Experiences, knowledge and innovation: the ingredients of the XI Afterwork APD Barcelona

Knowledge and innovation are today, for a large number of companies and managers, the basic ingredients to successfully evolve the business model of any organization. In fact, as experts say, without knowledge there can be no development . And without innovation, competitive advantages could not be generated.

Knowledge and innovation are, in addition to interesting concepts to reflect on by leading personalities in fields such as cooking, sports or advertising , the ingredients that led the XI Afterwork APD Barcelona.

A meeting that brought together on December 12 at the Palau de Congressos de Catalunya more than 1,500 executives waiting to live this unique experience. Because if the biggest executive networking meeting of the year in Barcelona is characterized by something, it is, in addition to fun, first-rate learning.

Knowledge and innovation, from the vision of Ferrán Adrià

Conducted by the actress and humorist Ana Morgade and previously enlivened by the music of the students of the Liceu Conservatory , the eleventh edition of the Afterwork APD Barcelona began precisely with a benchmark in the world of cuisine. The chef who revolutionized the world of gastronomy giving way to a new era, which above all seeks to share knowledge and for which innovation, unfortunately, has entered the phase of 'innovatitis': Ferrán Adrià .

People confuse: what works is adapting models of success and that is not innovating

And, as Adrià explained, "people confuse introducing changes with innovating." In fact, it had an impact, “90% of SMEs in Barcelona do not have to innovate. People confuse innovating with transforming. What works is adapting successful models and that is not innovating . ”

The chef at L'Hospitalet recalled that "the passion for innovation is only held by CEOs or business owners." Thus, Adrià bets more on teamwork, but clarifies that "passion does not have to be for all the people who make up a company or business, and that you can still continue being a professional".

Along the same lines, he stressed that we are losing the meaning of "a precious word such as 'professional'". Because, he assured, "you can be professional and go out on time or spend Saturdays."

As a closing of his impressive intervention, Adrià stressed that before companies were dedicated to selling products and services, later experiences, and that "the next step will be to offer knowledge ". Precisely the raison d'être of elBullifoundation and why its entire team works daily.

No pause for advertising

Unlike what usually happens during television advertising breaks , the managers present at the XI Afterwork decided not to get up from their seats. The reason was strong: the 'intermediate' starred by the internationally known publicist Toni Segarra .

"We have an increasingly fragmented audience, which forces us to think about whether it would not be advisable to stop buying / renting the audience generated by others to go on to manufacture and manage it ourselves," Segarra began emphatically.

The man who was chosen as the best creative of the 20th century by the magazine Publicidad in 2000, stated that television is a medium that no longer exists or does so in a weakened way. »Before advertising on television, products almost sold alone, and now it's not like that at all, ”he exemplified.

And, coinciding with Ferrán Adrià, Segarra also launched the idea that "a company in the future will have to share knowledge and experiences so that the audience, the customer, gets closer."

Experiences with "likes"

With many "likes". It's easy when on stage you meet former Basketball player Fernando Romay and his great experiences focused on the value of diversity, or with the innovative views of the influencer Patry Jordán in the digital field.

"Society asks us to be the most. But how can we be great if we are equal to the rest? Much of the genius lies in the difference. " With this affirmation Romay began his emotional intervention that resulted in an ovation from the public when he sent the message that "we always have to make someone believe in us and we must believe in others."

Before advertising on television, products almost sold themselves, and now it is not like that at all

For his part, Jordán did not hesitate to confirm that “what I like most about my work is that we are connected to everyone. But being connected to everything and always makes us live with high expectations and it seems that if we do not get anything else 'we are nobody'. No. We are not the likes we accumulate ».

In the same way, and interviewed by Morgade, the influencer warned that "you have to think about what added value we are going to give to the content before saturating, because each content has to cover a need."

Two serious "ingredients" that worry (and much)

The speakers' turn ended with the speeches by Víctor Vidal , Medical and Social Security Inspector, and by Belén Barreiro , Sociologist and Entrepreneur, to talk about two “ingredients” that worry a lot in today's world: stress and fragmentation that has caused digitization in society.

Thus, Vidal shocked the Palau auditorium, noting that “there are 4,000 suicides a year , 10 a day. And behind a suicide there is always a prolonged stress over time ». However, the doctor denounced, "although it has a great impact on society and has devastating effects, medicine has never studied it."

"We can combat stress with 'therapies' such as healthy food, laugh or bet on wellness departments in companies , which represent an increase in productivity of up to 30%", recommended Vidal.

We always have to make someone believe in us and we must believe in others

For her part, the sociologist Barreiro, supported by a magnificent storytelling, exposed the four personalities that make up today's society due to the direct influence of digitization : affluent digital society, impoverished digital society, affluent analog society and impoverished analog society.

Of course, he insisted that despite their great differences, these four profiles "have shared values such as solidarity, new concerns such as climate change or the channels with which we reach them."

In addition to knowledge and innovation, happiness!

During the celebration of the XI Afterwork APD Barcelona, happiness also had its place on stage, and this was achieved by the management representatives of the companies sponsoring the meeting: Igor Garzesi (Banco Mediolanum), Ignasi Puigdollers (Mercer), Manuel Orihuela (Nacex) , Gorka Zelaia (Lyreco Spain) and Carles Ransanz (SAGE), under the moderation of Joaquim Montsant (CESCE).

Regarding the idea that "happiness is a clear challenge to be faced, both for organizations and for people", the participants of the round table highlighted that "it is essential to generate in people an environment that it is comfortable and differentiating for them to say 'I like being here' and thus create a perfect feeling of belonging ”.

Likewise, the more than 1,500 attendees were able to learn about the 3 essential steps to improve the employee experience : get to know them and know what they value and what their expectations are; interact with them; and identify the life cycle of each employee and its stages.

At the end of the day, as all the speakers agreed, "our employees are part of decision-making, of interdisciplinary working groups ... And if we take care of our people, our people will take care of our clients" .

#APD experiences and networking moments

After the turn of presentations, those attending the meeting were able to enjoy numerous networking corners and tasting areas where they could exchange opinions and enjoy one of the most outstanding #ExperiencesAPD offered by the Global Community of Directors. See you at the XII Afterwork APD Barcelona?