doesn't have the power to say ‘yes’” (Eleanor Roosevelt). Joel Monegro, Union Square Ventures: “History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme” (Mark Twain). Join us for Blockchain Technology: Turning Marketing on Its Head?

The buzz: “Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to go shopping” (Bo Derek). Ongoing digital innovations in our hyper-connected world have dramatically impacted consumer buying behaviors and expectations, challenging retailers to change or become obsolete. Smart retailers are already taking action to avoid becoming dinosaurs. But is it too late for the laggards? The experts speak. Brian Kilcourse, Retail Systems Research: “Amazon and online sales is killing traditional retail, and what’s true there is going to be true throughout our economy” (U.S. President Barack Obama, Jan. 2017). Doug Stephens, Retail Prophet: “We try to rationalize why innovations from other sectors don’t apply to us, rather than focusing on why they do” (George Blankenship, Apple, Tesla, GAP). Greg McStravick, SAP: “There is nothing wrong with change if it is in the right direction” (Sir Winston Churchill). Join us for Retail in 5 Years: Digital Dinosaurs vs Survivors – Part 2.

The buzz: “The modern CFO is often the right-hand man or woman of the CEO” (Fox Business 10/24/13). Your Finance department is at a critical juncture. Gone are the days when CFOs just reported on past results. The modern office of Finance can help navigate your enterprise forward using Dynamic Planning and Analysis technologies to simulate in-the-moment complex scenarios, leverage advanced visualizations and simplify complex predictive analytics. The experts speak. Jeff Hattendorf, Macrospect: “A bad system will beat a good person every time” (W. Edwards Deming). Rob Ried, Deloitte: “Go out and collect data and, instead of having the answer, just look at the data and see if the data tells you anything. When we're allowed to do this with companies, it's almost magical” (Steven Levitt). Floyd Conrad, SAP: “The best way to predict the future is to create it” (Dennis Gabor). Join us for Finance Manager’s Guide to the Future: Dynamic Planning and Analysis.

The buzz: “People are hungry for stories. It’s part of our very being” (Studs Terkel). Everyone loves, craves, and has a story. But many companies approach prospects and customers with boring, crammed power point slides devoid of action, conflict and emotion. Did you forget that these people are human? Solution: Frame your information like an action movie–with a hero and a villain–that your potential buyer would watch in a theater, as they munch popcorn. Why? Powerful storytelling can propel your sales effort to a new level of trust and customer loyalty. The experts speak. Michael Margolis, Get Storied: “Those who tell the stories, rule the world” (Plato). Heidi Berenson, Berenson Communications: “Does anyone have questions for my answers?” (Henry Kissinger). Janis Fratamico, SAP: “When you slip on a banana peel, people laugh at you. But when you tell people you slipped on a banana peel, it's your laugh” (Nora Ephron). Join us for Tell Me a Great Story: Role of Storytelling in Sales.

The buzz: “For last year’s words belong to last year’s language And next year’s words await another voice” (T.S. Eliot). 2017 brings the opportunity to start with a clean slate, despite your mistakes last year. It’s also a time to pull on your “big girl (and boy) pants” and face the ugly issues you swept under the rug last year…and in years before. We invite small business owners to bravely look in the dark corners you’d prefer to avoid. Why? By shining the light, you’ll build a stronger, more prosperous business in 2017! The experts speak. Nina Kaufman, Esq.: “There are no shortcuts to anyplace worth going” (Beverly Sills). Nance L. Schick, Esq.: “A quiet conscience makes one strong (Anne Frank). Renée L. Duff, Esq.: “The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small, manageable tasks...then starting on that first one” (Mark Twain). Join us for Legal Lessons for Women Business Owners - Part 5: How to Clear Your Legal Clutter for the New Year.

The buzz: Crystal ball for 2017. If #1 on your business wish list is to know what 2017 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we’ve got insightful predictions from more than 75 thought leaders about the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete in 2017 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2017 Predictions – Part 5 live. Hear our complete 5-part special on-demand at Coffee Break with Game-Changers Radio. Featured guests: Larry Stolle, SAP; Marisa Kopec, SiriusDecisions; Sheila McGovern, IBM; Tamara Schenk, Miller Heiman Group; Dave Duggal, EnterpriseWeb; Maria Haggen, SAP; Elvia Novak, Deloitte; Christopher Carter, Approyo; Carlos A. Russell, Ternium; Vic Briccardi, RTS Consulting; Rich Seltz, SAP; Matt Donovan, GP Strategies Learning Solutions; Sherryanne Meyer, ASUG; Sathish Gajaraju, Sensify; Ken Redler, cSubs; Padman Ramankutty, Intrigo. Happy new year from SAP Game-Changers Radio!

The buzz: Crystal ball for 2017. If #1 on your business wish list is to know what 2017 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. We’re bringing you insightful predictions about the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete in 2017 and beyond, from more than 75 thought leaders. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2017 Predictions – Part 4 live. And tune in Jan. 18 for the final segment of this 5-part special. Featured guests: Jason A. Shepherd, Dell; Bridget E. Karlin, Intel; Jeff A. Goldberg, Accenture; Jeff Doneghue, BUNN; Fred Yentz, Telit; Tanguy Caillet, EY; Lil Mohan, University of Chicago; Barbara Giamanco, Social Centered Selling; Charlie Cole, TUMI; Thomas Foley, LenovoHealth; David Fowler, SAP; Srikanth Tamma, Deloitte; Linda Hamilton CPA LLC; Janaki Kumar, SAP; Tony Cusat, ADP; Robert Kugel, CFA, Ventana Research. Happy new year from SAP Game-Changers Radio!

The buzz: Crystal ball for 2017. If your #1 business wish this holiday is to know what 2017 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. We’re bringing you insightful predictions about the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete in 2017 and beyond, from more than 75 thought leaders. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2017 Predictions – Part 3 live. Tune in Jan. 11 and 18 for the rest of our Special. Featured guests: Hilary Carter, InTune Communications; Surendra Reddy, Quantiply; Bryan Mattimore, Growth Engine Company; Frank Diana, TCS; Charlotte Bui, SAP; Robin Kearon, Kore; Alan Mendel, LeverX; Sharon Cook, Hypercision; Laz Uriza, SAP; Mario M. Martinez Jr., M3Jr Growth Strategies; Michael Maniccia, Deloitte; Dror Orbach, Illumiti; Stephanie Huber, Deloitte; Bill Jensen, Mr. Simplicity; David Axson, Accenture; Shannon Platz, SAP. Happy holidays from SAP Game-Changers Radio.

The buzz: Crystal ball for 2017. If your #1 business wish this holiday is to know what 2017 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. We’re bringing you more than 70 thought leaders’ insightful predictions for the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete in 2017 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2017 Predictions – Part 2 live. And tune in Jan. 4, 11, and 18 for the rest of this special feature. Our featured guests: Timo Elliott, SAP; Nance L. Schick, Esq.; Mal Poulin, ANCILE; Bryan Hicks, SAP; Jerry Silva, IDC; Sanjay Kumar, Hortonworks; Nicole Sahin, Globalization Partners; Jim Fields, SAP; Jeff Hattendorf, Macrospect; Sandi Webster, Consultants 2 Go; Sudha Jamthe, IoT Disruptions; Richard McCammon, Delego Software; Heather Ashton, IDC; Fabiana Lacerca-Allen, Ethiprax; Pieter van Schalkwyk, XMPro; John Sullivan, SAP. Happy holidays from SAP Game-Changers Radio!

The buzz: Crystal ball time! If your #1 business wish this holiday is to know what 2017 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. On Dec. 7, 14, and Jan. 4, 11 and 18, we’ll bring you more than 50 thought leaders’ insightful predictions for the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete in 2017 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2017 Predictions – Part 1 live! Featured guests: Gray Scott, SeriousWonder,com; Otto Schell, GM; Jonah Manning, PeopleOps Consulting; Shaun Stüger, BoodsKapper LLC; Dr. Steven Hunt, SAP SuccessFactors; Guillermo B. Vazquez, Deloitte; Jeremy C. Thomas, Carom; Sam Parikh, Deloitte; Rick Varner, Gartner; Alon Kantor, Check Point; Simon Bain, SearchYourCloud; Prof. Rajeev Srinivasan, Indian Institute of Management; Todd Asevedo, SAP SuccessFactors; Barbara Ocain, SAP SuccessFactors, Mark Noronha, SAP Startup Focus. Happy holidays!

The buzz: Crystal ball for 2017. If your #1 business wish this holiday is to know what 2017 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. We’re bringing you more than 70 thought leaders’ insightful predictions for the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete in 2017 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2017 Predictions – Part 2 live. And tune in Jan. 4, 11, and 18 for the rest of this special feature. Our featured guests: Timo Elliott, SAP; Nance L. Schick, Esq.; Mal Poulin, ANCILE; Bryan Hicks, SAP; Jerry Silva, IDC; Sanjay Kumar, Hortonworks; Nicole Sahin, Globalization Partners; Jim Fields, SAP; Jeff Hattendorf, Macrospect; Sandi Webster, Consultants 2 Go; Sudha Jamthe, IoT Disruptions; Richard McCammon, Delego Software; Heather Ashton, IDC; Fabiana Lacerca-Allen, Ethiprax; Pieter van Schalkwyk, XMPro; John Sullivan, SAP. Happy holidays from SAP Game-Changers Radio!

The buzz: Crystal ball time! If your #1 business wish this holiday is to know what 2017 holds for your company, your industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. On Dec. 7, 14, and Jan. 4, 11 and 18, we’ll bring you more than 50 thought leaders’ insightful predictions for the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete in 2017 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2017 Predictions – Part 1 live! Featured guests: Gray Scott, SeriousWonder,com; Otto Schell, GM; Jonah Manning, PeopleOps Consulting; Shaun Stüger, BoodsKapper LLC; Dr. Steven Hunt, SAP SuccessFactors; Guillermo B. Vazquez, Deloitte; Jeremy C. Thomas, Carom; Sam Parikh, Deloitte; Rick Varner, Gartner; Alon Kantor, Check Point; Simon Bain, SearchYourCloud; Prof. Rajeev Srinivasan, Indian Institute of Management; Todd Asevedo, SAP SuccessFactors; Barbara Ocain, SAP SuccessFactors, Mark Noronha, SAP Startup Focus. Happy holidays!

The buzz: “Impossible is not a fact. It is an opinion” (Muhammad Ali).A unique clustering of inventions in the century after the U.S. Civil War improved the American and European standard of living – human well-being – more than any period before or after, with advances in everything from food and energy to health and work. Can our current innovation explosion have a similar impact despite unintended consequences? Three futurists speak. Frank Diana, TCS: “I cannot discover that anyone knows enough about anything on this earth definitely to say what is and what is not possible” (Henry Ford). Gerd Leonhard, Futurist: “In dealing with the future, it is far more important to be imaginative than to be right” (Alvin Toffler, Future Shock). Timo Elliott, SAP: “The real problem of humanity is that we have paleolithic emotions; medieval institutions; and god-like technology. And it is terrifically dangerous” (E. O. Wilson). Join us for The Innovation Explosion: Replicating a Special Century?

The buzz: “Shall we play a game?” -WarGames, 1983 film. Successful Fortune 500 companies anticipate—and often invent—the future before their competitors do. Why? They know that anticipating industry disruptions is predominantly a creative act. Their secret weapon? Competitive “war gaming” exercises that produce solid defensive strategies and innovative offensive growth strategies to help them proactively foresee new services, products, and business models. Whatever your company’s size, maturity and industry, you, too, can benefit from designing, running and experiencing a disruptive war gaming session. We’ve got insider tips for you. Ready? The experts speak. Bryan W. Mattimore, Growth Engine Company: “Mortal danger is an effective antidote for fixed ideas” -Erwin Rommel. Christopher Bishop, improvising careers: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is equivalent to magic” -Arthur C. Clarke. Join us for Disruptive War Gaming: A Critical Tool for Today’s Innovators – Part 2.

The buzz: “I want to be around people that dream…and do things” (Amy Poehler). Forty-six percent of US privately held firms are at least half owned by women and represent ~16 million jobs. But while female entrepreneurship is rising, male-owned businesses are 3.5 times more likely to reach $1 million in annual revenues. With just 2 percent of US women-owned businesses earning $1M a year, what resources, leadership skills and strengths do female startups need to scale to their full potential? The experts speak. Kerrie MacPherson, EY: “Women are powerhouse entrepreneurs. The research shows that when women entrepreneurs succeed, they drive economic growth and invest more back into their families and communities” (President Barack Obama). Kat Vorotova, Try The World: “Teach girls bravery, not perfection” (Reshma Saujani). Dr. Patti Fletcher, SAP SuccessFactors: “I’m unstoppable because I don’t know how to stop” (Tina Fey). Join us for Female Entrepreneurs: Overcoming Hurdles to Success.

The buzz: “Cities are never random.” (Neal Shusterman) Cities around the world are on a mission: maintain a safe, clean, well-oiled, inclusive urban environment for residents, businesses, and visitors. The key is to perform mundane tasks more efficiently than ever. But how to automatically clear storm drains in a downpour, repair street light outages, keep traffic flowing efficiently 24/7? The solution: real-time IoT sensors. The experts speak. Meghan Cook, Center for Technology in Government, SUNY: “The power of storytelling is exactly this: to bridge the gaps where everything else has crumbled” (Paulo Coelho). Dina Dayal, SAP: “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there” (Will Rogers). Saj Kumar, SAP: “I don't think of myself predicting things. I'm expressing possibilities. Things that could happen. To a large extent it's a question of how badly people want them to” (Freeman Dyson). Join us for Smart Cities, Smart Streets: IoT to the Rescue –Part 3.

The buzz: “Shall we play a game?” -WarGames, 1983 film. Successful Fortune 500 companies anticipate—and often invent—the future before their competitors do. Why? They know that anticipating industry disruptions is predominantly a creative act. Their secret weapon? Competitive “war gaming” exercises that produce solid defensive strategies and innovative offensive growth strategies to help them proactively foresee new services, products, and business models. Whatever your company’s size, maturity and industry, you, too, can benefit from designing, running and experiencing a disruptive war gaming session. We’ve got insider tips for you. Ready? The experts speak. Bryan W. Mattimore, Growth Engine Company: “Mortal danger is an effective antidote for fixed ideas” -Erwin Rommel. Christopher Bishop, improvising careers: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is equivalent to magic” -Arthur C. Clarke. Join us for Disruptive War Gaming: A Critical Tool for Today’s Innovators – Part 2.

The buzz: The Electric Slide. News flash for Utilities: You can no longer be profitable on a one-sided business model providing power to customers. Enter the prosumer. While the consumer is utility-dependent and generates revenues, the prosumer and utility are interdependent. The utility needs the prosumer’s commitment to reduce electricity use or supply it to the grid at specified times, and the prosumer needs the utility’s kilowatts and gets a new omni-channel experience. The experts speak. Robert Thiele, OpenText: 'We used to live in a world where there are people, private citizens, a world where there are businesses, and now…people can become businesses in 60 seconds' -Brian Chesky, Airbnb. Jacqueline Robinson, DTE Energy: 'Restlessness and discontent are the first necessities of progress' -Thomas Edison. James McClelland, SAP: 'Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake' -Napoleon Bonaparte. Join us for New Energy Era Prosumers: Utility-Customer Partnership.

The buzz: “Change is the law of life…those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future” -JFKennedy. The term “digital transformation” is ubiquitous, but what does it really mean? Easy answer: software and technology adoption. Not! Digital transformation is about changing everything else – business activities, models, activities, processes, competencies, organizations, operations. It requires deeper thought about strategic topics, plus even deeper commitment to adopt, innovate and achieve continuing success. Is your company on the right path? The experts speak. Jeremy C. Thomas, Carom: “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original” -Sir Ken Robinson. Jennifer Ford, SAP: “Don’t loaf and invite inspiration: light out after it with a club” -Jack London. Charlotte Bui, SAP: “Success is most often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable” -Coco Chanel. Join us for The Future of Designing Innovation: Part 2.

The buzz: 'The unicorn is noble' -German folk song. Wow! Companies led by EY Entrepreneur Of The Year winners are among the most successful in the world, generating 3T dollars in revenue, creating 13M jobs, outperforming the US market in stock returns and longevity. The majority go public at 300 percent the rate of US private companies. How did EY identify these 'unicorns'? What entrepreneurial lessons can your company learn from them about managing risk, finding talent, balancing growth with social purpose? The experts speak. Herb Engert, EY: “The greatest leader…is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things” -R. Reagan. Steve Strauss, USA Today: “Thinking about what one little man could do. Think of the Queen Mary…there's a tiny thing at the edge of the rudder called a trimtab…call me ‘Trimtab’” -R. B. Fuller. Steve Peck, SAP: “And, in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make” -The Beatles. Join us for Learning from The Unicorns: EY Entrepreneur Of The Year.

The buzz: 'I’m gonna tell Mom on you.' Women remain under-represented in government, boards, C-suite and influential business roles, often due to unconscious bias. A man named John or David is more likely than a woman to be on a board. But the unintentional blame-and-shame messages in workplace diversity and inclusion programs often leave many men feeling excluded and alienated. How can we get past the gender-divide to value the entire workforce? The experts speak. Tinna C. Nielsen, Move The Elephant: “I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear: knowing what must be done does away with fear” -R. Parks. Nicole McCabe, SAP: “One of the greatest needs of mankind is to be lifted above the morass of false propaganda” -M.L. King, Jr. Dr. Patti Fletcher, SAP SuccessFactors: “Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward” -N. Mandela. Join us for Diversity and Inclusion Minus the Blame and Shame.

The buzz: Mom, are we there yet? We’re seeing a ground-swell of policy and practice discussions and activities about the under-representation of women in the boardroom, C-suite and high-growth entrepreneurship. The Lean-In Revolution has brought men into the conversation and spurred women’s power networks. More venture capital firms, angel investment groups, and accelerator programs are aimed at female-founded high-growth startups. Have women in business arrived? The experts speak. Nicole Sahin, Globalization Partners: “I just love bossy women…To me, bossy is not a pejorative term at all. It means somebody’s passionate and engaged and ambitious and doesn’t mind leading” -Amy Poehler. Tanya M. Odom, Global Consultant: “In a gentle way, you can shake the world” -Gandhi. Dr. Patti Fletcher, SAP SuccessFactors: “The doing is the thing. The talking and worrying and thinking is not the thing” -Amy Poehler. Join us for Gender Equity in Business: Is It the Age of the Woman Yet?

The buzz: 'Welcome to the future' -B. Paisley. Move over, 4th Industrial Revolution! Welcome to the 5th Industrial Revolution with intelligent robots, 3D-printed human organs, drones fetching warehouse orders, and driverless cars. Bhaskar Chakravorti describes it as 'the fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres.' The experts speak. Jason Coffman, Deloitte Consulting: 'If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour... you're gonna see some serious s--t' -'Doc', Back to the Future, 1985. Sean Molloy, itelligence, Inc: 'I do not think that there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance' -J.D. Rockefeller. David Parrish, SAP: 'The last time the Cubs won the World Series was 1908. The last time they were in one was 1945. Hey, any team can have a bad century' -T. Trebelhorn. Join us for Digital Manufacturing Part 3: Powering the 5th Industrial Revolution.

The buzz: “I fell off my pink cloud with a thud.” -Elizabeth Taylor. By 2019, cloud software delivery will grow to 112 Billion dolars –five times faster than traditional software– leveling the IT playing field. With uneasiness, skepticism and “technical acrophobia” about the cloud mostly a thing of the past, cloud adoption could grow from 22 percent today to 32 percent in the next 24 months. The main beneficiaries? Small and mid-sized businesses -SMBs. But should they still worry about reliability, availability, data security, and pricing complexity? The experts speak. Tim Fuller, EY: “Sooner or later, everything old is new again” -Stephen King. Eric Gunther, SAP: “My dear, here we must run as fast as we can, just to stay in place. And if you wish to go anywhere you must run twice as fast as that” -Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland. Steve Day, SAP: “I shall either find a way or make one” -Aut viam inveniam aut faciam, Hercules, Oedipus, Hannibal. Join us for Cloud Computing: Growth, Adoption and SMBs.

The buzz: It’s NOT like “déjà vu all over again”! -Yogi Berra. Wake up call for the Chemical industry: Digital Transformation is real and more relevant than ever for your businesses. Reality check: Many of them still think of “digital” only as a way to improve manufacturing and supply chain. But today’s digital is a path to becoming more agile and productive, growing profitability and achieving sustainable competitiveness. The time has come for the industry to refocus your digital lens on the future – and that starts now. The experts speak. Greg Gorbach, ARC Advisory Group: “If we have data, let’s look at data. If all we have are opinions, let’s go with mine” -Jim Barksdale. Charles Wallace, Solenis: “Some people don’t like change, but you need to embrace change if the alternative is disaster” -Elon Musk. Rich Seltz, SAP: “If you have always done it that way, it is probably wrong” -Charles Kettering. Join us for Chemical Industry: Digital Transformation as a Success Model.

The buzz: Knock Knock! Futurist Edie Weiner coined the term ‘templosion’ to describe rapid and massive changes in increasingly shorter timeframes. As the templosive acceleration of digital transformation – Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Smart Machines – disrupts tech-laggard Finance, do they need a new business model to adopt and adapt? The experts speak. Sam Parikh, Deloitte: 'Computers themselves, and software yet to be developed, will revolutionize the way we learn' -S. Jobs. Jon Essig, SimpleFi: 'There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home' -K. Olson. Srikanth Tamma, Deloitte: 'Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius…to move in the opposite direction' -E.F. Schumacher. Karuna Mukherjea, SAP: 'Insight is not a light bulb that goes off inside our heads. It is a flickering candle that can easily be snuffed out' -M. Gladwell. Join us for Templosion, Technology and Future of Finance Part 3.

The buzz: Living for the City -Stevie Wonder, 1974-. Violent attacks in Florida, France, Texas and Turkey make public safety a top global concern. Can governments protect us in our homes, in public, at work and play? Tech advances in facial recognition, geo-fencing, streaming multi-source data analytics offer law enforcement and security organizations better awareness, sensing, detection and prediction across the public safety value chain. But must we choose between personal safety and data privacy? The experts speak. Sara Gardner, Hitachi Insight Group: 'Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future' Niels Bohr. Ruthbea Yesner Clarke, IDC: 'The problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into your mind, but how to get olds ones out' Dee Hock. Marlyn Zelkowitz, SAP: 'Our technological powers increase, but the side effects and potential hazards also escalate' Alvin Toffler. Join us for Making Cities Safer and Smarter: The Internet of Things – Part 2.

The buzz: Talk is not cheap! With dramatic workforce and business changes – multi-generations at work, gender inequity challenges, developing economies and globalization –it’s high time for the CHRO role to evolve. How? For starters, the CHRO can build transformational value-based relationships with HR supporting the business and strategies, engage permanent and external workers in new collaborations, use consumer-style tools and social HR to better engage the workforce, and more. Where to begin? The experts speak. Tim Good, Accenture: 'To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time' -Leonard Bernstein-. Dan Ward, Author: 'I get a lot of ideas at the beach' -Jim Ottaviani and Leland Myrick, 'Feynman' biography-. Jewell Parkinson, SAP: 'I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel' -Maya Angelou-. Join us for CHROs: Time for a New Conversation – Part 2.

The buzz: The Gambler (K. Rogers). Business ownership can be a Coney Island rollercoaster. One moment, an exhilarating ride up; the next, a frightening plummet down. There are thousands of guidebooks, but no one has ever walked in your shoes with precisely your mix of talents, opportunities, and obstacles. How do you know “when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em?” if you don’t know what’s “normal” or how to solve the unique challenges of running your own business? The experts speak. Nina Kaufman, Esq.: “I believe that if life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade... And try to find somebody whose life has given them vodka, and have a party” (Ron White). Nance L. Schick, Esq.: “Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else” (Les Brown). Renée L. Duff, Esq.: “Conflict cannot survive without your participation (Wayne Dyer). Join us for Legal Lessons for Women Business Owners Part 4: Don’t Make a Federal Case out of It.

The buzz: 'Takin’ Care of Business'. According to Forbes Magazine, 543,000 new businesses launch each month in the U.S. The catch: of the 28 million U.S. small businesses, 22.5 owners are self-employed, average 44,000 in annual revenue and have no employees. Is that the life you want now? Could you ever retire? Tune in for secrets -and not so secrets- to building a business that runs independently, instead of running your life. The experts speak. Nina Kaufman, Esq.: 'As an entrepreneur, you have to be OK with failure. If you’re not failing, you’re likely not pushing yourself hard enough' Alexa von Tobel. Susan Solovic, THE Small Business Expert: 'The man who comes up with a means for doing or producing almost anything better, faster or more economically has his future and his fortune at his fingertips' John Paul Getty. Edward 'EJ' Jackson, SAP Anywhere: 'There are no mistakes. Only new paths to explore' Gregory David Roberts. Join us for Build a Business, Not Just A Job.

The buzz: The Internet of Who (Whom)? The Internet was created in 1969 to facilitate the free flow of information. The IoT inherited this spirit. Fast forward to 2016. With cameras and emerging connected devices collecting and reporting data about our lives, it seems we’re designing the IoT to quantify and see ourselves clearly, like a virtual mirror. It’s time to take a step back and examine what this all means and whom it benefits now and in the future. What to call it? The “IoT of the Self”. Are you ready or do you need to run for cover? The experts speak. Gray Scott, Futurist: “Technological advances could allow us to see more clearly into our own lives” (Kevin Kelly). David Jonker, SAP: “… if hundreds of millions of people do that, you have a big cloud of data about people's behavior that can be crawled through by pattern recognition algorithms” (John Battelle, The Human Face of Big Data). Join us for Here’s Looking at YOU, Kid: IoT of the Self and CyberCrime – Part 3.

The buzz: Stressed? Join the crowd. 78% of employers in the 2013/14 Staying@Work™ Survey said stress is the #1 workforce risk. We have a solution: Radical Resiliency. But individuals, managers and senior executives face tough challenges in achieving it for themselves, their employees and their culture. How to overcome and prevail? The experts speak Eileen McDargh, The Resiliency Group: “It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn’t use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like ‘What about lunch?’” (Winnie the Pooh). Bill Jensen, Mr. Simplicity: “What we leave behind is not as important as how we lived” (Capt. Jean Luc Picard). Dr. Terry Paulson, Paulson and Associates: “A healthy person goes 'Yes,' 'No,' and 'Whoopee!' An unhealthy person goes 'Yes, but,' 'No, but,' and 'No whoopee’ (Eric Berne). Kathy Dempsey, Keep Shedding!: “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened” [Dr. Seuss]. Join us for Radical Resiliency: Start Your Engines, People! – Part 2.

The buzz: Show me the money? Our current financial world is rife with inefficiencies: cross-border payments take days and cost money, inter-bank funds are slow, accessing money is cumbersome, trading securities takes time. Hail, cryptocurrency! Bitcoin and blockchain were created to solve some of these challenges. How does it work? Should your business, your industry, and you personally adopt this new form of currency? What are the risks? The experts speak. Angus Champion de Crespigny, EY: “It's not worth doing something unless you were doing something that someone, somewhere, would much rather you weren’t doing” (Terry Pratchett). Richard McCammon, Delego: “…Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted” (William B. Cameron). Gerlinde Zibulski, SAP: “The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas, but in escaping from old ones” (John Maynard Keynes). Join us for Bitcoin/Blockchain: Hype or Hope for a New Secure Cryptocurrency?

The buzz: “We just have a way of getting ourselves into hot water” (Carl Wilson, The Beach Boys). How Social Selling is conducted and how a brand is portrayed in social media – whether undertaken by the PR department, sales force or an individual worker in a large company, or by a small enterprise or a new start-up entrepreneur – can have big ramifications for the company, good and bad. If you’re not paying attention to the lurking pitfalls related to how you can contact prospects, what you can convey, and how to properly use company intellectual property assets, tune in and take notes! The experts speak. Renée L. Duff, Esq.: “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal” (Earl Nightingale). Peter Hoppenfeld, Attorney At Law: “When you see a fork in the road, take it” (Yogi Berra). Kirsten Boileau, SAP: “The best way to predict the future is to create it” (Peter Drucker). Join us for Social Selling, Social Media and The Law: How’s Your Brand Doing?

