Mr. CHRIS COLBERT – CEO-One Eighty Global Innovation, USA & Former Managing Director-Harvard Innovation Labs – delivered a highly thought-provoking live webinar session on the much relevant topic of “INNOVATION IN A POST PANDEMIC WORLD” for B.A. LL.B./LL.B. students & aspirants of Asian Law College (ALC) on Saturday, 15th May 2021 at 5:30 pm (IST) under its “Guest Lecture Series.”.
Speaker/author/innovator/globalist, Mr. Chris Colbert has helped build and run several domestic and international companies focused on innovation and business optimization. After leading a bold revamp of Scholastic’s core publishing business and its return to positive growth, he left in early 2014 to explore the world of higher education and innovations that might help improve its price/value. That led him to the Harvard Innovation Labs, where he served as Managing Director for four years. In 2019 he left to found one eighty, a global innovation firm focused on helping countries and companies better compete by creating adaptive learning systems that yield cultures of innovation. He is first and foremost an innovator, capable of finding simple solutions to complex problems while painting a compelling picture for any organization of its unrealized potential.
Also an author, Mr. Chris has recently published “This Is It”, a provocative treatise on how to take advantage of the only life we get. In addition, he is an inspirational speaker and a strategic advisor to several CEOs and their executive teams. He received a BA from Connecticut College, an International MBA from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business and sits on several boards including Pillar Venture Capital, Now + There, Fintech Americas, Nilus and the Copenhagen Fintech Global Advisory Board.
A core initiative of Asian Education Group (AEG) – considered as the largest centre for professional media, IT, law, management, fashion & hospitality education in Asia with world-class facilities – this webinar was organized by Asian Law College (ALC) – which is a constituent group college of Asian Education Group and is ranked as one of the one of the best Law Colleges in Delhi NCR – for all B.A. LL.B. & LL.B. students. The webinar was followed by a lively Q&A Session with the most distinguished guest.
The much awaited session began with a welcome note, followed by a brief but highly impressive introduction of the distinguished guest by Professor Garima Malhotra on behalf of the AEG family. Thereafter, Mr. Chris Colbert took the virtual centerstage, all the way from his residence in USA!
Offering his warm greetings to all students, Mr. Chris Colbert thanked AEG and ALC for inviting him for this session. He also, most kindly, extended his concern for the deadly resurgence of Coronavirus pandemic in India and hoped that it would be combatted effectively and soon.
Beginning his talk, Mr. Chris Colbert shared his leitmotif thought stating that “the most important thing in life is KNOWING OURSELVES … knowing why we do what we do, why we think the way we think, why we are what we are. And, all of this is a matter of CHOICE.” He then got on straightaway to the topic of the day, viz., “INNOVATION IN A POST PANDEMIC WORLD” by way of a PPT presentation, Mr. Chris said, “People are normally reluctant to change … and the pandemic hasn’t changed all that. It has in fact magnified the problem manifold. We have to become future-ready. We continue to be seduced by the status-quo, which is not right.” He further stated, “The pace of change is fundamentally faster than man’s natural ability to adapt. Not adapting will kill us. Not adapting faster is a waste of life.” Quoting the ‘Motivation to Change Theory’, he said, “There are basically two motivations for change – (i) Aspiration and (ii) Desperation. Of the two, Desperation turns out to be the bigger reason. And, the rest is all a matter of CHOICE.”
Mr. Chris Colbert then spelt out the “Seven Lessons On How to Become Future Ready” as (1) COMMITTING to right behavior; (2) Realizing one’s real TRUTH through intimacy; (3) Being clear about one’s INTENTION; (4) PLANNING with motivation & accountability; (5) LEARNING & TEACHING lifelong; (6) GETTING OUTSIDE for right exposure; and (7) Being open to SEEK THE SEEKERS by finding other people on the same path.
Closing his talk, he said, “There is only one world and we should place humanity first in all our thoughts and endeavors. And we should always remember that all great innovations are fundamentally human innovations.”
Thereafter, Mr. Chris Colbert opened the session for questions. As expected, there were a series of questions all related to his life’s philosophy and his great contributions in the field of innovation as an important medium for growth and development. To each of these questions, the distinguished guest provided answers to the utmost satisfaction of the students.
Following this, as a token of gratitude, Mr. Chris Colbert was presented with a glittering “Memento” on behalf of Asian Education Group, which was greatly appreciated by the distinguished guest.