On its way to becoming the world’s most valuable, most admired, and most lifestyle driving company, Apple has continuously taken advantage of what I call the ‘Innovation Shortcut’. This shortcut - which is based on creating new value by combining existing components rather than inventing something outright – is also available to anyone for the taking.

Through our Future Shapers series, we interview business visionaries and entertainment trailblazers who are shaping the future of our society. We ask them playful questions to generate insights on their personal approach to re-imagining boundaries.

A core principle of my Slingshot Framework is the need to forge and to continuously refresh a strong emotional connection with target customers. I call this quest ‘customer infatuation’. A recent study by IBMix has produced revealing evidence of why companies need to embrace such a perspective.

Having been born in Budapest, I have a special affinity for the origin of the word ‘coach’, as it stems from Hungary, many centuries ago. But beyond this personal connection, there are a couple of reasons why this historical tale is worthy of bringing to your attention.   

More than ever, 2018 will be a year of re-imagining boundaries.  As inspiration, I presented a 'radical' model for re-imagining college education in my book 'Slingshot'. This model has been brought to life by Mission U (http://www.missionu.com/), founded in 2016 by Adam Braun.