The buzz: “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” The key to a healthy population is more than an individual’s personal decisions and behaviors. Genetic science says the fault may be in our stars, after all. Can population-based wellness programs be equitable when our genes, cultures and environments make good health a stroll for some but an uphill battle for others? Is Big Data the new Big Brother? The experts speak. Dr. Paul Tunnah, pharmaphorum: “Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing” (Warren Buffett). Michael Maniccia, Deloitte: “We’d like to help you learn to help yourself. Look around you, all you see are sympathetic eyes (Paul Simon, Mrs. Robinson). Petra Streng, SAP: “In the real world there is no nature vs. nurture argument, only an infinitely complex and moment-by-moment interaction between genetic and environmental effects” (Dr. Gabor Maté). Join us for The Behavior Side of Preventive Medicine: Genetic Science and Big Data – Part 3.

The buzz: “Trust, but verify.” (Ronald Reagan) Social Selling is real - now! How do we know? The numbers. Sales people not using social media missed quota 15% more often than peers who do (Hubspot). Directors with SSI 70 were promoted 1.6X faster to VP than those with SSI 30 in the past two years (LinkedIn profile data). Sounds great, but you may still need to convince your entire sales organization to internalize and adopt a new selling and engagement strategy. How? The right training and follow-up programs. The experts speak. Barbara Giamanco, Social Centered Selling: “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory, tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat” (Sun Tsu). Mario M. Martinez Jr., M3Jr Growth Strategies: “What got you here, won't get you there” (Marshall Goldsmith). Kirsten Boileau, SAP: “Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge” (Plato). Join us for Social Selling Adoption: How to Make It Happen – Part 2.

The buzz: Boom! The speed of technological innovation is leading to a world of “Templosion (Edie Weiner): massive changes happening in increasingly compressed timeframes. The impacts of this plus digital transformation will even be felt in Finance, where Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Smart Machines will play a role. What business models will guide Finance as it adopts and adapts to disruptive technologies? The experts speak. Sam Parikh, Deloitte: “Contrary to popular belief, transformation cannot be based on a single event, advice, book, or seminar…real transformation requires the formation of new thinking patterns and behavioral habit.” (Med Jones). Jon Essig, SimpleFi: “It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory” (W. Edwards Deming). Karuna Mukherjea, SAP: “In a world that's changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks (Mark Zuckerberg). Join us for Templosion, Technology and the Future of Finance–Part 2.

The buzz: Every day is a revolution. Welcome to the future. The upside: The 4th industrial Revolution’s smart factories, connected machines, and IIoT offer limitless possibilities for collaborative robotics, digital twins, and myriad “smart” use cases. At the heart of it all: the industrial machinery and components (IM&C) industry. The downside: Information overload and insufficient cybersecurity are barriers to capitalizing on the near-term estimated $15 trillion IIoT opportunity. Why you should care: This all impacts your business, your career and your personal life. The experts speak. Sean Molloy, itelligence, Inc: “Thought, not money, is the real business capital (Harvey S. Firestone). Jason Coffman, Deloitte: “A man who has no imagination has no wings (Muhammad Ali). David Parrish, SAP: “It was impossible to get a conversation going, everybody was talking too much...” (Yogi Berra). Join us for Digital Manufacturing: Powering the 4th Industrial Revolution – Part 2.

The buzz: Knowledge is power. Reality check for utilities. Digitization and the exponential growth of mobile devices are changing your customer engagement. But still fewer than half of customers are digitally connected with their utility. Your challenge: If you’re not talking to your customer, they’re not listening to you. Solution: Rethink your customer engagement model. Reimagine your business models. Now! The experts speak. Jacqueline Robinson, DTE Energy: “You cannot look in a new direction by looking harder in the same direction (Edward deBono). Robert Thiele, OpenText: “What I worry about the most is the competition for young eyeballs. We have so many other competing forms of media. I don't take any audience members for granted” (Chris Meledandri). James McClelland, SAP: “Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future” (John F. Kennedy). Join us for Digitization: Changing the Utilities Customer Engagement – Part 2.

The buzz: WHY ME? Business ownership is tough, especially when clients push back on your pricing, employees act like four-year olds, vendors don’t deliver as promised. Add to that the fear of growing at a snail’s pace, while others soar. Is it possible to reclaim your power and use the law as a tool to strengthen your business foundation and relationships? “Yes!” say three legal experts. They’ll share legal pitfalls that many women—and men—entrepreneurs encounter, and how to sidestep them. Take notes! The experts speak. Nina Kaufman, Esq.: “Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn” (Harriet Beecher Stowe). Nance L. Schick, Esq.: “Order and simplification are the first steps towards the mastery of a subject” ((Paul) Thomas Mann). Renée L. Duff, Esq.: “Believe it can be done. When you believe something can be done, really believe, your mind will find the ways to do it (David J. Schwartz). Join us for Legal Lessons for Women Business Owners–Part 3.

The buzz: What’s a vacation? Entrepreneurs and business owners have always carried the weight of their company, with precious few days off. Now pressure to “mind the store” is literally always-on, with digital customers online 24/7 from every device and location, 74% using social networks to make a buying decision and share experiences. How can small players use social selling, digital decision tools and ecommerce solutions – but retain their uniqueness – to compete with the “big kids”? The experts speak. Lil Mohan, University of Chicago: “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place” (George Bernard Shaw). Max Dower, Unfortunate Portrait: “A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is – it is what consumers tell each other it is” (Scott Cook). Susan Reynolds, SAP: “The start-ups that do well are the ones that are working all the time” (Sam Altman). Join us for Becoming Digital, Staying Human: Be True to You and Your Business – Part 2.

The buzz: Woo woo or woo hoo? Companies like yours across all industry sectors are trying to deal with almost daily security threats to your networks and devices. Can available Security Incident and Event Monitoring (SIEM) analytics tools help you mine and analyze data to protect your vital data from eagerly prying eyes? Ideally, the analytics will enable you to detect and prevent future attacks, recover quickly from present breaches, and learn from past vulnerabilities. Ready for a reality check? The experts speak. Paul Alvarez, EY: “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit” (Harry Truman). Richard McCammon, Delego Software: “Be vigilant, for nothing one achieves lasts forever” (Tahar Ben Jelloun). Gerlinde Zibulski, SAP: “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge” (Stephen Hawking). Join us for Security Breach Threat Analysis and Intelligence: Just Voodoo or Real Help?

The buzz: “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” Businesses used to focus on the goods they produced. Now that customers in the Digital Economy demand faster, better ways to receive what they buy, product delivery logistics could become as critical to B2B business success as to B2Cs. How do you know if this is right for your business model? The experts speak. Sunil Daluvoy, Uber Technologies: “If you’re competitor-focused, you have to wait until there is a competitor doing something. Being customer-focused allows you to be more pioneering” (Jeff Bezos). Charlie Cole, Tumi: ““Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light” (Dylan Thomas). Hari Ashvini, SAP: “The price of doing the same old thing is far higher than the price of change” (Bill Clinton). Join us for One-Hour Doorstep Delivery: Can It Transform Your Business?

The buzz: Good, better best. Never let it rest. How can any corporation partner with the right social enterprise to create sustainable and scalable social good to support the world’s future? Hear answers from those in the know at Google, SAP and Livox. Take notes! The experts speak. Dr. Arie Meir, Google.org : “Technology is nothing. What's important is that you have a faith in people, that they're basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they'll do wonderful things with them” (Steve Jobs). Carlos Pereira, Livox: “If all my possessions were taken from me with one exception, I would choose to keep the power of communication, for by it I would soon regain all the rest (Daniel Webster). Nish Pangali, SAP: “We begin to change the world when we stimulate long-term prosperity using technology. There is not a problem that's large enough that innovation and entrepreneurship can't solve” (Naveen Jain). Join us for Corporate Social Innovation: Good for Society and Business–Part 2.

The buzz: Bouncing back. Stress is such an epidemic that 78% of employers in the 2013/2014 Staying@Work™ Survey identified it as the top workforce risk factor. Are some of us better equipped to be resilient, while others are more prone to feel overwhelmed? The bigger question: is resiliency a genetic trait or a set of skill-based competencies that can be taught, practiced and used daily? The experts speak. Eileen McDargh, The Resiliency Group: “In a time of change it is the learners who inherit the earth while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to live in a world that no longer exists” (Eric Hoffer). Bill Jensen, Mr. Simplicity: “What we leave behind is not as important as how we lived” (Captain Jean Luc Picard, Star Trek). Sherryanne Meyer, ASUG: “Monty: Why did you say that I was a loser? Simon Wilder: Winners forget they are in a race, they just love to run. You try too hard”. (With Honors, 1994 film). Join us for Radical Resiliency: Start Your Engines, People!

The buzz: “It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day…I’m feeling good.” Bravo to your HR for offering employee health strategy programs! That means everyone is so healthy and fit that attendance and productivity are way up. Not so much? Perhaps they forgot to address how workforce behavior – do they WANT to improve their health habits – and circumstances impact illness prevention, or the importance of engagement, commitment and alignment among employer and insurer plan sponsors, healthcare providers and individual workerss. What now? The experts speak. Dr. Paul Tunnah, pharmaphorum: “Human behaviour flows from three main sources: desire, emotion and knowledge” (Plato). Michael Maniccia, Deloitte: “Habit is habit, and not to be flung out the window by any man, but coaxed down-stairs one step at a time (Mark Twain). Joe Miles, SAP:” Our heads are round so our thoughts can change direction” (Francis Picabia). Join us for The Behavior Side of Preventive Medicine: Workplace, Employees and Pharma.

The buzz: Home is where the heart is… Healthcare is experiencing a major and positive transformation – and industry disruption – largely due to technology advances like the Internet of Things (IoT). In addition to raising the quality of preventive care, this metamorphosis will allow patients to “age in place” at home, instead of at an impersonal medical or nursing care facility. What is IoT’s potential impact on our wellbeing, our overall society, and how we each view and manage our healthcare in the future? The experts speak. Tom Foley, Lenovo Health: “I've always found that the speed of the boss is the speed of the team” (Lee Iacocca). Tim O’Malley, EarlySense: “In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years” (Abraham Lincoln). Kai Goerlich, SAP: “The way you think, the way you behave, the way you eat, can influence your life by 30 to 50 years.” (Deepak Chopra). Join us for IoT & Healthcare: Bringing IT Home – Part 2.

The buzz: Simon says. Cybercrime is one of the greatest threats facing our country, and has enormous implications for our national security, economic prosperity, and public safety. The range of threats and the challenges they present for law enforcement expand just as rapidly as technology evolves (U.S. Justice Department). How to defend against or eliminate the attacks? A two-pronged resolution: consumer-focused and corporate- and government-focused. The experts speak. Tim Best, EY: “I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears...in...rain. Time to die” (Blade Runner). Richard McCammon, Delego: “Hell is empty, and all the devils are here!” (Shakespeare). Justin Somaini, SAP : “Sometimes I worry about being a success in a mediocre world (Lily Tomlin). Join us for Fighting Cyber Crime Part 2: Staying One Giant Step Ahead.

The buzz: Vite, vite! Chemical industry leaders face new challenges, as digital technologies transform our world and drive innovation at a breathtaking rate. How will you integrate acquisitions to reap promised synergies and on-board new revenue sources faster? What about reducing complexity and streamlining workflows across your entire global value chain? Reality check: Success in the digital era requires more than doing the same-old, only better, faster, cheaper, smarter. It demands re-imagining entire business models, business processes – the very nature of work itself. Ready? The experts speak. Bob Parker, IDC: “Only the guy who isn’t rowing has time to rock the boat” (Jean-Paul Sartre). Michael Casey, Accenture: “Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads… (Dr. Emmett Brown, Back to the Future). Stefan Guertzgen, SAP: “Imagination is more important than knowledge” (Albert Einstein). Join us for Digital Transformation – Changing the Game in the Chemical Industry.

The buzz: It’s the law. Attention, female entrepreneurs! As you aspire to become million-dollar women, growth will bring complexity and risk. Legal issues will crop up more often. Penalties for not complying will be more severe. How can you navigate common legal issues as you grow and create leverage in your business—without getting a law degree? Take notes! The experts speak. Nina Kaufman, Esq.: “Why not treat yourself to a good time instead of waiting for someone else to do it?” (Fortune cookie). Nance L. Schick, Esq.: “If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, we have at least to consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the family Anatidae on our hands” (Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, Douglas Adams). Renée L. Duff, Esq.: Whoever renders service to many puts himself in line for greatness—great wealth, great return, great satisfaction, great reputation, and great joy (Jim Rohn). Join us for Legal Lessons for Women Business Owners – Part 2

The buzz: It’s the law. Women entrepreneurs are one of the fastest-growing U.S. economy segments! But you’re also five times more likely than men to shutter your business. Why? A lack business management and legal savvy, more than a lack of capital. Do you need a law degree? No. Our 2-part special features attorneys’ insights on navigating legal pitfalls all entrepreneurs (men, too) encounter. Today we'll cover the foundation. Take notes! The experts speak. Nina Kaufman, Esq.: “You must be willing to be someone you haven’t yet been to build something you haven’t yet built” (Clara Chorley). Nance L. Schick, Esq.: “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want” (Zig Ziglar). Renée L. Duff, Esq.: “Each of us has been put on earth with the ability to do something well. We cheat ourselves and the world if we don't use that ability as best we can” (George Allen, Sr.). Join us for Legal Lessons for Women Business Owners – Part 1.

The buzz: “It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day… and I’m feeling good.” We know prevention is better than cure. But without a systematic approach, it is still up to each of us to decide whether we choose to live healthy or not. Now consider this: If life sciences companies would make prevention a core competency, then physicians, insurers, patients and pharma companies should be able to work together to broadly improve prevention and create a win-win for ‘every body’. But how? The experts speak. Dr. Paul Tunnah, pharmaphorum media: “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” (Rustic Speech and Folk-lore, 1913). Ralph Marcello, Deloitte: “Health is like money, we never have a true idea of its value until we lose it (Josh Billings). Subhro Mallik, Infosys: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” (Benjamin Franklin). Joe Miles, SAP: Our heads are round so our thoughts can change direction” (Francis Picabia). Join us for Pharma and Preventive Medicine: Future or Failure?

The buzz: It’s all good. Many blue chip companies trace their formal corporate philanthropic programs – giving back to not-for-profits – to post-WWII, the golden age of corporate philanthropy. Today’s spotlight on innovation is shifting traditional private sector giving to partnering with impactful global organizations. Benefits include accelerating the social sector, improving lives, and gaining business insights from corporate contributions. How can your organization savor this new flavor of giving? The experts speak. Ashifi Gogo, Sproxil: “Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'” (Martin Luther King, Jr.). Yasmina Zaidman, Acumen: “Live the questions now, and perhaps even without knowing it, you will live along some distant day into the answers” (Rainer Maria Rilke). Nish Pangali, SAP: “A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business” (Henry Ford). Join us for Corporate Social Innovation: Good for Society, Good for Business.

The buzz: Time’s up. Obama seeks over one-third rise in U.S. cyber security funding (Reuters 02/09/16). Why? Brazen cyber criminals are invading an entire supply chain, even stealing and misrepresenting individuals’ health data. If not tackled, cybercrime may cost lives. Beyond IT, this concerns top business, finance, political and government agency leaders. We’ll look at the Life Sciences and Automotive industries to see how your company can lock-out cybercriminals. The experts speak. Tim Best, EY: “To be modern is to find ourselves in an environment that promises us adventure, power, joy, growth, transformation…and at the same time, that threatens to destroy…” (Marshall Berman). Richard McCammon, Delego: “We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security” (Dwight D. Eisenhower). Justin Somaini, SAP: “Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut (Ernest Hemingway). Join us for Beyond IT: Your Fight Against Cybercrime.

The buzz: Acting hyper. Peter Diamandis predicts the most dramatic positive change in our global economy will occur between 2016-2020, when 3–5 billion new consumers–who’ve never purchased, uploaded, invented or sold anything–come online, sparking a hyper-connectivity mega-surge. Who are they? The Rising Billions. Tech giants Google, Facebook, and SpaceX are working to make this happen. How will your company turn the resulting complex hyper-connectivity into sustainable growth opportunities? The experts speak. Frank Diana, TCS: “Three billion new minds are about to join the global conversation” (Peter Diamandis). Dennison DeGregor, HP: “By end of 2017, the CMO will have larger budgets for technology than the CIO” (Gartner). Paul Donovan, SAP: “The day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will make more progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries of its existence” (Nikola Tesla). Join us for The Rising Billions: Business Networks and the Digital Economy.

The buzz: Giving at the office. The UN’s post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) require a multi-stakeholder collaboration recognizing diverse issues around the world. Goal 8 – “Good jobs and economic growth” for developing and developed countries – targets private sector companies that integrate sustainability and corporate social responsibility into their business plan. How can your organization help? The experts speak. Sue Stephenson, The Ritz-Carlton: “A small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world…it is the only thing that ever has” (Margaret Mead). Ahsiya Posner Mencin, Ph.D., PULSE Volunteer Partnership, GSK: “Collaboration is…the kind of thing that would never be born from just one of us sitting down with a guitar” (Grant-Lee Phillips). Alicia Lenze, SAP: “In the long history of humankind…those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed” (Darwin, Megginson). Join us for Sustainable Development and Your Organization.

The buzz: GPS. The IMF recently had good news for entrepreneurs and small business owners: The underlying drivers for acceleration in consumption and investment in the United States – wage growth, labor market conditions, easy financial conditions, lower fuel prices, and a strengthening housing market – remain intact.” How will this impact your employees, customers, and global trade? Is 2016 the year to hire a business coach? The expert speak. Susan Solovic, THE Small Business Expert: “Our business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves – to break our own records, to outstrip our yesterday by our today” (Stewart B. Johnson). Karen Kerrigan, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council: “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream” (C.S. Lewis). Lorraine Maurice, SAP: “It comes down to finding something you love do to and then just trying to be great at it” (Mark Cuban). Join us for Small Business Coach: Navigating Business in 2016.

The buzz: D-B-T and Y-O-U. Digital Business Transformation [DBT] touches everything and everyone -- hardware, software, processes, revenue models, and especially people and our attitudes. If you’re an employee – a warehouse picker, salesperson in the field, delivery van driver, or anything else – do you know how will DBT affect YOU personally? Some of the answers are obvious; others not so much. We will explore the gamut. The experts speak. Richard McCammon, Delego: “Is it hard? Not if you have the right attitudes. It’s having the right attitudes that's hard” (Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance). Hillel Zafir, HMS Technology Group: “There are risks and costs to a program of action—but they are far less than the long range cost of comfortable inaction” (John F. Kennedy). Gerlinde Zibulksi, SAP: There is no security on this earth; there is only opportunity (Douglas MacArthur). Join us for Data Security Breaches: Your Digital Transformation—Security First!

The buzz: Get smart. If you’re a woman entrepreneur – or hope to be soon – you’re in the fastest growing U.S. business owner segment. What lessons can you learn from women-owned businesses that soared and/or hiccupped in 2015? What business opportunities and pitfalls can you expect in 2016? The experts speak. Jane Wesman, Jane Wesman Public Relations, Inc.: “Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard. (Guy Kawasaki). Linda A. Hamilton, CPA: “My day should end when I am tired not when I amLLdone. I am never done. There is always more to be done, more that should be done, always more that can be done” (Andy Grove). Deanna Kory, The Corcoran Group: “To do a common thing uncommonly well brings success” (Henry J. Heinz). Sandi Webster, Consultants 2 Go, LLC: “Sometimes it only takes someone saying just the right thing, at just the right moment, to change a person's life forever” (Kevin Spacey). Join us for Success Secrets for Entrepreneurial Women Part 3: Looking Back and Ahead.

The buzz: The buzz. According to a recent eMarketer report, marketers will spend $8.8 billion on native advertising by 2018. Naturally, this means the digital content landscape will continue to become increasingly crowded with articles, videos and graphics from a variety of different brands. How can your brand reign-in control of your content strategies and stand apart from competitors to ensure your stories are making a positive impact? The experts speak. Rebekah Iliff, AirPR: “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less” (Marie Curie). Andy Hilton, ADP: “Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing” (Benjamin Franklin). Tim Clark, SAP: “Complexity is your enemy. Any fool can make something complicated. It is hard to make something simple” (Richard Branson). Join us for Brands as Publishers: Lessons Learned and Future Trend Predictions.

The buzz: The Future! If you’re hoping for a crystal ball to see what 2016 holds for your company, industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. Over the course of three weeks – Dec 2, 9, and 16 – we’ll bring you predictions from more than 45 thought leaders – covering the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2016 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2016 Predictions – Part 2 live! Featured guests: Brian Kilcourse, RSR Research; Robin Saitz, Brainshark; Dr. Steven Hunt, SAP; Jane Wesman, Jane Wesman PR; Benjamin Robbins, Palador; Joseph Miles, SAP; Hugh McCullen, Axxiome; Andrea France, Capgemini; Prashant Kulkani, TechMahindra; Kevin Wheeler, Futurist; Julia Goga-Cooke, G Consultancy; John Evarts, Mediafly; Jeff Hattendorf, Macrospect; Jack Schmidt, SAP; Owen Pettiford, CompriseIT; Nina Kaufman, Esq., AskTheBusinessLawyer.com. Happy holidays from SAP Game-Changers Radio!

The buzz: Your #1 business wish this year. If you’re hoping for a crystal ball to see what 2016 holds for your company, industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. On Dec. 2, 9, and 16, we'll bring you predictions from more than 40 thought leaders on the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2016 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for Game-Changers Radio 2016 Predictions – Part 1 live! Featured guests: Otto Schell, GM; Mike Wittenstein, Storyminers; Jennifer Engelhardt, IBM; Larry Stolle, SAP; Ingmar Christiaens, EY; Elizabeth Duffy, SAP; Hilary Carter, InTune Communications; Dan Berthiaume, Chain Store Age; Daniel Falvey, SAP; Katie Donovan, Equal Pay Negotiations; Josh Greenbaum, EAC; Corrine Vitolo, SmartKage; David Stephenson, Stephenson Strategies; Sandi Webster, Consultants2Go; Patrick Heffernan, TBRI; Sana Salam, Sodales Solutions. Happy holidays from SAP Game-Changers Radio!

The buzz: The future is almost here! Searching for a crystal ball to see what 2016 holds for your company, industry and the world? We’ve got the next best thing: our 3-part annual Predictions Special bringing you insights from a total of 48 thought leaders covering the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2016 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2016 Predictions – Part 3 live! Today's featured guests: Russ LeFevre, Cisco; Martin Wezowski, SAP; Chris Mark, SAP; Pat Saporito, SAP; Eleanor Treharne-Jones, Truste,com; Alex Bennell, Capgemini; Val Srinivas, Deloitte; Anthony Abbatiello, Deloitte; Frank Diana, TCS; Barbara Giamanco, Social Centered Selling; Jackie Ato, SAP; Nick Robinson, SAP; Joe Barkai, Industry Analyst; Susan Lucas-Conwell, Growth Resources Inc.; Bianca McCann, SAP; Puneet Suppal, SAP. Wishing you sparkling holidays and a stellar New Year from SAP Game-Changers Radio!

The buzz: The Future! If you’re hoping for a crystal ball to see what 2016 holds for your company, industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. Over the course of three weeks – Dec 2, 9, and 16 – we’ll bring you predictions from more than 45 thought leaders – covering the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2016 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2016 Predictions – Part 2 live! Featured guests: Brian Kilcourse, RSR Research; Robin Saitz, Brainshark; Dr. Steven Hunt, SAP; Jane Wesman, Jane Wesman PR; Benjamin Robbins, Palador; Joseph Miles, SAP; Hugh McCullen, Axxiome; Andrea France, Capgemini; Prashant Kulkani, TechMahindra; Kevin Wheeler, Futurist; Julia Goga-Cooke, G Consultancy; John Evarts, Mediafly; Jeff Hattendorf, Macrospect; Jack Schmidt, SAP; Owen Pettiford, CompriseIT; Nina Kaufman, Esq., AskTheBusinessLawyer.com. Happy holidays from SAP Game-Changers Radio!

The buzz: Your #1 business wish this year. If you’re hoping for a crystal ball to see what 2016 holds for your company, industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. On Dec. 2, 9, and 16, we'll bring you predictions from more than 40 thought leaders on the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2016 and beyond. br Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for Game-Changers Radio 2016 Predictions – Part 1 live! br Featured guests: Otto Schell, GM; Mike Wittenstein, Storyminers; Jennifer Engelhardt, IBM; Larry Stolle, SAP; Ingmar Christiaens, EY; Elizabeth Duffy, SAP; Hilary Carter, InTune Communications; Dan Berthiaume, Chain Store Age; Daniel Falvey, SAP; Katie Donovan, Equal Pay Negotiations; Josh Greenbaum, EAC; Corrine Vitolo, SmartKage; David Stephenson, Stephenson Strategies; Sandi Webster, Consultants2Go; Patrick Heffernan, TBRI; Sana Salam, Sodales Solutions. br Happy holidays from SAP Game-Changers Radio!

The buzz: Ready. Set. Wait! You’re a woman entrepreneur ready to start or expand your own business. Now what? You need to know that while women are the fastest growing segment of U.S. business owners, they tend to have smaller companies, generate less revenue, and employ fewer people than men. Is this due to fear of success, short-sighted planning, weak business processes, leadership insecurity – or all of the above? Learn the critical factors holding women back and solid advice to enhance your business success. These insights can help men, too. The experts speak. Jane Wesman, Jane Wesman Public Relations, Inc.: “Be flexible and recognize that business problems don't always have clear-cut solutions.” Sandi Webster, Consultants 2 Go, LLC: “Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right” (Henry Ford). Nina Kaufman, Esq., Entrepreneur.com Legal Expert: “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over” (Yogi Berra). Join us for Success Secrets for Entrepreneurial Women – Part 2.

The buzz: Get a shiny quarter. br If your Finance function is like most organizations’, it has traditionally focused on expense control, spreadsheet-driven accounting and management reporting, mostly past tense. Fast forward to 2020 and the full adoption of digital technologies. Now toss the coin. br Heads: Making the right digital changes to your Finance operating model, technology and people can transform Finance into a predictive analytics powerhouse. br Tails: Digital will kill Finance as we know it. If it happens – whether good or bad – how will you and your organization cope? br The experts speak. br David Axson, Accenture: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” (Albert Einstein) br Bob Parker, IDC: “Only the guy who isn’t rowing has time to rock the boat.” (Jean-Paul Sartre) br Birgit Starmanns, SAP: “The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones.” (John Maynard Keynes) br Join us for Finance 2020: Life or Death by Digital?

The buzz: Ready. Set. Wait! You’re a woman entrepreneur ready to start or expand your own business. Now what? You need to know that while women are the fastest growing segment of U.S. business owners, they tend to have smaller companies, generate less revenue, and employ fewer people than men. Is this due to fear of success, short-sighted planning, weak business processes, leadership insecurity – or all of the above? Learn the critical factors holding women back and solid advice to enhance your business success. These insights can help men, too. The experts speak. Jane Wesman, Jane Wesman Public Relations, Inc.: “Be flexible and recognize that business problems don't always have clear-cut solutions.” Sandi Webster, Consultants 2 Go, LLC: “Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right” (Henry Ford). Nina Kaufman, Esq., Entrepreneur.com Legal Expert: “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over” (Yogi Berra). Join us for Success Secrets for Entrepreneurial Women – Part 2.

The buzz: Verb: To friend. Over 1BN of us use Facebook and other social media mainly for personal communication. Many businesses see sales gold here, too. But their ‘pixels-vs-people’ approach isn’t working so well. How can B2C and B2B companies market effectively to FB and other social platforms – and what is the potential payoff? It's time to learn how to master authentic social engagement to capture the exciting possibilities for your company.The experts speak. Yvette Lui, Facebook: “It always seems impossible until it’s done” (Nelson Mandela). Jamie Tedford, Brand Networks: “Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes…because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do” (Steve Jobs). Hari Ashvuni, SAP: “The price of doing the same old thing is far higher than the price of change” (President Bill Clinton). Join us for Facebook, Etc. and Your Business: Beyond Friending.

The buzz: Climb in. Buckle-up. Your connected car is leaving the garage.Just as radio, PCs and smartphones changed our world, connected vehicles will, too, as the automotive industry advances toward a fully autonomous connected vehicle. Not to worry. It WILL be safe, courteous, green, shared, tailored for purpose – and driverless. And it will be the business platform of the future. How? The experts speak. Joe Barkai, Industry Analyst: “'I can’t believe that!’ said Alice. ‘Can’t you?’ the Queen said in a pitying tone. ‘Try again: draw a long breath, and shut your eyes’” (Alice in Wonderland). Otto Schell, GM: “Every new experience is unusual. The rest of life is just sleep and committee meetings” (John Twelve Hawks). Larry Stolle, SAP: “I call it like the domino theory of reality. If you can go one step at a time and it seems to make sense, you can then take your audience into an area that is relatively outlandish!” (Ivan Reitman). Join us for Connected Car Take 4: Driverless, Too!

