Flick the channel: There are adventures beyond 50

“As you get older, there is no more time to be careful, and no more REASON to be careful. If you’re not dead, you’re not done.”

So says the 73-year old mum of NY Times best-selling author Elizabeth Gilbert; lamenting that from 50-60 her peers began shutting down, making their lives smaller, and their minds smaller,  in a post she shared on Facebook. I urge you to read it.

I’m proud to share with you Elizabeth, and your mum: My dreams aren’t shrinking just because I have hit the 50s.

I remember sitting at a lunch with an ex colleague in Sydney just over 12 months ago talking about letting go of my successful corporate career because I was bored, under-challenged and wanted better for myself, when she gave me this advice: “Don’t be stupid and risk it all. Sit it out for another 10 years, collect the fat pay cheque.”

Phew!…I know it was heartfelt concern for my wellbeing and best interests. It makes perfect financial sense, especially since I had to rebuild EVERYTHING at the age of 39 when I divorced and had to single-handedly raise two small children.  But I’ve done OK, and in my value system, money is just one ingredient that makes a life whole. So ironically, that was THE EXACT TRIGGER that absolutely sealed it for me….NEVER could I let my courage, creativity and spirit go to hell on auto-pilot for the sake of financial security.

I used to work under the title “Catalyst for magic” – because I believe in the infinite capacity of human beings to create magic, something machines or computers cannot do. And to me, the biggest waste in this world is the waste of human potential.

So how could I waste my own?

So here I am: I closed that chapter of my corporate career ( in a planned and thoughtful manner without burning bridges and with a succession plan in place), sold my house, and on 1 February, took a bold leap and moved to make a brand-new start of it in old New York – a life-long goal to work in the city that never sleeps and climb to the top of the heap!

And whilst at this exact moment things are still fluid and wobbly as I try and attach myself to something that I can grow onto, and I struggle with bouts of doubt and the occasional tears when I feel alone and overwhelmed by the complexity of renting an apartment, navigating visas or re-casting my 30 year career onto a single page for the 6 second attention span of recruiters, I have an unwaivering confidence that in the long run, a smart decision-maker, entrepreneur or co-creating collaborator will be excited about the experience, creativity, passion, energy and infinite potential I can offer, and an investment in me or with me will deliver returns in multiples, and everyone will win.

Most of all my soul.

And this in itself will be the greatest example I can leave for my daughters, because their careers will be a rollercoaster ride of always staying one step ahead of the robots!

Lack of engagement = lack of an entrepreneurial culture = lack of engagement

The world’s large traditional corporations are stagnant and paralysed by a lack of innovation and renewal. Management gurus scream how the “lack of engagement among employees is at epidemic levels” and costing millions in productivity and gazillions more in lost potential.

Talented, creative people are emotionally checked-out, their ideas unheard or ignored, their passion burnt, their experience a costly liability, their optimism traded for cynicism, or worse…indifference.

Because of the lack of internal innovation and rapid growth among large incumbent publicly listed companies, few can offer career pivots or stretch-opportunities for employees at any age, but its even rarer for those over the age of 45. So  that means that for a further 22 years till you retire at age 67, the goals of this age group are stillborn if they remain at the same company – that’s an entire generation of waste!

What is worse is that the lack of engagement and movement among experienced workers has an exponential impact on young people. They can’t go anywhere if senior people ain’t going anywhere, and their “fresh eyes” and ideas quickly hit the wall of disengaged incumbents, and so the vicious cycle continues…

The reasons are admittedly complex, and the system is horribly broken, but as an individual, you have very little control over all of that. What you DO have control over is how you respond, how you re-invent yourself and the decisions you make about staying on and sipping the pink champagne at that Hotel California, or checking out while you can.

Just don’t believe you have no choices, and don’t allow yourself to become small. I suggest just flick to another  channel – you might catch the hazy cosmic jive calling you, perhaps even a glimpse…there IS a starman waiting in the sky.

Don’t be afraid to blow your mind…

Image credits: Imgur, via http://brightside.me/article/100-best-photographs-without-photoshop-46555/?image=211805

 

There’s more than one “P” that matters

Some 6 weeks ago, I moved to the USA to pursue my passion to make a difference on a larger scale than my work in Australia enabled. The Amplify Festival that I founded in 2005 and produced as Director of Innovation for AMP for the past 10 years had let a genie out the bottle that just wont go back in. That genie is an obsession with anticipating the future, thinking through the implications of change across systems, and then taking action to reconcile the enduring needs of human beings with technologies that pervade and disrupt many aspects of our lives.

See, while I am a technologist and an innovator, I am a human being and a humanist first. To me, the purpose of  innovation is to improve the quality of life and standard of living for all human beings, whilst taking care of the only habitat we have. In this, I am 100% aligned to the thinking of one of the world’s great innovators and system-thinkers, Buckminster Fuller, who said:

“Make the world work for 100% of Humanity”

For me, the P as in People and the P as in Planet should not be sub-ordinate but rather super-ordinate to the P as in Profit. If we can run our organisations where profit is never pursued at the expense of planet and people but rather in service of, that is a noble purpose to which all of us in business should hold ourselves to account.

Much as my life’s work is the pursuit of innovation, yet every innovation holds within it the seeds of creative destruction. Much of today’s technological advances carry the potential to create tremendous harm to social systems. Unless we match the investment of time and money in technological innovation with the investment of time and money in social innovation, we will inherit a world where humans have less purpose and relevance than machines and a planet not fit to sustain us. And that is not a future I relish.

