7 Things Executives Want from Attending World of Watson

What do you want to learn at the World of Watson?What do you want to learn at the World of Watson?

Are you going to IBM’s World of Watson this year? It should be a fascinating time to learn more about cognitive computing and the future of business. I’ve attended many great events this year, but this may be the highlight. 

As many of you know, I’ve spent the past 20 plus years recruiting and consulting in emerging technologies.  I’ve worked with many of the world’s most innovative organizations. Many of my better clients have become household names in their markets because they learned how to leverage technology to change their markets.

My extensive background in emerging technologies has allowed me to help my clients leverage technology to grow their organizations exponentially. I’ve also had the chance to work with many entrepreneurs before they became well known. I’ve helped these clients find and cultivate their entrepreneurial strengths. I just helped them use technology to help implement their vision for their business.

I’m always looking at technology in terms of how it creates a business advantage, not technology for technology’s sake.  That’s why I’m looking forward to this year’s World of Watson event.

The World of Watson events offers me a unique opportunity. One that I want to share with you. Actually, I’ve shared it with clients and they couldn’t wait to help me get the most out of the event. Several have asked me to go and explore the event from the point of view of being their CTO.

It’s a role I’ve enjoyed in the past and I really enjoy the challenge. But I guess I’m not the only one, I’m told there will be over 12,000 attendees at World of Watson this year, plus IBM employees and partners.

So what am I looking for at the World of Watson? More importantly, what do you want to know about Watson, cognitive computing, and their impact on your business in the coming years? Today and Friday’s blogs will discuss what I hope to find and share with you over the next several weeks. Now let’s get started!

The first thing I want to learn at the World of Watson is what is IBM’s vision for cognitive computing? How are they creating new opportunities using cognitive technologies? I want to hear from the leaders of that are creating our future, one day at a time. There are so many great leaders speaking I don’t know where to start. I have identified many thought leaders that will be speaking at this event and asked them to share their best ideas with you. You will be reading more about what I learn through the end of this year.

I’m looking forward to hearing Ginni Rometty’s (President of IBM) keynote and panel discussions. She has over 400,000 employees around the world and she’s got them very excited about what they are doing today. She is the leader and one of the chief architects of these cognitive technologies that are quickly changing our world and our lives.

The second thing I want to learn at the World of Watson is what trends are changing our workplace? No hype, no bull, just what trends are going to change our lives today and in the future? My goal for this blog is to help leaders become better leaders. I want to help you change the world.

Peter Drucker used to say the best way to have the future you want is to create it. To create it, you must know the bigger issues you and your community will be dealing with. You must be willing to seize new opportunities. You must know how to mitigate risk by understanding what is happening in your family, community, and our world. I will be sharing what I learn at World of Watson with you and my clients to help you make better decisions.

The third thing I want to learn at the World of Watson is what actually is this technology? Not marketing and limited case studies that aren’t applicable to your situation. I will be attending programs that help me better understand where we are today. I will also look to talk with the people who are responsible for implanting it around the world.

What are your competitors doing with these technologies? Is it working?  What are the benefits of being an early adopter? Is this the best time to get engaged? These are the questions keeping my clients up at night. I’m willing to bet you want to know, as well.

Join me again on Friday, I will share four more critical things I want to better understand at the end of the World of Watson conference. I know you will want to know. See you then.

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