The buzz: Hyper is a good thing. As individuals, organizations, and machines inter-connect in real time, the resulting always-on hyper-connectivity is reinventing the world’s economy. If your organization is serious about competing, you need to capture the transformational power of digital across your business. The pay-off: a potentially dramatic increase in productivity and economic value. What do you need to transform quickly and win? What will you risk if you’re too slow? The experts speak. Christophe Mouille, Accenture: “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever” (Ghandi). Bob Parker, IDC: “The future is already here – it’s just not very evenly distributed” (William Gibson). Amr El Meleegy, SAP: “If you don't go after what you want you’ll never have it. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place” (Nora Roberts). Join us for Hyper-Connectivity: Reinventing the World Economy.

The buzz: Yes or not yet? “There are only two types of companies today: those that have been breached and know it—and those that just don’t know it yet,” noted John Chambers. As a retailer’s networked connections expand and firewalls grow porous, added scrutiny is needed on security inside their IT landscape, as well as within their partner and consumer environments. What risk do “ethical” retailers face if sensitive collected data is breached? Do regional/national retailers have an advantage over multinationals? The experts speak. Brent Brown, HP: “If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else” (Y. Berra). Brian Kilcourse, RSR Research: …computer viruses should count as life…the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive” (S. Hawking). Tim Hood, SAP: …there are known knowns… known unknowns...unknown unknowns—the ones we don’t know we don’t know” (D. Rumsfeld). Join us for The Networked Economy: Shaping the Future of Retail - Part 3.

The buzz: Now! Attention, manufacturers. If it's a surprise that we’re mid-way into the 4th industrial revolution, here’s a news flash. Your manufacturing facility needs to take advantage of the exponential advances in technology, big data and innovations – or you’ll soon be out of business. How can you catch up? Harness the power of in-memory computing, IoT, wearable technologies, additive manufacturing and predictive capabilities. And stop underestimating customers’ evolving expectations (your competition isn’t). The experts speak. Mark Frank, Deloitte: “Vision without execution is just hallucination” (Henry Ford). David Dreyer, SAP: “It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so” (Mark Twain). Rick Imber, SAP: “The greatest danger for us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we will reach it” (Michelangelo). Join us for Transporting Your Factory into the Future Now – Part 2.

Performance Management (PM) began informally around World War 1. By the late-1950s, many companies adopted formal, personality-based PM practices without a self-appraisal component. Complaints arose about their effectiveness. Fast-forward to today. Most organizations are using a PM strategy intended to drive the right behaviors toward a specific outcome, but 80% believe it’s not delivering. Is your PM maximizing or hurting your employees’ productivity? It’s time to examine the good, bad, and ugly of PM, plus improvement strategies you can use now. The experts speak. Dr. Steven Hunt, SuccessFactors: “Sweeping generalizations about certain performance management methods being universally good or bad are almost always wrong.” Josh Bersin, Bersin by Deloitte: “Traditional performance appraisals are dinosaurs.” Pam Seplow, SAP: “Good judgment comes from experience, experience comes from bad judgment” (Will Rodgers). Join us for Performance Management: Are Today’s Practices Working?

The buzz: Drug supply risks. Today, more often than is acceptable, a required antibiotic or chronic disease drug cannot be delivered on time. What will happen tomorrow when personalized medicine tailored for one or a small patient group must be secured? The experts speak. Dr. Josef Packowski, CAMELOT Consulting Group: “Detective Del Spooner: ‘You are just a machine. An imitation of life. Can a robot write a symphony?’ Sonny: ‘Can you?’” (I, Robot). Julian Amey, WMG: “Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world's first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man…Better...stronger...faster” (The Six Million Dollar Man). Jack Schmidt, SAP: “…one of my mantras–focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains” (Steve jobs). Join us for Future of Medicine: Will Supply Chains Be Ready?

The buzz: Connected health systems. Wearable devices can track and automatically report body traits, therapy adherence and lifestyle to patients, doctors, and more. But if taken to a new level, they could have more dramatic impacts. How? Individuals would change their health thinking and behavior, health insurers would pay per outcome vs. cost, and life sciences companies would focus on prevention as well as cure. Is this the impossible dream? The experts speak. Harry Greenspun, MD, Deloitte: “If you build it, they will come… or maybe they won’t.” Scott Lundstrom, IDC: “The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency (Bill Gates). Bernhard Schweizer, SAP: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been”(Wayne Gretzky). Join us for Health Wearables Part 3 – The New Life-Changers?

The buzz: Hurry! Calling all manufacturers! We’re mid-way into our 4th industrial revolution. If your manufacturing facility isn’t taking advantage of the exponential advances in technology, exploding big data and amazing innovations, the handwriting is on the wall: you’ll soon be obsolete. What will it take to catch up? First, learn to harness the power of in-memory computing, IoT, wearable technologies, additive manufacturing and predictive capabilities. Next, stop underestimating the changing dynamics of your customers’ expectations (your competition isn’t). Want to know more? The experts speak. Mark Frank, Deloitte: “Nothing is impossible. Some things are just less likely than others” (Jonathan Winters). Timothy Day, Johns Manville: “If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it” (Lord Kelvin). Rick Imber, SAP: “The secret of success is doing what you have to do, better than you have to do it” (Unknown). Join us for Transporting Your Factory into the Future Now–Part 1.

The buzz: Hurry! Connecting information, people, assets, and devices – on 3rd generation platforms that support social, mobile, cloud, Big Data, IoT – drives newly insightful business action. Can a long-standing industry like chemicals benefit? Yes! Embracing IoT can open opportunities to optimize efficiency, deploy radically new business models, and stay competitive. The experts speak. David Dunn, Rolta: “All right...but apart from better sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system, and public health ... what have the Romans ever done for us?” (Monty Python). David Cruickshank, SAP: “Standing on the shoulders of giants” (Sir Isaac Newton). John Harrison, SAP: “The Internet is ultimately about innovation & integration... you don't get the innovation unless you integrate Web technology into the processes by which you run your business” (Louis V. Gerstner, Jr.). Join us for IoT and Chemicals: Transform Your Business Models Now!

The buzz: Let’s get together, yeah yeah yeah! What does it really mean for you to have a connected business? Analysts estimate that by 2020, social networks will connect 2.5 billion people, the number of connected devices will total 75 billion, and the volume of global business trade between connected businesses will reach $65 trillion. As we move to an era of true hyperconnectivity in our digital economy, how can your company turn these challenges and your business networks into sustainable profitable opportunities? The experts speak. Dennison DeGregor, HP: “The digital CX revolution is dead – long live Digital Humanism!” Frank Diana, TCS: “The networked organization of the future knows that the lion's share of value exists outside its walls; it looks to capture that value and bring it inside (Dion Hinchcliffe). Drew Hofler, SAP: “We build too many walls and not enough bridges” (Sir Isaac Newton). Join us for Business Networks and the Digital Economy: Ready for Digital Humanism?

The buzz: Always better together. As the world becomes increasingly digital, your company’s survival will rely more than ever on co-innovation opportunities within your business network. How can you make this happen? Simply put, seek out and connect with collaborative partners who can help you achieve the solution edge that will keep you competitive and successful. But where do you look and whom should you choose? Guidance from Peter Drucker: “The best praise an innovation can receive is for people to say, ‘This is obvious. Why didn’t I think of it?’” The experts speak. Dawn Duross, Cisco: “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do (Coach John Wooden). Krishna Kumar, AppOrchid: “I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse. The choice of life” (The Godfather). Puneet Suppal, SAP: “The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present...we must think anew and act anew” (Abraham Lincoln). Join us for Co-Innovation: Your Path to a Digital Future – Part 2.

The buzz: Spelling bee. Cybersecurity breaches in the headlines still strike fear in companies, governments and individuals worldwide. For businesses, the advent of the IoT can compromise secure access to critical infrastructures by connecting business applications with process/infrastructure applications, a traditional no-no. With today’s Advanced Persistent Threats and Zero Day Exploits, how do you protect access between 30-year-old sensors without Internet protocol support? The experts speak. Gerlinde Zibulksi, SAP: “What is cybersecurity? C Y B E R S E C U R I T Y – CRY BE SECURITY – SECRET ICY RUBY – ICE CURRY BYTES – I RUT BY SECRECY.” Hillel Zafir, HMS Technology Group: “Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. When you read you begin with ABC.” (Sound of Music). Richard McCammon, Delego: “We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security” (Dwight D. Eisenhower). Join us for Data Security Breaches Part 4: Wising-Up to Real-Life Impacts.

The buzz: Crystal ball. Yes, change is inevitable. But today’s unprecedented pace and scale of change presents unique challenges for the future of business. Futurists worldwide are examining and assessing potential business impacts of new and emerging paradigms, energy innovations, physical-digital boundary blurring, business decentralization, and other global drivers. What are the implications for future leaders? The experts speak. Frank Diana, TCS: “We are entering a world where everything we know and understand about the purposes of business and the mission of our own organization will be challenged” (Rohit Talwar). Gray Scott, Futurist: We are becoming a digitized species…crossing the computational event horizon into a digital black hole.” Timo Elliott, SAP: “Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex. It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction” (E. F. Schumacher). Join us for Emerging Paradigms and the Future of Business.

The buzz: The secret’s out. So you’re a woman and you want to start – or expand – your own business. That’s great! Women are the fastest growing segment of business owners in the U.S. today. But here’s the rub: compared to men, women tend to have smaller companies, generate less revenue, and employ fewer people. What accounts for these differences? And what can you do about? Our panelists will reveal the key factors holding women back, plus solid advice for business success – for female and male entrepreneurs. These are insights you won't want to miss. The experts speak. Jane Wesman, Jane Wesman Public Relations, Inc.: “The road to success is not a solitary journey.” Sandi Webster, Consultants 2 Go, LLC: “There is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women (Madeleine Albright). Nina Kaufman, Esq., Entrepreneur.com Legal Expert: “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up someplace else” (Yogi Berra). Join us for Success Secrets for Entrepreneurial Women.

The buzz: Honk if you love connected cars! The future is definitely connected and it’s already here. Consumers, especially millennials, living an always-connected lifestyle expect continuous access to personalized information and services from service and content providers of their choice – even while driving. They do not want to be restricted by the VIN of the vehicle they happen to be driving or in at any moment. How do they define their ideal mobile digital identity? What information do they want while on the road? How much are they willing to pay for it? The experts speak. Joe Barkai, Industry Analyst: “Driving is distracting me from texting.” John Ellis, former Ford Global Technologist: “Never disrespectful. Always irreverent.” Larry Stolle, SAP: “I can do without more than I can put up with.” (Colleague, circa 1980). Join us for Connected Car Take 3: Your Mobile Digital Identity.

The buzz: It’s a small world after all. For today’s consumer, “the world” is just a few clicks away. Armed with anytime, anywhere information, they can (and do) find the best solutions for their lifestyle needs, often before walking into a store, restaurant, or service center. They’re actually maximizing their use of time, their most precious commodity. And they will punish providers who waste it. The experts speak. Brent Brown, HP: “100% of the shots you don't take don't go in...” (Wayne Gretzky). Brian Kilcourse, RSR Research: “Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window” (Peter Drucker). Tim Hood, SAP: “We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects” (Herman Melville). Join us for The Networked Economy: Shaping the Future of Retail – Part 2.

The buzz: Roll-it! Big Data represents an opportunity for us to re-imagine our world, track new signals once impossible, and change how we experience our communities, places of work, and personal lives. After nearly two years of research and filming, interviews with 30+ data science, AI, technology and digital medicine scientists and entrepreneurs, The Human Face of Big Data documentary illustrates the promise and the peril in the growing Big Data revolution. The experts speak. David Jonker, SAP: “We have to care about what kind of future we are making... (Tim O'Reilly). Sandy Smolan, Director: “Anything that is going to save the world by definition has to be able to change it for the worst as well as the better (Jay Walker). Bonnie Benjamin-Phariss, ProSocial: “There's always room for a story that can transport people to another place (J.K. Rowling). Bill Medsker, Producer: “What will happen? (Jack Kerouac). Join us for The Human Face of Big Data Film: Igniting Social Change.

The buzz: One. Employee engagement is at its highest since Gallup started tracking it in 2000. Real number? Less than one-third (31.4%) of US workers were engaged in their jobs in 2014. Why? Success in our global, uber-competitive economy may be less reliant on strategic investments in technology, acquisitions, products – and more on how you treat your employees. Meaning? It may be time to change your corporate culture…big-time. How? Can one person make a difference? Well, that depends. The experts speak.Tom Koulopoulos, Delphi Group: “Culture is what you learn to survive in an organization (Regis McKenna). Geoff Scott, ASUG: “The difference between those who change the world and those who don’t, is that those who do believe they can (Simon Sinek). Pam Seplow, SAP: “Never doubt the ability of a small group of dedicated citizens to change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has (Margaret Meade). Join us for Employee Engagement Part 3: Changing Corporate Culture - How?

The buzz: The power to inspire. Executives and employees agree: leadership today is lacking. Who says so? A Workforce 2020 studied initiated by SuccessFactors, an SAP company, with Oxford Economics. Why? Because companies are not focused enough on developing future leaders. What does this mean to you? Think about the leadership characteristics at your organization that inspire you to come to work and do your best every day. Ultimately, how do you know who is worth following? Are you? The experts speak. Tom Koulopoulos, Delphi Group: “A boss is someone you must follow. A leader is someone you choose to follow (Peter Drucker). Jennie Moreau, Leadership Consultant: “Don’t try harder, try different.” Karie Willyerd, SAP: “The average age people got training for being leaders was 42. But most had been supervisors since they were 30. We wait too long to train our leaders, leaving them to learn on the fly.” (Jack Zenger) Join us for Employee Engagement Part 2: Following the Leader - Who?

Employee engagement is at its highest level since Gallup started tracking this metric in 2000. That’s the good news. The truth? Less than one-third (31.4%) of US workers said they were engaged in their jobs in 2014. Success in this global and highly competitive economy may be less reliant on strategic investments in technology, acquisitions, and products, and more reliant on how you treat your employees. Does it help to create an atmosphere of fun for your employees on-site and virtually? Well, that depends. The experts speak. Tom Koulopoulos, Delphi Group: “Anyone who tries to make a distinction between education and entertainment doesn't know the first thing about either” (Marshall McLuhan). Sherryanne Meyer, ASUG: “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light” (Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter). Frank Sofia, SAP: “Is it supposed to be ‘fun’ to go to work? Well, that depends.” Join us for Employee Engagement Part 1: Having Fun Yet?

The buzz: Invisibles. Visible healthcare wearables like smart wrist bands and watches are commonplace. What if you prefer non-obvious tracking devices? Almost-invisible-to-invisible innovations are entering the market, hoping to gain your trust and improve healthcare outcomes. Coming soon: under-clothing heartrate tracking strips that detect and report epileptic seizures; “smart pills” that measure blood pressure, pH, body temperature; tattoo-thin strips that store health data and even deliver medications. How easy or hard is it to launch innovative health devices and gain profitable market share? The experts speak. Harry Greenspun, MD, Deloitte: Just because I have a fitness app on my phone, it doesn’t make me an athlete.” Scott Lundstrom, IDC: “The future is already here–it's just not evenly distributed” (William Gibson). Bernhard Schweizer, SAP: “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing” (Helen Keller). Join us for Health Wearables Part 2 – The Next Breakthrough?

The buzz: Are you really “you”? Authentication techniques designed to confirm you are who you say you are, typically entail one or more of three techniques: Something I have, Something I know, Something I am. Thus, accessing the things and information we value can range from easy – like physical keys to our home and our car – to complex passwords intended to protect the privacy of our medical records and national secrets. But we're in a hurry. And as we clamor for faster, easier processes, persistent thieves are toiling overtime to continue stealing our identities and our money. Aye, there's the challenge. The experts speak. Gerlinde Zibulksi, SAP: “My password is SECURE.” Hillel Zafir, HMS Technology Group: “A bad plan well executed is better than a good plan not executed (George S. Patton, Jr.). Richard McCammon, Delego: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it (George Santayana). Join us for Data Security in the Age of Credit Card Breaches – Authentication.

The buzz: Make for me healthcare. In medicine, one-size-fits-all treatments have helped save many people cost-efficiently. But for complicated illnesses like cancer, a standardized approach doesn’t always work. Personalized medicine – tailored to a specific patient profile – may be the answer. It sounds promising, but will individualized therapies really work, be affordable, and be appropriate for every patient and illness? The experts speak. Barbra McGann, HfS: “The future is a point on the horizon toward which we are headed. We can’t get to the future right away because there is stuff in the way. We have to tack back and forth around obstacles.” (Paraphrased from Michael Rogers) Subhro Mallik, Infosys: “It’s supposed to be automatic, but actually you have to push this button.” (John Brunner) Emanuel Ziegler, SAP: “Numerical quantities focus on expected values, graphical summaries on unexpected values.” (John W. Tukey) Join us for Personalized Medicine: Individual Therapies for All

The buzz: Fine Art. To survive, small businesses must understand the fine art of customer engagement and cohesive omni-channel branding. But how can you “know your customers” and where your product fits into their lives? Hint: Social media can help you create mini-focus groups and technology can help ensure customers know you value them uniquely. The experts speak. Susan Wilson Solovic, THE Small Business Expert: “No company big or small can run the risk of being fat, dumb and happy. To remain relevant to your customers, you must constantly be innovating. Morgan Browne, IIS Group: “Different people have different presences for how they engage – especially in an environment dominated by social media and digital communications.” Carrie Maslen, SAP: “'Who are you – I really wanna know'. A brand needs to clearly define and convey what we want it to in a predictable and consistent manner.” (Pete Townsend lyric) Join us for Small Business Insights Part 2: Art of Customer Engagement.

The buzz: Social. Social media is the new way of doing business: always on, available, working for or against your company and brand. With vast data at their fingertips, buyers simply click a mouse to show support or disappointment. If your company is still debating the value of social media, the better question to ask is whether you know how to use social in ways that create measurable business value. The experts speak. Hilary Carter, InTune Communications: “The reason we love our parents is because they loved us first. Every single company should take this advice” (Gary Vaynerchuk). Chris Boudreaux, EY and Social Media Governance: “The greatest opportunity in social business lies in connecting social data and processes into the rest of the enterprise: we need to hold social to the same levels of accountability and integration as any other channel. Malin Liden, SAP: “In the social economy, everyone carries a quota!” Join us for Social Business: Creating Measurable Business Value.

The buzz: Partners. Small businesses today must deftly manage business partnerships without risking IP, valued talent, or worse, in a business milieu where the lines can blur between cooperation and competition. And in the networked economy, supply chains can shift and transform seamlessly. How can a small business owner shore-up enough protection to avoid getting squeezed out? How often should they re-examine business agreements? What red flags signal that it’s time to start looking for a new business partner? The experts speak. Susan Wilson Solovic, 'THE Small Business Expert': “Failure is the key to entrepreneurial success. If you aren't failing, you aren't doing.” Morgan Browne, IIS Group: “Partnerships are always a gamble – but what choice do we have?” Carrie Maslen, SAP: “I believe the best business policy is the golden rule … this is a small interconnected world, and what goes around comes around.” Join us for Small Business Insights: Sustainable Collaboration – Part 1.

The buzz: To life! With over two billion people expected to be 60 and older by 2050, chronic illness and diminished wellbeing are fast becoming major global public health challenges. The solution to aging gracefully, managing chronic diseases, and minimizing impacts? Not cure, but treatment. But if we turn to smart technologies and data—a “Connected Care” continuum—to support aging populations, will one Robo-Doc replace multiple human MDs? And is Connected Care just for the wealthy—no iPad or Smartphone, no health? The experts speak. Avner Halperin, EarlySense: “Technology is neither good nor bad, nor is it neutral … It is our thoughtful and ethical implementation that can help improve and save lives” (Melvin Kranzberg). Dr. Oliver Haferbeck, Roche Diagnostics Germany: “A DJ is always listening for what's next (Grandmaster Flash). Dr. David Delaney, SAP: “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink” (Aphorism). Join us for MD in the Palm of Your Hand: Connected Care.

The buzz: Engagement. Baylor University and SAP researchers found employee engagement alarmingly low worldwide, with just 13% of employees feeling actively engaged. Wondering if complexity in organizations could be a root cause, they explored whether simplification, engagement, and trust together contribute to better-functioning companies. The experts speak. Dr. Ann Mirabito, Baylor: “Everything should be as simple as possible, but not simpler” (Albert Einstein). Lauren Moser, Baylor: “Hell isn't merely paved with good intentions; it's walled and roofed with them. Yes, and furnished too” (Aldous Huxley). Josh Arnold, Baylor: “God help those with open hands, may they never feel burden again. Yeah I’ll stand up for those that can’t. I’ll close the distance” (A Day to Remember). Deb Stambaugh, SAP: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference” (Robert Frost). Join us for Employee Engagement: Simplification at Work.

Today’s buzz: Risk. Supplier risk management is the fastest growing discipline within supplier management. Why? When a key supplier disrupts the supply chain, your costs of doing business increase along with perceived and unperceived risks for the buying enterprise. Do you have a solid strategy in place? Think technology. The experts speak. Dr. Van Gray, Baylor: “As our world becomes increasingly connected and multicultural, supply chains and their good management will be important fuel to the elimination of poverty, eradicating diseases, and to increasing rates of literacy with freedom of thought.” Sarah Hill, Baylor MBA: “Failures, repeated failures, are sign posts on the road to achievement. One fails forward toward success.” (C. S. Lewis). Aaron Peavy, Baylor MBA: “The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them” (Ernest Hemmingway). Eric Coker, SAP: “Chance favors the prepared mind” (Louis Pasteur). Join us for Supplier Risk Management: Time to Get Serious.

Today’s buzz: Empowering managers. Want to improve your organization’s performance management? If you’re focusing on HR processes, but not your managers’ POV or day-to-day style, listen-up! SAP and Baylor University researchers studied best practices, tools, and processes that empower natural manager behavior to make better performance-based job assignments, promotions, and pay decisions. The experts speak. Dr. Gary Carini, Baylor: “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard…” (John F. Kennedy). Hannah King, Baylor MBA: “Nothing is more unequal than the equal treatment of unequal people” (Thomas Jefferson). Kevin Mitchell, Baylor MBA: “The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance - it is the illusion of knowledge” (Daniel J. Boorstin). Dr. Gabriela Burlacu, SAP: “When you win, sometimes it overshadows a poor performance” (Duke's “Coach K”). Join us for Employee Performance: Empowering Managers.

Today’s buzz: The Journey. Customers are changing the rules of the marketplace. Digitally connected, socially networked, better informed before making a purchase, they jump between web, mobile, in-store, and phone and expect it to happen seamlessly in a personalized context. Whew! What is their POV on personal data privacy, advice for competing retailers, and definition of the best-ever customer experience? The experts speak. Prof. Chris Pullig, Baylor: “It’s not rocket science, but it can get complicated.” (Kevin Lane Keller and Chris Pullig) Arnold Bueso, Baylor: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” (Maya Angelou) Akin Oladipo, Baylor: “If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses?” (Jeremiah 12:5) Bill Hou, SAP: “It’s more fun to be a pirate than to join the Navy.” (Steve Jobs) Join us for The Buyer’s Journey: What Do They Really Want?

The buzz: Breached again. Forbes.com’s “The Big Data Breaches of 2014” include Neiman Marcus, Michaels, P.F. Chang’s, Dairy Queen, Goodwill Industries, Affinity Gaming’s 11 casinos, Albertson’s, plus “22.8 million private records of New Yorkers.” Breaches cost merchants dearly in lost customers and profits, a tarnished reputation, and substantial fines. Are merchants waking up and becoming proactive about PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliance and security standards? How easy is it for hackers to gain access via merchants’ unprotected vulnerabilities? The experts speak. Richard McCammon, Delego: “Look wide, and even when you think you are looking wide – look wider still” (Lord Robert Baden-Powell). Hillel Zafir: “If it happens once, it’s ignorance; if it happens twice, it’s neglect; if it happens three times, it’s policy” (Anonymous). Gerlinde Zibulski, SAP: “The forecast is cloudy with a chance of security.” Join us for Data Security in the Age of Credit Card Breaches–Part 2.

The buzz: Safety first. After record vehicle recalls in 2014, automakers are under intense pressure from consumers and regulators to be proactive about product quality and safety issues; protect consumers; and minimize the duration, scale, and cost of recall events. How? Advanced analytics. The experts speak. Mark Gardner, Deloitte: “Anyone who sits on top of the largest hydrogen-oxygen fueled system in the world, knowing they’re going to light the bottom, and doesn’t get a little worried, does not fully understand the situation” (Space Shuttle Commander John Young). Josh Greenbaum, EAC Consulting: “Beware the unintended consequences of advanced analytics in the automotive sector. Saving lives is unequivocally a good idea, but big data analytics will have other impacts that might not be as well-received.” Derek Snaidauf, Deloitte: “Better three hours too soon than a minute too late” (William Shakespeare). Join us for Time for a Tune-up: Advanced Analytics and Auto Safety.

The buzz: HR here and there. HR practices in Western countries can differ significantly from Eastern countries in terms of organizational structure, motivation, communication and conflict resolution. Whose are the most successful? According to professor Dr. Michael J. Marquardt, American companies think they're the keepers of the best management practices. Consequently, they don't try to learn as much as they can from other places. Is it time for U.S. HR leaders to take a page from other countries’ HR playbooks? The experts speak. Patrick Heffernan, TBR: “With malice toward none, with charity for all…” (Abraham Lincoln). Allan Krans, TBR: “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don't want to” (Richard Branson). Thomas Otter, SAP: “When we hold a World Championship for a particular sport, we invite teams from other countries to play, as well” (John Cleese of Monty Python). Join us for HR Makes the World Go Round: Global Practices – Part 2.

The buzz: Health. Wearables like wrist bands, watches, glasses, and contact lenses are the NBT. Why? They can now measure body conditions and use the data to support healthier living, disease prevention, and faster rehab. But will patients actively track and share wearables-generated data, despite privacy concerns? And are wearables precise enough to meet medical device quality standards? The experts speak. Lynne Dunbrack, IDC Health Insights: “…When the familiar pen-and-paper methods of self-analysis are enhanced by sensors that monitor our behavior automatically, the process of self-tracking becomes both more alluring and more meaningful.” (Gary Wolf) Greg Reh, Deloitte Consulting: “For a busy doctor, the ability to use email would save more lives than a Fitbit.” (Jeff Tangney) Joe Miles, SAP: “Connected gadgets that are indistinguishable from their disconnected peers will fuel the growth of wearable technology.” (Roger Bate) Join us for Health Wearables – Hype or Revolutionary?

The buzz: Space. Changing the culture and shaking up the status quo in organizations is always challenging, but key to survival. How to make it happen? Build a continuous innovation culture by identifying the right people, process, and space. But working in a tiny cubicle with half-walls or a conference room is hardly conducive to brainstorming new ideas. Hint: Your employees, partners and customers need a stimulating environment that inspires them to loosen their (proverbial) ties and think outside the box. Get it now? The experts speak. Jason Yotopoulos, mach49: “If humans can live for 100 years, why do companies die so young?” (Sukant Ratnakar). Greg Petroff, GE Software: “Eventually everything connects–people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality per se.” (Charles Eames). Sam Yen, SAP: “We don't know who discovered water, but we're certain it wasn't a fish.” (John Culkin). Join us for The Case for Space: Disrupting the Status Quo with Innovation.

The buzz: Recruiting. If acquiring and retaining top talent for your company tougher than ever, three factors may be at play: workforce mobility mindset, competitors’ poaching, and your employer brand. If the third comes as a surprise, here’s a reality check. Just as customers check social media for product and service reviews, potential job recruits are combing the Web for insider info about you, the employer. Are your talent leaders helping or hindering your brand? The experts speak. Tim Sackett, HRU Technical Resources: “Oh, you hate your job? Why didn’t you say so? There’s a support group for that. It’s called “EVERYBODY”, and they meet at the bar.” (Drew Carey). Chrissy Glover, GlassDoor: “What you deny or ignore, you delay. What you accept and face, you conquer.” (Robert Tew). Jessica Miller-Merrell, Xceptional HR: “Any fool can make something complicated. It takes a genius to make something simple.” (Willie Woody Guthrie) Join us for The Yelpification of Recruiting – Part 2.

