Nicholas Carr discusses "The Big Switch" at the 2008 CeBIT conference in Hannover, Germany. (Photo courtesy of Deutsche Telekom.)
Speaking
Called an “exceedingly lucid” speaker by Computerworld, Nicholas Carr has spoken on information technology, innovation, and business strategy at Harvard, MIT, Wharton, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, NASA, the University of Sydney, and Moscow State University as well as at dozens of industry, company, governmental, and professional events in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Rich with concrete examples and practical advice, Nick's lectures challenge the conventional wisdom, engaging audiences and spurring fresh thinking and constructive debate.
Examples of current lecture topics
"The Big Switch”
In a lecture based on his new book, The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google, Nick describes how the World Wide Web is turning into the World Wide Computer as data and software move into the internet "cloud." Exploding the narrow definition of "Web 2.0," Carr puts the shift into a broad technological, economic, and historical context, laying out the challenges and opportunities that businesses will face as they confront computing's new age.
"The Prudent Innovator"
How should we innovate? is a question managers ask themselves all the time. But a more fundamental question often goes unasked: “Where should we innovate?” Noting that innovation isn't free, Nick argues that organizations should focus their creativity on a few critical areas - the ones capable of producing a competitive edge - and be ruthless imitators elsewhere. He offers a series of pragmatic and often surprising strategies that will increase the odds that innovation initiatives and investments really pay off, illustrating them with compelling examples.
“Does IT Matter?”
In this provocative lecture, Nick draws on his celebrated book Does IT Matter? and HBR article “IT Doesn’t Matter” to examine the strategic role of IT. Can IT innovation still provide strong competitive advantage, or has IT become a cost of doing business, essential but strategically inert? This presentation will challenge the assumptions and stir the thinking of technologists and business managers alike.
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