So, I am on a mission to enlarge the corporate innovation conversation beyond the technical, the product, the business model… and that is what brought me to the US. It started with my participation in the Aspen Institute’s Business and Society Programme in 2011-2012, and ongoing research into all things concerned with The Future of Work for Amplify, and my frustration at how difficult it was to find innovators with answers for new challenges arising from the digital work revolution.

I looked at reports like these produced year after year by expensive consultants and found nothing transformational  or innovative in either the thinking behind the design of the questions nor the answers gathered and published. So, I had to do my own search.

Along the way I discovered an organisation co-founded by Vint Cerf, Internet Evangelist for Google, and David Nordfors: Innovation for Jobs ( i4j).  Their purpose is to seed thinking and fund  innovations that create and amplify opportunities that help people to earn a living and connect with opportunities beyond the traditional employment model.

In January 2016, I participated in the i4J Summit on Eco-systems in Silicon Valley to scratch our heads together on how to disrupt unemployment and create meaningful work for everyone. Whilst it was probably the smartest 100 people I had ever found myself amidst, I had a shocking realisation that none of us in that room had  experience of long-term unemployment and systemic helplessness through personal, lived experience.

But at least there was a heartfelt recognition of the problem of potential human obsolescence, and a willingness to invest time, money and emotional capital to find breakthroughs that recognise man’s search for meaning as core to the human condition.

This stands in contrast to some who see a Universal Basic Income (UBI), or sit-down money as Australian Aboriginal leader Noel Pearson called it, as the answer for the masses who will become displaced by the  fortunate few. In his hard-hitting article “Silicon Valley’s unchecked arrogance”, Venture Capitalist Ross Baird acknowledges that it’s a concept worth exploring but challenges us:

It seems like noblesse oblige for Silicon Valley to throw coins at the 90% of the population that will no longer have a job, thanks to their inventions. But the reality is most people don’t want just a universal basic income.

At the 2016 meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of WEF, released his Global Challenge Insight Report: “The Future of Jobs- Employment, Skills and Workforce Strategy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”  It is a short and a shocking read ( free on Kindle) with well-researched facts presented calmly and clearly by a fine economist, but I doubt that any C-Suite executive I know read it, or even knows of its existence, let alone reference it as part of strategic future thinking and planning. In his speech, Schwab cautioned:

 Today’s decision-makers, however, are too often trapped in traditional, linear thinking, or too absorbed by the multiple crises demanding their attention, to think strategically about the forces of disruption and innovation shaping our future.

His concluding remarks say it far more powerfully than I can:

We need to shape a future that works for all of us by putting people first and empowering them. In its most pessimistic, dehumanized form, the Fourth Industrial Revolution may indeed have the potential to “robotize” humanity and thus to deprive us of our heart and soul. But as a complement to the best parts of human nature—creativity, empathy, stewardship—it can also lift humanity into a new collective and moral consciousness based on a shared sense of destiny. It is incumbent on us all to make sure the latter prevails. (Refer Source)

In my next post, I am going to inspire you with stories from visits, field trips and meetings here in the USA and in Europe of leaders who are embracing what Schwab is talking about and beginning to swop Plan A, which is no longer working, with Plan B.  I will share with you insights from visits to Google, VM Ware, Virgin Unite, Unilever, Toyota and BlackRock.

Come join me- and let me know what questions you have!

 

From Amplify for one to amplifier for many

The Amplify 2015 wins the Dream Team award at AMP’s 2015 iStar Innovation Awards function.

More than 55 nominees for the AMP annual iStar innovation awards.

Part of the Amplify Dream team Core and part-time helpers. LTR Andrew Sweeney, Annalie Killian, Ryan Tracey (back), Gina Francis, Victoria Pretty, Tanaz Pochkhanawalla, Lou Pagano, Mark Levy. ( Absent: Reuben Young, Danielle Miller, Elise Williams, Gerard Scott, Scott Dawson, David Tomlinson, Sandy Wright, Mary Gillespie, Eve Douglas, Robert Lutze and many more volunteers)

Just over 15 years ago, I stumbled into an unlikely scenario that would unfold into a unique opportunity and shape the leader I would become.

As a new migrant to Australia ( and a pretty rough start that I won’t elaborate on), I seized an opportunity to build a new life. I joined what was then a very conservative financial services company, and chose to be the change I wanted to see: to champion the opportunities for value creation that new technology was driving; catalyse the special magic of human creativity, and to make a difference to customers, business results and personal lives through bringing fresh eyes and ideas to innovate.

In the process, a career-defining legacy and global brand in business innovation and learning would emerge: The Amplify Festival for Innovation and Thought Leadership.

On 31 December this year, one month from now, I will be applying the mantra I’ve been sharing consistently through every Amplify Festival and Talk; every Leaders Forum designed; every person coached or mentored; and every keynote given since the day I was asked to champion a culture of innovation at AMP.

And that is:

The only way to remain valuable and relevant is to keep learning, growing and creating.

So I am deliberately trading the safe comfort zone of my corporate job to create space for something new. Disrupting predictability, security and certainty to plant my flag of passion, purpose and personal reinvention on a new planet: The Planet of Possibility.

I want to learn more, grow in different ways and create new value for a broader customer base and to amplify Amplify for new clients into new geographies. ( Hit me up if you want some of that awesome magic! The kids have finished school and I’m footloose and free to work anywhere.)