The buzz: Future of Insurance. According to a survey from SAP and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), long-standing insurance companies are struggling to keep pace with strong competition from other industries that offer advanced consumer-facing insurance capabilities. Can traditional insurers survive? It may depend on how well they embrace analytics and learn to incorporate data from M2M and IoT. brbr The experts speak. Anthony O’Donnell, Insurance Innovation Reporter: “Now Harrison was prepared to reject 25 years of his own work and move ahead on an almost untried technology…” (NOVA) Karen Furtado, SMA: “We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten.” (Bill Gates) Hugh Anderson, SAP: ‘Your success in … is based on your ability to change faster than your competition, customers, and business.” (Mark Sanborn) Join us for Future of Insurance in the Age of Customer Intimacy and IoT.

The buzz: Travelers’ TMI brbr “The customer is #1” is a customer service industry mantra and mandate, particularly for business-to-consumer travel and hospitality staff who are required to greet each visitor by name. But now that their clients willingly share searchable, “TMI”-level personal data on digital media, how and when should the industry use it, if at all? The experts speak. brbr Deva Senapathy, Infosys: “The best customer service is if the customer doesn't need to call you, doesn't need to talk to you. It just works.” (Jeff Bezos) brbr Mike Wittenstein, Storyminers: “In work, no matter how hard you try or how much you spend, your brand can’t be any better than what your customers experience.” brbr Raghu Ramanathan, SAP: “The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” (GK Chesterton) brbr Join us for Hotel Guest Personalization: Welcome or Social Media Stalking?

The buzz: IP Security brbr Are market globalization and new competitors grabbing your customers’ heads and wallets? If not, soon. How to survive? Innovate sustainably to speed differentiated products to market by streamlining operations, and collaborating, sourcing, partnering globally. A great plan until it raises the stakes by exposing your ideas to rampant IP theft. How do successful companies protect their valuable innovations? The experts speak. Andy Han, NextLabs: “Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.” (Ben Franklin) brbr Arnab Mukherjee, Varian Medical: “Progress is impossible without change; and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” (George Bernard Shaw) brbr Mark Landrosh, SAP: “If you think I'll sit around as the world goes by, You're thinkin' like a fool 'cause it's a case of do or die… You've got another thing comin.” (Judas Priest) brbr Join us for Globalization Challenge: Sustainable Innovation, Secure Collaboration

The buzz: Your business in 2015. brbr What hot business trends should you focus on this year? We asked three visionaries to share their insights and predictions. Tune-in and learn from the experts. brbr Ask ten people what the Cloud is and you’ll likely get ten different answers. Why? There’s still a lot of confusion about what it actually is and what it can do for business. In the first half, Tim Minahan, Chief Marketing Officer of SAP Cloud, and Jeff Kaplan, founder and Managing Director of THINKStrategies, share their predictions for Cloud computing in 2015. brbr Today’s enterprise is in essence, virtual. Companies operate on more flexible models, owning less infrastructure and outsourcing everything from customer service to supply chain. In our second half, Tim Minahan and Paul Greenberg, Managing Principal of The 56 Group, discuss the Networked Economy in 2015. brbr Join us for Business Trends 2015: Strategic Disruption in the Cloud and the Networked Economy.

The buzz: Credit cards.brbr With headline-topping credit card breaches at Target and Adobe, merchants are on high alert to safeguard their systems. A data breach is costly: lost customers and profits, a tarnished reputation, substantial fines. Are merchants proactive or reactive about PCI compliance and security standards? How easy is it for hackers to find unprotected access to merchant vulnerabilities? The experts speak.brbr Richard McCammon, Delego: “If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you…Yours is the earth…” (Kipling, “If”) brbr Hillel Zafir: “If it happens once it’s ignorance, if it happens twice it’s neglect, if it happens three times it’s policy.” (Anonymous) brbrFrank Richter, SAP: “Compliance with PCI DSS means your systems are secure and customers can trust you with their sensitive payment card information.” (PCI Security Standards Council) brbrJoin us for Data Security in the Age of Credit Card Breaches.

The buzz: Your business wish list. Still wishing for a crystal ball to see what 2015 may bring for your company, industry and the world? We’ve got the next best thing. Completing our three-part Predictions 2015 Special, today 14 thought leaders will share their insights on the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2015 and beyond – bringing our total to 41 speakers. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2015 Predictions – Part 3, with Robin Carey, Social Media Today; Mick Collins, SAP; Nancy Casey, SAP; Jeremy Cox, Ovum; Monique Hesseling, SMA; Josh Greenbaum, EAC; Matt Healey, TBR; Shahar Larry, Demaya; Greta Roberts, Talent Analytics; Andrea France, SAP; Benjamin Robbins, Palador; BJ Bueno, Cult Branding; Gerry Brown, Ovum; Michael P. Cangemi, Cangemi Company. Collect the whole set of predictions: Part 1 (Dec. 10) and Part 2 (Dec. 17) on-demand. Happy New Year from SAP Game-Changers Radio.

The buzz: Your business wish list Wishing and hoping for a crystal ball to see what 2015 may bring for your company, industry and the world? We’ve got the next best thing. On our three-part Predictions 2015 Special, you’ll hear 40 thought leaders’ insights on the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2015 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us on Dec. 17 for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2015 Predictions – Part 2 live, with Kerry Brown, SAP; Jeff Tanner, Baylor University; Stacey Perrin, SAP; Gary Cokins, Analytics-Based Performance Management; Frank Rust, SOMMERRUST; John Ragsdale, TSIA; Jaco Van Eeden, Deloitte; Florian Brody, SAP; Nataraj Ganapathy, Cogent Integrated Business Solutions; Reuven Gorsht, SAP; Falk Rieker, SAP; Kaan Turnali, SAP; Steve Player, Beyond EPS Advisors; Andrew J. Sherman, Jones Day. Hear Predictions Part 1 (Dec. 10) on-demand at ow.ly/FE4jB. Happy holidays from SAP Game-Changers Radio.

What’s at the top of your business wish list this holiday season? If you’re hoping for a crystal ball to see what 2015 may bring for your company, industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. On Dec. 10, Dec. 17, and Jan. 7, you’ll hear a total of more than 40 thought leaders’ predictions on the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2015 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us on Dec. 10 for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2015 Predictions – Part 1 live! Panelists: Sherryanne Meyer, Air Products and Chemicals; Sven Denecken, SAP; W. David Stephenson, Stephenson Strategies; Dr. Steven Hunt, SuccessFactors; Tim Barker, Datasift; Brent Leary, CRM Essentials; Justin Locke, Author; David Fowler, SAP Services; Dr. Ashok Ranchhod, Gamification Researcher; Hansen Lieu, SAP; Gopal Rajguru, Innovate+Grow Group; Jayson Mayden, MarkOne; Jeremy Epstein, Sprinklr; Ingrid Bernaudin, SAP. Happy holidays from SAP Game-Changers Radio!

The buzz: Your business wish list Wishing and hoping for a crystal ball to see what 2015 may bring for your company, industry and the world? We’ve got the next best thing. On our three-part Predictions 2015 Special, you’ll hear 40 thought leaders’ insights on the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2015 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us on Dec. 17 for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2015 Predictions – Part 2 live, with Kerry Brown, SAP; Jeff Tanner, Baylor University; Stacey Perrin, SAP; Gary Cokins, Analytics-Based Performance Management; Frank Rust, SOMMERRUST; John Ragsdale, TSIA; Jaco Van Eeden, Deloitte; Florian Brody, SAP; Nataraj Ganapathy, Cogent Integrated Business Solutions; Reuven Gorsht, SAP; Falk Rieker, SAP; Kaan Turnali, SAP; Steve Player, Beyond EPS Advisors; Andrew J. Sherman, Jones Day. Hear Predictions Part 1 (Dec. 10) on-demand at ow.ly/FE4jB. Happy holidays from SAP Game-Changers Radio.

What’s at the top of your business wish list this holiday season? If you’re hoping for a crystal ball to see what 2015 may bring for your company, industry and the world, we’ve got the next best thing. On Dec. 10, Dec. 17, and Jan. 7, you’ll hear a total of more than 40 thought leaders’ predictions on the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better in 2015 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us on Dec. 10 for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2015 Predictions – Part 1 live! Panelists: Sherryanne Meyer, Air Products and Chemicals; Sven Denecken, SAP; W. David Stephenson, Stephenson Strategies; Dr. Steven Hunt, SuccessFactors; Tim Barker, Datasift; Brent Leary, CRM Essentials; Justin Locke, Author; David Fowler, SAP Services; Dr. Ashok Ranchhod, Gamification Researcher; Hansen Lieu, SAP; Gopal Rajguru, Innovate+Grow Group; Jayson Mayden, MarkOne; Jeremy Epstein, Sprinklr; Ingrid Bernaudin, SAP. Happy holidays from SAP Game-Changers Radio!

The buzz: Industrial Internet. The world as we knew it a few years ago has changed. The Internet of Things or Industrial Internet now promises to transform businesses and competition in most industries. Is your company ready to seize the opportunities or are you stuck in the dark ages? The experts speak. Dave Westrom, ThingWorx: “If all you're trying to do is essentially the same thing as your rivals, then it's unlikely that you'll be very successful” (Michael Porter). Quentin Fisher, HCL Axon: “We humans have indeed always been adept at dovetailing our minds and skills to the shape of our current tools and aids. But when those tools and aids start dovetailing back ...the line between tool and user becomes flimsy indeed. (Andy Clark). Chris Hallenbeck, SAP: We are called to be architects of the future, not its victims. (R. Buckminster Fuller). Join us for Industrial Internet: Real-Time to Grow Your Business – Part 3.

The buzz: Retail. Retailers: If you’re not making each customer’s experience more engaging, exciting and fulfilling than your competitors are, help is here. Hints: Find your own retail niche. Leverage that distinction across your business. Nurture a “Fan to Brand” loyalty that compels shoppers to engage far beyond the purchase…and more. The experts speak. BJ Bueno, The Cult Branding Company: “Some customers have a religious devotion to a particular brand. They may go so far as to permanently scorch their skin with the logo or image of the brand they love.” Scott McKain, Expert on Distinction: “’I LOVE shopping there. They treat me EXACTLY like everyplace else!’ said no customer ever. Create distinction!” Nancy Casey, SAP: “The latest major disruption in the retail world is Alibaba’s IPO which broke all records. With a market cap of $230B (larger than Amazon or eBay), the global retail market will never be the same.” Join us for Retail Relevancy: Distinction Trumps Differentiation.

The buzz: Our safety. Product safety recalls are in the news so often that our reactions of shock and fear have been replaced by, “What now?” Manufacturers clearly need help identifying potential safety issues earlier in a new product’s life cycle, detecting existing unknown issues, and keeping pace with increasing regulatory requirements. Can advanced analytics help proactively identify safety issues before lives are lost and injuries are sustained, launch recall campaigns sooner, and better protect consumers as well as the company’s brand? The experts speak. Rob Biskup, Deloittte: “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.” (Film: Cool Hand Luke) Derek Snaidauf, Deloitte: “Look, and you will find it—what is unsought will go undetected.” (Sophocles) John Hack, SAP: “An escalator can never break: it can only become stairs.” (Mitch Hedberg) Join us for A Matter of Life and Death: Advanced Analytics and Product Safety Recalls.

The buzz: Counterfeits, “Quality has its price” is especially true for drugs and medical devices, where counterfeiting is a $Billion market. How to protect consumer safety and stem revenue losses facing honest manufacturers? The food, fashion, high tech products and automotive industries face similar challenges. Will Life Sciences solve it first? The experts speak. Eric Newmark, IDC: “The life science industry has dragged its feet for the last two decades with item-level serialization, keeping it in the dark ages, and positioning itself as an easy target for counterfeiters.” Manish Tandon, InfoSys: “True glory takes root and spreads; all false pretenses, like flowers, fall to the ground – nor can any counterfeit last long” (Marcus Tullius Cicero). Joe Miles, SAP: “When the World Health Organization says 10 percent of the drugs in the world market are fake, I’d say it’s a reasonable and educated guess...” (Roger Bate). Join us for Counterfeit Medical Products: Stop the Madness.

The buzz: Banks. Since the financial crisis, banks have been working harder to rebuild customer trust and improve relationships, even offering interactive online communications to meet consumer demand. A survey from SAP and analyst firm Ovum finds many banks now seeking cloud technology to develop products faster, simplify operations, quickly enter new markets, and ultimately be more agile and customer-centric. How are they doing? The experts speak. Riva Richmond, EIU: “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.” (Abraham Lincoln). Daniel Mayo, Ovum: “SaaS, in enabling rapid change for incumbent banks and levelling the playing field for smaller banks and new entrants, is poised to transform the industry. The only question is when we will reach this point.” Falk Rieker, SAP: “Adapt or die! Banking is undergoing a massive, rapid transformation that is technology-led and enabled.” Join us for Financial Fast-Forward: Defining A Best Practice Bank.

The buzz: Mentoring. Great mentors can be invaluable to the success of individual employees, as well as to your entire organization. Are only a few employees, perhaps mainly one gender, privileged to have mentors? Are your mentoring practices building a diverse leadership or cloning “desirable” stereotypes? Do you support reverse mentoring in a multi-generational workforce? The experts speak. Brian Moran, Brian Moran & Associates: “Your most important task as a leader is to teach people how to think and ask the right questions so that the world doesn't go to hell if you take a day off.” Sherryanne Meyer, Air Products and Chemicals: “Others may question your credentials, your papers, your degrees. Others may look for all kinds of ways to diminish your worth. But what is inside you no one can take from you or tarnish.” (Pursuit of Happyness). Meaghan Sullivan, SAP: “I am not a teacher, but an awakener.” (Robert Frost). Join us for Mentoring Done Right: Everybody Wins!–Part 3.

The buzz: A healthier future. On Pharma and Technology Part 1, we discussed the need for pharma to move quickly to introduce safe, cost-effective drugs that respond to cancer, Ebola, and other chronic and urgent diseases. Now we’ll explore how pharma and medical devices companies are working to surmount health market hurdles andprepare for a healthier global future. How soon can they glean life-saving insights by connecting the dots scientific, clinical, genomic, and patient therapy data? Will new collaboration networks add value to clinical trials and post-drug-launches? Are they optimistic? The experts speak. Ashish Goel, Infosys: “Change is not a destination, just as hope is not a strategy” (Rudy Giuliani). Alan S. Louie, Ph.D, IDC Health Insights: “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life” (Confucius). Joe Miles, SAP: “Test fast, fail fast, adjust fast” (Tom Peters). Join us for Pharma and Technology: Higher Outcomes, Lower Costs – Part 2.

The buzz: HR – There’s an app for that. Just six years after first-generation iPhones debuted, smartphones pervade every corner of our work, personal, and emotional lives. As demand for corporate mobile apps escalates, HR is climbing aboard the mobility bandwagon. But with only a few developers offering mobile HCM – most limited to slim, basic process steps – HR is not finding the easy-to-use functionality and consumer-centric, gamified look-and-feel needed to engage younger employees. How soon will HR solution vendors put muscle into meeting this demand? The experts speak. Daniel Meszaros, Maersk Group: “Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.” (Michael Jordan) N Ganapathy, Cogent Integrated Business Solutions Inc: “It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.” (Charles Darwin) Ingrid Bernaudin, SuccessFactors: “If we don’t disrupt ourselves by leveraging mobile, someone else will.” Join us for Trends in HR Mobility: Apps on the Go.

The buzz: Banking. Triggered by the financial crisis and subsequent regulatory changes, banks are moving toward a new paradigm of simultaneously and proactively managing risk, return, liquidity, and capital. While technology is playing a transformative role in the industry, many regulators believe banks are moving too slowly to fully embrace it. Are they right? The experts speak. Richard Fleming, Bain & Company: “Change happens by listening to people and then starting a dialogue with people who are doing something they don’t believe is right” (Jane Goodall). Michael Pinedo, New York University: “Future challenges for banking will involve determining the trade-offs between ease of use for the customer and how to maintain a high level of security and privacy.” Don Trotta, SAP: “’If everything seems under control, you’re not going fast enough’ (Mario Andretti). If regulators are now moving faster than banks ...a ‘game changer’.” Join us for Banks Embracing Technology: Fast Enough?

The buzz: Retail. Retailers: If you’re not making each customer’s experience more engaging, exciting and fulfilling than your competitors are, help is here. Hints: Find your own retail niche. Leverage that distinction across your business. Nurture a “Fan to Brand” loyalty that compels shoppers to engage far beyond the purchase…and more. The experts speak. BJ Bueno, The Cult Branding Company: “Some customers have a religious devotion to a particular brand. They may go so far as to permanently scorch their skin with the logo or image of the brand they love.” Scott McKain, Expert on Distinction: “’I LOVE shopping there. They treat me EXACTLY like everyplace else!’ said no customer ever. Create distinction!” Nancy Casey, SAP: “The latest major disruption in the retail world is Alibaba’s IPO which broke all records. With a market cap of $230B (larger than Amazon or eBay), the global retail market will never be the same.” Join us for Retail Relevancy: Distinction Trumps Differentiation.

The buzz: Retail. As NY Fashion Week ends, fashion retailers are under more competitive pressure than ever to deliver great “retail therapy” experiences that consistently meet or exceed customers’ expectations. And because customers shop brands, not channels, retailers must deliver at all points along the shopping journey. But how? The experts speak. Scott McKain, Expert on Distinction: “The attributes that many retailers believe make their customer experience differentiated in the marketplace are precisely the same ones that competitors are promoting as their points of uniqueness.” Vicki Cantrell, National Retail Federation: “Perfection is the enemy of the good. Don’t worry, be crappy.” (V. Cantrell, combining quotes). Andrea France, SAP: “Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky; in the street. Fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” (Coco Chanel). Join us for Retail: Winning the Hearts, Minds, Wallets of Fashionistas .

The buzz: Pharma. Populations are aging. Chronic diseases are increasing, with new strains emerging at an alarming rate. For these reasons and more, global healthcare costs are skyrocketing and pressure is mounting to develop innovative pharmaceutical drugs. How can pharma organizations accelerate R&D – without compromising quality – to deliver new therapies that effectively fight complex, life-threatening illnesses like cancer? Is technology the key to improving patient outcomes while reducing costs? The experts speak. Ashish Goel, Infosys: “We cannot solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them” (Albert Einstein). Alan S. Louie, Ph.D, IDC Health Insights: “May you live in interesting times” (Ancient Chinese curse). Joe Miles, SAP: “If it’s not documented, it’s just a rumor” (from a former FDA investigator). Join us for Pharma and Technology: Higher Outcomes, Lower Costs.

The buzz: Balance. Whether you call it work-life balance or integration, some days it seems impossible. How can you be calm, centered, productive, happy amid 24/7 work distractions and deadlines, family and sleep demands? The experts speak. Pamela Weiss, Appropriate Response: “In a real sense all life is inter-related. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly” (Dr. Martin Luther King). Marc Lesser, SIYLI.org: “There is scientific evidence that mindfulness practice can support leaders to cultivate more acceptance and openness, and reduce fear – necessary in supporting innovation.” Peter Bostelmann, SAP: “Mindfulness is a Leading Edge Inner Technology–not at all about being esoteric or touchy feely. It is evidence-based, self-empowering mental trainings known by ancient wisdom traditions and today backed by modern science.” Join us for Balance at Work: The Business Case for Health.

The buzz: Cloud and Marketing. Breaking news! The cloud brings one of the biggest opportunities for the future of marketing. But it comes with big challenges. Have you begun developing a digital marketing strategy and platform makeover? Are you prepared to shift into a totally customer-focused culture? Is the right talent on board yet? Before your marketing organization can play well and win big in this burgeoning arena, you need to know what future success will look like. The experts speak. Florian Brody, Brody and Partners: “Let’s go back some 400 years. Hamlet: “Do you see yonder clouds that’s almost in shape of a camel?” Polonius: “By the mass, and ’tis like a camel indeed” (William Shakespeare, Hamlet). Steven Bailey, Deloitte Digital: “In all things, be curious, courageous, confident, and caring.” Bernard Chung, SAP: “It’s not about digital marketing but marketing in a digital world” (Mayur Gupta). Join us for Up-Skilling for Marketing in the Cloud: Are You Ready?

The buzz: Fraud. As hard as you work to implement effective anti-fraud processes, voracious and savvy fraudsters are working even harder, and perhaps smarter, to thwart you. Good news! Predictive analytics technology can help you understand emerging fraud patterns and adapt against new types of attack, but only if you use the tools effectively. What will it take for your leadership to make this a priority? The experts speak. Derek Snaidauf, Deloitte: “The beginning is the most important part of the work” (Plato). Michael P Cangemi, Cangemi Company: “The uninspected (inevitably) deteriorates” (34th US President Dwight D. Eisenhower). Jérôme Pugnet, SAP: “Fraudulent actors often exhibit repetitive patterns. As we recognize these, we can apply heuristics to predict when they are about to occur again, and help stop them; but for complex, evolving fraud vectors, we turn to machine learning…” (Blog at Airbnb). Join us for Fighting Fraud: Predictive Technology to the Rescue? – Part 3.

Today’s buzz: Insurance. Along its paper-to-digital journey, the insurance industry has attained sophistication in the use of some analytics tools. But the industry overall is still a laggard when it comes to adopting an integrated approach across the enterprise. The best way to catch up? Establishing a Business Intelligence Center of Excellence may be the key to creating a much-needed business-driven analytics strategy. The experts speak. Michael John Bernaski, Management Consultant: “...in an information-rich world, the wealth of information means a dearth of something else: a scarcity of whatever it is that information consumes” (H. A. Simon). Monique Hesseling, Strategy Meets Action: The only true wisdom is knowing you know nothing (Socrates). Pat Saporito, SAP: “The Stone Age was marked by man’s clever use of crude tools; the Information Age has been marked by man’s crude use of clever tools” (Anonymous). Join us for Analytics in Insurance: Dinosaur or Dynamo? - Part 3

The buzz: SMEs. If you’re the entrepreneurial founder or leader of a small-to-midsize company, your commitment is tested daily. After engaging investors and building a core team, your challenges can include scaling technology, opening sustainable distribution channels, engaging and delighting customers, mastering social media opportunities and more. Whew! How are today’s successful businesses getting it all done? The experts speak. Brian Moran, Brian Moran & Associates: “Never let the odds keep you from doing what you know in your heart you were meant to do.” (H. Jackson Brown Jr.) Andrew Sherman, Jones Day: “We spend most of our lives devoted to activities that diminish our fuel and then wonder why our tank is empty.” Meaghan Sullivan, SAP: “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” (Albert Schweitzer) Join us for Grow Your SME Business: Smart Tips for Entrepreneurs – Part 2.

Today’s buzz: Customer experience. Is technology the magic bullet to help you give customers everything they want and more – and thus ensure their loyalty? Not quite. Technology can indeed give you real-time insights to be relevant, to respond with agility and speed, to connect collaboratively and transact efficiently. But the perfectly seamless, frictionless customer experience can be elusive. The experts speak. Don Peppers, Peppers & Rogers Group: “Statistics show that customer loyalty is not well correlated with customer satisfaction. But customer disloyalty IS highly correlated with customer dissatisfaction.” Anthony Leaper, SAP: “Many companies believe technology is the only lubricant needed to enable a frictionless customer experience. The individual characteristics needed to deliver a frictionless experience are never consistent, so is its successful delivery to a customer simply guesswork or luck?” Join us for Frictionless Customer Experience: War Stories from the Trenches.

Today’s buzz: Potential Is your company still operating by Industrial Era standardization, predictability, top-down authority? Enough! Progressive organizations are using a connected, collaborative, creative model to unleash and amplify the imagination, initiative, passion of inspired individual employees, customers, suppliers. How? The experts speak. Polly LaBarre, MIX: “Every great advance has issued from a new audacity of imagination” (John Dewey). Andrew Jones, Conjunctured Coworking: “In today’s rapidly evolving ‘sharing economy,’ traditionally managed large firms built purely on scale will struggle to receive respect and commitment from tomorrow’s most talented knowledge workers.” Mario Kaphan, Vagas: “Individuals are empowered to do whatever they want, BUT everybody has everything to do with that.” Kerry Brown, SAP: “Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions” (Oliver Wendell Holmes). Join us for Unleashing Unlimited Human Potential.

Today’s buzz: You - again! Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose (Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, 1849). Early-days “Make for Me” industrialization was humming along until Henry Ford car-jacked it to launch the “Any color you want, as long as it’s black” mass-production manufacturing economy. Today, consumers are once again calling the shots, loudly clamoring for “Make for Me” products and services. All at higher quality at lower prices, of course. Can new technologies help your company give ‘em what they want and still be profitable? The experts speak. Whitney Johnson, Disruptive Innovation Facilitator: “The more we give, the more we have. The more we let go, the more control. Elizabeth Hedstrom Henlin, TBR: “So, two cheers for Democracy: one because it admits variety and two because it permits criticism” (E. M. Forster). Reuven Gorsht, SAP: “To understand your customers, start by knowing why you exist.” Join us for Future of Make for Me: The Luxury of Customer Centricity – Part 2.

The buzz: 4th Industrial Revolution. Welcome to the Age of the Smart Factory, where a new generation of systems delivers real-time awareness and dynamic interactions among machines, systems, assets, people and things – aka The Internet of Things. Consumers are connected through sensors and smart tags. Printing is now 3D. Is your business ready to seize innovative opportunities or are you stuck in the dark ages? The experts speak. Dave Westrom, ThingWorx: “It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive, but those who can best manage change” (Charles Darwin). Quentin Fisher, HCL Axon: “The Future is already here. It is just not evenly distributed (William Gibson). Chris Hallenbeck, SAP: “When I am working on a problem, I never think about beauty. I only think about how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong. (Buckminster Fuller) Join us for Industrial Internet: Real-Time to Grow Your Business – Part 2.

The buzz: Mentoring. Basic mentoring involves a more experienced or knowledgeable person guiding someone less experienced or knowledgeable for personal or professional development. Time for a pop quiz: Is your company allowing mentors for a privileged few, perhaps mostly males, or for a broader employee population? Are your mentoring practices building a diverse leadership or merely cloning stereotypes? A lot to consider. The experts speak. Sherryanne Meyer, Air Products and Chemicals: “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination” (Albert Einstein). Sarah Cooke, Great Place to Work: “Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad” (Miles Kington, UK’s The Independent daily columnist). Meaghan Sullivan, SAP: “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel (Maya Angelou). Join us for Mentoring Done Right: Everybody Wins! – Part 2

Today’s buzz: Customer experience. Is technology the magic bullet to help you give customers everything they want and more – and thus ensure their loyalty? Not quite. Technology can indeed give you real-time insights to be relevant, to respond with agility and speed, to connect collaboratively and transact efficiently. But the perfectly seamless, frictionless customer experience can be elusive. The experts speak. Don Peppers, Peppers & Rogers Group: “Statistics show that customer loyalty is not well correlated with customer satisfaction. But customer disloyalty IS highly correlated with customer dissatisfaction.” Anthony Leaper, SAP: “Many companies believe technology is the only lubricant needed to enable a frictionless customer experience. The individual characteristics needed to deliver a frictionless experience are never consistent, so is its successful delivery to a customer simply guesswork or luck?” Join us for Frictionless Customer Experience: War Stories from the Trenches.

Today’s buzz: Simplification. Complexity is intensifying for businesses, communities and us as individuals. Is this what we really want or need? If the complexity trend perpetuates in established companies, at risk are the agility, adaptability, scalability, and cost-effectiveness that allow leaner, simpler organizations to compete better and win bigger. Before you try to recapture your long-gone simplicity via new organizational design, technology tools and business processes, first figure out how you got this way. If you don’t understand what caused the problem, how will you avoid repeating it? The experts speak. Suzanne Passante, Day & Zimmerman: “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler” (Albert Einstein). Matt Healey, TBR: “Never confuse a clear view with a short distance.” David Fowler, SAP Services: “The most important things in life aren’t THINGS.” Join us for the Future of Business: Changing the Game through Simplification.

The buzz: Thinking. Increasingly, in-demand jobs require proficiency in critical thinking. Without it, how can a company validate the information it uses for decision making? Think about it. The experts speak. Dr. Mark Battersby, Professor: “Learning to think more critically involves developing practices that lead to more carefully thought-out, evidence-based decisions and judgments.” Dr. Sharon Bailin, Professor: “Critical thinkers are more committed to the process of being reasonable than to any particular view or position.” Shirley Calla, Masters Student: “I think the task of figuring out how to combine the best of conscious deliberation and instinctive judgment is one of the greatest challenges of our time” (Malcolm Gladwell). Emily Mui, SAP: “In this age of information overload and demand for instant response and gratification, it’s even more important to have good critical thinking skills so you can make good decisions.” Join us for Critical Thinking Part 2: To Tell the Truth.

