Next Wednesday, July 13th, we’ll host P&G’s 11th annual Signal Summit. Starting as a forum to bring the outside in and help P&G brands to accelerate their journey into digital marketing, the Signal Summit is now an annual ‘must attend’ gathering for the global P&G community. One of the reasons for its ongoing success is how we design the program, which starts with a powerful story shaped by an annual theme.
The year’s Signal theme is ‘LEARN. LEAD. BUILD.’ For innovation leaders these are three powerful and inspiring words. They also describe P&G’s culture, perfectly illustrated by the Signal Summit itself.
LEARN. P&G is an exemplary learning organization, always focused on disciplined problem solving, experimenting to learn and scaling what works. Learning from people outside the day-to-day environment is a critical ingredient, a catalyst for creativity and the inspiration these discussions provoke. For example, not every company is ready to embrace a four-day work week. But by experimenting with new ways of working, companies gain deeper insights on what flexibility and well-being means for their employees as they create attractive places to work. People outside our walls also help us see the ‘why’ and ‘so what?’ beyond the dizzying amount of daily news stories. At Signal we’ll host Sucharita Kodali, principal analyst at Forrester, and Civic Science founder and CEO John Dick to frame the challenges and opportunities these retail and consumer insight experts see ahead.
LEAD. ‘The best way to predict the future is to create it.’ It’s an easy quote, but hard to do, especially in organizations where long-standing practices have led to solid results. Leaders with an innovation mindset always ask ‘What can we do better?’ It requires self- awareness, vision, passion, and a focus on action. And, above all, persistence. Candice Matthews’ Startup Spotlight story about how she’s working to level the playing field for Black women entrepreneurs is a wonderful illustration of such a leader. We will feature many other inspiring figures at Signal, including She Loves Tech co-founder Virginia Tan and 80 Acres Farms’ CEO Mike Zelkind.
BUILD. Often we use the word ‘create’ to describe innovation. It implies that someone magically forges something from nothing by themselves. But ‘building’ implies combining and collaborating, much like Lego. At Signal we’ll hear from Julia Goldin, Lego’s chief marketing officer, about how the company is continuing to build the Lego brand in new and innovative ways. This month’s Signal Conversation with Yahoo CEO Jim Lanzone is another example of ‘building,’ or rather ‘rebuilding.’ While many see Yahoo as an internet company from the past, he’s rebuilding the internet pioneer into a digital product company for the future.
Signal 2022 will feature 35+ speakers to provide you inspiration and education. Come join us to learn! It will provide you with powerful fuel for your journey to lead and build the future. We are excited to see you on July 13th!
Stan Joosten & John Battelle,
Editors-In-Chief, Signal360 / Co-founders, Signal P&G
Signal360 will take a summer break in August. We’ll be back in September.