It may seem ironic that just today my team and I was awarded the ‘Dream Team’ Award for the contribution that Amplify has made to innovation at AMP, at a time when no less than two of our business rivals are  copying the Amplify model to transform organisational learning, and a week after sharing the origins of Amplify and its impact on culture and eco-systems at KM Asia in Hong Kong.

But the truth is..a dream team is in place! Magic has been catalysed! The music will go on.

Innovation and transformation has taken root in a systemic way. Its significance and value is not only championed by the board, CEO and executive leaders but matched by real passion for customers and fundamental change in the way things are done at every level of the organisation. ( Even the hackfests I first introduced in 2007 are now happening the first Friday of every month!)

Of course, its never a single thing or person that brings about such deep change – it’s the powerful and cumulative effect of a good leadership team and thousands of catalytic triggers; many from ideas seeded along the way by the more than 300 Amplify speakers and thought leaders that shared their vision and wisdom with our community which has grown into the tens of thousands since 2005.

So, for all who have been part of my journey as Catalyst for Magic at AMP, thank you for believing- and even if you didn’t, for feeling the fear and doing it anyway! (A special tribute to my immediate team who has come with me to places they’d never thought they’d go!)

Thanks to our Amplify thought leaders who’ve covered millions of miles between them to share the very edge of knowledge and personal experiences that not only inspired AMP, but an entire business ec0-system. Your names are still referenced on a daily basis years after your visits!

Thanks to the CIOs ( Lee Barnett and Craig Ryman) for the extraordinary creative latitude and air cover you’ve provided for this ill-fitting maverick, and the investments you’ve made in Amplify to set a standard for creativity and organisational learning that’s the envy of the industry and documented in more than 10 international case studies and business books.

Thanks to the AMP Board and Leadership team that demonstrated so publicly that learning is part of work and the growth mindset essential to an innovation culture by sitting shoulder to shoulder with employees, customers, partners, suppliers and members of the public in every Amplify forum.

And thank you to the dream teams (over the years they changed) – fired by their passion to make a difference, have an impact, and working way beyond the call of duty to co-create something epic and life-changing; and becoming changed themselves through the process.

I can best summarise what it’s been like through the words of one of my heroes, Sally Hogshead.

‘The world is not changed by people who sort of care. 

The world is changed by people who passionately, relentlessly care– sometimes, unreasonably so. People with the focus and excitement to bound through the Iditarod of obstacles that invariably blocks the path between “no” and “yes.”

Thank y’all!

In future, please reach me with messages here, or

on LinkedIn at https://au.linkedin.com/in/annaliekillian

or Twitter at @Maverickwoman

 

 

Life in the clouds…livin’ the dream

Most of you who know me might think the reference to the Cloud is about the innovation potential of virtual infrastructure and exponential technologies.

But today, I am writing about the infinite beauty and exponential potential that living close to nature…ie in the real clouds, next to water, with a landscape that changes in seconds from beautiful one minute to gobsmacking the next, from calm to crazy, from sunrise to sunset and throughout the night, can have on one’s life and creative consciousness.

On a clear day you can see right through the Heads of Sydney Harbour to Santiago!

This place has been my home for the last 10 years. Probably the 10 happiest and most creative years of my life….so far.

And that is not to diminish the creativity I enjoyed whilst living in rural Zululand in Africa from 1984-1998. But this was a very different kind of experience .

Connection

Feng Shui guidelines suggest that this location is very auspicious….and for me it has co-incided with a time of spiritual and financial healing, family stability, career success, personal happiness – but always a sanctuary despite a very busy life. In my heart, I always believed my direct view over the Heads of Sydney Harbour opened me up and connected me through the vast Pacific ocean to the wide world beyond- something that has always mattered immensely to me- this yearning for connection to something bigger . I am also told that studies prove the mental benefits of nature; living in an environment close to water, trees or mountains. I feel I have lucked-out with a trifecta even though I am just at the top of one of Sydney’s steepest hills- not quite a mountain.

Vision

The other thing about this magnificent space that really supported my work as an edge-dweller and visionary, whose work is to look to the horizon and beyond to anticipate what might lie ahead, was the 270 degree views I enjoy everyday, with the sound of the waves kissing the Balmoral sand with a smack!

In business, change can build slowly or it can overtake you faster than you can imagine….and Mother Nature and her forces are viscerally experienced in this space like no other place I have ever lived. Don’t ever think you have enough time to run out and gather the washing or the kitty litter tray without getting caught in an invigorating gasp of a cold front or pelting rain. And then, just when you think you’ve seen it all, out comes the most spectacular rainbow to delight you afresh!

I can safely say that I have taken more photos of the sunrise, sunset, moonrise and Sydney to Hobart race from my deck than all the selfies the Kardashian sisters must have taken since the invention of the smart phone. And still I am surprised by the changing landscapes of each day.

Practicality

Now you may be thinking that all these gorgeous views may not have an ROI in practicality. Let me reveal the very practical considerations that made this my best-ever investment:

1. A built-in gym:

For the record: I am an overweight and mostly unfit 54 year old female executive, overworked-sole parent, single breadwinner and couch potato intellectual. And, I have been climbing the stairway to my personal piece of heaven daily for 10 years…..and not once have I found it a drama. NOT ONCE! Au contraire, it’s been a BONUS!

