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.
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 is a maker, hacker and inventor who has sparked a movement of pragmatic, inspirational innovation. As a career producer and filmmaker and now founder and CEO of Not Impossible, Ebeling consistently speaks to companies and audiences all over the world inspiring them to change their world, and the world.
Ebeling founded Not Impossible, a multiple award-winning social innovation lab on the premise that nothing is impossible. His mantra of “Commit, Then Figure it out” allows him to convene brilliant teams of hackers, doers, makers and thinkers to create inventions and creations that better the world by bringing accessibility for all.
Called the “Elon Musk of Good," Ebeling is only person to ever be honored 3x as a TIME Magazine Top Invention of the Year recipient. A 2x Tribeca Innovation winner, a 2x SXSW Innovation of the year award winner, a WIRED Agent of Change, a fellow with The Nantucket Project, and a recipient of every major creative and advertising award - including the Titanium Lion, Ebeling is on a mission to change the world by creating “Technology for the Sake of Humanity.”
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.
Creating a Culture of Impact and Purpose
Imagine what companies could accomplish and be if their entire workforce was activated by a sense of purpose. This isn’t just about employee satisfaction, recruiting or retention; this is about tapping into the Movement of Purpose so that both companies AND society win. In this talk, Mick will delve into the creation of a Culture of Purpose and Impact and the direct effects this has on profitability, productivity, innovation, and engagement.
AI For The Sake of Humanity - Jekyll Vs. Hyde
Say the letters "A.I." and you may imagine of Mr. Hyde...but what if Dr. Jekyll appeared instead? The concept of artificial intelligence, or A.I., connotes thoughts of science-fiction, Big Brother and a scary, robot-controlled world set in a dystopian future. But what about the concept of A.I. for good? Not Impossible's founder Mick Ebeling discusses how A.I. has the incredible potential to make the world a better place. Citing tangible solutions from around the world as well as solutions that are being developed at his Not Impossible Labs (such as remote vaccine delivery by drones, smart sensors that register seizures and tremors caused by Parkinson's, to intelligent electronics in prosthetics and therapeutic gait-trainers for Cerebral Palsy), Mick focuses on the most cutting edge and forward thinking ideas, advancements, and inventions in the A.I. space...but for good. By changing the narrative of what artificial intelligence can mean for the future of humanity to what it should mean, we can influence and inspire an entirely new generation of mad scientists.
Radical Collaboration
Take a Hollywood producer, a NY professor, a fine artist and a hacker with a criminal record…Put them together and what do you get? A device that helped a paralyzed man create drawings using only the movement of his eyes. Collaboration comes in many form, some of them unexpected. In this talk, Mick discusses the tools necessary to become a stellar collaborator, and to recognize the traits of collaboration-worthy individuals for your next big idea.
Thank you so much for being a part of our Pride in Execution Meeting. Everyone was buzzing about your presentation and what a tremendous impact it had. It was definitely the inspirational message I wanted to close our ‘think differently” theme and meeting. Thank you for showing us the impact of helping just one person. I look forward to working with you again in the future.
GSK Consumer Healthcare
Thanks so much for suggesting Mick. He was just the break our attendees needed! His energy, passion, and dedication were thoroughly enjoyed by our attendees. He received a standing ovation and lots of questions afterwards.
Morningstar
Mick inspired us with his message that anyone can make a positive difference right now.
There was a standing ovation at the end of his talk, and more than a year later I still hear from people that Mick motivated them to do something meaningful, to act, and to make a difference.
Microsoft
Mick Ebeling is “inspiring”, “life changing”, “the real deal”. He had 400 attendees hanging on his every word, captivated by his raw passion and drive to change the world, one feat at a time. If you are looking for a speaker who will elevate your meeting to the next level, he is the man for you.
Consumer Healthcare Products Association
Mick was one of the most engaging and dynamic keynote speakers we have hosted. His message was well-received by our audience and even now, weeks after the event, I am still hearing people discuss Mick and Not Impossible labs within the hallways of our office.
Goldman Sachs
I wanted to take a moment to thank you for being part of the Washington Ideas Forum. You added so much to the day. Your presentation stole the show. We’ve been talking about it non-stop. What a stunning example of how technology can change lives. Thank you again for your time and enthusiastic participation. My Atlantic colleagues and I all look forward to seeing you again soon.
The Atlantic
