Organizing Trends: Big Ideas

Just last week I found myself waiting to board a red-eye flight at McCarran Airport following a few days of meetings in Las Vegas. Now let’s face it, the red-eye isn’t particularly an enjoyable experience so the mood was about what you’d expect. As I sat there returning emails I looked up and happened to notice the “star” of one of my favorite TV shows. Not an A-list celebrity, but it was exciting nonetheless, and I was instantly in a better mood than I was a few minutes earlier. Having been at G2E the last two years as a guest of one of our exhibitors (hope I’m not giving too much away), I figured I’d say hello—what’s the worst that could happen?

Following a brief (but great) chat, I sat down in my seat and started to think about the fascination we have with celebrities, people of power, etc. What is it that intrigues us so much about them? I think that’s probably answered a little differently depending on who you ask, but for me it’s all about “big ideas.” Whether it be the idea for a new TV show which becomes a hit, or the concept behind a new product that revolutionizes an industry, one big idea can change everything. And for the most part, people that have achieved various levels of success in business have done so by taking risks and fulfilling needs with big ideas. To me, that’s something that’s both fascinating and inspiring.

The following Monday I had to share my “celebrity” story with the team and it reminded me of one of our key focus areas for the upcoming G2E conferences. In speaking with those whom attend G2E in Las Vegas, as well as G2E Asia in Macau, delegates overwhelmingly want to hear more from executives in the industry’s C-suite, as well as from outside the industry, which in turn will be a key focus for us in 2014. In fact, I’m very excited to announce that Ms. Pansy Ho, co-chair of MGM China, will serve as this year’s G2E Asia Conference Keynote. As one of the elite leaders in Macau, we are honored to have Ms. Ho join us for our event this May. Stay tuned for details on her talk, as well as for our full slate of programming and additional high-profile speakers.

In looking to G2E Las Vegas, that conference program has historically been the largest of its kind in the world—covering as many as 130 sessions across 16 tracks from over 500 speakers and panelists. This year, based on direct feedback, we’re going with a “less is more” approach. Look for more plenary style sessions bringing all industry segments together for topics with mass appeal, rather than the segmented track format we’ve offered in the past. For speakers we’re focusing heavily on senior gaming executives, as well as professionals from outside the industry whom can provide relevant insight from the outside looking in. Our team is hard at work outlining those concepts now with our Advisory Board, and I look forward to sharing more with you in the coming months.
We’re also excited to continue our Emerging Leaders program, which we officially launched at G2E Las Vegas last year, honoring up and coming gaming executives.

These nominated individuals have quickly made names for themselves by making a big impact on their organizations, and in some cases, the industry at large. These emerging leaders will help shape the future of the industry with a lot of big ideas yet to come. In 20 years what will gaming machines look like? What will the guest experience entail? How will iGaming impact land-based? And what new technologies are we not even thinking about which will become a part of everyday business? I look forward to finding out, and investing in the future with this exciting program. It only takes one big idea to change the game.