Schools for the Schoolless

450,000 Lives Improved

Sister Cyril Mooney – Nun, School Principal, Social Intrapreneur

People told her you can’t integrate paying students & street children, social classes & castes in India, and children with and without disabilities. She did it anyway. Here’s how she and her team changed 450,000 lives for the better.

For more information on her work, see Loretosealdah.org, kolkatamarywardsc.org, and YouTube videos such as “Circle of Empowerment” and “Survival to Success”.

Lime.com

(Multi-Emmy & Multi-Media)

First Successful Integration of TV, Radio, Internet, VoD, & Mobile

Ted Saad – Multi-Emmy-Award-Winning Executive Producer

An on-stage comment by Cyndi Lauper catalysed the first successful integration of TV, Radio, Internet, VoD, & Mobile. How did Executive Producer TED Saad & his Lime.com team craft leading-edge, integrated multi-media and win an Emmy? 'By fusing art & business, tech & teams, and cultures & lifestyles.

For more information on his work, see: LinkedIn.

Silk Vaccines

Millions of Lives & USD 16 Billion to Save with Non-Refrigerated Vaccines

Livio Valenti – Entrepreneur, Science/Tech Venture

Livio felt his work was achieving nothing and looked for a new mission. He found it in a TED talk and turned it into a school project that is now an award-winning startup. Vaxess aims to save millions of lives and USD 16 Billion a year with their new shelf-stable, silk-infused vaccines. Why not have a Coke, a smile, … & a vaccine?

For more information on his work, see LinkedIn and vaxess.com. If you speak Italian, you can catch him at TEDxVicenza and BeautifulMindsBologna.

To learn more from Livio’s scientific co-founder, Dr. Fio Omenetto, visit TED.com for Silk, the Ancient Material of the Future. For a brief overview of silk vaccines, watch NOVA: Stabilizing Vaccines with Silk (PBS).

The Tippling Club

(Perfume Cocktails & Molecular Gastronomy)

Global-Award-Winning Deliciousness at The Tippling Club

Chef Ryan Clift – Serial Entrepreneur & Celebrity Chef

Never mind diet pills -- try dessert pills!How about a fragrant cocktail in a perfume bottle, ordered via sniff-card menu? An insatiable passion for learning and creating fuelled this 13-year-old school-dropout to work in the world’s finest kitchens with the world’s most volatile chefs. Years later, he’s become a celebrity chef, too, cooking up the next wave of haute cuisine with his new creative method.

For more information on his work, see LinkedIn: and tipplingclub.com.

eCommerce and Globalization

(Coffee Connections)

USD 850 Million Founding Team & Leapfrogging Nike Sport Camps from 80,000 Kids to 800,000

George Kolovos – Serial Entrepreneur & Founding Team Member

To IPO your startup for USD 850 Million and connect new technologies, needs, & globalization, you'll need to be a master networker of people and ideas. In fact, maybe you should run a café, like this Fusioneer.

For more information on his work, see: menulog.com.au and sportscampsaustralia.com.au.

The Advanced Biopolymer Pocket Watch

Low-Dose Chemo@Cancer

Dr. Chin Sau Yin – Scientist & Med-Tech Developer

To deliver 1/10th-dose chemo for far fewer side effects, why not medicate just where it’s needed -- combining advanced biopolymer engineering with a device from the pocket watch, designed in 1893? By listening, and by combining advanced materials research with pocketwatches and toys, this scientist created a fusion of time -- and a medical advance that could help millions.

For more information on her work, see LinkedIn and a-star.edu.sg/mel.

Quantum Potential

(The Innovator’s Energy, Connection, & Spirit)

Early Interactive TV & Digital Marketing, Spirituality & Enlightened Incubation

Asil Toksal – Serial Entrepreneur, Bio-Fuel & Media-Tech Ventures, Spiritualist

What do Emmy-Award-winning Interactive TV, Digital Marketing, Austria’s Largest BioFuels Plant, & Enlightened Incubation have in common? This amazing serial entrepreneur, who succeeds by being uniquely and extremely himself ... and reaching out to others with empathy.

