Amongst current organisational terminology of lean, agile and service or human centred design, there’s a missing piece: audaciousleadership.
That is, believing in and having conviction on a seemingly impossible idea, knowing that the context around the idea may change in time towards the idea being possible, trusting your gut instinct that drives you, and having the courage to take inspired action.
I’ve often seen the result of these activities: surprise, delight, shock and awe that something that seemed impossible was… indeed… possible.
Elon Musk attracts many world-wide fans. So many of his plans seem audacious.
What’s your audacious idea?
Get in touch if you want help planning how to make it a reality. It’d be great to see you fly.
This email is my 52nd. Thankyou for joining in, it’s fun receiving your replies!
Here’s what I’ve recently loved seeing online:
Oh, Carter Digital httpsters, you showcase such a clever combination of digital (“http”), sustainability ease (carbon neutral) and inviting words (“fine folk” on their email list) ~
Culture Amp’s “Need” filter on their Case Studies page reminds potential customers of their products and areas of specialisation. #clever
Startup inspiration ~
#truth ~
I love it when people keep it real ~
…and when well known people reply / acknowledge comments online ~
“Shiny” and “New” is pretty fun. Well done Hipchat 🙂
…watch to the end! Thanks Pete
Thanks to my surfing pal Nic for this photo taken from the surfcoast.
Fascinating thinking
I’m really enjoying seeing blockchaintechbroaden people’s thinking about providing services and products in the most effective way possible. This threadtalks through the example of a John Deere tractor.
“[The tractors’] value, including their resale value, is highly dependent on the continued efforts of the manufacturer to keep that software up to date… they are near worthless unless issuer keeps promises they made about future effort.”
It was the “latte” in this Tesla semi post that made me grin.
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Books that you miss upon finishing.
I was entranced and entertained listening to Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.
VR/AR leaders often recommend it to experience one of our possible futures: ultra-simulation (in 2045). The impressive narration by Wil Wheaton often had me chuckling, the detail in the book astounded me and of course it was fun to hear the vast number of (familiar) 1980’s references.
What senses would you extend?Neil Harbisson talks about going from full colourblindness to installing an antenna so he could hear sound. Apparently the cleaning product isle in the supermarket is like a fun nightclub! It’s an uplifting, fascinating, futuristic, 9:35min watch. Actually even the first few minutes is worth it to imagine a new dimension for you.Photo credit: Ted.com
Rolling Stone followed Elon around for months.Here are a few quotes that struck me:
“The world is getting better at a stunning rate“. This report has “evidence of abundance” graphs and insights. Big thanks to Peter Diamandis and his team for showcasing how the world is improving. Here’s to balanced news.
The Websummit opening remarks are a great call for designers, creators, entrepreneurs and technologists to focus on building tech that is useful and fair for society. Included are: Stephen Hawking on AI, Bryan Johnson on HI, a regulator’s view of Facebook and other ultra powerful tech companies.
Great presence
Thanks for the laugh David Roberts (of Innovation and Disruption at Singularity University). Here is his bio: “His fascination with technology began In fourth grade after building a hovering electric drone, to carry his younger sister to the bus stop, powered by what was formerly his mother’s vacuum cleaner, and fortunately limited by the length of an electric power cord.”Have you added humour to yours?
PS. One of the companies and experiences that have most impressed me in the last couple of years is Manly Ocean Adventures. Knowledgeable, exceptional value, and thoughtful, they’re advertising their incredible experiences (with or without whales) as great Christmas gift ideas. If you’re near Sydney or your people are… this could be for you!
PPS. in a previous email I wrote about the Apple Airpods. My update from a month of using them is that I’m still loving the earphones quick change between computer and iPhone and watch phonecall pickup. I am missing the ease of the Jaybirds hanging around my neck. The Airpods are a bit more of a cognitive load for me. They’re fiddly to remember where they are / to put in my pocket when I’m on the move and I sense I’ve a higher risk of losing them. Jaybird X2 Sport were around my neck all the time and I could use one or two earphones and never think about the battery or getting into the practice of taking out one Airpod during a long phonecall to make sure I have enough battery. The tech of the Airpods is beautiful and clever and it’s wonderful they can be used across many bluetooth devices – not just Apple’s. Airpods around the neck!?!
Elon Musk says his massive visions are all about not wanting to feel sad about the future. He suggests people need things in our future to feel excited about (such as the real possibility of a civilisation on Mars). Such simple perspective that’s leading to significant global progress, innovation and inspiration.
“Fundamentally, the future is vastly more exciting and interesting if we are a spacefaring civilisation and a multi-planet species”
“You want to be inspired by things, to wake up in the morning and think that the future is going to be great. And that’s what being a spacefaring civilisation is all about.”
His insights have inspired me across topics from entrepreneurialism to intentional visions to being playful while aiming high – perhaps they will for you too via this easy YouTube playlist. Press play and watch each one.
One of the fascinating things is that Tesla’s mission is about influencing the industry (not just selling cars) and if they fail, they’ll have influenced other car manufacturers to progress their sustainable energy cars.
