Montecito Bank & Trust held its fourth annual B2B keynote event on Sept. 9 at the stunning and unequivocally cool Deckers Outdoor corporate campus in Goleta.
B2B attendees arrived for socializing and networking while enjoying wine and hors d’oeuvres, with an added treat of shopping in the enticing Deckers retail store showcasing all of their footwear brands.
The atmosphere exuded high energy, and many attendees took advantage of the evening’s special purchase discount.
Janet Garufis, president and CEO of Montecito Bank & Trust, and a marathon runner, was all smiles as she took the presentation stage in new Hoka One One running shoes after her visit to the store.
Garufis welcomed attendees by declaring that the keynote topic of innovation is certainly relevant and of interest by simply looking at the size of the evening’s audience. The explosively fast rate of change today requires everyone in their business and personal lives to continually innovate. She shared that the innovation keynote topic was determined by business owners and managers taking the B2B topic survey the bank posts on its website and by last year’s B2B attendees.
Deciding who would deliver a meaningful address on innovation was an easy choice having worked with Stuart Jenkins, vice president of innovation at Deckers Outdoor, on community projects and having heard him speak on innovation before an audience of bankers in the past.
By way of introducing Jenkins, Garufis shared that his Deckers innovation responsibilities include corporate culture building, footwear production and manufacturing processes. Jenkins has years of work experience in many industries including sports marketing, new technologies and education. He is an inventor, holding several patents, and is a firm believer that everyone can innovate.
Garufis turned the stage over to Jenkins, whose keynote title was “Innovation: Not Luck, Not Genius, but a Business Practice.”
The audience was fully engaged as Jenkins presented his approach on how to frame innovation as a means to make incremental product or process improvements, or a business model to sustain growth, or as a means to become a disruptive and powerful force in your marketplace. He shared that as a boy growing up on a cattle ranch near Broken Bow, Neb., he practiced innovation addressing his own shoe pain as a long-distance runner. His mother’s kitchen became his first innovation workshop, eventually transplanting him to Pebble Beach promoting the development of the “air shoe,” which took years to hook a manufacturer’s interest. Failings are a great teacher and perseverance a necessary companion to innovation.
By sharing some of his life experiences, Jenkins walked the audience through a deliberate approach to innovation starting with the mindset of being humble, optimistic, positive and open to change. He explained the difference between invention and innovation and that the word innovation is of Greek derivation meaning “into the new.” He advocated that companies must be structured for innovation with a risk tolerance to experiment.
By paying attention to your competitors, customers and prospective customers, you can empower your colleagues to make meaningful contributions with bottom line results. Pick innovation strategies for your industry and client segments, have a plan, and track and measure the results. He cautioned that in today’s world, the only risk is failure to innovate.
The evening concluded with a question-and-answer session before Garufis thanked Jenkins and Deckers Outdoor for such a wonderful evening, thanked the attendees and promoted the upcoming B2B Leadership Workshops, one to be held in Solvang this Wednesday, Sept. 17, and one in Ventura on Thursday. Click here for information and registration.
— Andy Silverman is a marketing coordinator for Montecito Bank & Trust.