It’s time to "kill" your company. That was the advice of this year’s opening keynote presenter at the IHRSA conference in San Diego.
Lisa Bodell, author and founder and CEO of futurethink, told the audience in the Wednesday morning keynote presentation that in an increasingly competitive world, you must change the way you think. Instead of looking internally, you must look at your company as your competitor would—and determine how you would "kill"your club. It’s an exercise that will allow you to find—and fix—your weaknesses so that your competitor ultimately will not exploit them.
Of course, this exercise requires you to embrace change, something that is difficult for many, she said, but it’s made easier when you change your perspective.
Bodell shared a story about how during a trip to Spain with her son, he often referred to anything that was different in that country as weird. She explained to him that using the word “weird” implied judgment. Using the word “different” did not. Once he began to use the word “different,” his perspective changed.
She urged the audience to also change their perspectives and to embrace change. To do that, Bodell said you must ask killer questions.
“In the future, asking the right questions will be more valuable than finding the right answers,” she said. “Ask something that shakes up what people are thinking.”
Bodell was just the first of four keynote presentations at IHRSA, which runs from March 21-24 at the San Diego Convention Center. The March 22 keynote presenter, Leah Busque, founder and executive chairwoman of TaskRabbit, will speak on “Making Ideas Happen.” On March 23, Josh Linkner, author and CEO of Hyper-Growth, will speak on “Harnessing Innovation: Turning Raw Ideas into Powerful Results.” Closing out the show on March 24 will be Isaac Lidsky, founder of Hope for Vision, who will speak on “Eyes Wide Open.”
The exhibit hall will be open March 22-23, and the Bash for Augie’s Quest, an event to raise money to fund a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, will be held the evening of March 23.