1
00:00:08,343 --> 00:00:10,268
So, I'd like to take you back

2
00:00:10,268 --> 00:00:13,516
to when you were a child
and you first learned to ride a bicycle.

3
00:00:13,516 --> 00:00:15,880
It was really your first test of courage.

4
00:00:15,906 --> 00:00:19,442
You'd get on the bike,
it sways, it wobbles, you fall...

5
00:00:19,724 --> 00:00:21,645
Your parents tell you to get back on,

6
00:00:21,721 --> 00:00:24,931
you start to paddle again,
you gain momentum and then suddenly,

7
00:00:24,975 --> 00:00:26,389
you take flight!

8
00:00:26,754 --> 00:00:29,806
Remember that amazing
feeling of success that sets in?

9
00:00:30,206 --> 00:00:34,413
That's because learning to ride a bicycle
is not just to learn a skill.

10
00:00:34,433 --> 00:00:36,817
It's a deeper, human,
emotional connection.

11
00:00:37,380 --> 00:00:41,910
That's why the bike is a great example
of how simple technology,

12
00:00:42,257 --> 00:00:46,034
if used correctly,
can bring out deep human emotions

13
00:00:46,509 --> 00:00:49,502
and spin off a cycle
of creativity and innovation.

14
00:00:50,317 --> 00:00:53,814
The challenge we have today,
is here's what we've done to technology.

15
00:00:55,179 --> 00:00:56,772
I call this the "iBike".

16
00:00:58,579 --> 00:01:02,445
We've taken it to such an extreme,
that we're starting to disconnect.

17
00:01:02,455 --> 00:01:06,275
Disconnect from the very thing
that created technology.

18
00:01:07,227 --> 00:01:09,172
The cycle of innovation.

19
00:01:09,335 --> 00:01:12,234
You might think creating technology
is actually complicated,

20
00:01:12,234 --> 00:01:13,758
but it's really quite simple.

21
00:01:13,758 --> 00:01:16,389
See, you take very passionate people,

22
00:01:16,463 --> 00:01:17,877
you connect them together,

23
00:01:17,890 --> 00:01:19,979
you inspire them,

24
00:01:20,001 --> 00:01:21,539
they get very creative,

25
00:01:21,919 --> 00:01:23,672
they fail a couple times,

26
00:01:24,109 --> 00:01:25,764
and they reinvent.

27
00:01:25,931 --> 00:01:27,638
It's really quite that simple.

28
00:01:27,945 --> 00:01:31,235
The challenge is,
are we hitting the very thing

29
00:01:31,796 --> 00:01:34,377
which is connecting the passionate people

30
00:01:34,377 --> 00:01:36,046
and starting to disconnect?

31
00:01:36,046 --> 00:01:38,477
What's going to happen
to all the creativity?

32
00:01:39,492 --> 00:01:42,357
So, I'd like to tell you
a little bit about my childhood.

33
00:01:42,551 --> 00:01:46,028
My family and I actually emigrated
here from Iran during the war.

34
00:01:46,656 --> 00:01:49,839
My memories overnight went
from learning how to ride a bicycle

35
00:01:49,839 --> 00:01:52,162
in the hillsides of a beautiful country,

36
00:01:52,162 --> 00:01:55,573
to sitting in a dark basement
as bombs went off around us.

37
00:01:56,904 --> 00:02:00,319
My fear quickly shifted to worrying
about falling off of a bicycle,

38
00:02:00,335 --> 00:02:03,705
to looking into my mother's eyes,
as she tried to figure out

39
00:02:03,756 --> 00:02:06,064
what she was going to do with her family.

40
00:02:06,076 --> 00:02:08,083
My grandfather actually pleading with her

41
00:02:08,083 --> 00:02:10,853
not to leave in the middle
of the war with a small child.

42
00:02:10,853 --> 00:02:12,142
He thought we were nuts.

43
00:02:12,142 --> 00:02:15,619
We did it anyway, and we emigrated
here to the United States.

44
00:02:15,705 --> 00:02:18,659
So, growing up here,
my father was heavily into technology,

45
00:02:18,857 --> 00:02:21,345
so I naturally fell into it.

46
00:02:21,345 --> 00:02:23,803
I had a quite nerdy childhood.