I accept that some people may regard stairs as a detractor, but from the outset I saw it as one of the strongest plus points to buy this place given my sedentary life!!!

Fact: The average office worker does only 3000-5000 steps a day (As a busy executive whose work life involves sitting…driving to work, emails, meetings, more emails, more meetings then driving home after 10 hours of sitting, Fitbit says I average only 4000 steps a day) vs the required 10000 steps a day to maintain health and just basic fitness!

Here’s why I embrace stairs as an integral part of my day and you should think of stairs in your day literally as God’s Gift!

All forms of exercise have similar benefits but stair-climbing has very particular advantages for those leading busy lives. By avoiding lifts and elevators, you make a SIGNIFICANT difference to your health over time. Here are the facts:

Scientific and medical benefits

• Improved cardiovascular fitness, a stronger musculoskeletal system and reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, some cancers, obesity and type 2 diabetes
• Promotion of weight loss and muscle tone ( I’m yet to meat anyone who’d rather be fat and flabby!) )
• Stair climbing requires 8-9 times more energy expenditure than sitting and about 7 times more energy than taking a lift
• You burn about 0.15 calories for every step you climb, so you burn roughly a calorie for every 10 upward steps
• You also burn calories going down. Every stair descended burns about 0.05 calories, so you burn 1 calorie for every 20 steps down
• Just 7 minutes stair climbing a day has been estimated to more than half the risk of a heart attack over 10 years
• Two minutes additional stair climbing a day is enough to prevent average middle age weight gain
• Climbing 20 floors a week (just four a working day) is associated with a 20% lower risk of all-cause mortality. The heavier you are ( Thats me and I’m 54 years old!) the more calories you burn when stair climbing

Lifestyle, cost and time-saving benefits

• It is seamless to weave stair-climbing into your daily life and make it an unconscious exercise routine ( the best kind!)
• It does not require membership,m credit card, special skills, training or sporting prowess
• You don’t need to get dressed up in Lycra and worry about embarrassing yourself in front of others
• It makes use of the world around you and resembles the way sophisticated Europeans live
• It saves you time – up to 15 minutes a day – as taking the stairs is almost always quicker up to about five floors AND you dat have to find non-existent time to go to a stupid stinky sweaty gym

2. Go hipster and save the planet and your capital

With level walking access to boutique designer shops, Sydney’s finest fresh fruit and veg, European delicatessens, sports fields, restaurants of every culture under the sun and the best public schools in Sydney ( Mosman Primary School and Mosman High School) and if you must, a 500 metre stroll to Queenwood or bus-stop practically at the door to deliver you and or your offspring via bus to anywhere in Sydney, you could have it all….the career and the kids! Raising 2 teenagers as a sole parent and bread-winner- this convenience and latitude has made it possible!

And if you want to be really cool and live sustainably- you won’t even need a car. Go-Get cars have a permanent spot on the next block and Uber covers the area with never more than a 5 minute pick-up even at midnight!

3. Safety in numbers

I know Sydney is a safe city….but given my South African genes, I have just never been comfortable leaving my kids alone in a house while I was at work, or often travelling for work…many times internationally. If you have EVER worried about the safety and security of a loved one, there is NO better solution than living in a small ( not large!) apartment block where every neighbour is someone you know and someone who gives a damn.

I can vouch for it: 12 is a perfect number. Not too big to be anonymous, and small enough to be intimate and personal – with great sound-proofing and privacy! It’s up to you to decide how close or detached you want to live. For me, the community became a source of safety and security because I could ALWAYS count on every one of them as a back-up in case of emergency. I’ve only needed it once in 10 years- when my 14 year old daughter was run over by a car whilst cycling on Military Road and my neighbour took care of my younger daughter ( 9 at the time) while I rushed to the hospital. And a few other non-life-threatening times when my neighbours offered to feed my cats when we were away a few days. Bless them. And I in turn took care of someone’s plants another time – that’s how we roll….we’re a community!

Change

Back to the poetic! It is this ever-changing landscape that has also communicated to me the need for change when things are not constantly evolving and growing in my life and career. And, to nudge The Universe and explode my own life into a different dimension and orbit, I have decided to move on from this paradise when my youngest daughter finishes school at Mosman High in a few weeks. Viva, the eldest is moving to Berlin in January, and Iola is taking a gap year travelling through Europe. So instead of sitting still in my comfort zone all by myself, I too have decided to go seek adventure. After all, 50 is the new 40 so I can have my naughty forties all over again.

Selling “The Dream”

I will be selling this slice of heaven to a very lucky person who I know will find infinite pleasure from his/ her decision to live here. If anything like me- it was love at first sight. Once I got up here and saw this view, it could not be “unseen”….and every other property I compared to this one simply couldn’t hold a candle to it. I HAD TO HAVE IT and it nearly killed me in the beginning….but so worth every cent!

I hope my Balmoral Castle will pass into the hands of someone who deserves to be happy, and who will apply the creative inspiration that this place will imbue him/ her with to great effect for the betterment of mankind, and who will be generous in sharing this place with friends and family so the magic can touch everyone!

For more information on the sale of the property, or to arrange a site visit, please contact the lovely Jonathan de Brennan at Century21 Mosman via http://www.realestate.com.au/property-apartment-nsw-mosman-120970726.

And should you know someone who might be looking- please feel free to pass it forward. The good karma may travel along the network!

