It's 2009, and it looks like I'll be quite busy with a number of organizations who are focused on innovating their way into the future.

A few of the upcoming presentations include:

• the College Board -- the organization that runs the SAT education testing system among other things. This will involve a keynote for a select audience of 250, including Chancellors, Presidents, and senior admission officers for the largest colleges and universities in the US, including Duke, Cambridge, Harvard, Vanderbilt and the University of Texas, among others.
• a global leadership meeting for Yum! Brands (KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut) ; I'll be providing an opening keynote on the necessity for innovation and creative approaches to branding, marketing, retail design, food and consumer trends, among other issues
• a CEO-level strategy session for one of the world's leading education publishing companies.
• a keynote for the the annual conference of the Texas Credit Union League, on innovation strategies in the financial sector (yes, such strategies still exist!)
• a keynote for a chapter of the American Marketing Association, examining fast paced branding and consumer change
• the closing keynote -- and a second booking by -- the American Nursery & Landscape Association, on growth strategies and opportunities
• a strategy session on behalf of a global consulting firm for leadership from the world's largest insurance companies

What's common here is that all of these organizations are in a mindset that despite the vast economic challenges that have occurred, it is critical that they go into 2009 with a mindset that is focused on the opportunities of the future, rather than the challenges of the past.

Here's a quote to carry you into the year: Steve Jobs once commented, "If you look backward in this business, you’ll be crushed. You have to look forward.”

Think growth.