Austin Founder Lions Club

MiniTrends: A Foundation for an Innovative Organization - Dr. John Vanston

  • 17 Oct 2013
  • 11:45 AM - 1:00 PM
  • Wells Fargo Bldg, 400 W 15th St, 3rd floor

Registration

  • please note there will be a $5 fee for parking in the garage

MiniTrends: A Foundation for an Innovative Organization 
Dr. John Vanston


introduction by Vicki Flaugher

MiniTrends

In our current environment of rapid change, an organization’s success-indeed, its survival-depends on its establishing a culture and structure committed to continuing imagination and innovation. 

In this presentation, Dr. John Vanston introduces a new concept--MiniTrends--that can provide a foundation for an effective Innovation Support Program. 
This concept provides a new approach for finding, analyzing and taking advantage of emerging trends that will become significant in 2-5 years, but are not yet widely recognized or appreciated. 

  • Individual entrepreneurs will learn how to identify, assess, and exploit new business opportunities. 
  • Decision makers in small and mid-size businesses will learn how to gain advantage by recognizing and utilizing emerging trends. 
  • Innovative thinkers in large businesses will learn how to distinguish themselves by their special perceptiveness. 
  • Investors will learn how to uncover attractive new investment opportunities. 

The presentation is based on John’s 30 years of experience in identifying and applying technical, social, and business trends and the award-winning book MINITRENDS: How Innovators & Entrepreneurs Discover & Profit From Business & Technology Trends authored by Dr. Vanston with his daughter Carrie Vanston.




John VanstonSpeaker's Bio: Dr. John H. Vanston, Ph.D., Chairman, Technology Futures, Inc. (TFI), is an internationally renowned consultant, educator, speaker, and author in the fields of trend analysis, technology forecasting, technology/market integration, and technology management in uncertain environments.

His MiniTrends concept, designed to increase creativity, innovation, and success, is summarized in MINITRENDS: How Entrepreneurs & Innovators Discover & Profit From Business & Technology Trends, written in collaboration with his daughter Carrie Vanston. 

The book has received several Best Business Book awards, as well as excellent reviews and endorsements from the media and industry leaders. Dr. Vanston also Chairs TFI's popular MiniTrends Conference. 

Dr. Vanston founded TFI in 1978, building the Austin, Texas-based company into a leading authority in custom research, forecasting, and emerging trend analysis. 
He has worked with a wide range of organizations including Chevron Chemical, Kodak, Boeing, Nortel, National Security Agency, National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, Texas State Technical College System and many more... 

Dr. Vanston is on the Editorial Advisory Board for the World Future Society’s World Future Review. 

Prior to establishing TFI, Dr. Vanston was a professor of nuclear engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and deputy director of the University’s Center for Energy Studies, an interdisciplinary organization that he helped establish in 1974. While at the University he conducted a number of forecasts and trend analyses in the energy area. 



Featured Lunch Menu: Smothered pork chops with apricot & madera sauce, roasted sweet potatoes and fresh green beans; mixed field green salad with assorted rolls and a featured daily dessert. Vegetarian meal or Grilled Chicken Caesar salad are available alternatives as well.

Please register by noon on Wednesday.

We order meals based on your reservations and must pay for them even if you do not show up. Please keep this in mind if your plans shift and cancel your reservation so we can adjust the headcount.

 
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