RE:THINK

I still have a lot of session summaries to write up (or perhaps I won’t as it’s pretty easy to find great alternatives to me, such as my new friend,Chel O’Reilly).

But what I will do is try to summarize what this ride has been like.

I first became aware of TED around 5 years ago, a little before they began publishing the TED Talks videos. I’m a big believer in the power of big thinking - whether it’s a desire to change the world, or advance medicine, or solve issues of urban renewal, or rebuild natural environments, or to give great art a place outside the established museums and galleries and concert halls.

Indeed, seeking a place where big, brave thinking - a place of possibility, a place where “no” isn’t an option - has been a significant part of what took me to start acidlabs two years ago this month. For too long I worked at places bound in bureaucracy, in “dumbplexity”, in a mindset where policy and procedure are the only possibility.

I’m just not wired like that. And so it seems, this new family of mine, the TEDsters (or, as was proposed this week, TEDizens) aren’t wired that way either.

This week has been a wild ride. From the lowest lows of the horrors of the war in Afghanistan, the disaster that is the global economy (obviously they didn’t listen to Nassim Nicholas Taleb last year) to the highest, ecstatic heights of hearing Jose Antonio Abreu’s amazing orchestra conducted by Gustavo Dudamel and singing along to Jamie Cullum playing John Lennon’s Imaginewith 1900 others as TED closed.

Back in March, my friend, Stephen Dann wrote of attending his first BarCamp that it was:

“…like coming home to old friends I’ve never met.”

And thus was TED for me.

I met doctors, lawyers, philanthropists, marketers, designers, musicians, artists, baristas (I taught them to make a decent long black), serious hacker geeks (hey,Chris!) and more, all with a common purpose. To think beyond the now, to dream of possibility and reject anger and resignation and to act as individuals and communities in order to make a better world.

There’s a point at the end of TED, where everyone knows it’s over but nobody wants to leave. Many of us simply hung around in the hotel gardens yesterday, continuing our discussions, affirming each others plans and ideas, and sometimes sharing astoundingly intimate details of our personal lives and the things that brought us to TED. Around us, the hotel staff continued to pack down the convention center. You reach a point where you know you have to go back and just breathe out as you enter your room, as we all did (and then we cheated and had dinner together to reignite the buzz).

The infamous post-TED slump is something I will strive to avoid. I will be very deliberate in maintaining contact with some of the new friends I’ve made. I have a swirling mix of vague and crystal clear thoughts about what I need to do when I return home - both in terms of acidlabs and in my life (and there will be changes in both).

I want so much to share this experience with my friends back home, and so I will - over coffee, or dinner or a call. And just maybe, we can have more than 15 Aussies at TED Palm Springs next time.

 

Related articles by Zemanta

• “Imagine” on the iPhone: Needs more cowbell (crunchgear.com)
• The end of TED 2009 (ethanzuckerman.com)

taking viagra woman Cialis Levitra Sale Viagra cheap gerneric viagra
generic viagra levitra and cialis pills Online Games Buy Vitamins Viagra Sale can i take viagra
viagra how it works Viagra Pills For Sale Uk herbal viagra forums;
snorting viagra health Online Sale Viagra viagra patent levitra
viagra anxiety Viagra For Sale In Usa Counter taking viagra woman
cheap gerneric viagra Viagra Uk Sale generic viagra levitra and cialis pills
can i take viagra Sale Of Viagra In Uk viagra how it works
herbal viagra forums; Viagra Pharmacy Online Sale snorting viagra health
viagra patent levitra Viagra For Sale In Usa Stores viagra anxiety

I’ve talked about this issue ad nauseum in the past but it’s reared its head again in this article in the News Limited press (Brisbane’s Courier Mail, to be accurate). So, what am I talking about?

Businesses blocking access to social tools in the workplace. In this case, Facebook gets a mention, but it applies to social networks generally.

I’m firmly of the view that this is a foolish approach by business. For several reasons:

• it assumes staff are going to abuse the privilege of Internet access at work rather than treating them like adults
• it disconnects people from the very thing that makes them people - theirnetworks of other people
• it denies people the opportunity to reach out to peers, clients and customers in the places they might be which very well could be Facebook, or MySpace or LinkedIn or a Ning community, etc.
• it abrogates responsibility for managing staff and imposes kindergarten-level, easily bypassed rules
• it fails to recognise that a smart and workable Acceptable Use Policy for social networks might work better than just blocking or banning
• it’s demoralising, demotivating and belittles the maturity inherent in your people when you treat them well and trust them

There’s more than enough research in existence (just two there from McKinsey, but there are many more) to indicate that allowing access to social networks at work, coupled with a functional and well-considered policy on what is and isn’t okay makes for a more engaged, more motivated and potentially more innovative work force.

