Mick Ebeling
Mick Ebeling has sparked a movement of pragmatic, inspirational innovation. As a career producer and filmmaker and now founder and CEO of Not Impossible, Ebeling harvests the power of technology and story to change the world.
Recently named by Fortune Magazine as one of the Top 50 World’s Greatest Leaders, a recipient of the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian of the Year Award and listed as one of the world’s most influential creative people by The Creativity 50’s, Mick Ebeling has sparked a movement of pragmatic, inspirational innovation. As a career producer and filmmaker and now founder and CEO of Not Impossible, Ebeling harvests the power of technology and story to change the world.
Ebeling founded Not Impossible, a multiple award-winning social innovation lab and production company, on the premise that nothing is impossible. His mantra of “commit, then figure it out” allows him to convene a disparate team of hackers, doers, makers and thinkers to create devices that better the world by bringing accessibility for all. This unconventional approach brought to life highly acclaimed initiatives -- the EyeWriter, Project Daniel, Don’s Voice and most recently Music: Not Impossible -- that brought the ability to draw back to a paraplegic street artist, 3D-printed arms to Sudanese amputees, a ‘voice’ to an ALS patient who hadn’t spoken in 15 years, and wearables that let deaf and hearing people alike feel music in a “surround body” experience.
Working with a wide array of Fortune 500 companies, Ebeling not only pushes the bar on innovation, he also shares the emotionally resonating story of doing so. These narratives of overcoming seemingly impossible odds to “Help One. Help Many” have inspired people across the world to do the same.
Ebeling’s book, Not Impossible: The Art and Joy of Doing What Couldn't Be Done, recounts the life experiences that led to the founding of Not Impossible. Published in a multitude of languages, the book was hailed as “a unique and inspiring tale of brave abandon” by Nicholas Negroponte.
Named one of Wired’s ‘Agents of Change’, a two-time SXSW innovation of the year award winner, a two-time Tribeca Disruptor innovation winner, a fellow with The Nantucket Project, and recipient of every major creative and advertising award, Ebeling is on a mission to provide “Technology for the Sake of Humanity.” By tapping into a community of passionate and talented engineers, makers, idea generators and storytellers, Ebeling is making the
inconceivable, the unbelievable and the impossible, Not Impossible.
Innovation in a Tumultuous World
Collaborating with unlikely characters to tackle seemingly impossible challenges and finding innovative ways to overcome them, is what Mick and Not Impossible Labs have done for the last 10 years. OK… now introduce a global pandemic. What the heck do we do now? How do we maintain an innovation culture in our very disrupted and strange new world? How do we embrace experimentation as a pathway to breakthroughs? In this conversation, Mick will briefly explain the origin of Not Impossible, the NI design process, and dive deeper into the latest Not Impossible world changing solutions.
The Fallacy of “Impossible”
For the last 10 years, since the launch of Not Impossible, Mick has passionately studied the concept of “Impossible.” All the modern conveniences we see around us were once considered “impossible” by people who didn’t know any better. Synthetic fabrics, cell phones and digital watches (not to mention cars and computers) were all figments of the imagination until inspiration met execution and the impossible became a reality. In this talk, Mick dives deeper into “Impossible,” the underlying psychological effects it has on an organization, and how to overcome “Impossible” so true creativity and innovation can take place.
Creativity for Breakfast - Breeding a Creative Culture
Drucker’s famous quote “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” has never been more true - and needed - than today.
Finding innovative ways to be nimble and creative in the midst of one of the most turbulent periods in modern history, (social unrest, political strife, a pandemic) will not only inform which companies will survive, but those that will thrive. The creative revolution has been democratized. The leaders' role to mine and nurture creativity within their organizations have never been more critical than today. In this talk, Mick will teach business leaders the way of the “hacker-maker” and the gift of positive failure. Mick will empower leaders' resourcefulness and remind them that the business landscape has never been more primed for breakthrough innovations… and quite possibly with the help of some zip ties and duct tape.