How $13,125 million was spent on nothing in Sydney today.

Auction 44 Landers St, Darlington, Sydney 15 Feb 2014

In case you missed my  news: I’ve been looking to buy a basic property to help my daughter who is going to the University of Sydney, set up a “student digs” to avoid paying $12000-$14500 a year in rent for a pokey room in someone else’s dump.

The property that I went to bid on this morning after spending $1000 on a professional valuation, building and pest inspection, conveyance lawyer to review contract, and pre-approval of finance was sold at $1.4 million. It was a run-down dump at 44 Lander Street Darlington, with termite infestations, and hadn’t seen a decent clean in 47 years, but we were prepared to take it on and clean it up a bit and make it available to other students at an affordable price. My valuator valued the land at $1 million and the house at $80 000, and give or take $20 000, that was what I was prepared to pay.

Well, I never even got to open my mouth at the auction. When I realised that more than 100 parties had registered to bid I knew I this was going to get crazy. The opening bid was $910 000. One guy who looked like he might have been a builder quickly went up to $1.2 million, then bailed out when a Chinese bidder started adding increments in $25 000 till it got to $1.3 million. From there another Chinese bidder entered the race, and whatever the former bid, he would say: Plus $1000. This went on and on to amusement of the 200-300 strong crowd. The late-comer was going to keep adding $1000 to whatever his opponent offered till he got it! And he got it at $1.4 million.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, 86% of all sales in Sydney last year were conducted by Public Auction. There were 700 auctions in Sydney today, 15 February. So, I’m wondering….

Let’s be conservative and say an average of 25 bidders register per auction. Each would have spent upwards of $750 on contract reviews by a conveyancer, a building and pest inspection report, valuations etc in doing their pre-auction homework.

THAT’s A WHOPPING $13,125 million dollars spent without getting anything back but disappointment and disillusionment.

And you have to do that all over again for the next house you chase, and the next, and the next!  You could be out of pocket by thousands on useless pieces of electronic paper before you ever buy, all eating into your available capital.

Next weekend 22 Feb, there will be 735 auctions in Sydney- ….that’ll be another $13,781 million pissed into the wind!

Below are some comments via my Facebook update. What have you experienced in buying a property? Any ideas on how to make it better? Any advice? 
Like · · Share · 11 hours ago near Sydney ·
Brendan O’Keefe, Caronne Carruthers-Taylor, Kathryn Ananda and 7 others like this.

Neerav Bhatt Cheer up. Hopefully this mass delusion about property values will end eventually and those sitting on the sidelines will be able to buy in without spending the illogical amounts currently being bid. Until then my plan is to rent
11 hours ago · Like · 1

Michael Nelson One of the best argument I have seen for fixing the broken real estate market. Too many people making too much money by restricting information flows.
10 hours ago · Like · 2

Michael Nelson You forgot to calculate the value of the time of the people at the auctions. (I count value my time on weekends at twice the usual rate.)
10 hours ago · Like · 3

Rachel Lim Oh my god! I know the house you went for auction today. It’s just a couple of street away from me. The prices are going so crazy!!! Might pay buying before auction.
10 hours ago · Like

Ash Donaldson For about 8 months I felt your pain Annelie.
It’s a crappy system for buyers here in Sydney. Worse when there are only 2 bidders left and you’re both making the property more expensive for each other.
All the auctions we went to (around Manly) before…See More
9 hours ago · Like

Debbie Kilian There’s a reason behind it. Wait, you”ll see xxx
8 hours ago · Unlike · 3

John Hagel So sorry to hear about this, but having spent 18 months in a similar situation in the SF Bay area, I can say that in the end you will hopefully find something that was worth waiting for . . .
6 hours ago · Like · 3

Simon Coultas Ouch.sorry for you Annalie. But at least your system is somewhat more transparent than here in Singapore
4 hours ago · Like

Simon Coultas Have a chat with my son in law – real estate is his hobby and hes done pretty well buying well
4 hours ago · Like

Arturo Pelayo Aréchiga Annalie- this happens a lot in Auckland too! A father of three wrote an OpEd in the local paper sharing the same disappointment- that they there was a bid for 5 homes in a neighborhood and a single agent that represented a wealthy Chinese investor had $3M “for the weekend” investments. The investor never saw the homes or anything. At the end of the day, he bought all 5 homes outbidding everyone.
3 hours ago · Like

Tony Hollingsworth It must be timing as just over a year ago ( Nov 2012), we put our property to auction, had little to no interest, withdrew from the market just prior and that was that. Now we’re told prices are up 20+%!
2 hours ago · Like

Kathryn Ananda Inflated markets. Severely broken systems. Inflated disparities… and buildings sitting empty to support the negative gearing tax losses of investors while others are denied access. Money begets more money. Looking forward to shifts in ownership model…See More
about an hour ago · Like

Craig Banning Agree Annalie the process of buying property needs to be reviewed keep your chin up!
about an hour ago · Unlike · 1

Oliver Weidlich We’re going through the same pain at the moment
about an hour ago · Like · 1

Christian Lafrance I can feel the pain. Also sounds like an opportunity for collaborative consumption to me. Wondering what’s stopping buyers from sharing the cost if these reports (apart from the ones who make a living on these reports)
58 minutes ago · Like

Ash Donaldson For a free way to get a pretty good ballpark estimation, use OnTheHouse.com.au
27 minutes ago · Like

Caronne Carruthers-Taylor We’ll be looking soon too & will be sharing your & Oliver Weidlich’s pain
17 minutes ago · Like

Matthew Shaw The laws should be changed and all vendors provide a licensed report for the sale. That would show up a lot more problems and keep the prices real because I know a few people who’ve not bothered with those reports and just bought places they walked into the day of the auction. Either that or sleep with a real estate agent lol
12 minutes ago · Like

Annalie Killian Update for the record: I did manage to obtain a “reduced cost” of the Building and Pest report at $330 because it was an exact duplicate of the report that the first person requested and they paid the full price of $440. But the solicitor was a furthe…See More
A few seconds ago · Like

I’m Back!