47
00:02:23,803 --> 00:02:28,356
See, he actually made me program
for hours on an old commodore 64.

48
00:02:29,627 --> 00:02:32,517
Some people in this room
have probably never even seen this.

49
00:02:34,558 --> 00:02:37,622
Before I was allowed
to go out and play with the normal kids.

50
00:02:37,622 --> 00:02:41,010
My math flashcards,
they looked a little something like this.

51
00:02:43,390 --> 00:02:45,674
The old computer punch cards.

52
00:02:47,261 --> 00:02:49,750
He used to make me
build computer systems, too.

53
00:02:49,778 --> 00:02:52,030
I can't tell you how many mather boards
I fried

54
00:02:52,030 --> 00:02:54,586
until I figured out
and was successful at it.

55
00:02:55,330 --> 00:02:59,470
So naturally, with that background,
technology kind of became my universe.

56
00:02:59,927 --> 00:03:02,470
So I thought when I come here today,

57
00:03:02,470 --> 00:03:04,510
I definitely needed
to cover all the topics

58
00:03:04,510 --> 00:03:07,557
of mobile, social, big data,
who could leave out the cloud.

59
00:03:09,534 --> 00:03:12,635
All the things that have completely
changed our lives.

60
00:03:13,454 --> 00:03:16,633
And the way that we communicate,
and the way that we connect.

61
00:03:17,187 --> 00:03:19,526
Or is it really the way
that we disconnect?

62
00:03:20,888 --> 00:03:25,034
It's funny how our world has shifted
to "Eat Pray Technology".

63
00:03:26,347 --> 00:03:29,698
The love and high touch part
is now all high tech.

64
00:03:32,473 --> 00:03:35,715
It's almost feeling like
it's more important than food and shelter.

65
00:03:36,278 --> 00:03:40,011
We all know that sinking feeling when
you think you forgot your mobile device.

66
00:03:40,030 --> 00:03:42,543
You've got to run back home,
because there's no way

67
00:03:42,543 --> 00:03:45,056
you're going to function without it.

68
00:03:45,056 --> 00:03:47,570
I had a dinner party a few weeks ago,
and I was running around,

69
00:03:47,917 --> 00:03:50,637
and I had no idea
if people actually enjoyed themselves,

70
00:03:51,055 --> 00:03:53,584
or if the food was any good,
until the next morning,

71
00:03:53,681 --> 00:03:55,070
I had to check my Facebook,

72
00:03:55,070 --> 00:03:57,337
and of course my foody friends
had pictures

73
00:03:57,337 --> 00:04:00,095
of all the plates and things,
and that's how I figured out

74
00:04:00,095 --> 00:04:02,769
that everybody had a good time
and the food was great.

75
00:04:02,769 --> 00:04:04,896
It's nuts!
This is the way we communicate?!

76
00:04:04,896 --> 00:04:07,663
These devices
have completely taken over our lives.

77
00:04:09,559 --> 00:04:11,902
So, a recent study of our new generation

78
00:04:12,064 --> 00:04:17,239
showed that they actually have
a love-hate relationship with technology.

79
00:04:18,656 --> 00:04:20,656
They feel extremely connected,

80
00:04:21,206 --> 00:04:23,264
but yet so disconnected.

81
00:04:23,586 --> 00:04:26,808
They have hundreds and thousands
of Facebook friends and followers,

82
00:04:27,594 --> 00:04:29,209
but feel really isolated.

83
00:04:29,758 --> 00:04:33,195
They want technology to give them
a more human, personalized experience.

84
00:04:34,549 --> 00:04:35,794
They want the "why".

85
00:04:36,482 --> 00:04:37,962
So this got me to think,

86
00:04:38,205 --> 00:04:40,762
is technology just an enabler?


87
00:04:41,259 --> 00:04:42,702
Is it just a tool?

88
00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:46,427
It's how we do what we do,
it's not the "why" or the true meaning

89
00:04:46,427 --> 00:04:48,246
of innovation and creativity.

90
00:04:49,594 --> 00:04:52,419
The successful innovators
already know this.

91
00:04:53,013 --> 00:04:54,417
Tony Hsieh.

