I was reading Shawn Driscoll’s blog post called The Innovator in Each of Us. She was documenting her experience attending TEDxDetroit, watching speaker after speaker talk about innovation.

She wondered to herself how she could innovate, or be an inspiration to others rather than impressed by others.

Shawn said that there are 5 sources of innovation within each of us – your story, your stand, your special skill, your system and the space you naturally occupy. When I read it, it got me thinking about how this applies to me, especially when it comes to telesummits and other multi-speaker virtual events. So here goes.

1. My Story

I’ve been conducting virtual events since 2001. It was quite by accident. The small software development company of 200 was swallowed up by a global software company of 30,000. Actually, it’s probably better if you just watch my story in the video below.

2. My Stand

I believe that the telephone is really all you need to produce a powerful & profitable virtual event. Unless your topic is visual, eg. graphic artists, architects, sewing, then using anything other the telephone is overkill.

I also believe that offering your telesummit for free is a waste of time. You must collect money from those who attend your event. See my blog post called Why a Premium Telesummit Model Beats a Freemium One Any Day.

Another one of my beliefs is that great content doesn’t fill virtual events, marketing does. Most virtual events fail because they fail to leave enough time in their calendar for promotions. So, I “force” my clients to spend the bulk of their time promoting their telesummits and other multi-speaker virtual events.

And lastly, too many who host virtual events fail to monetize their efforts after the virtual event is over. I teach that there’s really only 1 strategy you should use to monetize the community and content you’ve built after hosting a telesummit or virtual event.

3. My Special Skill

This one was tough. What is my special skill? Well, just recently, I realized that the reason why some things frustrate me while other things don’t is because I think in patterns. That’s why I’m fascinated with languages. That’s why I love plugging away at the numbers. That’s why I get frustrated with the “whoo whoo” stuff. If it’s not in a pattern, I’m lost.

When I teach things, I teach them in logical steps – a pattern. Step 1 is this, Step 2 is that and so on.

So, you may think that my content is BORING if I’m all logical, right? It’s not. The reason is that “having fun” is one of my core values. So, I mix teaching in patterns with a little bit of fun and I believe that this is my special skill. The closet geek who knows how to make people laugh at normal stuff.

4. My System

I have a 90-day process I use to produce telesummits and other multi-speaker virtual events. I’ve used this model for the past year and clients who follow it step-by-step typically make 5-figure or more from their virtual event.

I also make sure that my clients are using WordPress, plus a few choice plug-ings to create a powerful Attendee Management System. This system can easily be turned into a membership website, thus helping my clients earn recurring revenue after the virtual event is over.

5. The Stand I Naturally Occupy

To answer this one, I had to go back to Shawn’s blog post to understand how to address this part of being innovative. Here’s what Shawn said:

“In your life right now something is working. People see you as the go-to person for something—be it a good laugh, a clear perspective, a dose of reality or an idea generator. We all occupy some ‘role’ in our lives. Quite often that space you’re already in holds the key to your innovating edge.”

So, what I’ve heard people say is that I’m generous with my content, I explain techie stuff in a clear way and I tell good stories.

Does this make me an Innovator? A thought leader? Why not, eh? If you believe in the above, why not join me at Telesummit Refresh, a 3-day workshop taking place in Atlanta, GA, Nov 3-5, 2010 to learn how to innovate your next (or first) telesummit? You can book your spot for just $199 and choose from a variety of flexible payment plans. Go to http://telesummitrefresh.com for more.

How can you innovate? What’s your values and stance in your marketplace? Leave your thoughts below.