Ben Franklin News

Ben Franklin Announces Innovation Expert as ixchange Keynoter

The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania has announced that innovation expert Joseph Michelli, Ph. D. will be the keynote presenter at i xchange 2010.
i xchange will be held beginning at 5:30 pm on the evening of Wednesday, May 12, 2010, at the Zoellner Arts Center, Lehigh University, Bethlehem.

The i xchange is the premier business networking opportunity in northeastern Pennsylvania. Last year, more than 600 technology entrepreneurs, business people, economic developers, venture capitalists, political leaders, educators, students, bankers, lawyers, and accountants from Ben Franklin’s 21-county service area attended, and even more are expected this year.

The i xchange will combine an executive networking session, the keynote address by Dr. Michelli, and the presentation of Ben Franklin’s annual Innovation Awards. These awards recognize and salute outstanding accomplishment in business and technology.

Dr. Joseph Michelli is an internationally sought-after speaker, author, and organizational consultant who has been described as “catching what is right in the world and playfully sparking people and businesses to grow toward the extraordinary.” In his i xchange keynote, “Innovation Leads Transformation” Dr. Michelli will explore the critical importance of creativity and innovation for delivering customer value and creating business opportunities.
 
A recession led to the innovations which produced McDonald’s, General Electric, Walt Disney, and IBM. Often, abundance lulls business leaders into complacency. In rich economic times, leaders can prop up bad ideas with money and allow those ideas to languish well beyond viability. Conversely, scarcity drives creativity.

By emphasizing how innovators are the lifeblood of economic recovery, Dr. Michelli will advocate high-quality, low-cost approaches for creating, testing, and commercializing ideas. Dr. Michelli believes that the current economy affords transformational opportunities for companies with entrepreneurial cultures and a passion for creating high-value solutions that elevate the customer experience.

Dr. Michelli authored the bestseller, The Starbucks Experience: 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary into Extraordinary, as well as The New Gold Standard, about service excellence at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, and When Fish Fly: Lessons for Creating a Vital and Energized Workplace, about the world-famous Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle. Dr. Michelli’s i xchange insights will encourage leaders and front-line workers to grow and invest passionately in all aspects of their lives.

About the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania:
The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania links companies with experts, universities, funding, and other resources to help them prosper through innovation. The Center strategy encompasses three key areas: developing early-stage, technology-oriented companies; helping established manufacturers creatively apply new technologies and business practices; and promoting an innovative community-wide infrastructure that fosters a favorable business environment for high-growth companies. The northeastern center is part of a four-center, state-funded economic development initiative.