Innovation on a Thursday and hoping for much more of it

I just saw an incredible program called Improv, Creativity, Collaboration: Fueling Innovation for the 21st century at the Japan Society--part of their US-Japan Innovators Project. I was luckily invited by my sister-in-law Betty who works at the Japan Society--thanks Betty! The program was about ways in which the evolving economies, particularly the US and Japan, are experiencing whole paradigm shifts in personal and cultural attitudes in the ways in which we consume. Our markets are changing as a result and where and how we must look for and find true innovation to fuel the new shift is paramount to the experience of this new wave of business. Still with me?
It was hosted by Alan Weber, founding editor of Fast Company Magazine with three speakers whose work, in different ways, emphasizes the importance of creativity and innovation on business models in the 21st century. These are very different models than what our parents knew and for me it was like finding a language for the change I see happening all around--like discovering that these things dangling at the end of my arms are called "hands".

Dan Pink, journalist, Japan Society Fellow and author of A Whole New Mind was one of the speakers-via satellite from Tokyo--and now I'm devouring all the articles of his I can find via his very cool and insightful blog about cool and innovative design he's finding during his stay in Japan.
I like this unrelated to Japan, but not off topic article about creative genius he wrote for Wired.


Also there was Marty Ashby, a life-long musician and Social Entrepreneur who talked about a jazz-based approach to business and actually played a set, and Hiroshi Tasaka, a Philosopher, Professor and President of ThinkTank SophiaBank in Japan. He had some really interesting things to say in a talk entitled, "The Joy Factor in a Post-Knowledge Society. I'll tell you all about that and what I learned from Mr. Tasaka tomorrow.
After a full day of Jury Duty in downtown Brooklyn, this was truly heaven sent, but now I'm tired of sitting still.