“Reinvent Business” Hackathon – Winning Concepts from frog on Vimeo.
After a whirlwind week, this past weekend I was part of the inaugural frog design, LRN and Fast Company‘s weekend summit “Reinvent Business Hackathon.” It was a 2-day intense creative event with 180 people from around the world to break into small teams to change business and re-humanize the structures by re-thinking how, why, and what we do in business.
I learned an incredible amount, met some stunning faces, and am still processing all of my thoughts – more in an upcoming article soon! Check out the comments on Twitter (#reinventbiz or @sarahkpeck) where I’ve been posting updates.
The purpose of the event, in the words of the organizer:
“The financial crisis, environmental crises, growing income disparity, unemployment, corruption, Occupy Wall Street, public resignation letters, etc. – the ‘trust gap’ between business and society is widening. Companies are facing a crisis of meaning, and they are challenged by a deficit of trust. They have developed global compacts, company values, codes of conduct, compliance policies, and entire corporate departments to foster social responsibility and encourage more values-based decision making. Yet we continue to witness near-term, siloed behaviours across industries that seem disconnected from society’s needs.”
Changing business from within?
“The need for a real understanding of the common human values that connect organizations and individuals is becoming ever more important. Transparency, inclusivity, inspiration, and organizational responsiveness are crucial in nurturing businesses’ social fabric and facilitating empathy and collaboration. But the challenge remains: How do we translate these values into tangible, personal experiences? How can social technology unlock the human potential inside organizations?”
A Recap List:
The best articles I’ve read to date to summarize the event–because my non-stop brain and work is a bit fried at the moment–are as follows. It was an incredible weekend, pushing the limits of my creativity, challenging how I worked with others with an urgency to innovate and collaborate in a short 48 hour time frame.
- A Hackathon To Revinvent Business
- The Full Report from Design Mind
- Forbes: How Social Technology Can Reinvent Business
- In San Francisco, A Hackathon That Humanizes The Business Plan
Have you ever been part of a hackathon? It’s an incredible way to meet people, learn quickly, build things–and maybe even find an idea or a team for a side project. I’ve done a handful of hackathons and innovation meet-ups over the past year and met brilliant people as a result. I definitely recommend it.