This is a guest post from Karen Reyburn, founder of The Profitable Firm. She’s one of our keynote speakers at BITE 2018, and here’s some of what she’ll be sharing with you in Carlisle on the 12th October.
Every day I work with businesses on getting their words out in front of their ideal audience. In my case, the businesses I work with are accountants. And the accounting industry – like every industry – is full of buzzwords.
Modern.
Forward thinking.
Progressive.
Professional.
Cloud accounting.
Innovation.
Buzzwords are what happens when a word is used so often we all think we know what it means…but if asked, we would struggle to specifically define it.
What does “professional” actually mean? Does it mean suits and ties, using formal speech in emails, and only talking about business topics in business meetings? How about “cloud accounting”? It’s a throwback to a time when doing things online was new and different…but it’s not a cloud anymore. It’s simply part of this life we live.
Words matter because they have meaning: they tell us something about the thinking going on behind the scenes.
“Innovation” is a buzzword, too.
We associate innovation with technology. New things. Disruption. Change. Thinking about business and life from another perspective.
And yet true innovation and true disruption are rare. Apple is known for innovation, but the recent Apple event wasn’t really about innovation. They shared a few upgrades on existing technology. I love Apple, and I watched the broadcast live on Twitter. The only true innovative, disrupting, catch-your-breath new thing was the moment in the opening video when Kevin Lynch clicks a button on his apple watch and becomes a hologram. Now that’s innovative. (It was also not real.)
Innovation is still a good word. It’s one of the four words making up the BITE event: Business. Innovation. Technology. Efficiency.
The important thing is to explore what allows you to be innovative: and that’s curiosity.
On the 12th September, I’m going to be sharing why we need curiosity so much. Why we need to be bored. Why we need to ask ‘why’, over and over and over. And what’s possible for your business when you do.
I look forward to meeting you all there! Please do connect with me on all the socials – I’ll be tweeting, sharing pictures and live video, and doing some sketchnoting too! See you at BITE!
Book your free place here!
Connect with Karen:
Instagram – Twitter – Facebook – LinkedIn
