In this talk Professor Angell describes creativity and the process of innovation, focusing on what goes into making the next “greatest thing since sliced bread”. Apart from saying what innovation is, he will also talk about what it is not! He will stress that creativity is not about a few lone thinkers on individual journeys to their own personal “light bulb” moments.

In this highly motivational talk Angell will claim that the potential for innovation is in all of us. The real issue is not just about having the ideas, but about how to avoid the numerous impediments that prevent acts of creativity from reaching fruition. He will give numerous examples to highlight such obstacles, including education systems intent on promoting orthodoxy and destroying individual thought in young talent; a system of intellectual property rights that actively interferes with innovation and prevents the original innovator from optimizing any personal benefit; and bureaucracies that thwart discretion and demotivate employees.

Angell will look at what individuals and companies can do to nurture talent and trigger innovation, and thereby prosper in today’s rapidly changing commercial environment.