Back in OZ!

I just spent 13 weeks travelling through 20 cities on 3 continents researching the biggest innovation opportunity facing half of the world: The Aging population and how we might live with an extra 25-35 years added to our lifespan”,

and….I’m back on a blog again!

After the Posterous blogging platform croaked beginning 2013, I was faffing around all last year trying to work out if I should buy my own domain (I did), design a bespoke site ( I even spent money on designs, briefs, virtual assistants etc but it all became just too complicated. I am too time-poor to devote a lot of time to learning code and trying to configure so-called easy stuff!) The end-result was I did nothing and a year went by.

Luckily, fate intervened in the form of bronchitis and enforced bed-rest for the next 3 days. So, for some reason, today became the day that I found out how to import my past posterous blog back into this WordPress blog that I started and then deserted for flashier but short-lived toys, way back in 2010.

A great design feature of WordPress is it now offers goals and reminders to help train you through baby steps and tiny habits into regular postings!

I’m aiming for no more than a post a week of my own authentic thoughts, but I have found a little micro-bloggie thingie called Meddler where you can quickly embellish stuff that struck you with a personal comments and share it.

Nice to be back…now, to build an audience from scratch again!

Career as your personal business model

I had a blast being the opening speaker for the launch of WITI (Women in Technology International) in Australia last Thursday night in Sydney, and have already made a heap of new friends as a result. 

My topic was “Future-proof yourself”…but really I didnt address that whole topic, only the “Future-proofing your career” part. Future-proofing yourself would mean replacing ageing body parts with mechanical bits, eating a low-fat low-carb diet zero-alcohol diet, and maybe downloading your brain onto the internet regularly – and I am not quite ready to swop champagne interspersed with marathons of stress and creativity for becoming Mrs Methusaleh and living till I’m 600- my pension wont last! 

Several people requested the slides…here they are: 

Thanks for the lovely comments and follow-up emails and phone calls- seems the talk catalysed a great deal of reflection! Magic!

Anyone who wants to stay in touch with disruptive technologies, emerging issues and trends and the cutting edge of business innovation can subscribe to the Amplify Festival website to hear about the awesome thought leaders that we offer every month. Upcoming events in Sydney are: 

19 Sept: “Transforming business from the inside out” with Cindy Gallop (NYC) and Maria Ogneva (SFO)

26 October: “Organisations don’t tweet, people do!” with Enterprise Social Media Strategist and communication coach, Euan Semple

31 October: “How to think like Leonardo da Vinci” with international creativty supercoach, Michael J Gelb

For Melbournians, you can catch a session on 

27 October: Digital innovation in Emerging Economies with Madanmohan Rao

Have a good week!

Corporate Cultures: From Hierarchy to Empowerment: My talk at Next Bank Asia Singapore

Seems that blogging is a great way to procrastinate.  About the only time I update this blog is when I am prepping for a speech! Tomorrow, I’m speaking to a group of Hillross’ top 20 Financial Advisors on “How to thrive in the Digital Age”, and how hyperconnectivity transforms people’s behaviour and needs, including their material and social needs. And here I am blogging…mostly because I just received the photo above from Next Bank Asia team where I spoke in Singapore earler this year.

And then next week, at the launch of Women In Technology International (WITI) network in Australia, organised by the wonderful Bronwyn Edwards and sponsored by IBM. Man or woman, and interested in the way technology shapes or sinks careers?

My talk will be on “Futureproofing yourself”. 

Over drinks and refreshments at IBM’s St Leonard’s Centre, you will meet great women and men who share a passion for technology – it will be an inspirational and fun evening, and this launch event has no entry fee!

Founded in 1989, WITI is the premiere global organization which aims to empower women in business and technology to achieve unimagined possibilities and transformation through technology, leadership and economic prosperity. WITI was founded in 1989 to help women advance by providing access to and support from other professional women working in all sectors of technology.

To book: http://www.witi.com/sydney/meeting.php?id=2706

See you there! Now, best get back to speech writing!

Finding my voice

Apparently the answer to “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?”  is “Practice, baby….practice!” 

Well, I must be well on my way because I am getting good practice giving talks and speaking to interesting audiences all over the global village about my passion and interests, being:

Cultivating creative skills, personal expression and innovative eco-systems that create both business value as well as personal fulfilment.

Last month, I was in New York for my Aspen Institute Fellowship and had to do a short pitch about the Business/Social Innovation project I am working on to my fellow Aspen First Mover mates and at the New York offices of the design gurus, IDEO. My so-called New York debut! ;-))) 

On 3 May, I spoke at the sexy Next Bank Asia Conference in Singapore, hosted at the lovely new Red Dot Design Museum on Innovative Cultures of the Future, and last week at the CeBIT Social Enterprise Conference in Sydney, I discussed similar themes from the perspective of Social Enterprise transformation as an enabler for a Culture of Innovation, Collaboration and Creativity. I am sharing that slide deck here as a few folks have asked for it. 

