I am in Scottsdale, Arizona today preparing to present at the 13th annual Innovation Immersion conference. The theme this year is the 360 Degree Innovation Experience, and will focus on how companies need to approach innovation in order to grow. If you lead your company’s innovation efforts, I encourage you to click on the above link and make plans to attend next year’s conference.

Why are convergence events like these important? Because Innovation has become a corporate buzzword that is not well understood.  Many companies want to innovate and even say they are innovative, but do not really “walk the talk.” Those who get it are the companies that see innovation as a continuum from incremental to breakthrough innovation and are balancing the needs for today while developing solution opportunities for tomorrow.

This convergence event focuses not only on product and service offerings but also on strategy, culture, people and organizational structure to deliver business value. Only executives who incorporate all of these elements can truly claim to be innovative. and deliver sustainable growth.