For more information on his work, see: LinkedIn, TVLand.com, lapisdigital.com, and vertic.com.

Chief Dream Igniter

Business & Social Activism

Melissa Kwee – CEO & Board-Level Executive, Social Entrepreneur, Anthropologist

Even a failing program can change and succeed with one key insight, and it might come from somewhere you didn’t expect. This CEO crafts successful programs based on a deep understanding of people. She didn’t get an MBA from Harvard -- she studied Social Anthropology there, instead, and practices empathic leadership.

For more information on her work, see: LinkedIn, nvpc.org.sg, newlifestories.org.sg, halogen.sg, and BeautifulPeople.org.sg.

ExecuCare

(Executives on Trapeze)

Resilience and Embodied Leadership for Thousands of Leaders and their Organizations

Dr. Edy Greenblatt – Serial Entrepreneur, One of the World’s Top 100 Executive Coaches, Dance Ethnologist & Master Teacher

Dr. Marshall Goldsmith chose this innovator to be part of the first MG100. She pioneered the resilience and embodied leadership movement -- energizing thousands of leaders and their organizations -- by creating something new from diverse parts of her own life. Here’s the story of someone who succeeded as herself -- a dance ethnologist and master teacher who used her pre-med studies during her Harvard PhD program, crafting something far more powerful than work-life balance.

For more information on her work, see her book (Restore Yourself) and www.linkedin.com/in/dredygreenblatt/, edygreenblatt.com,  execu-care.com, and restorationvacation.com.

Well-Being & Wealth-Building

Managing USD 15 Billion & Revolutionizing an Industry

Arun Abey – Serial Entrepreneur, Researcher, Philanthropist

Wealth more often grows from well-being instead of the other way. How did a boxboy grow up, learn this, and co-found an Advisory Firm managing over USD 15 Billion dollars?

For more information on his work, see: LinkedIn, Walsh Bay Partners, and his co-authored book, How Much is Enough.

SensPD and BioHug

(The Autism Ear Test)

Age 0-4 Autism Intervention for 2 Million People a year (While Our Brains Are Speed-Developing)

Raffi Rembrand – Serial Entrepreneur, Science-Tech Inventor

Raffi’s son was diagnosed after intervention would have made a difference. Raffi decided to make a difference. A chemical engineer by training, turned amateur audiologist and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) researcher, he turned existing assumptions upside down – the key to inventing a device to diagnose ASD at birth. Now, with further funding and testing, 2 Million people worldwide each year (1 in every 59 babies) might begin interventions – 90% effective before age 5, 10% effective after.

For more information on his work, see: LinkedIn, SensPD.com, and BioHug.com.

The Science of Happiness … at Scale

Harvard’s Most Popular Course & Tech-Enabled Positive Psychology

Dr. Tal ben Shahar – Serial & Social Entrepreneur, Psych-Tech Venture, Educator

An injury took away his dream. He had to find a new one. But how - when all he’d ever done was train as an athlete? He got a squash scholarship to Harvard, started exploring, and found a reason to be happy – bringing happiness to others with Positive Psychology. He taught Harvard’s most popular course, founded several organizations, and bridged academe & practice, as well as technology & psychology.

For more information on his work, see: LinkedIn, potentialife.com, maytiv, happier.tv. His international best-selling books are available on Amazon, including his latest (co-authored with Angus Ridgway), The Joy of Leadership.

Quantum-Chemical Social Networks

One of the 100 Most Innovative Firms in the World (CIO Magazine ranking)

Dr. Karen Stephenson – Entrepreneur, Scientist-Technologist, Artist

What happens when you see what others miss? One of the world's 100 most innovative firms grew from a single observation – of people below a mezzanine moving in a pattern. The founder saw the pattern with her artist-eyes, recognized it with her quantum-chemistry training, then became a mathematical-modeler, anthropologist, and management consultant, pioneering Social Network Analysis. Here’s why she saw what others missed and how she developed it.

For more information on her work, see netformresources.com and a touching and inspiring TIS Talk (MSD).