Today’s buzz: Marketing. We’re all bombarded by a never-ending deluge of marketing content that rarely works its intended magic. If you're among the thousands of marketing writers spewing the reams of boring, forgettable content that’s likely harming your brand, it's time to get help. Listen-up for insider tips that can help boost your messaging to memorable, experience-rich, relevant, actionable communication gems. The experts speak. Jeremy Epstein, Sprinklr: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel” (Maya Angelou). Kare Anderson, Moving From Me to We: “Start with the specific customer story, then end with the specific product benefit that made it possible, not the reverse.” Tim Clark, SAP: “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” (Leonardo da Vinci). Join us for more of their insights on Social and Content Marketing Part 2: Relishing Relevance.

The buzz: Fraud. As hard as you try to implement effective anti-fraud processes and tools, fraudsters work harder. Take heart! Predictive analytics technology can help you understand emerging fraud patterns and adapt against new types of attack. The tools continue to advance, but is your management team making analytics – and their insights – a high enough priority? The experts speak. Derek Snaidauf, Deloitte: “There are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction” (John F. Kennedy). Michael P Cangemi, Cangemi Company: “An organization's ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage” (Jack Welch). Jérôme Pugnet, SAP: “The median duration – the amount of time from when the fraud commenced until it was detected – for reported cases is 18 months” (2014 ACFE Report). Join us for Fighting Fraud: Predictive Technology to the Rescue – Part 2.

The buzz: Manufacturing. Manufacturers are pushing automated processes into overdrive to survive in the global marketplace. As this evolution spawns new jobs demanding specialized skills best performed by robots, will the factory workforce need humans? The experts speak. Mike Yost, MESA International: “Governmental initiatives, like Germany’s ‘Industry 4.0’ and US National Network for Manufacturing Innovation, are shining a light on the importance of advanced technologies in manufacturing, but we’re still a long way away from putting the pieces together correctly.” Kimberly Knickle, IDC: “I was taught that the way of progress was neither swift nor easy” (Marie Curie). Jeff Jackson, Deloitte: “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler” (Albert Einstein). Chuck Pharris, SAP: “The future of automation will be a shift from robots replacing humans in jobs to humans working beside robots.” Join us for Manufacturing Trends: Automation in Overdrive – Part 2.

The buzz: Game on! Games are an integral part of all societies. A formalized expression of play, games carry the ideas and behaviors of a culture through time to future generations (Wikipedia.org). But while we thought they it just for fun, the concept of games was maturing into a serious player in the diverse arenas of formal learning, job training, workplace productivity, sustainability, healthcare, advertising and sales. We’ve even heard that 70% of the top 2000 companies plan to use gamification by 2015. Not a believer yet? The experts speak. Prof. Ashok Ranchhod, Games Design Hub: “If you don’t know where you are going, any road’ll take you there” (Alice in Wonderland). Gopal RajGuru, Innovate+Grow Group: “Let the (business) games begin!” Philipp Herzig, SAP: “Participants who went through a gamified (elearning) course are upset when they have to take a non-gamified training.” Join us for Gamification: Serious Business – Part 2

Today’s buzz: SMEs. If you’re the entrepreneurial founder or leader of a small-to-midsize company, you likely face challenges that test your commitment every day. Once you get past grappling with financing and building a leadership team, you need to focus on scaling technology, opening sustainable channels of distribution, engaging new customers, mastering social media opportunities and more. Ready to hear how successful businesses are figuring it all out? The experts speak. Brian Moran, Brian Moran & Associates: “If you want something bad enough, you will find a way; if you don’t, you will find an excuse.” Andrew Sherman, Jones Day: “Innovation without execution is an irresponsible waste of corporate assets and dilutes shareholder value.” Ursula Ringham, SAP: “Every great company started with an ambitious idea.” Join us for Growing Your Small-to-Midsize Business: Challenges and Strategies

Today’s buzz: Data overwhelm. What’s the big deal about big data when it comes to marketing your products and services? Successful marketing hinges on gaining insight from the mountains of data you capture and store, so you can build great relationships and experiences with your customers and prospects. Do you have the right people and tools to sift through all that information and find the golden nuggets of opportunity? The experts speak. Andrew Jones, Altimeter Group: “Customer identity today is a shattered mirror, with little pieces of it spread throughout the organization. Customer Service sees a different piece of the profile than sales or marketing or loyalty.” Esteban Kolsky, ThinkJar: “Customers don’t care about brands. Brands care about customers.” Kaan Turnali, SAP: “The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well, the product or service fits him and sells itself” (Peter Drucker). Join us for Data Deluge: Customer Insight Challenges and Opportunities.

Today’s buzz: Fraud. With today’s sophisticated detection and prevention technology, you’d hope we’d be able to stop the bad guys from stealing our money and identities, cheating companies and consumers. Alas, industrious cybercriminals are busy this very second devising clever schemes to attack vulnerable merchants and buyers, creating innocuous-looking blogs and referral sites, targeting chat forums and social media, infecting e-cards. Your organization can't afford to not be vigilant and not be resistant to the risk of corporate fraud. The experts speak. Prakash Santhana, Deloitte: “When the proverbial ‘it’ hits the fan – will you be ready? Because it will…it is only a question of time!” Vincent Walden, Ernst & Young: “Big risks require big data thinking.” Mike Kosonog, Deloitte: “’More Data, More Opportunities.’ This tag-line seems to cut two ways.” Michael Lortz, SAP: “The data doesn't lie...or does it? Join us for Fakes, Frauds, Scams: Who’s Winning? – Part 2.

The buzz: Mobile BI. Mobile BI is quickly becoming mainstream, with a majority of organizations considering it “critical” or “very important,” particularly in smaller organizations, in the Retail segment, and outside North America and EMEA. In fact, according to the Howard Dresner Mobile Analytics Study 2013, mobile business intelligence is the third most common use case for mobile business workers, next to email and contact information. Are you and your team getting right-time business information when, where and how you need it, so you can act on it quickly? The experts speak. Howard Dresner, Dresner Advisory Services: “Sometimes doing your best is not good enough. Sometimes you must do what is required” (Winston Churchill). Kaan Turnali, SAP: “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” (Leonardo da Vinci). Mimi Spier, SAP: “In time of big wind, some people build walls and some people build windmills” (Chinese proverb). Join us for Mobile BI: Location, Location, Location.

The buzz: Mentoring. Mentoring at its most basic involves a more experienced or knowledgeable person helping to guide someone less experienced or knowledgeable for personal and/or professional development. But mentoring can be so much more. It’s a two-way learning street, with its own rules and culture. It can be done in reverse. And it can help your organization pass on cultural norms and more. The experts speak. Sherryanne Meyer, Air Products and Chemicals: “’Help me, Obi Wan Kenobi!’ is the phrase I will occasionally recite to colleagues who have some knowledge that I need. Obi Wan was Luke and Anakin Skywalker’s mentor in Star Wars.” Sarah Cooke, Great Place to Work: “I'd rather regret the things I have done than the things that I haven't” (Lucille Ball). Meaghan Sullivan, SAP: “Dress for success… always present yourself both mentally and in physical appearance in the job that you want to be in… one level up.” Join us for Mentoring Done Right: Everybody Wins!

The buzz: Game on! We’ve always been drawn to games in our leisure time, from Senet (Egypt), Mahjong (China), dice (Iran, India) to Monopoly (US), and videogames. But while we were having fun, gaming became a serious player in the arenas of formal learning, workplace productivity and even sales. We’ve heard that 70% of the top 2000 companies plan to use gamification (term coined in 2002 by Nick Pelling) by 2015. Are you in it to win it? The experts speak. Prof. Ashok Ranchhod, Games Design Hub: “Curiosity may have killed the cat, so we should love and respect it. For without curiosity and imagination, we would all be the living dead.” Gopal RajGuru, Innovate+Grow Group: “Gamification has its place … but some things are difficult to put into a meaningful game that both entertains and educates.” Philipp Herzig, SAP: “The opposite of play is not work, it’s depression” (Brian Sutton-Smith, play theorist, game researcher). Join us for Gamification: Filling the Customer Expectation vs Sales Gap.

Today’s buzz: Industry 4.0. It’s 2014 and we’re witnessing the rise of the Industrial Internet and orchestrated manufacturing. This Age of the Smart Factory brings a new generation of systems delivering real-time awareness and autonomic interactions among machines, systems, assets and things aka The Internet of Things. Is your business ready to adjust and take advantage of the opportunities - or will you be left behind? The experts speak. Dave Westrom, ThingWorx: “And it ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things” (Niccolo Machiavelli). Quentin Fisher, CSC: “In 10 minutes, the equivalent data from the dawn of creation until 2003 is generated and there is plenty of idle data in the system. Cisco has quoted that 1% of what can be connected is connected.” Join us for Industrial Internet: Real-Time Capabilities to Grow Your Business.

Today’s buzz: Mobility. Welcome to the Mobile 2.0 world. Enterprise mobility is moving at triple-Internet speed. Adoption of BYOD and enterprise-wide B2E, B2B and C2B is disrupting traditional computing. Nearly 50% of organizations will invest in mobile apps, devices and mobile device management solutions over the next 12-18 months, but not all have a mobile strategy in place to ensure effective deployments. What will it take for companies to have a fighting chance to achieve mobile success? The experts speak. Benjamin Robbins, Palador: “Going small is not the same thing as going mobile.” Michael O’Farrel, Mobile Institute: “Wearable workforce on the horizon.” Maribel Lopez, Lopez Research: “Mobile is the foundation for contextual engagement.” Carolyn Fitton Coad, SAP: “The connected future is here and mobile is the first screen to innovation.” Join us for Enterprise Mobility for Dummies: You Can Run But You Can’t Hide – Part 2.

Today’s buzz: Thinking. According to “The 10 Skills That Will Get You Hired In 2013” (Forbes.com, Dec. 10, 2012), the top four skills required for 9 of the top 10 most in-demand jobs were critical thinking, complex problem solving, judgment and decision-making, and active listening. Pop quiz: If you apply for a “hot” new job today and are asked to honestly rate your proficiency in these skills, do you know enough about the definition of critical thinking to respond? The experts speak. Dr. Mark Battersby, Professor: “The first step in critical thinking is ‘logical self-defense’—learning not to be taken in by bad but persuasive arguments.” Dr. Sharon Bailin, Professor: “Critical thinking is more than logical self-defense. It involves coming to a reasonable decision based on a careful evaluation of relevant reasons and data.” Deepa Sankar, SAP: “Analytics is not just about numbers. Look beyond those numbers.” Join us for Critical Thinking: Path to True Business Intelligence?

Today’s buzz: Marketing. We’re all bombarded daily by a deluge of content. Some works its intended magic; most fails with a splat or simply vaporizes. If you’re among the legions of writers (or a manager of writers) spewing forgettable content that’s doing injustice to your brand, and your only authentic words are curses flung at your keyboard, help is here. Tune in for insider tips to go from dull, irrelevant messages to actionable, memorable, experience-rich communications gems. The experts speak. Jeremy Epstein, Sprinklr: “Brands will not survive the social age without experience management.” Kare Anderson, Moving From Me to We: “Whoever most vividly characterizes what a situation is about usually determines how others see it in their mind’s eye, think about it, and act on it.” Tim Clark, SAP: “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you” (Maya Angelou). Join us for their insights on Social and Content Marketing: Why Is Less More?

The buzz: Project teams. When it comes to technology implementation roll-outs, achieving success demands astutely aligning your time, money and people with corporate objectives. The bottom line: If your project teams aren’t earning high-fives on design, development, testing, training and ultimately process integration — and your PM (project manager) locks their door and turns off their phone — it’s time to consider new approaches to project management. The experts speak. Greg Stimpson, Method360: ““Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid” (Albert Einstein). Erik Axton, Method360: “A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it” (G.K. Chesterton). Jason Bradley, SAP: “To simplify complications is the first essential of success (George Earle Buckle). Join us for Project Teams: New Roadmap To Success

Today’s buzz: Shared value in education. What if your company could deliver shareholder returns while simultaneously helping to solve our global education crisis, and better prepare the workforce for the jobs you need to fill? You can! A growing number of smart companies are using their core business strategy and operations to create the power to solve education solutions, far beyond the reach of their limited giving budgets. The experts speak. Kate Tallant, FSG: “By aligning profit with purpose, companies can become essential partners for schools, nonprofits, and governments in overcoming the global education crisis.” Amanda Gardiner, Pearson: “Companies should not be managing their reputations, they should be managing their impacts.” (Christine Bader blog in The Guardian) Brittany Lothe, SAP: “Plan like a pessimist, think like a realist, act like an optimist and – above all – love what you do. Join us for Business’s New Role in Education: Creating Shared Value.

Today’s buzz: Cloud. The IT industry is in a state of flux, with its traditional approaches heavily impacted by disruptive technologies. Cloud computing tops that list. Want to know more? Hear what five cloud experts see in the cloud this year. Sven Denecken, SAP: “The most important long-term benefits of cloud are greater business flexibility and agility vs. cost savings.” Allan Krans, TBR: “Whatever you are, be a good one” (Abraham Lincoln). Jillian Mirandi, TBR: “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined” (Henry David Thoreau). Matt Healey, TBR: “Politics are almost as exciting as war, and – quite as dangerous ... [I]n war, you can only be killed once. But in politics, many times” (Winston Churchill). Elizabeth Hedstrom Henlin, TBR: “There cannot be a crisis next week – my schedule is already full” (Henry Kissinger). Join us for A Cloud State of Mind: Predictions 2014.

The buzz: Cloud. Three technology visionaries meet to gaze into the cloud. What do their expert eyes see? Jeff Kaplan, THINKstrategies: “In my view, the cloud computing marketplace will change rapidly in the coming year.” Jorge Garcia, TEC: “In the Age of Analytics, as products and services become ‘lighter’ (i.e., less physical and more digital), manufacturing and distribution costs—while still important—will be augmented with new metrics—the costs of know, the flow of know, and the costs of not knowing.” (Thornton May, futurist, IT Leadership Academy) Tim Minahan, SAP: “Businesses found religion in the cloud in 2013. And there is no doubt that the cloud will become more prevalent in all aspects of the business and IT stack in 2014. Yet, adoption approaches and cloud environments will look far different over the coming year than they have in the past…In short, 2014 will likely go down as the year where business got smart about the cloud.” Join us for Cloud Scapes 2014: Perfect Storm?

The buzz: Social regulation? Social media has given customers a powerful voice that can make or break your brand reputation in a virtual heartbeat. If you’ve suffered their slings and arrows, did you succumb to the temptation to fire back? Hold the presses. Let’s evaluate social risks, rewards and regulation. The experts speak. Raluca Druta, TEC: “Instead of seeking the explanation in a general conception of the law […] it seemed to me far wiser to look at the workings of Power. I was concerned not with some omnipresent power,[...] but with refinement, the elaboration and installation since the seventeenth century, of techniques for 'governing' individuals. (Michel Foucault) Tim Barker, DataSift: “The future is already here — it's just not very evenly distributed.” (William Gibson, author) Todd Wilms, SAP: “For now, let your company compass be your guide. Regulation will come, so enjoy the self-regulated freedom while it lasts. Join us for Social Media Compliance: Time for Regulation?

The buzz: Social. Have your company’s social engagement tools and practices evolved to meet the demands of today’s digitally-empowered, brand-controlling customers – or are you stalled, stumbling, or just plain failing? If the latter, wake up right now! The world of customer service has changed, with your audience tipping the balance of power in their favor. They expect you to welcome and serve them with speed, accuracy, respect, and grace – on all of the channels they choose. Need help? The experts speak. Brent Leary, CRM Essentials: “Speed of engagement will play an increasingly important role in creating great customer service experiences.” Dan Gingiss, Discover: “First focus on a superior product or service. Then focus on outstanding customer service. Once you have both, doing customer service well in social media is a breeze. Kai Petzelt, SAP: “We live in a world of digital Darwinism” (Brian Solis). Join us for Social Customer Engagement: How Does Your Company Score?

Looking for a crystal ball to help you predict what 2014 may bring for your business, your industry, your marketplace? We’ve got the next best thing – dozens of expert insights into the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better this year and beyond. These thought leaders will appear on SAP Game-Changers Radio 2014 Predictions – Part 3 LIVE: Todd Wilms, SAP; Michael Denis, Flatirons Solutions; Neal Schact, CommuniTech; Nicolette Van Exel, SAP; Kathy-Ann Hutson, IBM; Padman Ramankutty, Intrigo; Steve Hilton, MachNation; Bill Newman, Newport Consulting; China Gorman, Great Place to Work; Steve Player, Beyond Budgeting Round Table; Jorge Garcia, TEC; Dennis Goodhart, IP Network Consulting; Marcus Baur, Sailing Team Germany; Eric Siegel, Predictive Analytics World; Tim Minahan, SAP. To hear the first two parts of our 2014 Predictions special, visist: http://bit.ly/Predictions2014A and http://bit.ly/Predictions2014B. Wishing you a positively game-changing New Year!

Today’s buzz: Donations. Businesses are pressured to do the right thing via donations, especially at year-end. Giving feels good. It could feel even better all year long if your company expands its generosity to support NPOs and NGOs around the world. How? The experts speak. Joana Breidenbach, betterplace.org: “The social sector and philanthropy will experience a similar disruption to industries such as news and retail – digital tools challenge existing power relations, practices, and business models. Executed well, they hold the potential for civil society organizations to be much more efficient and effective.” Alex Lapusan, Zitec: “There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction” (John F. Kennedy). Nish Pangali, SAP: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has” (Margaret Mead). Join us for Tech Donations: Transforming NGOs & NPOs – Part 2.

Looking for a crystal ball to help you predict what 2014 may bring for your business? We’ve got the next best thing – more than 40 thought leaders sharing their expert insights into the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better next year and beyond. Following our first 16 thought leaders’ predictions on Dec. 18, we now bring you SAP Game-Changers Radio 2014 Predictions – Part 2 LIVE with featured guests: Greg Girard, IDC; Chris Carter, Approyo; Eric Stine, SAP; Quentin Fisher, CSC; Paula Rosenblum, SSResearch; Mark Breading, Strategy Meets Action; Elizabeth Hedstrom Henlin, TBRI; John Elder, Elder Research; Greta Roberts, Talent Analytics; Scott Mitchell, OCEG; Meghan Cook, CTG Albany; Mark Delisi, CSC; Steve Peck, SAP; Nola Masterson, Science Futures; Henner Schliebs, SAP. Be sure to mark your calendar for Part 3 on Jan. 22, 2014. Wishing you a positively game-changing New Year!

Today’s buzz: Giving. Your company is continually pressured to help locals less fortunate via cash, clothing, food, toys donations. Giving is good, right? What if you expand that generosity worldwide to effect social change by supporting nonprofits and NGOs through localized, company-sponsored giving and volunteer campaigns? The experts speak. Akhtar Badshah, Microsoft: “Passion is overrated! Mobilizing and powering social change requires far more than the passion of an individual and the simplistic notion of a technology solution.” Chris Worman, TechSoup: “Thanks to... social media, we are witnessing the rapid decentralization and democratization of authority. Reconciling this shift to less formal, yet powerful citizen-driven models, with traditional civil society, keeps me up at night.” Nish Pangali, SAP: “Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.” (Minor Myers Jr.) Join us for their insights on Tech Donations: Transforming NGOs & NPOs – Part 1

What’s on your wish list this holiday season? If it’s a crystal ball to help you predict what 2014 may bring for your business, we’ve got the next best thing – more than 40 thought leaders sharing their expert insights into the technologies, strategies, and trends that can help you grow and compete better next year and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, or Dom, and join us on Dec. 18 for SAP Game-Changers Radio 2014 Predictions - Part 1 live! Featured guests: R “Ray” Wang, Constellation RG; Deb Smallwood, SMA; Jamie Anderson, SAP; Jill McGillen, Next Turn Consulting; Brian Sommer, TechVentive; Pat Saporito, SAP; John Edelman, Edelman PR; Brian Barnier, ValueBridge Advisors; Brent Leary, CRM Essentials; Steve Boese, HR Happy Hour; Jen Cohen Crompton, Blogger; Jason Rose, SAP; Lee Dittmar, Deloitte; JP Finnell, SAP; Susan Etlinger, Altimeter; Swen Conrad, SAP. And mark your calendar for Part 2 and 3 on Jan. 8 and Jan. 22, 2014. Happy holidays!

Today’s buzz: Mobility. Welcome to the Mobile 2.0 world. Enterprise mobility is moving at triple-Internet speed. Adoption of BYOD and enterprise-wide B2E, B2B and C2B is disrupting traditional computing. Your company may soon need a BYOA (Bring Your Own App) policy. Tablets will soon outsell PCs. Arm yourself with knowledge or be left behind. The experts speak. Michael O’Farrell, Mobile Institute: “Companies that know how to harness the power of enterprise mobility will have a tremendous competitive edge in the global mobile economy.” Ben Robbins, Palador: “Mobile in the enterprise: You’ve got to know why, before you’ll see ROI.” Carolyn Fitton Coad, SAP: ““You are not alone. We’re all in this together — networked, connected, up in the cloud, flying through wi-fi and the web, carrying it all in our pockets and purses with handheld mobile phones and tablets.” (Enterprise Mobility for Dummies Book - first paragraph) Join us for Enterprise Mobility for Dummies: You can run but you can’t hide.

Today’s buzz: Giving. Your company is continually pressured to help locals less fortunate via cash, clothing, food, toys donations. Giving is good, right? What if you expand that generosity worldwide to effect social change by supporting nonprofits and NGOs through localized, company-sponsored giving and volunteer campaigns? The experts speak. Akhtar Badshah, Microsoft: “Passion is overrated! Mobilizing and powering social change requires far more than the passion of an individual and the simplistic notion of a technology solution.” Chris Worman, TechSoup: “Thanks to... social media, we are witnessing the rapid decentralization and democratization of authority. Reconciling this shift to less formal, yet powerful citizen-driven models, with traditional civil society, keeps me up at night.” Nish Pangali, SAP: “Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.” (Minor Myers Jr.) Join us for their insights on Tech Donations: Transforming NGOs & NPOs – Part 1

Today’s buzz: Sports. Whether you play sports or just watch, you may already be seeing the impact of an exciting new ‘player’ on the court, the field, the track, the pool, the television. Its name is technology and it’s enhancing how players play, coaches coach, equipment runs, teams collaborate, fans enjoy, and lots more. The experts speak. Michael Gliedman, NBA: “A man of my mind can do anything” (Steely Dan, Don’t Take Me Alive, 1976). Marcus Baur, Sailing Team Germany: “We ain’t seen nothing yet” (Andrew McAfee, TEDxBoston, 2012). Jen Cohen Crompton, Something Creative: “If the stadium simply becomes a stage, the game will have lost a vital element. I believe this is the next great issue—how to make games important to people when they can sit in their living room?” (Marc Ganis, SportsCorp). Steve Peck, SAP: “Life is like a dogsled race. If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes.” (Lewis Grizzard, writer/humorist). Join us for Sports Go High-Tech: Score!

Today’s buzz: Banking fraud. They’re smart, they’re creative, and they’re determined to make your money their money. They succeed using a recipe of new technology and old-fashioned chutzpah. Our challenge: harness the same technology to detect emerging fraud patterns and stop cyber-criminal organizations from digging deeper into our collective pockets. How are we doing so far? The experts speak. Prakash Santhana, Deloitte: “Do you have any idea who your customer is?” Nuno Sebastiao, Feedzai: “When banking systems cannot distinguish customers from criminals, the bad guys win. To outsmart bad guys, we have to fight fire with fire.” Carl Snyder, SAP: “As fraudsters become more and more sophisticated, especially in the online and cards space, leveraging predictive analytics and immediate fraud detection must become the gold standard in the battle against fraud for banks and credit card companies.” Join us for more insights on Banking Fraud: Can Technology Outsmart the Bad Guys? – Part 2

Today’s buzz: Insurance. The insurance industry is on a paper-to-digital journey that will affect every aspect of its business – especially the customer experience. Really? We can only hope they’ll finally get it right. The experts speak. Kathy Ann Hutson, IBM: “The consumer's connected life, where everything is intelligently connected, opens up the possibility for refreshed thinking in the insurance industry.” Deb Smallwood, Strategy Meets Action: “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” (Steve Jobs) Nathan Golia, Insurance & Technology: “There you can compare insurance plans, side-by-side, the same way you’d shop for a plane ticket on Kayak or a TV on Amazon. (U.S. President Obama, talking about the healthcare.gov website) Pat Saporito, SAP: ‘Beware of geeks bearing gifts,’ a pun on ‘Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.’ Big Data is everywhere, but the real issue is getting big value from Big Data. Join us for The Digital Insurer: Customer Centricity Trends – Part 2.

Today’s buzz: Predictive. IBM’s Watson beat Mensa on Jeopardy. Target knows your family. Match.com picks mates. How are they so smart? The experts speak. John Elder, Elder Research: “Humans and machines have very different strengths and weaknesses. The best decisions come from combining their two types of wisdom. Greta Roberts, Talent Analytics: “When a predictive approach is added to the hiring process, cost-benefit models sometimes show it is more powerful to screen out potential bottom-performing hires.” Eric Siegel, “Predictive Analytics”: “Everyone's heard that correlation does not entail causality. But without establishing any causality, how can we trust a predictive model?” Henner Schliebs, SAP: “Are CFOs the better CEOs? Advanced finance analytics drive the strategic role of finance heads with holistic intelligence about financial, operational and company performance. Master your margins – become a king.” The New CFO Agenda: Tying Predictive to Financial Performance–Part 2.

Today’s buzz: The city. Your city is a complex vital entity with the power to impact your local quality of life as well as national and global economies. How is your city running? Is innovation part of its DNA, spirit, budget and capabilities? The experts speak. Sean Patrick O’Brien, SAP: “What defines a best run city, how can you measure this, what do you benchmark against, and is this the same way citizens, businesses and officials make such a judgment?” Meghan Cook, Center for Technology in Government, Univ. at Albany, NY: “The mesh is an emerging business model based on a network enabled sharing – on access rather than ownership ... where consumers have more choices, more tools, more information, and more peer-to-peer power to guide the choices” (Lisa Gansky, author of The Mesh: Why the Future of Business is Sharing). Cindy King, City of Edmonton: “Make sure what you do is a product of your own conclusion (Jim Rohn). Join us for Best-Run Cities: Urban Matters – Part 2.

Today’s buzz: Bribery and corruption are alive and well. The global economy continues to bring great opportunities and great risks. Wherever you do business, do you have measures in place to detect and thwart clever bribery and corruption fraud schemes, especially those cooked-up by trusted staff or consultants? Perhaps technology can help. The experts speak. Thomas Fox, attorney, independent consultant: “GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in China will be a complete game-changer in bribery and corruption enforcement across the globe.” Vincent Walden, Ernst & Young: “’Parkinson's Law: Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.’ Why: Think about the ‘new’ types of work we will do, given the game-changing performance enhancements of Big Data.” Melissa Lea, SAP: “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe” (Albert Einstein). Join us for Compliance: Focus on Anti-Bribery/Anti-Corruption – Part 2.

Today’s buzz: Corporate responsibility (CR). How’s yours? William Newman, Newport Consulting: “Disney’s decision to pull out of Bangladesh based on the government’s slow response to the building collapse illustrates CR isn’t just for branding anymore. Lives are at stake.” John Edelman, Edelman PR: “Sustainability has moved from license-to-operate to license-to-lead...companies public or private, big or small, should start activating around these issues.”” Mark Delisi, CSC: “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” (Helen Keller) Richard Crespin, CEI: “What was good for our country was good for General Motors, and vice versa. (Charlie Wilson, GM president) Nicolette van Exel, SAP: “Focus only on the things your organization is good at, aligned to one or two social problems, so you can make real social and business impact.” Join us for CR: Nice or Must Have? Part 2.

