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Dr. Constantine Kiritsis (Dino) is one of the most highly respected, inspiring and versatile Academic and professional trainers in Europe delivering topics on Entrepreneurship, Corporate & Business Strategy, Human Resources, General Management & Corporate Governance and 6 different Professional Qualifications Courses for ACCA, CIMA and CIA. He has delivered over 10000 hours of professional training in 30+ countries globally in the last 20 years.

He is also founder of StudySmart Greece and at the moment he is a Curriculum Development Expert for PwC's Academy in the CEE and a Consultant for PwC in the Middle East. He will be giving a motivational talk during the Innovation Explorer Event at 23th of February. Before that we would like to introduce you to his point of view about change and how to stay tuned with the change in the modern globalized world.

What changes should Bulgaria make in order to create a good environment for innovation?

I think every country should first realize that innovation is a necessity for growth. As far as I am concerned there is no other way for organizations or nations to remain competitive. They simply have to take risks, try new things and come up with ideas that are worth implementation. Therefore, there needs to be an infrastructure that could nurture innovation from the development of a ‘mindset’ from schools, to colleges and Universities, to companies. It has to be embedded in the whole system and it starts from a young age as students need to believe in themselves and one way to create this belief, mindset or culture is to support their ideas so they will not be afraid to try or fail. The mindset is crucial before the development of the system.

Life has become very fast paced and fast changing. What is the best way to stay on track?

We are living in the age of big data and we also have too many timewasters and it is easy to get carried away. If we spend most of the day scrolling on facebook, snapchat or any other medium, or simply check emails or follow a conversation that has no value every minute, people do not realize how much time is spent. We have over a dozen ways to communicate, and keeping track of each method makes us disconnected, not connected. Therefore, staying on track requires self – management in terms of time and knowledge in terms of which sources of information, news and learning to use.

The best way is most probably to avoid wasting time and know which sources of information, knowledge and learning to use.

Picking the right sources to stay on track also requires effort and research, so know where to find the sources that best keep you up to date with your area of expertise. We should have our own agenda; not be other people’s agendas. If we make the best use of our time, we can always stay ahead of the game. An ancient Greek proverb suggests “everything in moderation” which is the way I feel we should treat our phones and apps or any gadget we use, given the dramatic growth of communication and information sources in the age of big data.

What is your advice for the young people in Bulgaria?

First of all to believe in themselves. When parents and educators talk to youngsters they always place them in a context of working or doing things for others. They say “study hard to find a job”, or “to become a good manager you should do this…” or “to become a great employee you should do that….”. Not many parents and educators suggest to young people “Try to set up your own company’ or “Take a risk and believe in your idea” or “be innovative”. Therefore they need to believe in themselves and believe that they can actually make a difference. The second point is to understand that they are part of a wider, global market, not just Bulgaria, especially in a globalized interdependent world.