Nokia Ringtones and LifeTools

(Nokia Ringtones & “Hi-Tech” for the Poor)

1st Digital Music Deal & 125 Million Subscribers

Jawahar Kanjilal – Entrepreneur & Intrapreneur, Technologist

Keep new technology at the back of your head & scan the world for needs – problems we’ve gotten used to (and don’t think about) but can fix, now. That’s how this Fusioneer launched the 1st digital music deal (1st contract between the Music & Mobile-Phone Industries, via Nokia & Sony). He followed up with some of the world’s first mobile-phone games, photo printing (with HP), & LifeTools – new “hi-tech” for 125 million low-income subscribers.

For more information on his work, see: LinkedIn, nokia.com, teamstreamz.com, and INKTalks’  Journey to the Extraordinary.

Matt Mitcham and the Mathematician

(Olympic Dive Mathematics)

The Best Score in Olympic History

Dr. Kenneth Graham – Entrepreneur, Sports-Scientist

Does training harder get you the Gold? Not always. For Olympic gold-medallist Matthew Mitcham, the secret was great diving + a mathematical insight. Result: The Top 10-meter Diving Score in Olympic History. This is how it happened.

For more information on his work, see: LinkedIn, nswis.com.au, sydneysportsincubator.com, and the touching and inspiring TIS Talk (MSD). To see Matt Mitcham’s dive, just search on YouTube for the Top 3 Olympic Diving Scores.

SwineTech

(Pig Fitbits)

USD 8 Billion in Agriculture to Save Worldwide

Matthew Rooda – Entrepreneur, Technologist, Farmer

Ever feel like you don’t belong? That could be the start of your innovation. Here’s the story of the “kid from somewhere else” who became a Forbes 30-Under-30 Farmer-Technologist-Entrepreneur. His school team-project (and invention) became a company, co-founded to save USD 8 Billion a year in agriculture worldwide. Be different, cross boundaries, see opportunities others miss, and create with passion.

For more information on his work, see: LinkedIn and swinetechnologies.com.

DNAApp

(Set My Scientists Free!)

DNA & Other Scientific Analysis Tools … on the Smartphone

Dr. Samuel Gan – Entrepreneur, Scientist-Technologist, Theologian

Ever get frustrated with tools that don’t work? ‘Might be a great opportunity to make your own. But don’t stop there. Share it with the world! Here’s a scientist who did just that, put DNA analysis (and more!) on the smartphone, and launched a suite of apps that serve 30,000 scientists, worldwide (and growing). Is he a Scientist? Inventor? App Developer? Journal editor? Entrepreneur? Yes, and more.

For more information on his work, see: LinkedIn,  facebook.com/APDLab,  bii.a-star.edu.sg and his books on Amazon.com.

Mr. Toilet & The BoP Hub

Toilet Campaign for 2.6 Billion People & A Startup Accelerator for 4 Billion Poor

Jack Sim – Serial & Social Entrepreneur

‘Failed his O-levels, failed his A-levels, couldn’t be promoted without a degree. So, he started a company. It worked well, so he started 15 more, “retired,” and founded 8 social enterprises. Now he’s been to Harvard four times and invited to teach at Singularity. His message: don’t just work the system – build new and better systems. Don’t just serve today’s elite – build businesses for the next 4 Billion consumers.

For more information on his work, see: LinkedIn, “Meet Mr. Toilet”  (GE Focus Forward),  worldtoilet.org,  bophub.org, Designing Business to End Poverty, and his book Simple Jack (Sim, J., & Pak, S. Singapore: Straits Times Press, 2011).

KFC, Hungry Jack’s, & Domino’s Pizza Australia

(Fast Food in “Laid-Back-Land”)

USD 4.5 Billion+ Personal Net Worth

Jack Cowin – Serial Entrepreneur

When was the last time you stood in line for takeout? What did you do? One man saw a takeout queue, started a business to serve them better, and grew it into a multi-Billion-dollar food empire. He didn’t study business in school or entrepreneurship, but he did study psychology and built his organization around people and relationships. Noticing, taking action, persistence, and caring about people made all the difference.