Today’s buzz: Sports. Whether you play sports or just watch, you may already be seeing the impact of an exciting new ‘player’ on the court, the field, the track, the pool, the television. Its name is technology and it’s enhancing how players play, coaches coach, equipment runs, teams collaborate, fans enjoy, and lots more. The experts speak. Michael Gliedman, NBA: “A man of my mind can do anything” (Steely Dan, Don’t Take Me Alive, 1976). Marcus Baur, Sailing Team Germany: “We ain’t seen nothing yet” (Andrew McAfee, TEDxBoston, 2012). Jen Cohen Crompton, Something Creative: “If the stadium simply becomes a stage, the game will have lost a vital element. I believe this is the next great issue—how to make games important to people when they can sit in their living room?” (Marc Ganis, SportsCorp). Steve Peck, SAP: “Life is like a dogsled race. If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes.” (Lewis Grizzard, writer/humorist). Join us for Sports Go High-Tech: Score!

Today’s buzz: Caregivers. In April, we discussed how technology is being developed to help 65 million U.S. caregivers, and others around the world, who provide weekly care to the ill, disabled and aged. Now, half a year later, we’ll examine the realities of this technology – benefits, limitations, negatives, challenges – and a wish list for the future. The experts speak. Jayne Dixon Weber, National Fragile X Foundation: “Technology can help you when you get a diagnosis. It can help you get information, find doctors, find other people in your situation…and it can help you feel overwhelmed.” Louise W. Gane, MS, M.I.N.D. Institute: “Dare to reach out your hand into the darkness to pull another hand into the light.” (Norman B. Rice, former Mayor of Seattle, WA) Faheem Ahmed, SAP: “The ‘health’ industry is much larger than the ‘healthcare provider’ industry. Sometimes people don't recognize themselves as caregiver.” Join us for Caregiving Goes High-Tech: Benefits, Challenges, Wish List.

Today’s buzz: Manufacturing. Reality check: manufacturers must adapt or die. Survival means automating your shop floor, deploying M2M technology, leveraging Big Data. What else? What is government’s role? The experts speak. Brian Raymond, National Association of Manufacturers: “We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there (East Bound and Down, Smoky and the Bandit theme song, sung by Jerry Reed, 1977). Mike Walton, Atos: “If the leader is filled with high ambition and he pursues his aims with audacity and strength of will, he will reach them in spite of all obstacles!” (Karl von Clausewitz). Scott Bolick, SAP: “The factory of the future will have only two employees, a man and a dog. The man will be there to feed the dog. The dog will be there to keep the man from touching the equipment.” (Warren G. Bennis) Join us for Manufacturing Survival: Idea to Performance.

Today’s buzz: SMEs. A recent Oxford Economics study of 2,100 small to mid-size enterprises in 21 countries found that those leveraging technology to boost innovation, strengthen customer relationships, improve agility and expand business, are able to compete effectively against multinationals. How? The experts speak. Steve Freeman, Decision First Technologies: “To achieve an agile and competitive enterprise, SMEs require the individual within flatter organizations to make better, more timely decisions. This reality places self-service information access at the core of a successful SME’s information strategy.” Edward Cone, Oxford Economics: “Live in fragments no longer. Only connect...” (E.M. Forster, Howards End) Kevin Gilroy, SAP: “Technology and innovations are the competitive equalizers for SMEs anywhere. An SME can ‘look' as competitive as a large company, present themselves anywhere, and compete globally with rivals of any size.” Join us for Equipped to Compete: Tech-Powered SMEs.

The buzz: CRM. Has your company’s CRM evolved to keep up with today’s digitally-empowered, brand-controlling customers – or is it stuck in vanilla call-center mode? If the latter, wake up! Your audience is seizing the power moment-by-moment via smartphones, 4G networks, social networking – and defying traditional CRM tools. The experts speak. Brent Leary, CRM Essentials: “When it comes to building lasting relationships with customers living in The Millisecond Economy, ‘speed thrills and the lack of it kills’”. Susan Etlinger, Altimeter: “The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence; it is to act with yesterday's logic (Peter Drucker, management consultant, self-described ‘social ecologist’, 1901-2005). Jamie Anderson, SAP: “My philosophy born from eight years in the recording industry: ‘I’d rather be a failure at something I love than a success at something I hate (quoting George Burns, late actor) ’”. Join us for Engaging Your Customer: New Recipe for A Long Marriage.

The buzz: Things. Your POV on The Internet of Things and M2M (machine to machine) technology: Real or vapor? Now or futuristic? Listen up! Companies that fail to implement M2M will fall behind their competitors, say a majority of IT decision makers in six countries surveyed by Harris Interactive for SAP. The experts speak. Don Peppers, Peppers & Rogers Group: “When devices begin to join the Internet of Things in vast numbers (as will happen over the next ten years), they won’t just talk to you, they’ll talk to each other and they’ll begin to make smart decisions themselves. Lights, thermostats, and door locks will ‘learn’ your habits and begin adjusting automatically.” Benjamin Wesson, SAP: “Sometime in 2008, the number of 'things' connected to the Internet exceeded the number of people on earth (Berg Insights 2012). Indeed, every time you turn on your car, the car is capturing telemetric data to be analyzed later by service personnel.” Join us for more on The Internet of Things and You.

The buzz: Millennials are here. Retailers, watch out. Tom Julian, Doneger Group: “A celeb today has more impact and influence as a player in fashion and the retailer than an award-winning young designer.” Greg Girard, IDC: Get off of the catwalks and on the sidewalks to see what's coming next. Pinterest is the newest sidewalk. Sarah Austin, Pop17.com: “Micro-celebrities, fashion bloggers, and Hollywood celebrities are the new trendsetters. They embrace technology blogging platforms, social media and photography. Naima Mora, Model: “Fashion and technology have allowed us as millennials to put ourselves in the spotlight that was traditionally held for celebrities.” Hadi Labarang, FSHN: “Bloggers and photographers with a significant following are now celebrities of their own.” Layla Sabourian, SAP: “88 percent of millennials admit to following every celebrity’s move in weeklies and online.” (Young Entrepreneur Council) Hear Fashion Retailer Alert: Delight Millennials or Die! – Part 2

The buzz: Millennials are here. Retailers, watch out. Tom Julian, Doneger Group: “Millennials have become the most racially diverse, most educated, self-expressive, liberal, upbeat generation to date. They have impacted shopping/commerce, the work environment, social media platforms, and lifestyle behavior around technology.” Greg Girard, IDC: “Savvy retailers are evolving and melding digital and physical omnichannel assets to engage millennials, the vanguard of a pervasive digital persona touching nearly every aspect of 21st century life. Retailers that don't will soon be ‘out of fashion’.” Frida Wollweber, Cucuka: “Retailers be alert, millennials’ expectations are high! Offer your finger, they will take your hand. Listen, don’t talk. Gain their trust and they will treat you well.” Li Gong, SAP: “Fashionista millennials say, ‘I don't want to see products on a model or mannequin. I want to see how other girls wear them’.” Hear Fashion Retailer Alert: Delight Millennials or Die! – Part 1

Today’s buzz: Diversity. Inclusion now covers race, age, gender, religion, impairments, skills, viewpoints and more. How will it benefit your company? The experts speak. Paul Albert, Albert Investments: “Outstanding women directors I know would rather see the primary emphasis on their qualifications to contribute, with their label as a woman irrelevant to their board nomination.” Nola Masterson, Science Futures Management: “The pressure to fit in or ‘lean in’, as the current crowd likes to quote, is a problem for a well-run board.” Brian Barnier, ValueBridge: “Too often, risk management does more to put blinders on than take them off. Board diversity can help take blinders off to more easily see risk in the business.” Nicole McCabe, SAP: “It’s not about whether a diverse board will positively impact the business. It’s whether that board can be inclusive enough to take advantage of the business benefits.” Join us for Board and Workforce Diversity: Enterprise Risks, Opportunities, Rewards.

Today’s buzz: Insurance industry. Do you gnash your teeth every time you deal with insurers? Do they even know the meaning of ‘customer experience’? The experts speak. Mark Breading, Strategy Meets Action: “The insurance industry is in the midst of a long transition from paper to digital, affecting every part of the business, but especially the customer experience.” Nathan Golia, Insurance & Technology: “I had the good providence to stumble upon a plan of the city council. A construction plan of epic proportions. We're calling it a freeway. Eight lanes of shimmering cement running from here to Pasadena. Smooth, safe, fast. Traffic jams will be a thing of the past.” (Judge Doom, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, 1988 film). Kathy Ann Hutson, IBM: “Customer-centered innovation is key to growth in the changing insurance marketplace.” Bob Cummings, SAP: “There is no path. A path only forms when you walk.” (Chinese proverb) Join us for The Digital Insurer: Opportunities with Customer Centricity Trends.

Today’s buzz: Corporate innovation. How often are your organization’s decision-makers really right? If not often enough, and their typical excuses wag a finger at your data – too much, too fast, too big, or just ‘bad’ – then take a closer look at the analytics tools they’re using. The experts speak. Elizabeth Hedstrom Henlin, TBR: “No matter where you are in your BI adoption journey, there has never been a better market to be a buyer of new technologies – especially within business intelligence and analytics.” Mark Lenke, CSC: “We are no closer to the answer if we cannot discover the right question, and the question after the question is the one to focus on. Leveraging a Big Data and analytics approach creates a flow of information that spawns new thoughts and analysis.” Puneet Suppal, SAP: “Newer forms of innovation are cropping up, some inspired by age-old practices from around the world. Rethink how to invest in the future.” Join us for Corporate Evolution: Investing in Analytics.

Today’s buzz: CMO. Who’s calling your marketing shots today – your MBA’ed CMO or hyper-vocal/social/mobile customers? A pop quiz to help you answer. Is your CMO (a) listening and responding to social sentiment? (b) a champion of memorable experiences with your legions of brand-owners? (c) using analytics to pull signals from your big and small data? Pencils down. Before deciding whether to hug your CMO or post their job, listen to the experts: Jonathan Becher, SAP: “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” (Albert Einstein or William Bruce Cameron, “Informal Sociology”) Steve Carlotti, Cambridge Group, “Listening and reacting is what is required today, and that’s a lot harder than the planning and acting that was required yesterday.” Allen Bonde, Digital Clarity: “In B2B, it’s critical for CMOs to emphasize thought leadership and selling big ideas versus simply selling products.” Join us for The New CMO in the Age of Customer Experience.

Today’s buzz: Technology startups. Some entrepreneurs soar to success right from the get-go. How? They simply deliver something the world really needs - and they do it uniquely well. Our in-the-trenches start-up experts share first-hand insights on vision, planning, brains, teams, funding and other challenges. Frantisek Vrabel, Semantic Visions: “I can think. I can wait. I can fast. (Herman Hesse, Siddhartha, Chap. 6) Rick Dutta, Nextvisionix: “We should not only use the brains we have, but all that we can borrow.” (Woodrow Wilson) Dan Somers, Warwick Analytics: “Many entrepreneurs, particularly first-timers, believe that money is the answer to all their prayers and do whatever it takes to raise it.” Kaustav Mitra, SAP: “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” (George Bernard Shaw) Join us for Start-Up Insider: From What-if to Wow!

Today’s buzz: Banking fraud. Show me the money! Earlier this year, a band of “cashiers” swiped prepaid debit cards at ATMs in NY City and 25 countries – and made off with $45 million in cash. The problem: they didn’t own the cards or the money. What are we doing to detect emerging fraud patterns and stop these emboldened outlaws and their sophisticated cyber-criminal organizations before they dig even deeper into our pockets? The experts speak. Nuno Sebastiao, FeedZai: “Flash attacks are a new threat in the online world. Imagine a version of the ATM attacks a couple of months ago, but in real/time, distributed and targeting many online merchants.” Prakash Santhana, Deloitte: “It is 10 p.m. Do you know where your credit card is shopping?” Eric Stine, SAP: “We’re faced with an increasingly demanding legislative and regulatory environment - and a creative class of criminal that keeps getting smarter.” Join us for more insights on Banking Fraud: Can Technology Outsmart the Bad Guys?

Reality check: Health matters. More than your job, social status, money, car, house. But health is elusive. So much so that 65 million U.S. caregivers provide weekly care to the ill, disabled, aged. How can technology help? The experts speak. Robert M. Miller, National Fragile X Foundation: “Technology will never replace the caring spirit, but technology can provide the necessary tools for caring to make a real difference in the lives of those with special needs.” Louise W. Gane, MS, M.I.N.D. Institute: “Love the moment, and the energy of that moment will spread beyond all boundaries.” (Corita Kent) Cheryl Pray, Els for Autism Foundation: “Autism: It’s not game over. It’s GAME ON!” Faheem Ahmed, SAP: “Social networks have already transformed how we find music, discover restaurants, compare prices, and plan vacations. Isn't it about time that we apply this technology to transform how we care for our loved ones?” Join us for People Who Need People: Caregiving Goes Social and Mobile.

Today’s buzz: Mobility. The world loves mobile devices. One could say wireless is the new de rigeur accessory for every hat you wear: business, consumer, personal. Your company can’t fight this trend, so you’d better know how to mobilize your workplace smartly and securely, and create loyalty-sustaining mobile customer engagement. The experts speak. Philippe Winthrop, VeliQ: “Dear MDM, we hardly knew you….” Sheryl Kingstone, Yankee Group: “It's not just about having an app for that -- it's about personalization strategies, mobilizing the customer journey; it’s an entertainment/information/consumption hub. But consumers also are still looking for the basics of simplicity and convenience; many also seek personalization and the advantages of location, while wanting their privacy protected.” JP Finnell, SAP: “Forget about the consumerization of IT. The real trend is the ITization of the consumer.” Join us for more insights on Mobility Enablement: Getting Personal with Your Customer.

Today’s buzz: The IT Brain. Whoosh! Faster benchmarks. Hybrid cloud computing. Big Data. Analytics for the whole company. Wait a sec. Even the most exciting new technology is doomed to fail unless your IT department assesses its challenges and opportunities to develop a viable strategy and bring back office to front office. Think about it. The experts speak. Ben Kepes, Diversity Limited: The organization of the future will look radically different from that which has gone before. IT departments face unrelenting pressure to innovate, deliver agility and stop being seen as the Department of No.” Dr. Richard Goodwin, IBM: “If you're not failing every now and again, it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative.” (Woody Allen) Dale Young, IBM: “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” (Newton's Third Law of Motion) Swen Conrad, SAP: “The digital storm: Take advantage of the opportunity or be blown away!” Join us for IT Professional Brain: Secret Sauce for Success.

Today’s buzz: HR. Talent, talent everywhere, yet so many candidates still can’t find a job. With droves of companies expanding their geographic footprint, the ongoing skills vs. talent paradox merits fresh examination since we covered it in Feb. 2013. What is HR doing about this? The experts speak. Dr. Katherine Jones, Bersin by Deloitte: “’Growing local’ when going global: skill gaps take on a whole new meaning for multinational companies seeking indigenous leaders.” China Gorman, CMG Group: “A shift in postsecondary education is coming. It has to. It’s being forced by the demand side (employers) while the supply side (education providers) is slowly beginning to take note. A focus on competence is taking hold, providing hope for employers and consternation for education providers.” Susan Bor, SAP: “The stakes are getting higher for attracting and retaining the right talent to deliver future business strategies.” Join us for HR on Alert: Leadership in the Headlights – Part 2.

Today’s buzz: Your health. When choosing a physician, hospital, insurance plan, or treatment, you must be a smart consumer. This means having the right information whenever, wherever, however you need it, so you can make informed decisions that yield the best possible outcome. Can mobility help? The experts speak. Devin Virta, SAP: “You’ve got to start with the customer experience and move back toward the technology – not the other way around.” (Steven Jobs, Apple) David Delaney, MD, SAP: “The only real chance we have to bend the healthcare cost curve is to shift our efforts from trying to make pounds of cure cheaper to applying ounces of prevention, and engaging the patient as an active and invested agent in the improvement of their health.” Dan Mahowald, SAP: “We believe, in healthcare, that the (medical) record will start living with the consumer...where I can take it anywhere I go in the world and always have access to it.” Join us for Power to the Patient: Medical Info Goes Mobile.

Today’s buzz: SMEs - small and medium enterprises. Does size matter when it comes to data management? Besides an SME’s smaller budget and resources, their challenges are similar to larger companies’. So how can SMEs gain competitive advantage? Consider in-memory technologies. The experts speak. Jorge Garcia, TEC: “If the processing of data is going to drive better execution, higher performance, and increased profit for SMEs, an organization considering in-memory technology needs to acknowledge a number of essential principles for turning data into information.” Curtis Fry, Navigator Business Solutions: “For the average SME company, one of the biggest inefficiencies is that the data they put into their system stays buried there and does not adequately help them guide business decisions on a day-to-day basis.” Puneet Suppal, SAP: “Once we rid ourselves of traditional thinking, we can get on with creating the future.” (James Bertrand) Join us for In-memory for SMEs - Real Possibilities.

Today’s buzz: “BI” – business intelligence. Oxymoron or game-changer? Can BI really enable your company to be smarter, respond to global market forces with true agility, and ultimately leap tall competitors in a single bound? On our fourth peek into this evergreen topic, we’ll take a fresh look at Big Data, analytics, mobility, the critical need for visionary leaders with intellectual curiosity, and more. The experts speak. Brian S. Sommer, TechVentive: “’Think Big, Be Big’ is sort of an unofficial motto for Texas. With BI initiatives, the motto should be ‘Think Big, then Think even Bigger’.” ... Josh Greenbaum, EAC: “There are two kinds of people in the world: those who love data and those who don’t.” ... Jason Rose, SAP: “Technology is an enabler. Having a strategy sets your roadmap for success.” ... Pour a cup of whatever you’re drinking and join us for Part 4: How Smart Is BI without A Strategy?

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW Orlando: Day 2. LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW Orlando: Day 2. LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW Orlando: Day 2. LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW Orlando: Day 2. LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW Orlando: Day 2. LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW Orlando: Day 2. LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW Orlando: Day 2. LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW Orlando: Day 2. LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW Orlando: Day 2. LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW Orlando: Day 2. LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW Orlando: Day 2. LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW Orlando: Day 2. LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

Today’s buzz: Corporate responsibility. How does your company score on a scale of 1-10 on at-home and global citizenship ethics and practices? Bottom line: do staff, customers and stakeholders consider you a “Do Good” company? Today, your reputation with each audience depends on everything from how you treat your employees, to your business practices, environmental impact behaviors – and much more. Take heart. It’s not too late to gain points. The experts speak. John Edelman, Edelman PR: “Efforts in sustainability, whether they have an environmental or social focus, must be holistic. In the end, the total impact is the sum of all its parts.”. Richard Crespin, Crespin Enterprises: “All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope (Sir Winston Churchill). Paula Sullivan, CSC: “We must become the change we want to see in this world” (Mahatma Gandhi). Join us for Corporate Responsibility: Nice To Have vs. Must Have?

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013: Day 1 LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013: Day 1 LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013: Day 1 LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013: Day 1 LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013: Day 1 LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013: Day 1 LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013: Day 1 LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013: Day 1 LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013: Day 1 LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013: Day 1 LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013: Day 1 LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013: Day 1 LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013: Day 1 LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013: Day 1 LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013: Day 1 LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

SAP GameChangers Radio from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013: Day 1 LIVE interviews with Game changers from SAPPHIRE NOW 2013.

Today’s buzz: Who’s minding your call center right now? You’d better know who. Because they alone are responsible for the instant opinion a caller forms about your entire company. Are your agents generating rolls of thunder or applause for you? The experts speak. Dennis Goodheart, IP Network Consulting: “You can fool some of the people all the time, and all the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.” (Abraham Lincoln) Neal Shact, CommuniTech: “The customer experience is an increasingly critical marketing battleground and the contact center sits dead-center. It’s the ‘face’ your customers see. A great experience with intimacy and personalized service builds customer loyalty and repeat business; if not, hope it doesn’t go viral like United Airlines found out with the video United Breaks Guitars (12.75M+ hits).” Jim Goldfinger, SAP: “Just because it’s usable, doesn’t mean it’s useful.” Join us for Your Call Center & CRM: The Face Your Customer Sees First.

Social and business. Will this marriage last? The experts speak. Prof. Jerry Kane: “We're only at the beginning of the revolution ushered in by and through social, mobile, and digital technologies. Businesses, societies, and governments will be so radically different in 15 years...we’ll barely recognize them.” Gabi San Martin: “Business...has quickly become a conversation between the customer and the company.” Rohit Ohri: “As social media becomes overloaded and ‘popular,’ the key skill will be properly filtering the data, or in a more human sense, listening.” Mark Yolton, SAP: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one most adaptable to change.” - Not by Charles Darwin. Todd Wilms, SAP: “By 2015, we will be drowning in content and messages. As marketers, it is our responsibility to clean-up the landscape by creating smart, targeted content and messages, and stop the deluge of trash...” Join us for The Next Generation: Social and Business.

Reality check: Health matters. More than your job, social status, money, car, house. But health is elusive. So much so that 65 million U.S. caregivers provide weekly care to the ill, disabled, aged. How can technology help? The experts speak. Robert M. Miller, National Fragile X Foundation: “Technology will never replace the caring spirit, but technology can provide the necessary tools for caring to make a real difference in the lives of those with special needs.” Louise W. Gane, MS, M.I.N.D. Institute: “Love the moment, and the energy of that moment will spread beyond all boundaries.” (Corita Kent) Cheryl Pray, Els for Autism Foundation: “Autism: It’s not game over. It’s GAME ON!” Faheem Ahmed, SAP: “Social networks have already transformed how we find music, discover restaurants, compare prices, and plan vacations. Isn't it about time that we apply this technology to transform how we care for our loved ones?” Join us for People Who Need People: Caregiving Goes Social and Mobile.

Today’s buzz: Should we pin our hopes for a vibrant global economy, sustainable innovation and job creation on high growth entrepreneurs aka small and midsized enterprises (SMEs)? The experts speak. Aviva Freudmann, EIU: “SMEs in developed and developing economies show surprising similarities in their goals and expectations. For all the challenges they face in their business environments, they are an exceedingly optimistic bunch...” Bryan Pearce, Ernst & Young: “Last year, our 650 U.S. EOY finalists employed 700,000 people, grew revenues 48% over two years, and achieved 30% job growth. They’ve learned how to defy gravity.” Carl B. Lewis, Vision33, “Some SMEs are enterprise business in disguise, expanding their operations into other countries by starting new and independent business units.” Kevin Gilroy, SAP: “SMEs have to change their mindset regarding IT in order to excel: understand IT is their friend, not foe. It’s simple...” Join us for more on Defying Gravity: SMEs Go Global.

Big Data dominates the business conversation. Of its “3 V” attributes – Volume, Variety, Velocity – the third is grabbing the spotlight. Bottom line: Are you getting answers fast enough to support real-time business? The experts speak. Lee Dittmar, Deloitte: “Analytics prowess will determine winners and losers. But even as we talk about Big Data and the importance of ‘predictive analytics,’ many organizations still struggle to accomplish basic reporting efficiently and effectively. As companies compete for a limited supply of data scientists to perform advanced analytics, there is a lot of work to do to fix the foundation.” John H. Fleming, PhD, Gallup: “How do we ensure quality data? Garbage in garbage out. Is more better or is better more?” Reza Soudagar, SAP: “Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value.” (Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre, 1904) Join us for more insights on Business on Speed: Real-Time Insights and Execution.

Dizzy from all the hype around Small vs. Big Data, big picture vs. exact insights, real-time vs. right-time answers, and more? The experts speak. Evan Quinn, ESG Global: “We're entering a new world in which data may be more important than software.”(Tim O’Reilly) Marie Goodell, SAP: “Every day, 3 times per second, we produce the equivalent amount of data that the Library of Congress has in its entire print collection. But most of it is like cat videos on YouTube or 13-year-olds exchanging text messages about the next Twilight movie.” (Nate Silver, statistician and author, “The Signal and the Noise.” Silver correctly predicted the winner in 50 out of 50 states in the 2012 U.S. presidential election.) Surya Mukherjee, Ovum: “To sustain beyond the hype, Big Data needs to become a first class citizen of the enterprise IT environment.” Join us for more insights on Debunking Big Data Myths: The Elephant in the Room.

Business networks. You connect with people you know, want to know, should know on social networks. Should your company join, too? Tim Minahan: “Online social networking tools have transformed our personal lives by connecting us to people and information in new ways. Businesses are undergoing that same process. How many times did you check Facebook, LinkedIn, send a tweet, text, Instagram in the past 30 minutes?” Quentin Fisher: “’Ants aren’t smart, ant colonies are.’ (D. Gordon, Stanford Univ.). Let’s look to biology for insights and a vision to the possibilities in our ever-evolving business ecosystem.” Sameer Patel: “In the world of work, connecting doesn’t come from just bringing people together. Really really connecting to impact performance and execution comes from surrounding real purpose and context such as a sales forecast data point...a curve ball customer request, a need for supplier arbitration, with your network of people.” Join us for Business Networks: More Than Social

Today’s buzz: Airlines. New technologies are game-changing the data-intensive aviation industry – optimizing internal processes, sharpening competitive differentiation, innovating the customer experience. But is it enough, in time, and which airlines will survive? The experts speak. Michael Wm. Denis, InfoTrust Group: “Why pay billions for smart aircraft only to plug them into dumb IT? Peter Kearns, Accenture: “Airline industry business benefits related to IT improvements will be negligible unless there is business change involved. You need to change business practices and do so with your IT strategy in mind – and software developers need to help drive this process.” Eva-Marie Roe, SAP: “The race is on for airlines: Get a head start and re-invent the business by adopting new technologies now. Or wait, letting others capture the competitive advantage, and then be compelled to follow after new business processes have become commodity.” Join us for Airline Turnaround: Blue Skies Ahead?

Today’s buzz: The city. More than just your snail-mail address, the city is a vital entity with the power to impact local quality of life as well as national and global economies. How’s your city running? The experts speak. Dr. Theresa Pardo: “Running a city is a complex and challenging task. Running it well, even more so. The best run cities ... embrace the complexity of the task, see the opportunities that information and technology offer in managing that complexity, and seek out innovative yet practical solutions to the problems their citizens care about.” Chris Moore: “Government technology is not for the faint of heart. Adie Tomer: “If knowledge is the key then just show me the lock.” - Q-Tip, A Tribe Called Quest, Check the Rhime Sean Patrick O’Brien: “The 19th century was a century of empires. The 20th century was a century of nation states. The 21st century will be a century of cities.” - Wellington E. Webb, Former Denver Mayor Join us for Best-Run Cities: Urban Matters.

M2M. Machines connected and talking to each other. By 2018, nearly everyone, everything, everywhere will be connected real time, affecting how we innovate, collaborate, produce, govern, and achieve sustainability. Think about coffee plants telling farmers how and when to irrigate, harvest, pack, tag, ship. Mmm. Miguel Blockstrand, Ericcson: “Unleashing the power of connectivity to all people places and things is inevitable.” Steve Hilton, Analysys Mason: “M2M is a jumble of technology thrown together like potatoes dumped in a bowl. But something very tasty is created by mashing the potatoes together with butter, milk, and salt. Or as Aristotle said almost 2400 years ago, ‘In the case of all things which have several parts and in which...the whole is something beside the parts, there is a cause.’” - Metaphysics, Book VIII, Part 6 Benjamin Wesson, SAP: “I’m sorry, Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.” - 2001: A Space Odyssey. Film 1968 Join us for M2M: Mmm, Connectivity Never Tasted So Good

Customer experience. Have you figured out what each of your customers really, really wants? If yes, have you designed a personalized, easy, conversational experience they won’t perceive as intrusive or creepy? If no to either question, listen up. The experts speak. Paula Rosenblum, RSR: “The essence of precision retail is what I call ‘The Grand Unified Theory’ – combining the customer intimacy and knowledge of the very, very small (independents), with the economies of scale and scope of the very, very large. Yes, I stole this concept from Physics.” Vicki Cantrell, NRF: ““Perfection is the enemy of the good, and it takes too long. Don’t worry, be crappy.” - Vicki Cantrell, combining pieces of various quotes Lori Mitchell-Keller, SAP: “Retailers will go out of business and e-commerce will dominate UNLESS retailers use their culture to draw customers into their stores.” Join us for their insights on Precision Retail: What’ve You Done for Your Customer Lately?

Mobility is becoming ubiquitous. Exactly as planned. Some burning questions: Will the iPad Mini deliver anything new for business? Where does the BYOD (bring your own device... to work) trend end? With Windows 8, is a mobile device different from a PC? When mobility reaches full stride, will you ever have to leave the house again? The experts speak. Maribel Lopez, Lopez Research: “Mobility is about apps and business processes, not devices.” Philippe Winthrop, VeliQ: “BYOD - at least for me - has become the ‘Voldemort of Enterprise Mobility.’” Neil Hooper, SAP: “It's the year of the mobile application. Didn't we say that last year?” Join us for more of their insights on Mobility Enablement: Internet Coming to Your Fridge Soon?