The example I use frequently when asked this question is Facebook related. I’d suggest that it’s very okay to use Facebook to stay in contact with industry peer groups at work, but demonstrably not okay to use Facebook to play zombie games or Scrabble at work.

Which would your employer prefer? A happy worker, connected tightly into industry best practice and able to reach out for help when needed, or the proverbial mushroom - in the dark and fed on the crap that isolation produces? I know which I’d prefer if you were my employee.

Not to mention, this blocking argument has been seen before. First it was telephones on desks, then long-distance calls, then PCs, then email, then IM, etc., etc. The issue is no different with social networks.

Social networks are just another tool that have incredible potential to help your business if used in the right way. As such, here are the four things I’d suggest you and your business do today to make sure your staff are empowered to use social tools at work but also understand with crystal clarity what is and isn’t acceptable:

• Start with an acceptable use policy - get everyone’s feedback into it, get it drafted and in place on your intranet so everyone can read it. Make sure that your staff know their acces can be monitored and that there are consequences for repeated abuse of the policy (which may range from a warning to dismissal, depending on the abuse).
• Have an internal social network - of some sort. Ensure people can connect to each other within your organisation so that they build familiarity and expertise with the way social tools work.
• Open the firewall - blocking is both unneccessary and a workplace form of the Nanny State. If you trust your people, leading and managing them well, they will be more likely to trust you in return and also be more likely to feel inclined to follow the policies you introduce.
• Encourage use - not only allow it, but actively encourage your people to connect online (as well as more traditional ways) with each other, their peers and your clients and customers. Opening these channels offers fantastic opportunity to increase inputs to the thinking done in your business, offering an attendant potential for increased innovation

There are no perfect answers to this issue, but I think this offers a decent start.

taking viagra woman Viagra Online Sale Canada cheap gerneric viagra
generic viagra levitra and cialis pills Viagra Sale Online can i take viagra
viagra how it works Viagra For Sale In Eastbay California herbal viagra forums;
snorting viagra health Online Viagra Sale viagra patent levitra
viagra anxiety Sale Viagra taking viagra woman
cheap gerneric viagra Estate Sale Viagra generic viagra levitra and cialis pills
can i take viagra Serotonin Viagra Sale viagra how it works
herbal viagra forums; Viagra Sale Mastercard snorting viagra health
viagra patent levitra Viagra For Sale Without A Prescription viagra anxiety

Being made redundant is pretty popular right now…for corporations.

For those made redundant, this may be quite a difficult time frought with uncertainty and fear.

 

David Runnalls over at Our World 2.0 (The United Nations University website) wrote an article late last year that summarised and highlighted at the same time; the real challenges we face in climate change…

 

Climate change and energy policy are likely to be the most difficult economic issues facing the world in the first few decades of this century.

The most recent report of the Nobel Peace Prize winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) confirms that global warming is taking place and is almost certainly being caused by human activities. The report also urges governments to take immediate action.

Other clarion calls have followed; from the Secretary General of the United Nations, from the EU, from non-governmental organizations and even from US President George Bush, long a holdout against global action on this problem.

Events of the past few months have added urgency to the need for action. The Kyoto Protocol has an article that states that the agreement’s ultimate purpose is to prevent a dangerous accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Efforts continue in the bid to quantify what level of CO2 is dangerous.

For a number of years, it was assumed that 550 parts per million of CO2 in the atmosphere represented an acceptable target for the stabilization of emissions. But that would represent a global average temperature increase of approximately 3 percent, which the IPCC indicates would be very dangerous in terms of species loss and sea level rise.

The European Union has therefore concluded that any concentration that results in an average temperature rise of more than 2° C is dangerous. To come in under that would mean we’d have to stabilize at 450 ppm. This is not an easy target.

Earlier this year, international oil giant Shell issued an update to its energy scenarios. A world leader in developing these views of the future, the company believes that the world will be extremely hard pressed to stabilize at 550 ppm by 2050.

At a recent United Nations University symposium, Dr. James Hanson of NASA, one of the most respected and most courageous climate scientists, has called for a target of 350 ppm or so. And we are already at 380 ppm, with no signs of slowing down. So the need for action is immediate. The actions that we take during the next 5 to 10 years will determine the future of the world’s climate.

The cost of our climate/energy dilemna

If you think that these CO2 numbers are alarming, consider the financial implications of the most recent forecasts from the International Energy Agency. In the past, IEA forecasts have consisted of a relentless upbound growth curve, followed by a matter-of-fact statement that these demands can easily be met with proper investment and energy policies.

However, the most recent IEA report can only be described as alarmist, near panic-stricken. They predict a global need for US$44 trillion in new energy investments by the year 2030 in order to meet their projected demand figures. Most of this investment will occur in Asia and most of that in India and China.

