Since 2007, I have been Executive Director of Innovation at 2thinknow.

2thinknow is a Global Innovation Agency. In short, a think tank that publishes ideas & campaigner for ideas. It is non-partisan & independent.

Origins of a brand.

2thinknow was started in 2005 within simple, and spun-off in 2006 as it’s own brand. The  flagship Innovation Cities research was started in 2005, the idea originating when I was travelling overseas.

Having built the simple brand in Australia from nothing to 100%+ growth in 2003-04, 500% growth in 2004-05, and 170% growth in 2005-06, I’m repeating the process again. This time on a global scale.

Innovation Cities Data & Models.

In early 2009 our primary focus is Innovation Cities.

Having spent 9 years (then) data consulting designing models & frameworks for other people, and presenting data for banks, insurance, financial firms I decide in 2006 to build a model that explained innovation in cities.

I felt too many of the models were inadequate. Focussed mainly on patents, which are a poor measure of innovation (few creatives stop to get a patent or go through a R&D process).

Integrating Art & Data.

This, for me personally is now prescient. I can somehow integrate art & economics & data into a process.

I can design & influence a model that measures all the Key Perfomance Indicators for a city in one place (just as I once did with KPIs for retail property or frontline managers).

It’s an honour to create the first & best framework. (It predated both Monocle & Fast Company’s writings on the subject.)

2thinknow also published the Global Innovation Review 2007 Annual, my first book.

Throughout the whole conception it has been my goal to integrate an artists & analysts thinking into the analysis of cities. I have learnt a lot about city design, and plan to keep on learning.

Nascent Trend Analysis.

So I have compiled a database of many global trends, which allowed me to engage in some data analysis of trends. I believe this invention is the first of it’s type.

It applies the ideas of Everett Rogers & Nassim Taleb to creating trend predictions.

One of the things my time in data analysis taught me was how to quickly build frameworks & make them work.

This allowed me to correctly predict the 2008 Economic Crisis and “september shock event” as far back as October 2007. In February 2007 I specifically predicted the “nationalisation of banks”.

As I stated earlier I slowed my work with simple in April 2007, in part because I had formed the belief  a severe crisis was due.

I’d love to work more on refining this model. It’s an art not a science though.

2thinknow Slides.

During my time at NRMA (now IAG) my slideshows (rather my bosses) became legendary among the Executive Team.

And my artwork & slides have graced numerous moments as far back as the Qantas & CBA floats, NRMA demutualisation (which I saw from the inside)

Recently I applied this slideshow methodology I developed to some unique slides on the Economic Crisis & Obamanomics.

Both of these slideshows were featured on the front of the leading world wesbite for sharing slides, slideshare.net – as well as gaining me numerous public feedback.