Talent, talent everywhere, but they can’t find jobs. What is HR doing about it? The experts speak. Dr. Katherine Jones: “Businesses of all sizes have struggled to shift their resources toward growth markets, yet they find a shortage of talent and leadership holding them back. We call this the ‘talent paradox.’ Companies need skills, yet unemployment remains high. We do not really have a job shortage—we have a skills shortage. Why?” China Gorman: “The changing demographics within the workforce are creating enormous challenges as the Baby Boomers hang on for dear life and the Millennials start pushing up the ladder. The Xers are getting caught with nowhere to go! We may miss a generation in the C-suite.” Jan Grasshoff: “2013 is all about mobility: mental mobility of talents, mobile HR service delivery, mobile learning, mobile workplace, mobile organizations. A key role for HR to play!” Join us for more expert insights on HR on Alert: Talent vs. Skills Paradox.

People vs. numbers. Which should matter more to your business success? The experts speak. Greta Roberts: “Numbers are the language of business. If employees want to be valued, they need to be measured in a way that business understands ... as numbers.” Haig R. Nalbantian: “Too many organizations give lip service to the people side, but fail to apply real discipline to workforce management. They rely instead on intuition, benchmarks or so-called ‘best practices’ to inform their people-related decisions.” Russ Campanello: “It’s time to begin measuring, and thereby differentiating our business, with the human capital metrics that drive performance and generate value. We still value (and report) the buildings more than the people inside them.” Steve Boese: “Revenue per employee can tell you just about everything you need to know about your business.” Henner Schliebs: “Democratizing analytics will be the big differentiator in 2013.” Join us for Workforce Analytics: Real People, Real Numbers.

Glocalization. Does this “portmanteau of globalization and localization” (Wikipedia) describe your company’s growth? If yes, the dichotomy will challenge your HR team as they try to manage a mobile workforce and multi-country payroll. If not yet, your time will come. The experts speak. David Ludlow: “The world is ’glocal’ (play on the combination of think globally, act locally). Today's talent is global, connected, and mobile. New categories of solutions are required to leverage that talent to out-innovate the competition.” Marianne Langlois: “HR must think of itself as a function that drives the business forward, instead of as a function that supports the business.” Penny Stoker: “You can’t underestimate the power of a ‘singular, global payroll system.’” Keith Strodtman: “Today, large global companies are realizing big benefits from centralizing payroll across boundaries--cost savings, compliance, data accuracy, reporting, etc.” Join us for Going Glocal: Mastering Multi-Country HR.

Fraud. It’s 2013. Surely by now we’ve figured out how to catch the bad guys and gals. “Not”, say our experts: Jonathan Middup: “Corporate fraud is most often a product of good people in bad circumstances. Depending on those circumstances, we could all be fraudsters.” Jonathan E. Turner: “Over the past 15 years we’ve made great strides in understanding fraud, increasing technology-based tools, and created focused legislation – yet fraud losses are increasing and fraud schemes go longer before detection...Even though we have better tools, fraudsters do, too, and they are pulling ahead.” Michael Rasmusssen: “Business today is like the Titanic.” Rod Brennan: “The growing demand by stakeholders of financial and non-financial reporting for more real or near-real time reporting will drive the rapid adoption of automated assurance and monitoring in all organizations.” Norman Marks: “Manage fraud like never before.” Join us for Fraud Risk Management: Who, why, what, where, when and HOW?

CRM 2013: Remember me?If you thought your customers were very demanding in 2012, wake up and smell the coffee in 2013! Is your sales team skilled enough in the art and budding-science of social monitoring and sentiment analysis to handle it? Are you analyzing field-fresh customer data and giving sales the 360-view needed to make smarter sales? Do you know when and where to use push vs. pull marketing? Are your CMO and CIO equipped to lead the way? So many questions – and our panel has answers. Big Data Power 2013: Fast, faster and wow! How is your company coping with the deluge of big data, so far? Can you tell the difference between big data and good data, in time to make the right decisions? Does your sales team have the super-fresh information they need to close more profitable deals faster? You’ve heard about the power and benefits of in-memory computing, but is it hype or real? So many questions – and our panel has answers. Join us for Big Data Power 2013: Fast, faster and wow!

CRM 2013: Remember me?If you thought your customers were very demanding in 2012, wake up and smell the coffee in 2013! Is your sales team skilled enough in the art and budding-science of social monitoring and sentiment analysis to handle it? Are you analyzing field-fresh customer data and giving sales the 360-view needed to make smarter sales? Do you know when and where to use push vs. pull marketing? Are your CMO and CIO equipped to lead the way? So many questions – and our panel has answers. Big Data Power 2013: Fast, faster and wow! How is your company coping with the deluge of big data, so far? Can you tell the difference between big data and good data, in time to make the right decisions? Does your sales team have the super-fresh information they need to close more profitable deals faster? You’ve heard about the power and benefits of in-memory computing, but is it hype or real? So many questions – and our panel has answers. Join us for Big Data Power 2013: Fast, faster and wow!

Truth time! On a scale of 1 to 10, rate your corporate social responsibility program. If it’s below 5 (you know who you are), our experts may inspire you to raise the bar in 2013. Daniel Elliott: “International corporate volunteer programs are a win-win-win proposition. The host organizations gain access to pro bono world-class consulting services, volunteers gain a unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience, and companies enhance their brand and increase exposure to new markets.” Rebecca Wang: “The betterment of our society is not a job to be left to a few. It is a responsibility to be shared by all.” - David Packard Brittany Lothe: Plan like a pessimist, think like a realist, act like an optimist and–above all–love what you do.” Evan Welsh: “Garbage can be good.” (Referring to Evan’s mission to create a communications plan for the “catadores” garbage collector association in Brazil.) Join us for smart business talk about the value of corporate social responsibility.

Your company’s Social Media IQ. Do you know the score? If you haven’t checked recently, or it’s embarrassingly low, do something now – yes, this second day of 2013. Why? Because in the time it takes to read this, zettabytes of fresh social media intelligence are whooshing by. If you’re not listening, capturing, analyzing and taking action on rich business data, you may miss the boat all year. Our experts know what it takes to achieve a Mensa-level Social Media IQ. Amber Mac: “If content is king, then conversion is queen. - John Munsell, CEO/co-founder of Bizzuka Arthur Bailey: “You cannot control what people say online about your company, but you can manage and track the volumes of conversation.” Schalk Viljoen: If everything seems under control, you`re just not going fast enough. - Mario Andretti, world champion racing driver Pour a cup of Joe, Earl or OJ (or leftover Dom), and join us at the game-changers’ table for smart business talk to kickoff a positively game-changing New Year!

Although 2012 holiday gift-giving is officially over, we’ve got another present for you: Game-Changers 2013 Predictions – Part 2. Yes, more than a dozen thought leaders (guests on previous Coffee Break and In the Cloud programs) will gaze into the SAP Game-Changers Radio crystal ball, joining our 14 experts from last week’s program. Their collective gift is a smorgasbord of insights into the technologies, strategies, people and trends that can help you grow your business and compete better in 2013 and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, OJ or Dom, and pull up a chair at the game-changers’ table for smart business talk and good cheer. You’re invited to Tweet your comments during the show to #SAPRadio. Please accept our best wishes for a positively game-changing New Year!

What’s on your holiday business wish list this year? If it’s a crystal ball to help you predict what 2013 will bring for your company, we’ve got the next best thing. Today and next week, more than two dozen thought leaders from previous Coffee Break and In the Cloud programs will gather to gaze into the SAP Game-Changers Radio crystal ball. Their gift to you: a grab-bag of insights into the technologies, strategies, people and trends that can help you grow and compete better next year and beyond. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, OJ or Dom, and join us at the game-changers’ table for smart business talk and good cheer on Game-Changers 2013 Predictions – Part 1. And mark your calendar to listen live to Part 2 on Dec. 26. You’re also invited to Tweet your comments at #SAPRadio.

Social entrepreneurship. Yes, good things do come in small packages. The experts speak. Alexandra van der Ploeg: “Donating money is easy, volunteering in the traditional sense is easy, but is it effective? Corporate social responsibility should not be about philanthropy, but about leveraging capital, technology or talent to truly create an impact in the communities we work in.” Anne B. Evans: “Social entrepreneurship is love and respect in action.” Patrick Furlong: “I believe in the importance of data and statistics…but it is the connection we feel to one another that moves us most strongly to act and make a positive and lasting difference in our communities.” Rob Henning: “Get your team and strategy right, so you, as the entrepreneur, can focus on thinking about how to grow your business and have a business plan. Without the right team and a clear understanding of the market, most people will take a pass on financing your business.” Join us for Social Entrepreneurship: The Power of Small

Banks and big data. Risky business, according to our experts. Simon Paris: “As reported more or less daily, banks continue to face multiple risk and compliance challenges – are they not willing or not able to do proper risk and compliance management?” Ralph Silva: “Banks have to find some humility and realise that retailers, auto companies and grocery chains are far better at managing and mining data than they are. Steal it if you can.” Jane Griffin: “It’s understanding the risks in the market and how I respond to those risks or any other components that might jeopardize my success.” Craig Rich: “The price of light is less than the cost of darkness -- A.C. Nielsen. “Too often organizations are challenged with creating a business case for improving their data and analytical capabilities. In today's competitive landscape, it is not whether you can afford to invest in analytics but whether you can afford not to.” Join us for Banks’ Big Data Risks: Analytics to the Rescue

Corporate banking. If your treasury department is in a stranglehold with your bank, you’re not alone. Richard Walker: “For commercial banks, the imperative is on improving customer experience and becoming easier to do business with through ease of integration, data and process transparency...” Olli Kähkönen: “When you walk through a storm, hold your chin up high...At the end of the storm is a golden sky... (Lyrics: You’ll Never Walk Alone) Robert Grimes: “With everything from supermarket chains (e.g. Tesco, Sainsbury, Walmart) to technology giants (e.g. Google, Paypal/eBay) entering the financial services sector, banks have a new challenge to not only compete with their own kind but also with completely new players.” Tom McAllister: “Demand for new revenue sources driven by capital needs, and mitigation of short- to mid-term geographic risk, is causing many banks to look beyond their borders for other sources of capital.” Join us for Corporate Banking: Show Me the Money.

UI (user interface) is king. Why? If software UI is not beautiful, easy, intuitive – and fun – even the most brilliant engineers and designers will fail to please their intended business or consumer end-user audience. The experts speak. Bill Newman: “Over-burdened knowledge workers are tasked with doing more with less. With the economy picking up, particularly in the US market, these ‘technocrats’ demand access to necessary, complex information in easy to use, engaging means.” Anders Raft: “The art of teaching kids to gamble is that there is no teaching needed. Ella Morgulis: “Easy, fun, user-friendly WORK experience at work is no longer an oxymoron; it is a requirement today. The ‘iron curtain’ between work and consumer experience have fallen.” Mariano Kristensen: “As far as the customer is concerned, the interface is the product.” - Jef Raskin (1943-2005), human-computer interface expert at Apple, 1970s Join us for more insights on All About the UI: Technology without the gory details.

Charge! If you’re a greenie eying an EV (electric vehicle) as your next car, there’s a lot to consider: battery pack size, driving range of plug-in hybrids like C-Max Energi or Volt vs. all-electric Leaf, power grid impacts, ongoing costs and more. The experts speak: Christine Hertzog: “A consumer-centric EV market maturity model could help accelerate EV adoption. Alaa Owaineh: “The world is increasingly urban, and cities are an important part of any strategy to build smarter, more sustainable energy systems.” Sam Jaffe: “Teach your mouth to say 'I don't know' and then progress will be made.--Maimonides Maurizio Cattaneo: “In the more densely populated areas of the world, electric vehicles will soon make up 10-15% of the vehicles on the road. They may not sound like many, but if all would charge at the same time, today’s electricity grid would not be able to cope and blackouts would be almost inevitable.” Join us for more insights on Charge! Driving Global Electro-mobility.

Selling. Today’s savvy salesperson must combine many skills: a gatherer-analyst of customer and competitor data; social business guru; collaboration champion; and much more. Our experts speak. Barry Trailer: “There is work to do in every sale. Imagine holding your hands two feet apart. The more work you do ‘selling’ – identifying key buying influences, needs and personal wins, establishing and elevating relationships, etc. – the less ‘negotiating’ you need to do. So, if you do 18” of selling, you have 6” of negotiating ahead…4” of selling, 20” of negotiating. Simply stated, there are no shortcuts.” Anneke Seley: “The business of sales is changing; whether your business changes with it will determine your long-term success.” Ross Wainwright: “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will.” (Vince Lombardi) Join us for more insights on Selling: Art or Science, Negotiation or Persuasion?

What’s in a name? Plenty, for today’s CIO. Why? The role is changing so much, so often that it’s hard to know what the “I” means at any time. The experts speak. Steve Romero: “Calls for the ‘new CIO’ are not new at all. CIO Magazine’s State of the CIO ‘07 survey resulted in the identification of four distinct CIO archetypes: Business Leader, Innovation Agent, Operational Expert, Turnaround Artist. In 2011, its 4 Personas of the Next Generation CIO were Chief Infrastructure Officer…Integration Officer…Intelligence Officer…Innovation Officer.” Nigel Fenwick: Marketing is the biggest opportunity for IT since the Internet. Martin Heisig: “To go boldly where no one has gone before. This is what today’s IT leaders have to do. Consumerization of IT is the new innovation driver. I have to make my end users a core part of my IT design processes. I have to know what consumers want next because they will want it soon in the enterprise.” Join us for the Changing Role of the CIO: The I’s Have It.

Education. How do we equip our kids to succeed in a tech-driven world? Kim Jones/ Curriki: Textbooks are becoming as obsolete as the rotary dial phone Kim Saxe/Nueva School: “The Internet and technology (such as Skype) supports the teaching of more open-ended and complex projects than ever before.” Curtis Johnson/“Disrupting Class” author: “The role of teachers will see profound changes – all good… from a qualified source of knowledge dispensing information to largely passive students (in rows of desks) to planners, facilitators, and coaches in the learning process.” Neeru Khosla/CK-12 Foundation: “We no longer need textbooks.” John Mayerhofer/SAP: “Technology will enable schools and other institutions, essentially experience providers, to cost-effectively facilitate personalized student-centered learning for today's learners and an additional 3 billion new minds.” Join us for Future of Education: Teaching Kids to Think

Subsidiaries. Straight path to market expansion or potentially tangled ecosystem? The experts speak. Steve King/Emergent Research: “For the first time in modern history, the developing world, not the developed world, is the global engine driving economic growth. This, coupled with the rapidly increasing use of social technologies, is fundamentally changing the relationship between companies and their foreign subsidiaries. Erich Joachimsthaler/Vivaldi Partners: “As internet analyst Mary Meeker said in her State of the Internet address this year: ‘We are merely in spring training.’ This creates a new reality for companies of how to manage the global organization and how to achieve competitive advantage and profit from it.” Mike Morel/SAP: “Companies are squandering their investments in subsidiaries. They need to share more, implement governance, compliance, and regulation, and manage subsidiary independence.” Join us for Subsidiaries: Curing Chaos at the Family Dinner Table.

Today’s buzz term: “BI” – business intelligence. Oxymoron? Or game-changer that can make your company smarter, more agile, able to leap over tall competitors in a single bound? Continuing our Apr. 4 and May 9 discussions, we’ll revisit why even the best intelligence needs a strategy, and look at big data, analytics, cloud, single version of the truth and more. The experts say: Brian Sommer / Techventive: “Detectives have hypotheses and working theories they try to prove or disprove. Why shouldn't BI initiatives use the same rigor to uncover huge insights into business?” Josh Greenbaum / EAC: “There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.” (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1999-03-01), The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes) Colin Dover / SAP: “Responding to the seemingly simple business requests of providing a consolidated view of a global corporation is enough to send an IT department into a collective cold sweat.” Pour a cup and join us for How Smart Is BI without a Strategy? - Part 3

“Are you working hard or hardly working?” goes the old saying. Today, we’re seeing a massive shift in how people work due to the co-impact of big data, mobile, cloud, and social media. Are you feeling it yet? Our experts speak: Alan Lepofsky / Constellation RG: “New technologies such as in-memory database, mobile, and cloud are transforming the way people work.” Richard Edwards / Ovum: “Often using their own mobile devices and free-to-use cloud-based community collaboration solutions, employees are applying their consumer persona and experiences in the workplace and in the field; changing the way the job gets done and results are achieved.” Kijoon Lee / SAP: “Every now and then, we see a truly disruptive technology emerge. In-memory database is one of these. This technology will change the face of business and transform how millions of people work and live.” Join us for more insights on Changing How You Work: Big Data, Social, and Mobile Collide and Converge.

M2M. Rise of the machines. The promise of a world of connected devices, where machines of all types and sizes can autonomously communicate with each other. Don’t believe it’s a reality yet? Global M2M revenue is projected to soar from $121 million in 2010 to $948 billion by 2020, the year Ericsson predicts the number of connected devices will reach 50 billion. Our experts have a lot to say. Jason Sumner, EIU: “M2M is going to be big. We have heard this before but there are reasons to believe it’s different this time.” Joe Dignan, Ovum: “When is M2M not M2M? I would suggest a lot of the time. There are fully automated processes but a great many examples of what I am told is M2M needs a human 'guiding mind' somewhere in the interaction.” Fergus O’Reilly, SAP: “Customers no longer buy products, they buy experiences. This is the real driver for the move to ‘Everything-as-a-Service’.” Join us for their insights on M2M Rise of the Machines: Coming to a smart city near you.

Social communities and storytelling. The connection? Ask the experts.Rachel Happe, The Community Roundtable: “Social communities leverage an increasingly expensive asset - people - by allowing them to work out loud, connect with more people, establish trust, and find relevant information and solutions more quickly. Our job as community sponsors is to co-create value and be the storytellers of that value. It is no longer a story about us alone, but about that collaborative journey.” Sean O’Driscoll, Ant's Eye View, “Social engagement is a journey with defined stages leading to the fully engaged enterprise…Digital storytelling is a critical new competency.” Mark Yolton, SAP: “As SAP CMO Jonathan Becher likes to say, ‘Big glass buildings don’t buy software…people do.’ With the lines between B2B and B2C blurring, enterprise marketers must become better storytellers to articulate the impact of their solutions on real people.” Join us for more on Building a Social Community: Tell Me a Story!

Factory of the past vs. the future. Does Charlie Chaplin’s struggling Little Tramp in the 1936 film “Modern Times” represent today’s factory worker and the shop floor scenario? No, according to IDC’s Bob Parker. “Recent research conducted by IDC Manufacturing Insights shows that manufacturing employees care deeply about quality, and management truly appreciates their team's skills and dedication. The age of contentious labor/management relations is over in manufacturing. SAP’s Mike Lackey is optimistic, too. “What’s under the water? Manufacturing is active, growing and improving like a living entity.” The factory of the future? IDC’s Pier Manenti predicts, “Mobility will be integral to workforce engagement. The amount of network traffic on the factory floor will increase by an order of magnitude in the next five years. Persistently connected employees and assets are a fast-approaching reality. Join us for more insights on Factory of the Future: Ready, Set, Now – Part 2.

Right Time Experiences. Huge business potential for you, but mobile solutions require business insight, technical chops and strong design to get it right.

You’re a game-changer! You’ve created the new product or service of the millennium, but have no money to take it to market. Your best options: beg your FFF (family, friends, fools) circle, tap an angel for seed money, or convince a venture capitalist to invest millions. Our experts have a lot to say. Chris O’Connor / Taptera : “You've got to have a pretty face (user experience) to get attention; the old ‘desktop’ solution isn't very sexy with VCs.” Sanjay Parthawarathy / Investor: “When the VC’s ego is valued higher than the funding, it’s better to look elsewhere.” MR Rangaswami / Sand Hill Group: “In these frothy financial times, how many entrepreneurs want to use the strategy of a company that is ‘Built to Last’ versus ‘Built to Flip’?” Gaurav Tewari / SAP Ventures: “Picking the right investor is one of the most crucial decisions for an entrepreneur. If you thought getting married is a commitment, try raising money.” Join us for more on the Sweet and Sour of Investing – Part 2.

Digital marketing. Your increasingly digitally-smart customers expect more from your website than being able to buy something. They’re demanding a relevant, personalized browsing experience with new product discovery, research, price comparisons and feedback exchange. But if your company is just going through the motions of ecommerce, you’ll lose them fast. Our experts can help you get there. Glenn Conradt: “Companies need to start incorporating contextualized content into the e-commerce experience to leverage the Internet as a dynamic and profitable sales, marketing and service channel.” Scott Liewehr: “Big data is the Lady Gaga of digital marketing – all hype, no substance.” Jamie Anderson: “’eCommerce is DEAD! Long live distributed commerce.’ I love this. I read it from a blog on eConsultancy...Engaging and selling to today’s digitally savvy customer is a lot more challenging than merely having a website and being open for business.” Join us for The Future of Digital Marketing: Now!

Sales transformation. A catch phrase “for virtually every C-level executive in the race to find answers to questions about sales and earnings growth, positioning and differentiation; even survival,” says Bob Nicols, author of The Journey to Sale Transformation: Twenty-five Axioms for Becoming a Trusted Partner to your Customers. Bob and other experts have a lot to say about why and how your sales organization needs to change...now. Bob Nicols, AXIOM Sales Force Development: “Sales is the most broken of all business functions.” Kimberly Senior, AT&T: “Transformation, like a leopard’s spots changing, happens seldom and slowly. Transformation is a marathon, not a sprint. So, the key to success in driving any type of transformation is committed, focused, disciplined incremental improvement over time.” Nicholas Kontopoulos, SAP: “Sales force automation is dead :).” Join us for their insights on Sales Transformation: From approved vendor to trusted advisor.

M2M. Rise of the machines. The promise of a world of connected devices, where machines of all types and sizes can autonomously communicate with each other. Don’t believe it’s a reality yet? Global M2M revenue is projected to soar from $121 million in 2010 to $948 billion by 2020, the year Ericsson predicts the number of connected devices will reach 50 billion. Our experts have a lot to say. Jason Sumner, EIU: “M2M is going to be big. We have heard this before but there are reasons to believe it’s different this time.” Joe Dignan, Ovum: “When is M2M not M2M? I would suggest a lot of the time. There are fully automated processes but a great many examples of what I am told is M2M needs a human 'guiding mind' somewhere in the interaction.” Fergus O’Reilly, SAP: “Customers no longer buy products, they buy experiences. This is the real driver for the move to ‘Everything-as-a-Service’.” Join us for their insights on M2M Rise of the Machines: Coming to a smart city near you.

Utilities. How “smart” are they about the smart meter data they can now read and its value to the consumer? Our experts weigh in. Roque Marinho: “With the smart meter being part of operations...utilities have to cope with the fact that there is no turning back on the ‘quantum leap’ on the multitude of reads.” Stuart Ravens: “Smartness begins and ends with analyzing the vast volumes of data created in a smart grid deployment.” Christine Hertzog: “There’s not much research about how much consumers really understand about who might touch their energy consumption data (nor what it’s worth) when third parties are involved.” James McClelland: “A whole new area of service will be created, providing energy efficiency to the consumer. How far inside of the meter do you want outside companies to have automatic access to adjust your energy consumption? Depending on the type of customer you are, I think the answer will be, ‘It depends.’” Join us for Utilities: Shining the light on the smart grid.

Retailers: We know it’s tougher than ever to turn customers into loyal evangelists for your brand. The experts say: Christine B. Whittemore: “The winners in retail today are retailers who understand that the customer calls the shots. Few retailers can compete strictly on price...” Brian Kilcourse: “Retailers have a big opportunity to re-define the in-store experience by making it a part of the world that today’s consumers operate in.” Lisa Joy Rosner: “Where business intelligence provides the rearview mirror to what has happened, social intelligence is what's happening right now. C2B (customer to business) is the new world order.” Mark Johnson: “Why is it so hard to ‘listen’ to our customers, when we ‘heard’ what they said?” Jon Wurfl: “If word of mouth remains the most powerful marketing influence, do shoppers with large social networks, and maybe loudmouth friends, make better purchasing decisions?” Join us for more game-changing insights for you and your customers.

Open government. Transparency, participation, collaboration. Sounds good on paper, but is it a true game-changer yet? Our experts say: Dr. Natalie Helbig: “Opening government is a perfect storm, but we don’t know whether it will just be a lot of data or a sustained and meaningful change in the way we govern and are governed. Russ LeFevre: Technologies exist to enable open government. This ‘genie’ is out of the bottle. What needs to change is policy, culture and the will of government leaders to champion and sustain change.” Jeanne Holm: “With the international ontology for space, we are trying to create the framework by which we can share data about any mission, any project that the governments are interested in having us collaborate on....so the whole world is a global space community.” David Nero: “The City of Boston has made significant investments during the past 5 years to uplift its technology and business solutions portfolio.” Join us for Open Government: Game-changer yet?

Risk. A fact of business life today. What is your company doing about it? Hear what our experts say. Dr. Parveen Gupta: “Today, nothing is more fundamental to business and more vexing to a company’s directors than effective risk governance...a failure in risk oversight could be interpreted by the regulators and the courts as a breach of fiduciary duty by the Board.” Barry Murphy: “Good information governance allows companies to get value out of information while minimizing the costs associated with information events like litigation or regulatory requests. Fiona Williams: “Every organization will face uncertainty and risk - the effectiveness of how you deal with governance, risk and compliance (GRC) is what separates market leaders.” Bruce McCuaig: Risk management practices are too often failing to meet the value test...Practitioners are looking for the wrong risks in all the wrong places.” Join us for more insights – and solutions – on Risky Business: Time for Governance.

Have your employees demanded a BYOD (bring your own device) policy yet? If not, the writing is on the wall – or on the tablet. Any day now, they’ll be bringing their iPhones and iPads to work. Is this trend a threat or an opportunity for you? Consultant Steven Romero sees the latter, advising companies to “leverage the consumerization of IT to advance enterprise mobility.” Forrester’s George Lawrie agrees. “74% of the information workers in our survey used two or more devices for work—and 52% used three or more...they’ll be increasingly interested in work systems and personal cloud services that enable easy multi-device access.” SAP’s Oliver Bussmann warns BYOD laggards, “To be a business ‘front runner’, it's unacceptable to be a year or even six months behind consumer trends.” His approach: “If you can't beat them, lead them.” Join us for State of the Device: Consumerization of IT 2012. p.s. Thursdays 1 PM Pacific on The Business Channel, tune in for In the Cloud with Game-Changers.

Today’s the day! You’re hiring a well-vetted, steep-salary C-suite exec and you’re staffing a business-critical new department. Surely your HR folks gave you rock-solid validation for these particular human capital investments. Well, did they? Bersin and Associates founder Josh Bersin doubts it. “One of the biggest opportunities for HR to drive value in the coming years is talent analytics, but HR teams are absolutely not ready. And the systems vendors aren’t helping much either!” SuccessFactors’ Peter Howes agrees. “Most HR practitioners have limited ability to interpret workforce analytics and reporting. Interpreting workforce analytics is not taught in university HR courses.” Wharton Professor Peter Cappelli adds, Metrics are killing HR because all we've come up with are cost items, and we manage what we measure.” Join us for more of their wisdom on HR Analytics: How’s Your Human Capital Investment Paying Off?

Bankers, listen up: It’s not about YOU anymore. Customers are demanding a hassle-free experience, convenience, faster transaction processing, fair fees. Gone are the days of luring them with a free toaster. Two recent blogs tell the story: “4 Reasons Why Bankers Should Think Like Retailers” and “Stop Running Banks for Bankers—Run Them for Customers.” What do the experts say? Javelin’s James Van Dyke: “In today’s increasingly always-on and real-time world, people increasingly want more control of their own ability to manage, monitor and move their money.” SAP’s Tom McAllister, former CIO, Bank of Ireland U.S. Holdings: ”The current state of flux makes this an excellent time to give the systems of the 1980s and 1990s a decent burial.” SAP’s Carl Snyder: “The revenue train may have left the station, but there is still ample opportunity to drive revenue growth and grow the ever-allusive wallet share that bankers crave.” Join us for Retail Banks of the Future: For Customers, Not Bankers!

