WHAT IFs...AND WHAT CAN BE POSSIBLE?

Guest post by Simon Applebaum

Great dialogue, great location and most important, great listening.

That's what you have the opportunity to take away at 360 Summit--the opportunity to experience all three at the same time, with the dialogue and listening provided by an assortment of leaders in all walks of life. That's what I came away with from last night's 10th anniversary Summit at the New York Stock Exchange, my first Summit journey.

Why is great listening so important? In order to address the "what if" questions Susan and her well-chosen speakers posed, you have to be willing to go out of your comfort zone and hear from others. When you open those ears up, and by the tone of the buzz from table to table, many in the exchange's dining room were opening the lobes up, there's an opportunity to generate some answers.

Shelly Palmer's "if" regarding a nation of 55 million broadcasters exercising content democracy perked my table. Point of order: I've known Shelly for years, been on panels and forums with him, and he's been on Tomorrow Will Be Televised, my Internet radio program covering the TV world. This isn't the first time he's posed that what if somewhere. But here, this what if was posed quite powerfully, and it showed.

My table's reaction: those 55 million broadcasts better have some advertising or subscription models in hand to afford the expense of producing content in their democratic ways. Especially if that content reaches the consumer free. Otherwise, their ranks will shrink rapidly.

Another POO: 360 Leadership awardee Maggie Wilderotter is someone I covered during her days at CableData (the Microsoft of management information systems for cable system operators) and Wink Communications. Take her pointers about leadership to heart, whether learned at the dinner table or on the job. She earned kudos from her peers for her CableData and Wink tours of duty. What could be possible if everyone in the room followed her advice? An incredible lot. Kudos also to her for her advocacy of more women on corporate boards, and backing up that advocacy with actions.

A few sentences from General Martin Dempsey, and you get why he's a commanding general of U.S. Army training. You're clear this is someone with a firm grip of what counts, coupled with deep appreciation of who he impacts. He does walk among heroes every day.

Truly sorry Christine Lagarde couldn't attend in person. What incredible class, insight and sensitivity she displayed in her tape presentation. The highest political role in France will be hers one day soon.

Which leaves me with some "what ifs" to share. Unlike all the other bloggers sharing thoughts about Tuesday night and 360 version X, my what if's include another question: What could be possible?

**What could be possible if every television venture and every venture in industry had full diversity? More than 35 percent of everyone in this nation is a person of color, and we're not far from the day when this nation will be a multicultural majority. What could be possible if every TV venture and every venture in industry made diversity priority one?

**What could be possible if venture capitalists and angel investors spend just as much money each year on new TV programming and technology ventures as they do on the Internet, green tech, biotech, nanotech, health care, information tech and the like? What could be possible if the next great television innovations could be funded that way, a few billion dollars available per year?

**What could be possible if people of color were in the mainstream of new, unfolding TV opportunities like video-on-demand, interactive TV, 3D TV, teleeducation and telemedicine? What could the possible impact be on people of color and society at large?

**What could be possible if events like 360 Summit were the norm, not the annual exception?
Game on with my listening for your replies. Thank you in advance for what results.