92
00:04:54,532 --> 00:04:56,747
He reinvented the way
that we purchase shoes,

93
00:04:56,747 --> 00:04:59,572
because he had a passion
for delivering happiness.

94
00:04:59,572 --> 00:05:01,789
Shoes just happened to be in the mix.

95
00:05:01,833 --> 00:05:03,788
His team created Zappos.

96
00:05:04,657 --> 00:05:07,549
And they've changed
the personalized experience

97
00:05:07,549 --> 00:05:10,441
that we have now,
when we purchase those shoes.

98
00:05:10,441 --> 00:05:13,333
What did you dream of as a kid?

99
00:05:13,935 --> 00:05:15,392
Fast cars and rocket ships?

100
00:05:15,971 --> 00:05:17,033
And bikes?

101
00:05:17,033 --> 00:05:18,346
I know I did.

102
00:05:18,602 --> 00:05:21,479
But few actually grew up
to create them, like Elon Musk,

103
00:05:21,522 --> 00:05:23,522
the man behind Tesla and SpaceX.

104
00:05:23,707 --> 00:05:27,567
There's actually a couple Tesla's outside,
and I swear I didn't coordinate that,

105
00:05:27,567 --> 00:05:29,450
it's just by design.

106
00:05:30,260 --> 00:05:32,635
Why did he do all that?
For money? For profits?

107
00:05:32,635 --> 00:05:35,010
No, he had already made millions
and lost it.

108
00:05:35,010 --> 00:05:37,387
He did it for Mars.

109
00:05:37,907 --> 00:05:40,123
He wanted to send humanity there.

110
00:05:40,254 --> 00:05:44,145
With his electric cars,
he wanted to save the environment

111
00:05:44,145 --> 00:05:47,544
and create a planet
that our children could live on.

112
00:05:47,911 --> 00:05:51,928
Kevin Plank. He was the self-proclaimed,
sweatiest guy on the football field.

113
00:05:53,454 --> 00:05:56,893
Through his grassroots business approach,
he created Under Armour.

114
00:05:57,650 --> 00:06:01,404
Why? He wanted to improve
athletes' performance.

115
00:06:01,953 --> 00:06:06,156
The "how" was the innovative technology,
the fabric that he brought to the market

116
00:06:06,465 --> 00:06:09,064
that actually
cooled athletes' bodies off sooner.

117
00:06:09,903 --> 00:06:12,518
Today, Under Armour
still has that same philosophy,

118
00:06:12,854 --> 00:06:16,183
they want to improve
athletes' performance, it's just changed.

119
00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:19,366
There's now wearable technology
and devices out on the market.

120
00:06:19,666 --> 00:06:22,628
These devices
are what we call "the Internet of things".

121
00:06:23,751 --> 00:06:25,985
If you look at the health
and fitness industry,

122
00:06:25,985 --> 00:06:29,068
we're a nation that's obsessed
with FitBits and Nike FuelBands

123
00:06:29,068 --> 00:06:30,755
and Garmin GPS devices.

124
00:06:31,201 --> 00:06:34,926
Obsessed cyclists actually use an app
called Strava to connect to one another,

125
00:06:34,926 --> 00:06:37,287
and ironically it actually means strive.

126
00:06:37,561 --> 00:06:39,075
So why do we do all that?

127
00:06:40,124 --> 00:06:41,870
Because we want to be motivated.

128
00:06:42,484 --> 00:06:46,077
We want to be inspired, we want to connect
with people all around the world,

129
00:06:46,077 --> 00:06:48,190
that can bring that to life for us.

130
00:06:49,257 --> 00:06:50,201
The bike.

131
00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:55,796
This technology has been reinvented
dating back to the 1700s.

132
00:06:56,286 --> 00:06:59,228
It went from a wooden scooter
to steel and aluminium,

133
00:06:59,653 --> 00:07:03,103
to carbon fibre,
featherlike technology that you see here.

134
00:07:04,056 --> 00:07:06,968
With electronic shifting,
I can even plug my mobile device

135
00:07:06,968 --> 00:07:08,520
and update the firmwear.

136
00:07:08,520 --> 00:07:09,644
Crazy!

137
00:07:11,842 --> 00:07:15,442
Cyclists pay the price
of a modern day vehicle to own this thing.