For more information on his work, see: LinkedIn, kfc.com.au, hungryjacks.com.au, dominos.com.au, and Wikipedia’s page on Competitive Foods Australia.

Urban Farming

Inner-City Nutrition & “Green-Collar Jobs” in a USD 50 Billion Global Market

Dr. Margaret Connors – Serial Entrepreneur, Urban Farmer, Medical Anthropologist

Are your kids eating well at school? At one school, kids ate stale-cheese sandwiches for three weeks (or didn’t) while the canteen oven lay broken. Students endured headaches and fatigue and had trouble learning. The building sat amidst weed-filled vacant lots. The school Wellness Coordinator (also a Mom) put the two together and took action. She launched an inner-city Urban Farming project that became two organizations helping to grow a USD 50 Billion market, putting a dent in obesity, healthcare, Economic Renewal, and Climate Change. 'A tough row to hoe, but worthwhile for millions of kids (and adults) worldwide.

For more information on her work, see: LinkedIn,  citygrowers.wordpress.com, and urbanfarminginstitute.org.

Found8

(The Hub)

Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Development

Grace Sai – Serial & Social Entrepreneur

Want to make the next Unicorn? Then DON’T love your idea & protect it. Kill it first, if you can. Grace Sai had over 400 coffee chats to do just that but couldn’t kill her idea (only her sleep). Along the way, she learned about different kinds of listening: to understand vs. respond; to everyone sometimes, to no-one sometimes, to passionate-people always; and speed-listening. To listen, be heard, and grow, you and your new idea need community, like the one Grace co-founded.

For more information on her work, see: LinkedIn and found8.com.

The Swiss-South-African-Asian Joint Venture

Innovative Methods in New Markets: Growing Despite the Odds

Sean Leas – International Executive

Bringing people together is hard. Start-up stakeholders fall apart, and Joint Ventures fail 40% - 60% of the time. What’s the secret sauce? For this executive, travel, learning, listening, results-orientation, and Empathic Leadership have made all the difference. He integrates two companies, multiple markets, a collection of cultures, and scores of systems. Recalling his early adventures traveling and listening to a diverse group of professionals in the dot-com days, he says, “I learned a fortune.”

For more information on his work, see: LinkedIn, DKSH, Smollan, and DKSHSmollan.

Mosquito Attractant & The Polyclone Chop

Finding Problems for Simple, Everyday 180° Inventions

Robest Yong - Inventor

When was the last time you were dissatisfied with a product or service? Did you walk into the back room, find the maker's problems, design a solution, & file for a patent? This professional inventor did just that. He earns his living seeing what others don’t, sticking his nose into other people’s problems, looking at things backwards, and crafting simple, everyday solutions that are 10X better than the status-quo (10% improvements don’t sell).

For more information on his work, see: LinkedIn and  Smartphone for the Blind on TEDx.

The Human Face of Big Data

…by a Time/Life/National Geographic Photographer

Rick Smolan – Serial Entrepreneur, Technologist, Photographer

He was so shy he wouldn’t even talk on the basement ham radio – he sent Morse code. Dad bought him a camera, and he found his passion, becoming a self-taught Time / Life / National Geographic photographer. Famous photograph-ees lent support, & a book no one wanted became a record-breaking best-seller. This million-view TED speaker does what he loves, persists beyond reason, listens humbly, & integrates people/design/tech/biz into leading-edge offerings people really care about.

For more information on his work, see: LinkedIn, Against All Odds, BigThink: Can Big Data Change Who You Are?, his Amazon author page, and TED.com ( The Story of a Girl, which has over 1 million views).  The Human Face of Big Data is available on Amazon, as is his subsequent work,  The Good Fight: America’s Ongoing Struggle for Justice.

