Jeremy Gutsche, “chief trend hunter” at TrendHunter.com, woke up the hungover Sunday morning crowd with a lively panel on innovation and trending. Displaying the subversive attitude that one would expect from a trend expert, the charismatic speaker started his lecture by stating, “Cool is not what’s popular. Cool is unique, cutting edge, and viral.”
Gutsche presented case studies and examples in support of his arguments, which were perhaps unconventional, yet made perfect sense. He emphasized the importance of culture in determining what is relevant and appealing.
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast. When you make a cultural connection you’re not speaking to someone, you’re speaking with them,” said Gutsche.
As the title indicates, the discussion focused on seizing opportunity. Gutsche displayed a lengthy list of highly successful companies that began in the midst of disaster. He presented a framework for exploiting chaos, thoroughly exploring the processes of trend hunting, adaptive innovation, and infectious marketing. The main point of Gutsche’s presentation – simple, yet profound – was that “crisis equals opportunity.”
Permalink
“Cool is not what’s popular. Cool is unique, cutting edge, and viral.”
This line is what intrigued me to want to know more about what Jeremy Gutsche’s session offered. I’m curious to what his other ‘rules’ were since Rule #1 is something that brings on new thoughts to how you pursue a certain idea. To obsess about something means someone is going to know all the details, ins and outs, basically everything about a certain subject/object. I definitely am more willing to read/listen to someone who knows all there is to know about something rather than a person who just dabbed onto the subject to make a point.
I also like Gutsche’s quote “When you make a cultural connection you’re not speaking to someone, you’re speaking with them.” I feel that cultural connections are very important in the social networking world, and that being a cultured person can get you farther in life. I definitely think more well rounded people are desirable, and that includes knowledge/experience in people and situations that are out of the norm from their lifestyle. The main point “crisis equals opportunity” ties all this in together since change of norm can result in crisis, crisis brings drama, and people thrive on drama which draws attention to success.
Permalink
Thanks for attending Jeremy Gutsche’s Exploiting Chaos panel! We’re thrilled you enjoyed it. Hope to see you around the site!