138
00:07:16,103 --> 00:07:17,508
It's pretty nuts.

139
00:07:18,328 --> 00:07:19,209
Why?

140
00:07:20,249 --> 00:07:22,899
Because we want to have
that feeling that we once did.

141
00:07:23,843 --> 00:07:25,393
When we were a child.

142
00:07:25,683 --> 00:07:27,124
That feeling of freedom.

143
00:07:28,014 --> 00:07:30,739
In corporate America,
we get so fixated on the profits

144
00:07:31,975 --> 00:07:34,150
on the bureaucracy, on the red tape.

145
00:07:34,268 --> 00:07:37,184
We have countless meetings -
I know I sit in a ton of them -

146
00:07:37,184 --> 00:07:39,939
trying to figure out what
this technology shift means

147
00:07:40,230 --> 00:07:41,904
to all of us, and to our business

148
00:07:41,904 --> 00:07:44,048
and making sure
the profits are not impacted.

149
00:07:44,048 --> 00:07:45,733
We're forgetting the very essence,

150
00:07:45,733 --> 00:07:48,281
of what creates a successful business.

151
00:07:48,491 --> 00:07:49,645
It's people.

152
00:07:51,297 --> 00:07:52,780
It's emotions.

153
00:07:52,797 --> 00:07:54,379
It's connecting to them.

154
00:07:54,398 --> 00:07:55,926
It's bringing those to life.

155
00:07:56,919 --> 00:07:58,371
It's so simple.

156
00:07:58,696 --> 00:08:02,813
Inspire your employees,
to create amazing products and services

157
00:08:03,377 --> 00:08:05,458
that in turn inspire consumers

158
00:08:05,574 --> 00:08:07,451
to purchase them.

159
00:08:08,379 --> 00:08:10,148
It's really quite that simple.

160
00:08:10,315 --> 00:08:12,033
Imagine if we teach our children

161
00:08:12,357 --> 00:08:14,417
that technology is just a tool.

162
00:08:14,979 --> 00:08:16,606
It's just an enabler.

163
00:08:16,719 --> 00:08:18,369
It's how we do what we do.

164
00:08:18,413 --> 00:08:20,287
It's not the "why"

165
00:08:20,357 --> 00:08:22,565
We don't want the very cycle

166
00:08:22,565 --> 00:08:24,921
of what created technology,
the creativity,

167
00:08:24,921 --> 00:08:27,204
to kill it, to stifle our innovation.

168
00:08:27,735 --> 00:08:31,132
See, the simple notion could actually
change the world to become

169
00:08:31,132 --> 00:08:35,594
80% innovators and 20% laggers,
versus the other way around.

170
00:08:36,708 --> 00:08:40,438
Because possibly, if we continue down
this spiral that we're going down today,

171
00:08:41,001 --> 00:08:43,932
we're at risk of losing all the creativity

172
00:08:43,932 --> 00:08:46,525
and the very thing
that created technology.

173
00:08:46,603 --> 00:08:49,512
What if my family and I
didn't face our fears

174
00:08:49,512 --> 00:08:52,525
and take some risks,
and come to the United States?

175
00:08:53,229 --> 00:08:56,769
What if this bike
wasn't reinvented over the years

176
00:08:56,769 --> 00:08:59,296
by very passionate people?

177
00:08:59,296 --> 00:09:02,750
What if Zappos didn't deliver
amazing shoes to our footsteps?

178
00:09:03,036 --> 00:09:06,059
Well, I definitely would not be here.

179
00:09:08,081 --> 00:09:11,155
Standing in my heels
with my super fancy bicycle,

180
00:09:11,179 --> 00:09:13,852
telling you
that technology is just a tool.

181
00:09:14,853 --> 00:09:17,991
and we cannot disconnect
from one another.

182
00:09:18,344 --> 00:09:21,901
and disconnect from the true feelings
of what brings things to life.

183
00:09:22,437 --> 00:09:26,714
Because we're at risk of losing all
of our creativity, and becoming robots.

184
00:09:27,428 --> 00:09:30,625
And if we lose that,
what do we really have?

185
00:09:32,510 --> 00:09:35,153
(Applause)