Leading-Edge IoT & Integrative Thinking

Redline.com & Harvard-Rotman Research

Dr. Mihnea Moldoveanu – Serial Entrepreneur & Educator, Scientist-Technologist, Pianist

How do you know what to do with your life? Succeed as yourself. This concert-trained-pianist-turned-engineer applied for a business doctorate at Harvard, but decided on plasma physics at MIT instead. He founded (& IPO-launched) an early IoT company, melding multiple technologies and global teams. He writes software platforms, poetry, music, apps, short stories, books, & academic papers in math & engineering. What’s the secret? He loves what he does, integrates different ideas, and embodies them in different ways. He succeeds (and innovates) as himself – all of himself.

For more information on his work, see: LinkedIn, his faculty profiles at Rotman School of Management and Harvard Business School, the Desautels Centre for Integrative Thinking, and the Mind Brain Behaviour Hive.

Jeiva

(Oilpipe Mammography)

Portable, Over-Clothing, Life-Saving Breast Cancer Detection

Krish Krishnan – Serial Entrepreneur, Science-Technology Ventures

Breast Cancer recovery drops from 80-90% to 24% when diagnosed after 1st-stage. Most breast cancer deaths are in developing countries, where most clinics can’t afford mammogram machines, diagnosis is generally late, and the incidence is rising. But what if a diagnostic device were widely available, free, and the results were delivered over the cloud at a nominal fee?

Fusion 1: A physicist from Indonesia created portable, over-clothing, detection cups using oilpipe-scanning technology. Fusion 2: It takes a village to bring such an invention to the world – in this case, a Fusioneer who collects the dots (ideas, people, & technology from everywhere) and connects the dots (science, technology, & business) into a viable offering.

For more information on his work, see LinkedIn.

Science is a Personal Business

Deep, Broad, and Analogous Connections in Computational Structural Biology

Dr. Adeline Sim – Scientist-Technologist

When she finished the program, her Nobel-Laureate supervisor asked what she’d like him to pick up at the grocery for the celebration party. It was a surprizing kindness. We all remember kindnesses, and they change our interaction. It helps us leverage everyone’s talents and energy and strengthens our own. For example, Adeline finds when teaching/mentoring with analogies, that it spurs her own analogous thinking & creativity. Whether you’re advancing science, technology, or anything else, reach out with kindness.

For more information on her work, see: LinkedIn and  The Bioinformatics Institute at A*STAR.

Killer Mystery Infections & the 24-in-1 Test

10 Million+ Lives & USD 1.2 Billion to Save Worldwide

Dr. Ravi Kumar Banda – Entrepreneur, Medical Scientist-Technologist

How did a USD 7 million investment become -- in less than four years -- an invention that could save 10+ Million lives & USD 1.2 billion in healthcare costs/year, worldwide? Ravi chose a big problem “worth failing,” over which he was “irrationally enthusiastic.” He declared a journey of discovery (not investment promises), diagnosing “undiagnosable” infection. Well-meaning friends told him it was impossible & he DIDN’T “listen to the customer.” He led an integrated, passionate team that revived the dead project every morning after last night’s failure. They were willing to fail -- but succeeded. Now, XCyton’s integrated diagnostics -- 24 tests in 1 – gives life-saving results within 24 hours.

For more information on his work, see: LinkedIn and XCyton.

Connectography

Geography, ICT, and a New World Order

Dr. Parag Khanna – Serial Entrepreneur & Government/Business Advisor, Researcher

“He’s shown that you can really be yourself – uniquely yourself -- and succeed.” (quote from Karan Khemka) By traveling, observing, reading, and local-language listening, he sees what doesn’t fit the theories he was taught in school. By reconciling theory and reality, he creates new ideas and big value for governments and corporations. The more he travels and learns across fields, the more unique he becomes, and the more value he creates.

For more information on his work, see: LinkedIn, Factotum.Agency, Hybrid Reality, his Amazon author’s page,  CNN Global Contributor profile,  YouTube Channel, and TED talks on Cross-Border Conflicts and Megacities.

