Panelists:
– Alec Esteban Thomson, CEO, Arizona Lottery
– Derek Gwaltney, Founder & CEO, Atlas Experiences
– Justin Rock, Deputy Secretary of Product & Sales, Florida Lottery
– Terri Rose, Deputy Executive Director, Brand Management & Communications, North Carolina Education Lottery
– Jay Finks, Executive Director, Oklahoma Lottery
– Ryan Mindell, Executive Director, Texas Lottery
– Moderator: Byron La Fleur, Publisher, La Fleur’s Magazine
Industry experts discuss their ideation processes, emphasizing market analysis, strategic planning, spontaneous innovation, formal brainstorming, and learning from failures.
Quotes:
- Alec Esteban Thomson: “I think sometimes it can be organic ideations, sometimes it can be intentional ideation. I think both are equally important and in both scenarios, experience and having the right knowledge are key in coming up with that idea that will actually work.”
- Derek Gwaltney: “It’s finding that right formula to make the leap and start to put the effort into a new idea, really start to grind it out to learn about it. Lessons learned versus failures, right? It’s a strategic adjustment.”
- Justin Rock: “I think it’s always a learning opportunity, but not being afraid to scrap an idea quickly if it’s taking up an inordinate amount of time.”
- Terry Rose: “We do have a pretty iterative process in place, and our Executive Director Mark Michalko always likes to say, ‘that one’s in the too hard box.’ And that’s when we put an idea down and say, ‘eh, that was a great thought, but we’re gonna take a pass on that and move on.’”
- Jay Finks: “Ideas evolve, and you know, one bad idea might lead to the next good idea.”
- Ryan Mindell: “Some of the best ideas are where we walk down a path, something quite didn’t work out, but you’re able to pivot into something better than your original idea.”