Binary Shift 2020. A virtual conference without the typical virtual feel. There were no Zoom calls, no awkward lulls, and no tech problems -just a full day of electrifying speakers and engaging conversations.

"That was without doubt the best event I've attended in a long time - virtually or otherwise. Thank you”, said an attendee of the conference. 

When the board members of Binary Shift made the decision to take the popular in-person event and move it online, there were concerns. But after working out a new and better way to deliver the event, they knew it was going to be a standout. “What we’ve found in many cases is that people go to city based events for networking instead of utilising their local area”, says Dr. Elena Kelareva, co-founder of Binary Shift. “What we saw was a real need for networking and connection in regional areas.

Although we couldn’t deliver that face to face this year, we wanted to bring a sense of connection and belonging to attendees, and highlight the exciting innovations that can exist in your own backyard. Many people assume that regional innovation means agriculture. But it’s actually really wide and diverse, ranging from telemedicine and healthcare, to AI and everything in between.”

“If this was a face to face event, distance, time to attend, and cost would have been a barrier. I love that I got to access these speakers and this conference, where normally I would not have been able to”, said one attendee.  

The conference was opened by The Hon. Jaala Pulford, Victorian Minister for Employment, Small Business, Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy. With many idea-shaping conversations held throughout the day, participants were given the opportunity to interact both with one another, and with the keynote speakers, to ask the questions that matter in today’s landscape. 

In the first session of the day, “Big Picture”, Mary Aldred, CEO of the Franchise Council of Australia, discussed changes in the workforce in response to COVID-19. “The economy has been fundamentally altered. Governments are regulating how businesses can and can’t operate on a weekly basis, and consumers are now living, working, and shopping in their own towns”, she said. “Through COVID-19, there has been a massive uptake of people who are starting their own businesses. But one of the guiding principles at play for surviving this pandemic is scenario planning -we can’t predict the future, but we can anticipate it.” 

The next session of the day was based around the concept of “Big ideas”. Jean-François Legourd, futurist and Managing Director APAC Board of Innovation, John Hartnett, founder and CEO of SVG ventures, and Stephanie Thoo, head of innovation, and Brenna Leech, innovation consultant at GippsTech, joined the conversation. 

Jean-François was quick to point out that necessity is the mother of innovation, and organisations and entrepreneurs who could move to an offensive approach, rather than a defensive one, would be best placed to thrive moving forward. He shared with us examples of companies who have been able to innovate very quickly, in ways which should have taken 10 years to do so. And one of the biggest assets for executing an innovation project? Design thinking. Design thinking offers a way for both entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs to save time and money while designing and testing viable products or services to enter the market. 

John Hartnett discussed agriculture and the emerging trends in the AgTech space. “At a time like this, agriculture has become more important than ever. However, 50% of the world’s population is made up of Millennials and Gen. Z. They care about health, the planet, and sustainability, and this is making an impact on the food supply chain. Utilising technology in our agriculture and farming practices can help to reduce our environmental footprint.” 

Joining an interview style panel to bust the myths around innovation were Steph Thoo and Brenna Leech from GippsTech. “Innovation is a mindset shift. It’s the idea of seeing problems as opportunities, rather than hurdles that can stop your business in its tracks”, said Brenna. “There’s almost an expectation that you need this big lightbulb moment to find innovation”, added Steph. “But that doesn’t have to be the case. Innovation can be seen in problems big and small, and it provides an opportunity to step into the unknowns of your business and expand its potential.” Although many people think the term “innovation” can be fluffy, and doesn’t belong in any particular department of an organisation, Steph proved that this was not the case. “Innovation is a term which incorporates process improvement, shifting industries, and shifting marketplaces, and it’s as important as any other facet of your business. It can look like many different things, so to narrow it into one category would be a disservice”, she said. 

The third and final session of the day was named “Big Vision”. Dr. Michael Hewitt-Gleeson, one of the world’s leading authorities on lateral thinking and cofounder of the School of Thinking, Allison Nikula, founder and CEO of CareApp, and Adam Mostogl, founder and inspirer at Illuminate Education, and Entrepreneurship Facilitator at the The Van Diemen Project, shared their own valuable insights and stories. 

Adam Mostogl and Allison Nikula both discussed the idea around sharing your story in business, and using it to grow and evolve. “When I started CareApp, I was not engineering something and finding a problem to solve. I had a personal experience which highlighted a very real issue that I wanted to solve, and I believe that is what sets me apart from others”, says Allison. Adam’s advice was to recognise the individual strengths of your community, and use it to your advantage. 

Dr. Michael Hewitt-Gleeson discussed the types of mindsets and thinking styles that either breed innovation and creativity, or drive slow thinking. Having written the first PhD on lateral thinking, he shared his insights into why you should move away from typical “right and wrong” thinking, and into lateral thinking, where you can escape from your own point of view and instead find new and better ideas. 

All in all, Binary Shift provided both an inspiring and practical way to look at innovation in regional communities and organisations. “Innovation is a personal identity that you can encapsulate into any area of your life”, said Brenna Leech. The unequivocal message throughout the entire conference was to use the current circumstances as an opportunity to elevate your business, your ideas, and your thinking, to enact change and innovation. “Disruption itself can be a massive creator of new jobs, and allows you to find new ways of doing things”, Mary Alred stated. 

If you are interested in learning more about Binary Shift, and how you can expand your ideas and thinking, you can find more information here.