Bramley Famli

Ted.com is one of the best internet resources I’ve ever come across for short, powerful and interesting inputs on a broad cross-section of topics that loosely fall into the categories of Technology, Environment and Design (TED). Most inputs have a future focus, and one of the themes I’ve often picked up on has to do with what we’ll need, as human beings, to compete in the future. Interestingly it’s not going to be only each other we have to compete against, it’s also going to be technology.

This is not unprecedented either. Over the last 200 years or so, many countries around the world have seen their workforce move from Industrial type activity to Service orientated activity. One statistic I’ve seen has the US population moving from a 98% industrial type workforce (1820) to just 2.5% (2000). There’s no doubt that technology’s new focus is in the service industry, as computers and machines take over roles people have filled. Call centers, processing departments, flying planes, medicine, education, tourism (think GPS and augmented reality), etc, etc.

So how do we compete? What will we do when technology replaces us once again? The response of many is that it will never happen, but it has before, and there’s no reason to think it wont again.

Dan Pink is a contributor at TED.com. If you’ve seen him on TED then you’ll know his talk on re-thinking rewards and motivation. I was recently alerted to another short input of his on YouTube, via a friend on Twitter (@MJH1004)

In this input, ‘Education and the Changing World of Work, Pink suggests that left brain activity has dominated the way in which we’ve worked up until now. Of course, those of us with dominant left brain abilities have succeeded in this particular paradigm. Technology, however, is stepping into left brain spaces, leaving a massive need for right brain abilities (it will be all that’s left for us to do). It’s our right brain that is creative, sees opportunities where our left brain doesn’t. People with dominant right brains are the most valuable in this new world of work, suggests Pink.

Dan Pink isn’t the only one suggesting this. Another great TED input (my favourite) is by Sir Ken Robinson (recently released his book, The Element) talking about whether Schools Kill Creativity. He makes similar points.

Of course all the right brained people smile a little at this thought. They’re the ones who struggled at school and university. They’re the one’s who’ve battled to get ahead in traditional business models. They’ve been on the fringe for a long time. Labeled as outsiders, the weirdoes, the dreamers, the impractical, the nice-to-haves when you’re smoking a doobee, but the not-so-nice-to-haves when you’re trying to run the world. The idea of an about turn on who’s valuable into the future is an attractive fantasy for right brain dominated people. Let’s hope they dream less about that day, and instead work out how they’re going to capitalise on it : )

Here’s Dan Pink on Education and the Future World of Work.

One of my favourite TED videos is by Sir Ken Robinson and the name of his talk is ‘Do schools kill creativity?‘ His conclusion is, yes they do. If you’ve never watched it, it’s worth the large download and the 20 min it takes to watch it.

Leish sent me a link to a similar video clip by Alan Watts (a philosopher). He makes a similar point in 2 minutes. It’s not as entertaining or as interesting as Robinson’s talk on TED, but it makes the exact same point. Take a look for yourself.

A few days ago I was sent a link (by Leish of I Am Parent) to watch Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat, Pray, Love fame. It was a talk she gave at a TED conference. Her talk is around Nurturing Creativity, and was one of the goodies that TED generates.

I loved her thoughts. Not so much the theory, but how her life has been impacted by the success of her book, and the consequent journey into creativity, pain and self-destruction. It’s one of those inputs that leaves you stone cold in reflection and thought as you wonder a little more about your own life. The kind of impact I’d like to chat to others about once they’ve had a chance to watch it. Feel free to engage with me in conversation.

Having recently returned from a weekend process (The Lords of Bling) where we explored the 4 archetypes (Lover, Warrior, King/Queen and Magician) I listened to the talk with the filters of the lover and magician as she spoke.

A theme of thought for me recently has been the lip service I so often give to what I desire. I know what it I want, but how prepared am I to engage in the ‘conflict’ created by making the choice to really want it? And what am I so frightened of by making the choice to go after it?

I felt that what she said spoke into these questions, and while she didn’t necesarily provide a neatly packaged answer, she certainly added direction to my own reflection.

If you have 20 minutes to listen to something very special and intimate, take a trip to TED and watch her speak. Go here.