He recently promoted GM making electric cars:
Elon’s Top 5 Areas for Humanity.
The five areas Elon sees as important to work on now for humanity:
Doing Artificial Intelligence (AI) “in a good way”
Reprogramming genetics – including higher bandwidth to the brain. Whoah.
Self driving cars
Sustainable energy
The Internet
One for the history books!
Since we reuse airplanes, we might as well reuse rockets! Go SpaceX!
Favourite reads & listens
“Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy” by Adam Grant and Sheryl Sandberg is a guide for being a great human, a great friend, to those going through the grief of losing a loved one and tips for people who are directly going through mourning. There were snippets in there about resilience and adversity that could apply to other aspects of life though it was predominantly about Sheryl’s story of her husband unexpectedly dying at 47 years old and how she coped and performed with the help of supportive colleagues at Facebook, friends and family and includes the wisdom that helped. An emotional rollercoaster and a book for life that I recommend. 6 hour listen on Audible.
Melburnians – Dior is here ’til 7 November. The scale of this exhibition at NGV is brilliant as is seeing the House through the years. Worth a couple of hours. If you’ve seen the Dior and I documentary you’ll enjoy the familiarity. I was mesmerised by this Autumn/Winter 2017 show on the big screen:
Ski like a girl talk by Lynsey Dyer. Lynsey started She Jumps which teaches girls and kids to: Find your own magnificence and sense of belonging through: 1. Have a goal 2. Lighten up on yourself 3. Be your own best friend 4. Listen to your intuition 5. Accept all the parts of yourself.
My new airpods are as excellent as people say they are. Effortlessly (so fast) changing and connecting between computer, watch and phone, and comfortable. Ohhhh yeahhh….
Enhancing Human Intelligence (HI) via a chip in your brain. What’s possible? Bryan Johnson provides food for thought and insight.
Just over a week ago Elon Musk announced his Mars plans and (mic dropped) massive airline disruption.
“The goal of these initial missions is to find the best source of water… That’s the first mission. The second mission is to build the propellant plant.”
Who knows what will be discovered through exploring and living on Mars. Going anywhere in the world (at similar costs to current tickets) in under an hour will connect people even more 😄
Elon has said “life needs to be more than just solving every day problems. You need to wake up and be excited about the future”.
Each individual contributes to the whole of humanity. Here’s to his talk inspiring you.
In Australia we’re having a vote on marriage equality so there is lots of conversations about LOVE 😍
I loved (ah, pun intended) seeing a t-shirt yesterday with a simple “Love is Love” across the top.
Simple. Let’s get on with things.
Learning about Blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies – including Bitcoin and Ethers.
I’ve compiled and ordered 25+ easy introductory and more advanced blockchain tech and cryptocurrency links on this page.
It includes a few recent links, such as “How to explain cryptocurrencies and blockchains to your friends and family” podcast and another great couple of introductory YouTube video I spotted last week.
Getting into this topic takes watching and reading so start out with those at the top of the page and find a couple of hours to enjoy learning – perhaps via your phone as you walk along the river?
Designing the future suburb for drones, autonomous vehicles and the changing environment.
For years I’ve been a fan of libraries offering great services and here they go again! Seeing this in Kevin Kelly’s email prompted me to check out Lynda.com at Melbourne City Library and it worked well. Perhaps you can access Lynda courses via your library?”Lynda.com has an excellent collection of training videos for learning programming, design, bitcoin fundamentals, bookkeeping, and much more. Lynda charges a monthly fee, but if you have a library card, the chances are you can become a Lynda member for free.”
Enjoy the great acting in Bladerunner 2049. Spot the zen reminders and beauty in dystopia.”It is less a movie and more of an experience. It feels like an immersion into virtual reality without 3D. The unmusical sound track, slow-pace editing (it runs almost 3 hours!), breathtaking visual details, all deliver a stunning alternative world, with even more persuasion than its famous prequel.” Kevin Kelly
For your CEO and senior leaders
Meet the world’s first Tech Ambassador & Embassy.”The new job will have four key roles: building partnerships; shaping tech companies’ opinions; spotting new trends; and overhauling the Foreign Ministry itself.”
If your leaders haven’t yet gotten Augmented Reality, this may help to see how 3D spaces are being used to get things done via ARKit.
You may be able to guess this photo is me looking across to and imagining myself skiing my favourite Mt Hotham lines. Now that the snow season has ended, I’m transitioning to the surfboard, enjoying the blossoms, being under blue skies, getting caught in the rain, and seeing the kids return to school for Term 4.
What senses would you extend?
PS. One of the companies and experiences that have most impressed me in the last couple of years is 
You may be able to guess this photo is me looking across to and imagining myself skiing my favourite Mt Hotham lines. Now that the snow season has ended, I’m transitioning to the surfboard, enjoying the blossoms, being under blue skies, getting caught in the rain, and seeing the kids return to school for Term 4.