 

Today, I had a lot of fun with a talk titled: Shift happened: What now? at The Thinking Women’s Network- a small group of senior executive women and board members hosted, by the lovely Lee-Anne Carson at the Australian Institute of Management. This talk was about:

How to cultivate our FQ- Future Intelligence Quotient – anticipatory thinking and making intelligent decisions in the present that will ensure value over the LONG term ( kind of the anti-dote to short-termism).

In this talk, I explored the forces that have shifted the entire world order,and what the implications are for organisation structure, nature of work and skill sets the future demands.

I didn’t use a slide deck but I have posted my speaking notes here. 

I am speaking at the following events in June/ July

• 8 June at Google to a group of ex-agency Customer Centred Designers from companies like IDEO, Wall Street Journal, Nokia, BT Financial. My topic is awesomeness- so I think I might talk about the Aspen Institute Fellows and their amazing projects!
• 14 June at “Inside the minds of the Entrepreneurs” hosted by HubMelbourne, 
• 24 June at KPMG
• 29 June at The Powerhouse Museum’s Fastbreak 
• 26 July, at UTS ENGAGE on Productivity: Future Services and Industries

The more you practice, the better you get….and I am only about 1000 hours into mastery…only 9000 hours to go then hopefully I’d be as good as Dan Pink and Sir Ken Robinson …. so if you’re interested in me speaking to a group of people you are trying to influence around corporate culture, innovation, creativity, collaboration…why dont you drop me a note?

 

 

How’s your digital diet? Empty Calories or selective?

Further to the arguments I proffered in my TED X Melbourne talk and my dangerous idea of the Paradox of Ubiquitous Connectivity…..you may want to read this new book: “The Information Diet” by Clay A Johnson!

 

Synopsis:

The modern human animal spends upwards of 11 hours out of every 24 in a state of constant consumption. Not eating, but gorging on information ceaselessly spewed from the screens and speakers we hold dear. Just as we have grown morbidly obese on sugar, fat, and flour—so, too, have we become gluttons for texts, instant messages, emails, RSS feeds, downloads, videos, status updates, and tweets.

We’re all battling a storm of distractions, buffeted with notifications and tempted by tasty tidbits of information. And just as too much junk food can lead to obesity, too much junk information can lead to cluelessness. The Information Diet shows you how to thrive in this information glut—what to look for, what to avoid, and how to be selective. In the process, author Clay Johnson explains the role information has played throughout history, and why following his prescribed diet is essential for everyone who strives to be smart, productive, and sane.

In The Information Diet, you will:

• Discover why eminent scholars are worried about our state of attention and general intelligence
• Examine how today’s media—Big Info—give us exactly what we want: content that confirms our beliefs
• Learn to take steps to develop data literacy, attention fitness, and a healthy sense of humor
• Become engaged in the economics of information by learning how to reward good information providers
• Just like a normal, healthy food diet, The Information Diet is not about consuming less—it’s about finding a healthy balance that works for you.

Disclosure: I havent read it yet- its on order. 

 

Creative Emergence in DC and the Shenandoah Mountains

This has been a fantastic week where my personal investment of time and money has led to discovery, co-creating and new relationships, as well as deepening existing friendships, many of whom had their genesis in Twitter, Facebook or Ning community discussions.

I arrived into Washington DC late Saturday 22 Oct after a cramped cold and hungry but fascinating daytime flight from Beijing across Siberia and Alaska. Oddly enough, I had not revisited DC since university days about 3 centuries ago and was thrilled to have an opportunity to visit and connect with other Amplify Festival friends too who are based here.

I was to join John Hagel, Robbie Richmond and Rita King as speakers on a panel led by Stephen Dahlberg on Creative Leadership at the Creativity in Business Conference http://www.creativity-conference.com (#cibc11) organized by the effervescent Michelle James of http://www.creativeemergence.com fame. The above image summarizes that session.

Ever on the hunt for messengers of wisdom to lure back to Australia for Amplify, I scurried from session to session to uncover as much as possible- my only regret being that 4 concurrent streams forced trade-offs and I couldn’t experience all. But, in the spirit of trusting that the wisdom of the universe will lead you to what you need, I was delighted to come away with much resonance for existing ideas, and the splendid gift of 3 brand-new Eureka moments, thanks to
– a model for the design of work for optimal performance from Carol Sanford,
– the concept of a “memory palace” to memorize large amounts of data with as shared by James Jorasch, and
– a framework called Polarity Thinking to understand duel tensions that are inherently present in most scenarios, as shared by Cliff Kayser who hosted the post-conference retreat. This took place at the intimate and spectacular Kayser Ridge- an awesome timber home sleeping 14 in the Shenandoah Mountains of West Virginia. Cliff Kayser, our host and executive coach, Polarity Thinking facilitator, Tao Master, yoga practitioner, artist and poet built this with love and his own two hands. It is a sanctuary for replenishing mind, body and spirit….and I need to add, Cliff is also an amazing cook and host. A truly beautiful human being and the embodiment of what he teaches.

