How to foster innovation was a hot topic on the final day of the 36th annual Symposium on Racing & Gaming. Dale Dauten, founder of The Innovators’ Lab, gave the
keynote speech 'The Gifted Boss – To Think Like A Hero and Work Like an Artist' on Thursday, December 10.
Dauten has spent over a decade studying leaders and how they inspire innovation in their teams.
“The ordinary boss is a defender of the acceptable,” said Dauten. He described them as “a kind of border patrol agent.” He said that the “gifted boss” asks “how can we do this better than ever before?”
Using a host of well-known and more obscure companies as examples, Dauten demonstrated the power of 'touchstones' in generating creative ideas.
Dauten stressed that successful businesses have a will to be different and that wonderful things happen when companies are not afraid to innovate. He showed examples of creative marketing at some tracks around the country.
“When someone asks ‘where is this?’ will the answer be your track?” Dauten said.
Dauten ended by saying that “the best opponent is the status quo.”
Also on Thursday, experts discussed the growth and uses of social media in the panel 'Social Media – Making It Business Relevant.' Michael Tanner of the USTA moderated the panel that featured speakers Dr. Holly Kruse of the University of Tulsa and Aaron Smith from Pew Internet and American Life Project.
Kruse said that racing has a split personality when it comes to promoting itself, and she suggested offering more free content as well as promoting more women’s involvement in wagering.
Smith described the growth in social media over the past five years, and pointed out some of its biggest growth has been in the 50-60-year-old demographic.
“People who participate (in social media) feel more personally connected,” said Smith. “They are more likely to participate both on and offline.”
Finally, on Thursday, the best racing TV commercials were screened and discussed as part of the 'Commercial Break' panel, moderated by TVG’s Frank Mirahmadi.
ATG Swedish Racing’s ad, 'Join The Game,' took top honors in the poll of symposium attendees with Remington Park in second and New York Racing Association taking third.
(University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program)
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