Jim Harris

Disruptor and Innovator

Jim Harris is a one of North America’s foremost management consultants, authors and thinkers on disruptive innovation, leadership, sustainability and environmental issues.

Jim’s future trends presentations focus on how to drive growth and profitability. His book, ‘Blindsided!’ a #1 international bestseller examines: Why companies and whole industries are being blindsided; How decision makers can identify early warning signs; How leaders can put in place systems and structures that will prevent their organizations from being blindsided; And then, knowing all this, how they can blindside their competition.

Jim’s experience as an environmental speaker is supported by his work with corporations such as Walmart, IBM, Cleantech as well as governments and property developers.  As a result of a recent global consulting contract with IBM, Mr. Harris white paper on how carbon leadership drives profitability is on IBM’s global web site.

Jim speaks and holds workshops with international executive teams, focusing on the most pressing issues:

  • Disruptive Innovation & Future Trends
  • Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement
  • Innovation & Creativity
  • Customer Relationship Management
  • Leading Organizational Change
  • Creating Learning Organization
  • Going Green

Jim’s clients include: Association of Research Libraries, Barclays Bank, Certified Management Accountants, Cleantech, Columbia Tristar Pictures, Deloitte & Touche, Glaxo Wellcome, IABC, IDG, IBM, IEEE, International Council of Shopping Centers, Johnson & Johnson, MasterCard, Munich Re, NEC, Novartis, Soc. of Professional Engineers, the UK Cabinet Office, the World Future Society and Zurich Insurance.

He has worked extensively with the health care sector, government, financial services, retailers, and professional services firms.

Jim was one of the first seven Canadians personally trained by Al Gore to present the slide show for An Inconvenient Truth, and continues to add to his knowledge as an environmental speaker by attending the World Economic Forum in Davros every year.

A staggering 88% of CEOs say that innovation is important to grow their top line and increase profitability according to a study by Leger Marketing in conjunction with The Globe and Mail. But only 33% of CEOs are happy with the current results that they are achieving. Jim’s future trends presentations focus on how to drive growth and profitability.

Jim’s second book, The Learning Paradox, was nominated for the National Business Book Award, and has appeared on numerous bestseller lists. Books for Business ranked it as one of the top 10 business books in North America. There are now over 40,000 copies in print. Mr. Harris co-authored the national bestseller The 100 Best Companies to Work for in Canada – selling 50,000 copies. As a management consultant, Jim works with leading businesses, Fortune 500 companies, and organizations aspiring to join these ranks. From 1992-1996 he represented the Covey Leadership Center in Canada – teaching Dr. Stephen Covey’s work, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People to clients.

Thriving in the Era of Disruptive Innovation

Uber is worth more than all North American taxi cab companies combined, but it doesn’t own any cars. Skype facilitates more international long distance phone calls than all of the world’s major telcos combined, but it doesn’t own any phone lines.

AirBnB provides more accommodation than any hotel chain in the world, but it doesn’t own a single room. The most valuable retailer in the world, Alibaba, doesn’t have any inventory.

When you order something the supplier ships it directly to you. The largest provider of online content globally, Facebook, doesn’t create any content. Netflix, the biggest cable company in the world, doesn’t own any cable.

Ask a person on the street what they think about when they think of innovation and they’ll likely answer: an iPhone. In fact, 75% of answers name a product or service, yet products and services deliver only 10% of the value of innovation. A staggering 90% of the value of innovation is in business model innovation. All of the above examples are of companies that have completely innovated their business models, including their business channels. Typically, in large corporations, these areas receive only 10% of the focus.

Jim’s book, Blindsided! Is published in 80 countries worldwide and is a #1 International bestseller. Blindsided! Looks at the forces that are disrupting companies and industries and presents strategies for circumventing it.

Go Green with Jim Harris, Expert Environmental Speaker

Leading the green movement as an environmental speaker for businesses

Walmart is saving more than $500 million a year from its sustainability initiatives; from 2005 to 2010 GE sold $70 billion of green products and services and for Interface carpet green initiatives have generated 28% of the company’s operating profit over the last 14 years!

Going green is profitable!  Leading businesses everywhere are going green to cut costs, raise revenue and mitigate risk against rising energy prices. Jim Harris, a widely recognized environmental speaker and consultant, has helped his clients understand why going green is an essential corporate strategy; and how to engage and empower employees in green initiatives.

Going green is perhaps the most powerful organizational transformational tool available to corporate leaders for engaging and exciting employees, and helping the organization to become an environmental leader.

Few consultants have the background, depth of knowledge and decades of experience that make Jim a leading environmental speaker and consultant. He wrote a weekly column in the National Post detailing  how going green is profitable, and is currently working on the release of a book that focuses on sustainability  initiatives entitled Green Means Green, which will feature hundreds of case studies that document how environmental leadership is driving for the bottom-line benefit.

Mr Harris was recently appointed the Program Director of the Centre of Excellence for Sustainability & Innovation at the Schulich Executive Education Centre at York University. This honor adds to a long list of qualifications that make him an environmental speaker with unparalleled experience that can help clients attain environmental leadership.

Reaping the Benefits of Collaboration & Engagement

Who is in charge of Wikipedia? No one! And yet more than 100 million hours of labour have been invested by volunteers in creating the content. Most people in large organizations believe that they use less than 50% of the skills and motivation of employees. With millions of baby boomers retiring from the work force over the next decade, new ways of engaging employees in collaborating will be essential for companies. How can organizations unleash more talent, creativity and innovation from their workforce?

Managing Change and Leveraging Creativity

Most organizations need to innovate, but no one wants to change! It’s the paradox of our time. A staggering 88% of CEOs say that innovation is essential to growth and profitability, but only 33% are happy with the results that they’re getting. However, innovation doesn’t just happen on its own. Jim has worked with Fortune 500 companies worldwide, India’s top 200 CIOs and the UK Cabinet Office’s top management program teaching innovation, creativity and change and why innovation is essential to the survival of 21st century organizations.

Futurist Outlook: Trends that Are Changing Your Business

Since 1990, Jim Harris has been helping organizations focus on the future. He was honoured to be the closing keynote speaker for the World Future Society conference which brings together the leading futurists from around the globe. He will customize and deliver his presentation for your organization/industry that will have people talking, thinking and acting differently long after your event.

The Impact of the Internet of Things on Organizations

By 2020, there will be 50 billion devices connected to the Internet, creating, by one estimate, $14.4 trillion in value:

$3.7 trillion of improved customer service

$3.0 trillion in cost savings due to increased speed to market

$2.7 trillion in supply chain and logistics savings through optimization

$2.5 trillion in cost savings

$2.5 trillion in increased employee productivity

The Internet of Things (IoT) will continue to have a transformative effect on organizations, business processes, customer expectations and the way society operates. 

Other Topics

  • The Future of Health Care: The impact of budgets, technology & medical tourism
  • The Small Screen Digital Revolution: How smartphones & tablets are changing business
  • The Smart Revolution: How smart buildings, communities, and cities are changing the way we live
  • Risk Management: Thriving in an era of disruptive innovation

For more information or to book...

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