This global professional services organization had me on stage in Montreal, Canada, at their annual client tax conference. In the room were senior tax executives for major corporations from around the country. They’re responsible for managing complex tax situations for the multinational corporations for which they work; keeping up to date with a myriad of new global tax laws; ensuring that their organization is in full compliance with a complex world of ever changing regulations. Even so, the CEO’s and senior strategy executives for whom they work are busy with other challenges – often dealing with the realities of business model disruption, fast changing markets, the rapid emergence of new competitors and more. With that, my keynote took a look at the disruptive trends that will change their world in the future!
Archives for September 2019
Daily Inspiration: “Motivation? Give someone the gift of optimism — and make sure to package it with the magic of enthusiasm!”
“Motivation? Give someone the gift of optimism — and make sure to package it with the magic of enthusiasm!” – Futurist Jim Carroll
We lost a good man over the weekend, a tower in the Canadian golf industry, Ian Webb.
Ian was a PGA professional & the Chief Operating Officer of my home club, Credit Valley Golf and Country Club. He succumbed after a short, brief and brutal battle with glioblastoma, a very aggressive form of brain cancer.
Ian well knew the end result of his diagnosis – essentially, there is no recovery. The Canadian golf community and his friends knew the reality
Even so, they rallied around him on social media, in the community, & on the golf course, under the hashtag #Webbystrong . Look it up!
It was a powerful, numbing, inspirational effort, as Ian was given moments of joy, flashes of inspiration, instances of deep love and affection. He knew who his friends were!
Read this article, which a good friend wrote about Ian’s view of the #Webbystrong campaign: “The Late Ian Webb On #WebbyStrong: “For Me And My Family, It’s Been Overwhelming And Incredibly Humbling”
I think everyone knew the gift of optimism was a stretch in this case, but that’s the thing about people who care: they rally! That’s because throughout their lives, at moments good or bad, people need the spirit of support.
The only way – and the best way to do that – is to share with them a sense of relentless optimism. There’s always a potential upside ; there is always a better path. When you share that optimism, yon need to do with all the enthusiasm you can muster.
Even when there isn’t, sadly, as it was in this case. Even so, the Canadian golf community, family, friends and club members shared a small hope of optimism. As evident as it was that the optimism was misplaced, it didn’t matter, beause at the end of the day – and at the end of his life – Ian saw it for what it was – an outpouring of love, support, respect, and unwavering friendship.
R.I.P Ian. You will be missed.
Keynote: Autoglass 2019, Indianapolis, IN: The Future of Automotive and Aftermarket Repair
What do you do in the automotive repair industry if you fix cars – and people are no longer buying cars? What happens when the windshields that you are replacing become highly intelligent devices with LIDAR, radar, sensors and cameras, and become technological wonders. What becomes of your future when that very windshield technology becomes a solar generating source, feeding energy directly into your electric cars battery? These are a few of the issues I took on in my keynote. Did it work? One leading industry executive spoke to me after and noted, “this was the most realistic, most inspirational talk this industry has ever had!”
Pre-Keynote Video: A Sneak Peak of My Topic strong>
Video: Innovation? Think Like a Farmer!
Daily Inspiration: “It’s often better to know what you don’t know than to know what you know…”
“It’s often better to know what you don’t know than to know what you know – because that will be the inspiration for your action!” – Futurist Jim Carroll
As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss.
It’s also a powerful motivator if you treat it the right way.
Too much insight is often the source of much complacency : once you are convinced you know exactly what is going on, you become too comfortable, routine oriented, trapped in the regularity of your actions.
Sometimes, it’s better that you live a life of instability and volatility, where you don’t know what lies around the corner, because that will help to ensure that you are on guard, curious, exploring, questioning.
You always need just a little bit of an edge in your persona to help you to continue to discover what’s next. It can be more important to gain and gather new knowledge than to continue to rely on old knowledge.
That’s why, instead of focusing on what you know, you should concentrate on what you don’t know!
It will also spur you to action – because once you voyage into the land of the unknown, you will be pushed to act!
And if you follow me online, you will know that one of my key innovation attitudes is this: indecision is at the root of all failure!
Upcoming Keynote: The Acceleration of Risk!
Next week, I will be the leadership speaker at NSC 2019 National Congress and Expo in San Diego. Put on by the National Safety Council, it is by far the largest safety oriented conference in the world. This is an absolutely massive event – over 10,000+ people from 60+ countries, all involved in managing workplace risk.
What’s my focus? It’s the era of accelerated risk – new risk, faster risk, more complex risk, particularly in the workplace. With that it mind, here’s the teaser videos I put together for the industry to get them thinking!
New workplace risk issues are multiplying quickly! Here’s another long sneak peak….
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