Enterprise mobility is an unstoppable force. By 2015, this game-changer could impact over 37% of the world’s workforce - about 1.3 billion people. And by that time, 50% of enterprise mobility applications will be HTML5, predicts Sanjay Poonen, President & Corporate Officer, Technology & Innovation Products, Head of Mobile Division at SAP. He notes, “Mobile technology is creating both an expectation and impatience in people that never existed before. In fact, mobility has such an impact on companies today that conversations are no longer just between vendors and users, but really vendors and the end user.” ThinkJar’s Esteban Kolsky agrees. “Mobile is not a fad. It has been building for over ten years as the next frontier for business. Now that it's finally here, we see businesses scrambling to catch up. Can they get there on time?” Join us to hear more about Enterprise Mobility: Faster, Please! p.s. Tune in Thursdays at 1 PM Pacific for In the Cloud with Game-Changers.

Information is still king. But you’ll need a different mantra to capture the ear – and the wallets – of the vast Latino market. According to JeffreyGroup president Mike Valdés-Fauli, “Culture is king...Only now are we starting to see savvy-marketers at major consumer brands that ‘get it’...The nuances surrounding countries of origin make for remarkably different points of view from Mexicans in Los Angeles, to Puerto Ricans in New York, to Cubans in Miami. Corporate America stands to benefit from acknowledging this difference.” Noting that Latinos are “heavier and savvier” tech users than non-Hispanic anglos, he observes that “smart marketing experts are looking 15 years ahead to the coming surge in bi-cultural households.” Is your company creating a great customer experience that endears your brand to this blossoming market? Tune in for Multi-Cultural Marketing: Ready to Reach 50 Million Latinos? p.s. Thursdays at 1 PM Pacific, you’re invited to join us In the Cloud with Game-Changers.

Have your employees demanded a BYOD (bring your own device) policy yet? If not, the writing is on the wall – or on the tablet. Any day now, they’ll be bringing their iPhones and iPads to work. Is this trend a threat or an opportunity for you? Consultant Steven Romero sees the latter, advising companies to “leverage the consumerization of IT to advance enterprise mobility.” Forrester’s George Lawrie agrees. “74% of the information workers in our survey used two or more devices for work—and 52% used three or more...they’ll be increasingly interested in work systems and personal cloud services that enable easy multi-device access.” SAP’s Oliver Bussmann warns BYOD laggards, “To be a business ‘front runner’, it's unacceptable to be a year or even six months behind consumer trends.” His approach: “If you can't beat them, lead them.” Join us for State of the Device: Consumerization of IT 2012. p.s. Thursdays 1 PM Pacific on The Business Channel, tune in for In the Cloud with Game-Changers.

Ready to grow your company into a global brand? Good plan, says Emergent Research’s Steve King. “Almost 75% of global GDP growth over the next 10 years is expected to come from emerging market countries. How can you not participate in that growth? More good news from Vivaldi Partners’ Erich Joachimsthaler. “Today, we run a global business in a hyperlocal fashion. Collaboration between headquarters and subsidiaries is changing profoundly due to...new social technology and collaboration tools. The world is still round, NOT flat.” But globalization can be like a real-life blended family. SAP’s Mike Morel warns, “Subsidiaries have been the stepchildren of the corporate world, always a second priority.” Enterprise Management Associates’ Shawn Rogers sums it up: “Wherever you go...there you are and don’t you forget it.” Pour a cup and join us for Subsidiaries: No, Virginia, the World Is Not Flat! p.s. Join us for In the Cloud with Game-Changers, Thursday 1 PM Pacific on The Business Channel.

Like their grown-up counterparts, college newspapers are in trouble, says campusmediagroup.wordpress.com. “It’s now conventional wisdom that newspapers are dying, and the only debate left is when, not if...Are you with a college newspaper...? What have you been doing to stay relevant and prevent your eulogy from being written?” SAP VP Dan Mahowald has the answer. “The newspaper is not dead. Higher education revives it by adapting it to the new mobile reality. Here’s proof. Kathy Gates, University of Mississippi CIO, recently launched the Official Ole Miss App iPad Edition, in partnership with Bill Tallent’s Mercury Intermedia. Ms. Gates notes, “Recent mobility surveys and an environmental scan show that mobility is here to stay and has great promise in higher education.” Pour a cup and join us for College News: Going, going, mobile! p.s. Is the cloud a game-changer for your business? Catch “In The Cloud with Game-Changers”, Thursdays at 1 PM Pacific on the Business Channel.

Through the magic of remote radio production, SAP Radio producer / host Bonnie D. Graham interviewed more two dozen attendees at SAP’s Sapphire Now 2012 for this special edition of “Coffee Break with Game-Changers”. Hear noted influencers plus SAP partners, customers and experts answer the big question: “How is SAP changing the game for your company, clients and/or market?” And see guests posing with the official Game-Changers mug [photos courtesy of Malcolm Kimberlin] at: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.386711571370747.80326.170459749662598&type=1#!/media/set/?set=a.386711571370747.80326.170459749662598&type=1. Have you heard “In the Cloud with Game-Changers” yet? Listen live here on the Business Channel, Thursdays at 1 PM Pacific / 4 PM Eastern.

On April 4, we explored whether business intelligence, aka “BI”, is an oxymoron or a way to make companies genuinely smarter. Today our experts take a deeper dive into why even the best technical intelligence isn’t really “smart” without a solid strategy. Jason Rose sees it this way: “Technology is an enabler. Having a strategy sets your roadmap for success.” Brian Sommer takes a mathematical approach. “There are four kinds of BI strategies I see: none, outdated, accidental and purposeful. And, three of those are no good.” Josh Greenbaum challenges the notion that BI can be the Holy Grail for business. “The quest for that one true number – be it a sales forecast, demand signal, or other estimation – is a fool’s errand.” Pour a cup and join us for Part 2: How Smart Is BI Without A Strategy? p.s. What can the cloud do for your business? Catch “In The Cloud with Game-Changers”, Thursdays at 1 PM Pacific on the Business Channel.

Put on your consumer hat for a minute. Does your personal favorite customer service horror story end with how easily the offending company could have made your experience a dream, instead of a nightmare? Now put on your business hat. If you’ve heard such a tale of woe about your own company, do you know why? SAP’s Anthony Leaper believes it’s about the people you hire. “Are they emotionally attached to your brand and to the customer impression you want to leave behind?” Author Becky Carroll observes, “Customer service needs an extreme makeover. It's time to stop viewing customer service as a 'cost of doing business' and start viewing it as a key to ensuring business growth from existing customers.” Customer strategist Esteban Kolsky adds, “Becoming a beloved brand, the goal for most companies in the past 10-15 years, is no longer an objective; becoming a retained brand is.” Pour a cup and join us for food for thought on Great Customer Service: Is Your Call Center Missing the Obvious?

We’re spoiled! We’re so accustomed to getting real-time/right-time personal and business information via mobile devices and apps that we now expect similar responsiveness from the public sector. Could game-changing mobility be the answer to speeding-up the so-called slow-turning wheels of government? Yes! And government leaders are poised to make it happen. At the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Federal CIO Steven VanRoekel named 2012 as “the year of mobile government.” And IDC Government Insights predicts that in 2012, mobility will become the number one IT governance issue in government. But the U.S. GSA’s Gwynne Kostin notes, “The biggest hurdle in mobile gov now is that we are hampered by what we already know. We think in terms of websites and pages and the way we currently deliver services, and ask, ‘How do we mobilize that?’ Pour a cup and join us for food for thought on “Mobile Government? Yes! Trends and Realities”.

Wow! You’ve got an amazing idea for the game-changing new product of the century. But no money to bring it to market. What to do? Start by begging for seed money from your FFF circle (family, friends and fools). If that fails, cast your hopes heavenward for an angel investor with start-up capital. Or, if you’re dreaming big, find a venture capitalist with millions to invest in your potentially high-growth idea. Sound simple? Not so much. Your road ahead is paved with decision trees and gotcha traps. “Picking the right investor is one of the most crucial decisions for an entrepreneur. If you thought getting married is a commitment, try raising money,” cautions SAP Ventures’ Gaurav Tewari. Sand Hill’s MR Rangaswami, a long-time angel, offers an election year analogy. “CEOs of startups and politicians have one thing in common – they are perennially raising money!” Pour a cup and join us for food for thought on the Sweet and Sour of Investing: Do’s and don’ts of making the deal.

Pop quiz: Business intelligence aka “BI”. (A) Alphabet soup? (B) Oxymoron? (C) Secret weapon that instantly makes your company smarter? Answer: C, but it’s not that simple, says analyst Josh Greenbaum. “Business users don’t understand data, and data geeks don’t understand business. BI software has traditionally been among the top forms of shelfware in the enterprise. Most data warehouses are sanitary landfills.” Asuret’s Michael Krigsman adds, “Without a sense of focus and direction, BI and analytics become yet another source of useful data and clutter. In the end, vendors and users must work together to find ways of using data efficiently and in the service of concrete business purposes.” And BI expert Jason Rose says, “Technology is an enabler. Having a strategy sets your roadmap for success. Executive sponsorship and partnering with the business…yeah yeah, we’ve all heard that before, but it’s still critical and true!” Pour a cup and join us for How Smart Is BI Without A Strategy?

The mobile world isn’t coming; it’s already here. It’s a fact of business your company has to deal with, and a serious game you’d better play to win. That means getting the right information in the right format to the right people at the right time and place. According to communications researcher Maribel Lopez, “Businesses face a dynamic landscape where both customer and employee demands are changing…There are three market shifts that are driving this change – Mobile, Social and Cloud.” Communications strategist Bob Evans expands on this. “Here’s a lovely contraction-y acronym-y thing: MoCoSoLo. That’s Mobile, Collaboration, Social, and Localization. Forget the dumb term but think hard about understanding all of the implications that those forces will bring to bear on mobile behavior, mobile expectations, mobile experiences, and mobile commerce.” Pour a cup and get the real scoop from our panel of experts on Mobility Goes to the Mall, the Hotel, the Airport...

“Demanding, vocal, impatient, and always right.” If this describes your customers, are you tempted to just give up and find new ones? Don’t do it, cautions Becky Carroll, author of The Hidden Power of Your Customers. “The popularity of social media and ubiquitous mobile phones have created the perfect storm for customer service - and companies need to get it right or suffer the very public consequences.” How to win this challenge? According to Forrester’s Megan Burns, “Enjoyable experiences are the first step to creating emotional connections with customers.” And for Vision 33’s Carl B. Lewis, it comes down to one key factor: “Like it or not, good business is still personal.” For a reality check on how to keep ‘em coming back for more, tune in as these experts are joined by Teradata’s Alan Chow, Freshbooks’ Saul Colt, and Virtual Graffiti’s Hillel Sackstein for case studies from the customer’s perspective. Pour a cup and join us for Love Thy Customer: What have you done for them lately?

Utilities. We only think about them when we flip a switch and the power doesn’t come on – right? But utilities are businesses that must play to win in a competitive global arena with infrastructure, government, supply, economic and customer challenges. Ovum’s Stuart Ravens warns, “Business and technology pressures are combining to create a virtuous – or vicious – cycle disrupting the utility business model. Utilities are struggling.” Can they survive? The Smart Grid Library’s Christine Hertzog helps utilities succeed in the Smart Grid ecosystem. Roque Marinho at COBB EMC is a fan. “The Smart Grid is the next frontier for all utilities. They have to do it now or later.” But James McClelland, SAP Utilities and Energy Industry, notes, “The Smart Grid movement is real, but will only achieve its goals if utilities improve their relationship with end customers to properly market and reward energy efficiency.” Join us for Game-Changing Innovation: Can Smart Grid Keep the Lights On for Utilities?

“Good. Better. Best. Never let it rest, until your good is better and your better is best.” This classic children’s nursery rhyme should be a grown-up mantra for every company today. Either do it better - operate more efficiently and continually innovate to meet market demands - or succumb to rising costs and proactive competitors. But how? SAP’s Peter Russo advises, “Many standard processes can be covered quickly, efficiently and at a much lower cost thanks to pre-configuration and new implementation techniques and tools. Not only does this bring a rapid ROI, but it frees up resources for where solution differentiation will have a stronger impact.” T-Systems’ Dr. Uwe Heckert sees an ICT service industry trend toward “simplification, standardization and flexibility,” but adds, “Quality improvements and implementation speed increases in existing landscapes are still an issue.” Pour a cup of Joe, Earl or OJ and join us for food for thought on Game-Changing Innovation: One Bit at a Time.

Tech leaders with a traditional “CIO” title face increasing pressure to change with the times. Why? According to Asuret’s Michael Krigsman, “In the old days of corporate technology, experts guarded big computer centers and served as the high priests of technology. Few others were allowed inside their precious realm. Today, so-called ‘consumerization of IT’ means every department and function in a business has the potential to be its own IT department.” Vala Afshar at Enterasys adds, “Consumers are driving the accelerated adoption of social, mobile and cloud technologies. Service delivery organizations must adapt quickly: culture, people, process and technology.” What’s going on here? Is this just a fashionable trend or a long-term impact on your company? Will provider-customer co-innovation continue? Can customer service be the key differentiator between you and your competition? Pour a cup of Joe, Earl or OJ and join us for food for thought on the 21st Century CIO Makeover: The Reveal.

“Show me the money”, the iconic phrase from the 1996 film Jerry Maguire, still resonates in business and pop culture more than 15 years later. But before a company can see the money, they need to demand, “Show me the information.” That’s no easy task because growing your business requires getting the right information, in the right format, to the right people at the right time. Adding to your challenges, the total volume of digital data is expected to double every 18 months. According to Howard Dresner’s recent Mobile Business Intelligence Market Study, we are “in the midst of a profound shift toward Mobile BI (and mobile computing). This paradigm shift will affect everyone and have as much impact as the Internet did, over time.” However, this “proverbial ‘moving target’ of hardware and software standards presents difficulties to both customers and suppliers alike.” Pour a cup of Joe, Earl or OJ and join the experts as they explore what happens when Business Intelligence Goes on the Road.

Valentine’s Day: Love it if you receive “the perfect gift”. Hate it if you don’t know what gift to give or where to find it. If you’re the latter, it’s not all your fault, says Adrian Drury at Ovum: “You may not know what to buy your loved one, but your retailer does.” As a game-changer holiday, Feb. 14 poses a double-edge relationship sword for retailers. Fail to help a consumer express their love, and that consumer will not love your brand. Why is this so difficult? Because of a sea change of customer buying behavior, says SAP’s Jon Wurfl. Consider 37% of PriceGrabber® Valentine’s Day Shopping Survey respondents who shop online or via mobile phone or tablet. And gender, age, generational and ethnic preferences of each customer, plus brand reputation word-of-mouth on social media. If you aspire to author Becky Carroll’s gold standard - the Customers Rock company - pour a cup of Joe, Earl or OJ and join us for a Valentine’s Day Post-Mortem: Are you a retailer we love to love?

What’s in a name? Plenty, for today’s ‘CIO’. Given this tech leader’s dynamically evolving role, their “I” stripe could be earned for bravery as an astute Integrator, game-changing Innovator, Infrastructure guru, Intelligence master – or some of each. But perhaps the title itself needs a makeover: ‘CCEO’ for Chief Customer Experience Officer. Alphabet soup aside, who is best suited for this transformed and transformative function? What comes to mind are Superman / Superwoman traits, like a bold, progressive, fearless IT leader who meets tough challenges head-on. A strategic thinker whose vision enables company-wide business agility to scale to new heights. And a positive-interaction advocate who deftly tears down traditional barriers between the IT department and business units. Listen as four experts discuss the evolving roles, goals and soul of today’s technology leaders. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl or OJ and join us for food for thought on 21st Century Tech Leaders: What’s In A Name?

Ready to grow your company through global expansion? Smart strategy, according to Emergent Research’s Steve King. “Almost three quarters of global GDP growth over the next 10 years is expected to come from emerging market countries. How can you not participate in that growth? But the road to profitable subsidiaries can be bumpy, cautions SAP’s Mike Morel. “Subsidiaries have been the stepchildren of the corporate world, always a second priority. If corporate organizations can put a strategy in place that brings all the pieces together, you are going to get one plus one equals three. This is the home run that everyone is looking for.” Our panelists will explore key considerations, including the rewards of reduced labor costs and tax havens vs. risks of losing your organizational identity, and the costs of opening a subsidiary vs. dismantling one. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl or OJ and join us for food for thought on Subsidiaries: Smart Game-Changer or Global-Size Headache?

Whether you’re a start-up or a seasoned company, you’re facing the hard facts of today’s customer experience: it’s a perpetual-motion target and it’s your new competitive battleground. Given these challenges – plus your tight time and tighter budgets – how can you slide the sensitive customer satisfaction needle in the right direction to motivate your employees and satisfy your executives? Tune in for 10 Quick Wins you can implement now and see benefits in the near-term – really! CRM experts Reza Soudagar, Vinay Iyer and Dr. Volker G. Hildebrand will share nuggets of wisdom from chapter 10 of their book, “The Customer Experience Edge: Technology and Techniques for Delivering an Enduring, Profitable, and Positive Experience for Your Customers”. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl or OJ and join us for food for thought as we present Ten On-Ramps to the Customer Experience Freeway.

According to Jen McClure at Thomson Reuters, “In just a few short years, social media has evolved from being considered a fad, to a disruptive force, to a powerful new set of business tools that are being incorporated into every function of organizations as they strive to become ‘social businesses.’” Yes, social media has changed the voices of customers and the media – whenever they’re happy or not so happy with you – from a whisper to a shout. That means your brand value can soar or stumble at the click of a Tweet. Like it or not, you’d better be ready to seize the golden opportunities and manage the pitfalls, all in right-time. If you’re not taking this paradigm shift seriously, tune in for our experts’ priceless advice as they name-drop social business blunder examples from Sears, Netflix, Dominos, BP, Gap and other iconic brands. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl or OJ and join us for food for thought on Avoiding Social Media Blunders: Don’t Let This Happen to Your Company!

With social media and smartphones fueling consumers’ expectations and enabling them to impact your brand, the customer experience is now your competitive battleground. Everyone has a customer experience horror story. What’s the buzz about your company? Are you prepared to put customers at the center of your thinking to transform them into your best advocates? Meet Reza Soudagar, Vinay Iyer and Dr. Volker G. Hildebrand, authors of The Customer Experience Edge: Technology and Techniques for Delivering an Enduring, Profitable, and Positive Experience for Your Customers. Based on market research, case studies and statistics, they will explain how to combine strategy, leadership, organizational change, and technology to develop highly valued products and services, transform your customers into loyal evangelists, and convert emotionally-bonded customers into profits. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl or OJ and join us for food for thought on The Customer Experience as Competitive Game-Changer.

There’s a global financial crisis, and struggling companies are reducing staff, or worse, shuttering doors. If you’re out of a job, you’d be out of your mind to consider starting a business today. Right? Not true, says small business expert Susan Wilson Solovic. “We are entering a new era in which the majority of Americans will either own a small business or work for one....While it may seem counterintuitive, a recessionary climate can actually be an ideal time to start a business.” Need proof? Hyatt Corporation, Burger King, FedEx, MTV, CNN and HP started small in down economies. And college dropout Bill Gates started Microsoft in a sluggish economy, eking out just $16,000 in revenue his first year. Whether you’re a big biz seeking to contain costs, a small biz in need of advice, or just have an “I wanna be my own boss” gleam in your eye, pour a cup of Joe, Earl or OJ and join us for food for thought on the Era of the Entrepreneur: Small Business as the New Economic Game-Changer.

Your holiday gifts may already be unwrapped, but we’ve got more surprises for you. Ten former guests will predict the exciting game-changer technologies that could transform, disrupt and shake up your business status quo in 2012. Their conversation may spark ideas on better ways to run your company – or start a new one – and move you in amazing new directions. Since our October debut, you’ve heard business leaders, analysts, influencers and authors discuss diverse game-changing trends – Consumerization of IT, Big Data, In-memory Computing, Cloud Computing, Social Business, Information Governance, Real-time Data Analytics, Customer Relationship Management, and many flavors of Mobility. Listen on-demand in our Episode Directory. Will 2012 bring more of the same, or entirely new approaches to growing and competing in the intensely dynamic global marketplace? Pour a cup of Joe, Earl, OJ or even Dom, and join us for a special menu of food for thought here at the game-changers’ table.

Some things never change. “The customer is always right”, a slogan associated with Marshall Field’s department store in the late 19th century, and attributed earlier to French hotelier César Ritz, holds true today. Consider this: You do everything right – deliver the right merchandise at the right price, right terms and guarantees, at the right time and place – yet some customers loudly declare they’ll never buy from you again. Why? Perhaps a delivery person who doesn’t work for your company, or anything else beyond your control, left a bad taste about your brand and spoiled what you thought was a perfect transaction. Want to avoid this ‘last mile’ mishap? It’s all about CRM – Customer Relationship Management. Tune in to hear how the CRM system of the future will be smart, dynamic and personalized enough to help you score a better grade on your customer report card. Pour a fresh cup of Joe, Earl or OJ and join us for food for thought as we explore the world of CRM today and tomorrow.

In our unwired world of business, millions of mobile devices connect the boardroom to the shop floor to the consumer across the entire supply chain. These laptops, tablet and smart phones – which aren’t tied down by a power cord and data cable – empower employees at every level and the companies that employ them. If you’re still on the outside peering into the window of today’s game-changing mobility, this show is for you. Meet Carolyn Fitton, co-author of Enterprise Mobility for Dummies, the guide to application development and deployment, management and security for all the devices on your network. Carolyn and our panel of mobility experts will explore the basics your management and IT teams need to select the right technologies for your company, including mobile hardware, mobile applications, and the tools to manage it all. Pour yourself a fresh cup of Joe, Earl or OJ and join us for food for thought as we explore the world of Enterprise Mobility. Tweet your questions to #SAPRadio.

Imagine such fast access to all of your data - even field-fresh information less than a minute old - that when you ask a question, you get an informed answer in milliseconds! Not minutes, hours or days like you’d get from spreadsheets on different computers. Milliseconds. Essentially “real-time”. Now think of the powerful intelligence this would give you in response to “I want it now” customers and do-or-die business decisions. You'd have immediate and deeper insights about sales, customers and pipeline from any source. Guess what? Organizations that already harness automated analytics are able to take a scientific, predictive approach to decision making. And if they’re your competitors, watch out because they’re winning, even in this tough economy. Pour yourself a fresh cup of Joe, Earl or OJ and join us for food for thought as we explore the world of real-time analytics. BTW: Tweet questions for our experts to #SAPRadio.

Whoosh! That’s the sound of data flying in and out of your company. Information today is indeed king. But if you’re not governing data flow and handling with solid policies and processes, you’re missing the boat on maximizing information business value and minimizing risk exposure. If this is on your perpetual to-do list or if tentative rules are scattered around the company, listen up! Today we explore the burgeoning world of Information Governance (IG): how bringing together the right people, processes, policies, and technology can deliver consistent, trusted information across your organization. Whether you’re small, midsize or a large enterprise, hear how to empower your users to own and manage data as a strategic asset, and guarantee data quality throughout its lifecycle. Pour a fresh cup of Joe, Earl or OJ and join us for food for thought as we travel the road to true Information Governance. Tweet your questions for our experts to #SAPRadio before or during the program.

In our Era of Pervasive Mobility, most of us take the benefits of smart phones and tablet devices for granted. But it wasn’t so long ago that we didn’t have on-the-go connectivity to people, information, shopping, entertainment and work. On Nov. 23, two days before Black Friday starts the 2011 holiday season and the year’s busiest travel weekend, we’ll look at the social and business impacts of today’s ubiquitous personal mobility devices that connect people of all ages to whatever and whomever they choose, wherever they are. Meet mobility industry giants Paul Greenberg, the ‘father of CRM’; Sheryl Kingstone, Yankee Group mobility guru; Dr. Natalie Petouhoff, leading advocate for mobility in customer service; and Gregory J. Dunn, a key player in Sybase’s revolutionary 365 mobility strategy. Pour a cup of Joe, Earl or OJ and join us for food for thought on how our untethered access to mobile content and ecommerce services affects lifestyles for individuals, communities and businesses.

Our Nov. 2 Breakfast with Game-Changers weather forecast predicted prevailing clouds disrupting business-as-usual in a good way far into the future, with bright stars lighting the cloud-filled skies. Of course, we were talking about “the cloud” as in “cloud computing” – and what it can do for your business, whether you’re a new or mature small, mid-size or large company. Still in the dark, you say? Just a lot of hot air, you protest? Too nebulous to be real, you challenge? We’ve invited our guest experts to continue to explore the vast game-changing cloudscape. Topics: public vs. private cloud; how a private cloud can fail; ownership, security and accessibility of your data in the cloud; whether the cloud always saves costs; roadmap for a successful cloud journey; and tips for choosing a cloud vendor. Pour yourself a cup of Joe, Earl or OJ and join us for food for thought, as we look skyward again to help you get your head in the cloud.

Facebook this. Tweet that. Blog something. LIKE this. FOLLOW that. Social media. Social networking. Social business. Whatever you call it, it’s here to stay. And it’s moved from the domain of y-/i-genners’ personal trivia to a new business sandbox where companies big and small play to win high-stakes customer relationships. The theory: “Be in the game or lose the opportunity.” So where is your company on the social business debate: waste of time or marketing brilliance? Are you peering from the sidelines, wondering if you have to be there and how to justify the cost? Or do you already use social media gurus to make your brand a player in the fast-paced chat-o-sphere? Either way, you may be overwhelmed by the many approaches to Social Customer Relationship Management. Pour a fresh cup of Joe, Earl or OJ and join us for food for thought as we explore the world of social business. And if you tweet your favorite breakfast beverage to #SAPRadioCoffee, you may hear your name on the air!

You’ve heard the buzz and hype about ‘the cloud’, but do you know what it can do for you and your business? While Sand Hill Group’s research saw a dramatic leap in cloud computing adoption in Q4-2010, it also found that many small to midsize businesses are still confused about the meaning of ‘cloud computing.’ Can you tell the cloud apart from high-tech trends like Web 2.0, social media, virtualization, Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and web-based tools like e-mail and collaboration apps? And if you’ve decided to go to the cloud, do you really know the must-have’s and the gotcha’s? Pour yourself a fresh cup of Joe, Earl or OJ and join us for food for thought as we look skyward to help you demystify the cloud.

On last week’s Big Data program, we discussed how today’s massive data volume, velocity and variety are challenging the creative coping skills of companies around the world. Now we’ll examine how to shake, bake and serve your data in far less time than it takes Rachael Ray to cook-up her newest yummo recipe. Yes! In-memory, real-time data analytics are the newest game-changing tool that can boost your company’s cost-saving productivity by 4% in the next 5 years and help you win big in the new global marketplace. Grab a fresh cup of Joe, Earl or OJ and join us for food for thought on how you, too, can take a light-year leap into the exciting realm of real-time business.

Big Data. The world of Three V’s. Gartner describes “big data” as a three-dimensional data growth model: Volume of data; Velocity or speed of data in/out; and Variety of data types and sources. When we do the math, “big” typically ranges from a few dozen terabytes to multi-petabytes or more in a single data set. The bottom line: Big data is waaayyy too much for common software tools to efficiently capture, manage and process within a tolerable length of time. This is a job for game-changing solutions and exceptional technologies. What does big data mean to you and your business? What kinds of data do you need to care about – social data, sentiment analysis, RFID and more? What does your data look like today and what will it look like tomorrow? And how do you turn your data into usable information? Pour a fresh cup of Joe, Earl or OJ and join us for food for thought: Big Data - The Big Picture.

Look what’s walking in your door this morning with your employees: their ipads, ipods, iphones! Why? Because their on-the-go lifestyle requires continuous personal and work connectivity. But at the end of the day, they may walk out the door with your proprietary data on their devices. This rapid consumerization of IT is already a reality around the globe. Are you ready for this new fact of business life? Have you decided how to enable your workforce to optimize their productivity? Do you have a corporate mobility policy for monitoring data traffic? Pour another cup of fresh java and join us for food for thought on Mobility: The Big Picture, Devices, Apps – and most important, IT’s role in securing your data as it goes mobile.

Wondering who today’s business innovators are and what’s on their plate that can change the way YOU do business next? Pour a fresh cup of your favorite breakfast beverage and join our expert panel for the debut of Breakfast with Game-Changers, as we explore these timely questions: How do game-changers think? What inspires them to develop breakthrough technologies that disrupt, excite and improve companies everywhere — and even become the stuff of legend? How long before their next “Aha moment“ impacts the way you run your business? And why do we listen to them at all? We’ll also deep-dive into the topic of Mobility. Why is it considered today’s leading game-change technology? How has this cataclysmic shift impacted the drivers of today’s technology market? Share your thoughts with us on Twitter at #SAPRadio.