Seven Principles of Convergence

Convergence has been an idea that I have been developing for some time now (you can see past posts on this particular idea here, here and here). And just this year I have been able to really push it like I've wanted to.

So on the 23rd of this month at the Center for Digital Imaging Arts at Boston University I will be presenting Washington DC's first and only Convergence mini conference. For numerous reasons I am both excited and nervous. As a part of the night's presentation I will be discussing what this whole idea is about (the 7 principles of Convergence). For those who may not be familiar with Convergence, it is a framework for developing new strategies in building brands and business models for the 21st century. If you take trends within business, culture and technology and merge them in new combinations, you create opportunities for remarkable products, services and experiences. The goal is to fuse creativity and the commercial world into sustainable enterprises.

This framework consists of seven principles:

1. Think at the inter-section, not outside the box
2. Recognize the patterns by identifying the trends
3. Understand the whole by knowing the parts
4. Ask excellent questions the right way
5. Create scenarios that are "both-and" not "either-or"
6. Be creative in your thinking, disciplined in your action
7. When on the verge, persist and surrender

Over the next few days I'll be discussing the principles in detail.