China-West – The Forbidden Music of The Cultural Revolution

Symphonies Commissioned & Played by the World's Top Orchestras

Dr. Chen Yi – Multinational, Multi-Genre Composer

She was taken from her parents to haul rocks and mud during the Cultural Revolution in China. She slept with her violin and played for the farmers, introducing Western techniques in secret. That was how her composing career began. She grew a love for the village people and nature, and when she resumed her music studies, she integrated mountain music & symphony, classical & contemporary, east & west, jazz, rap, rock -- even non-musical elements like calligraphy and the Fibonacci Series. She absorbs everything around her and combines it in new ways. To compose like Chen-Yi, you must do the same – be open, integrate, and compose like yourself.

For more information on her work, see her faculty bio at UMKC, as well as:

Exploring Your World

(Open for Innovation)

“A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open.” (quote from Frank Zappa) Openness is key to innovation – but what is it? The Fusioneers are great observers, listeners, and sensitive in a variety of ways, which leads them to find new needs. With emotional, cognitive, and active empathy, they bring their new creations to the world and receive by giving. Highly global, they cross many boundaries – and rules. Openness must be managed, however, and there are key times to close for innovation.

Seeing What Others Don’t

“I shut my eyes in order to see.” (quote from Paul Gauguin) Fusioneers see the world like no one else. That’s why they see opportunities others miss. Some create a lens on the world that excludes what’s not in their self-crafted mission, helping them see what is. They see for themselves & peek in the back-room. They see with their hands & feet. They play. They see deeply, connecting fields that address the same things with different language, also breaking through assumptions (allowing radical new directions). They see big-picture, little, near, far, patterns, connections, and even underground (e.g. Jack Sim's archaeological dig). They see from different perspectives (including other people’s) & see what doesn’t exist (but should). They see what’s next, see again (successive innovation), & their vision is unique.

Exploring Yourself

(Open for Insight)

Manage Creative Insight, Outsight, and Your Own Design

“The man who has no inner life is the slave of his surroundings.” (quote from Henri Frederic Amiel) If you want to get great, creative work done, the following might help: do poorly at school, do very well at school, play, go to sleep, pray & meditate, power-wash the pig-house, lap-swim, take a walk, jump horses, take a shower, play piano, be bored, and “think” with your heart, not your head. What’s the common thread? Inward focus. If you work alone, guard your inward, non-interruptible time. If you’re creatively stuck or creating with others, focus outward (“outsight”). Most importantly, tap into your own unique design (not just the bits you tap for a standard job/career), and share that with the world. If you stick to it authentically and cultivate your inner life, you’ll land where you’re valued and create what only you can create.

Connecting the Dots

Create Fusion

“The most powerful overall driver of innovation was associating – making connections across ‘seemingly unrelated questions, problems, or ideas.’”* Fusion is more than having diverse interests. It's connecting and integrating them in a way that creates value for yourself & the world. It begins way before the act of fusing, by setting yourself up to see the world differently, through the window of a unique mental workshop -- an eclectic conglomeration of skills, people, & ideas, collected with curiosity and openness outward & inward. As tomorrow’s leadership skill, it offers a path to survival & business growth, and a way to succeed as yourself.

*Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen, & Clayton Christensen, having tested 3,000 executives over 6 years.

Collecting the Dots

Create Your Unique Mental Workshop

"You have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” (quote from Steve Jobs) The Fusioneers collected knowledge, skills, people, & more, according to their own unique design -- the Fusioneers’ talents, interests, & curiosity. Some failed school, some didn’t finish. All learned beyond school & in multiple disciplines. Some learned by teaching, some collected degrees. They never stopped. Many kept a “little black book” of ideas, problems, solutions, etc. They collected experiences & people – often a broad, eclectic array – helping them implement new ideas and CREATE them. Their collections formed a unique mental workshop integral to what they did later, although they DIDN'T KNOW it at the time. As technology takes over our standardized work, our job will be to create the novel, for which we’ll need unique & diverse minds, assembled by “collecting the dots.”

Bonus: Outtakes Video

Smile! It increases your face value! Enjoy these funny moments (outtakes/bloopers) from the Fusion video series :)

Thank you!

Special thanks goes to S P Jain School of Global Management (spjain.org) for full support of this research, as well as De Gruyter (degruyter.com) for publication and endless patience.