Climate change is looming ever closer and the resources to deal merely with our future energy needs seem enormous and almost unattainable. But there is a way out, if we begin to act now. A study by Lord Nicholas Stern, the former Chief Economist of the World Bank and of the British Government, put the cost of dealing with climate change at approximately 1 percent annually of the world GDP.

This is not an insignificant figure. It is far more than we are presently spending on development aid and its mobilization will not be simple. But consider the alternative. Lord Stern calculates that not taking action could result in a drop of up to 20 percent of global GNP due to the effects of climate change.

A carbon revolution

Further evidence of a light at the end of a tunnel has come recently in a McKinsey Global Institute study. I came across an article on the web that reviewed this study written by Alister Doyle. He explained how the authors estimate that to curb global warming would require a modern “carbon revolution” via a huge bump in the level of economic output for every tonne of greenhouse gases emitted (mainly by burning fossil fuels).

Such a steep improvement in the global carbon productivity rate would require that by 2050, the world produce US$7,300 of gross domestic product (GDP) for every tonne of carbon dioxide emitted, up dramatically from the current US$740.

“Increasing carbon productivity tenfold in less than 50 years will be one of the greatest tests humankind has ever faced. But both history and economics give us confidence it can be done,” the study said.

This confidence is likely due to some good news shared by the study. New technologies, such as better building insulation and cleaner coal generation, are already available and have the potential to reduce the world’s greenhouse gas emissions by 64 percent by 2050. That would mean 20 billion tonnes a year, down from 55 billion in 2008.

The study further reckons that cost-wise, such a “carbon revolution” would be “manageable”, tallying up at 0.6 to 1.4 percent of the global GDP by 2030, figures in line with to those of Lord Stern. To avoid impact on growth, the authors suggest that substantial amounts could be raised by borrowing.

However, they also admit that the pace of change would have to be very brisk. Faster than during the Industrial Revolution. They note that the tenfold boost in labour productivity required is the same size increase that the United States achieved between 1830 and 1955.

Negotiating a way forward

Although it is obvious that climate change is a global problem and that emissions are growing far faster in developing countries than they are in the North, developed countries must take the initiative in cutting their emissions far more rapidly in the 2012-2020 period than they have under the Kyoto Protocol.

The process of reaching agreement at the next climate conference in Copenhagen, or thereafter, will be somewhat familiar to trade negotiators and experts. It will be complex and will involve a whole range of sub-agreements. And there is likely to be no agreement on anything until there is at least some agreement on everything.

It will require that developed countries make more drastic cuts and investments on the order of those envisioned by McKinsey and the International Energy Agency. It will involve huge investments in decarbonising energy production. The final agreement will have to contain specific commitments by the North to invest in a substantial number of carbon capture and sequestration facilities in the South, and particularly in China and India, where coal will remain the principal source of energy for decades.

The recent initiative by the Government of Japan called Cool Earth 2050 could be of some help here in promoting investment in new energy technologies and in energy efficiency. Any future agreement will require investments in measures that help poorer countries adapt to changes in their climates.

It will also involve expenditures by the richer countries to preserve and enhance the carbon sinks of the South, particularly its forests. It is estimated by the IPCC that up to 25 per cent of global emissions result from changes in land use, particularly deforestation. Finally, it will require some concessions by developing countries.

Note: This article is based on a presentation entitled “Climate Change and World Trade: Friends or Foe” made at the G8 Dialogue held at the United Nations University on 3 June 2008.

 

 

taking viagra woman Viagra Non Perscription Deal Sale cheap gerneric viagra
generic viagra levitra and cialis pills Buy Viagra Sale can i take viagra

After a successful first event in Sydney in 2008, RE:THINK is excited to be launching JobCAMP ONE09

If you are out of work, looking for a change, or recognise that you need to make some changes to be more employable, then JobCAMP is for you!

JobCAMP ONE09 is 2 days of practical and inspiring material to ‘get Australia WORKING’ to be held in Sydney in May 2009

The team at RE:THINK have brought together the best qualified and most inspiring presenters and facilitators in the land to “get Australia WORKING“.  JobCAMP ONE09 will be the first in a series of JobCAMP’s covering practical sessions like;

• The Future….what trends and options exist in this NEW World?
• Networking - online, offline and inline to get the best results,
• Getting a job without a resume,
• What are you selling - selling brand YOU.

YOU should attend if you are;

• Looking for work,
• Looking to change careers,
• Needing to improve your ‘employability’,
• Looking to meet new people, and
• Eager to share ideas and experiences…

Who will be there with you;

• People in the same boat!
• Employers,
• Political representatives,
• Media, and 
• The RE:THINK team.

Register and stay tuned as we make some upcoming announcements about special events and competitions like WIN a Job with JobCAMP

REGISTER your interest , so we can keep you informed first hand and help build the excitement for JobCAMP ONE09