"I don't get it!"

"When I came here today, I was absolutely sure that I was both in the game and really got it. Now I feel: I don't understand anything! I'm so out of date!"

I get the comment during the closing mingle at our industry event IT&Telecom Day last week, from a person I would definitely not describe as someone who doesn't get it. Rather, someone who is smart, successful, entrepreneurial and enthusiastic. But I understand the feeling.

Because after spending an afternoon in Epicenter's less-than-traditional office space, surrounded by people who all seem to eat, sleep and breathe innovation, and listening to someone who turned down a research career at Stanford to commercialize the world's first smoothie machine, someone who gave up an international career at Microsoft to become a partner in a small startup in a virtually new field, one who is paid to teach old dogs to sit by making them understand 'corporate innovation', one who has been involved in keeping a company innovative for over a hundred years, and one who is already living in symbiosis with his chip in his hand because "those who lead and first embrace development also have the power to control it", to name just a few examples, it's easy to feel a little... behind. And behind.

But hopefully also, which of course was the purpose, a little inspired to think new. Which we all have the ability to do, if we want to. Because what became very clear during the day was that new thinking and innovative power have nothing to do with gender, age or origin. (In case anyone thought that.) But quite often with courage. And it can actually be acquired. Not least by being inspired by others.

And fortunately, the person I started with ended her summary of the day like this: "This was so j-a good! I'm going to take this home and do something with it. I don't know what, but something. I don't want to be this outdated!"

(Here you can see pictures and read comments from the IT&Telecom Day)