More images of who joined the retreat and brief bios at http://www.kayserridge.com/cliffs-notes/ and more on the Retreat here….highly recommended;
http://www.kayserridge.com

Thank you both Michelle James, aka @CreatvEmergence for organizing this wonderful gathering of minds and Cliff for your hospitality! A special thanks also to the wonderful new people I got to meet and make deep connections with; Carol Sanford, Gregg Fraley, Jack Richiutto, George Por, Bruce Waltuck at the retreat, and others at the conference and dinners.

I look forward to keeping in touch and hopefully working with many of you in future.

It takes creativity to unite 2 opposing political leaders

The nation despairs watching the locking of horns between the Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and the Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott over really important matters of national interest like how to manage the growth of carbon emissions, how to humanely and sensitively deal with the arrival of migrants without visas and refugees, how to navigate the economy at a time of unprecedented chaos in markets. 

So, when I watched this clip on a matter of the utmost national importance….

<p>Measuring Up (3min, 27secs) from Graham Cousens on Vimeo.</p>

….I was hugely relieved to see, for once, they were unanimous and united on the criticality of CREATIVITY to our future, and the importance of investing in this capability. 

How have you nurtured creativity today? Your own? Your childrens? Your colleagues? Please share just one tiny thing….

Me? I wrote someone a thank you card. It was to a temporary PA who helped out while my regular PA was on annual holidays. In the card, I mentioned a few things that I thought was very special- like the way she joined in all the creativity workshops our team organises. For me, it was just a small gesture of appreciation….but her reaction was so huge that I was totally bewildered. With tears in her eyes she came to tell me how much she loved working in my team and if we EVER needed any help, just to say the word.  It was then that I recalled how entranced she was when we were acting out stories with crumpled brown paper fashioned into hand puppets and telling stories through the voices of the inner child…and I understood. 

Making it to TED

Last week Friday, I realised a big moment in my life. It came about so swiftly and required so much effort and preparation that I didnt have much time to reflect on it in the lead-up, and when it was over…I was too depleted for days to switch my brain on again or put pen to paper.

That moment was TED. My first. Not as attendee…as SPEAKER! ( Lol…I am willing to put myself through torture again should  anyone think my future ideas worthy of another talk!)

And to be totally honest…it was not quite TED Global, it was TED X Melbourne– an independently organised event licensed by TED. It’s like the Teddie Bear version, but it’s also the edge of innovation from whence Big Bear TED draws it’s next hits, so not exactly a walk in the park! And it’s the same sort of crowd…highly intelligent, accomplished change agents, tech savvy, edge-dwelling, hyper-connected, passionate about ideas and with ambition to change the world. As audiences go, I don’t think they come any more challenging than that!

The next big hurdle was finding an “IDEA WORTH SPREADING” within the theme of the event: Innovation. Do you know how hard it is to come up with a really NEW idea? Something that is not just an echo chamber? And that you can credibly talk to?

I had my concept very early on, then had to decide how to build it by drawing on tens of millions of accumulated ideas and distilled wisdom since the days humans started fashioning tools and leaving our interpretation of the world on the walls of caves. Then…how to narrow that down! Brevity is a quality I have sought to conquer all my life. Twitter has made an enormous contribution, but I was hugely challenged in picking out what to put in and what to leave out in 18 precious minutes whilst weaving drama and story, tension and resolution, strong beginning and climactic ending, with emotional connection.

I read somewhere that a good speaker on the paid circuit, (ie one who earns a living from conference speaking and does not have another day job on top of it) would spend up to 35 hours to prepare a 1 hour talk.

I would suggest that one can trebble that time for a TED 18 minute talk- especially if it’s not something you do day in and day out. 

I had about 1 month notice of the invitation, and early on decided that it wasn’t enough time to work with slides. Having attended TED Global twice as an audience member, as well as being the curator for AMPLIFY FESTIVAL and a regular at PICNIC, PopTech, Aspen Ideas Festival and the Business Innovation Factory, I have found that slides blur in my mind after a day of talk after talk after talk….so the presentations that demanded that I listen to only the speaker were somehow retained with greater impact.

But another reason for this decision is that I am accutely aware that as a digital immigrant born in 1961, I simply haven’t mastered the mouse flick to sell my shtick effortlessly and slick. So I said: pass. More pressure therefore on ME to keep my audience enthralled- and that in the last slot on a Friday afternoon!

Most people who know me would think I am very comfortable with public speaking. I do a lot of it and I have overcome shyness…but this time, I was throwing up for two days- the last time 5 minutes before I went on the stage! Whether it was stress or if I caught the same viral enteritis that brought down my 13 year old daughter’s friend who flew to Melbourne with us, I dont know. The poor kid was so ill and feverish that I had to arrange for a chauffeured car to take her to the airport to fly back to her mum as I took off for the Melbourne Convention Centre 30 minutes before my speaking slot. All in a day’s work for a working mum!

But it’s true what the experts say: “It all comes together when you go live on stage!

When I walked onto that big round red rug and saw the clock ticking….18:00, 17:59, 17:58, 17:57..instead of the choking anxiety that debilitated me moments before, an invisible fairy godmother cloaked me in a beam of light and confidence from who knows where! In practising, I did an early version of the talk to two of my team members, and the only other practise audience I had was my daughter and her sick friend in the hotel room- the rest was me in the bathroom mirror! So I was quite taken aback when the audience actually laughed….I hadn’t anticipated that….my kids always say my jokes are “SO LAME”!

I had taken a bit of a risk with a message that was truly heartfelt, but that many of the social media and internet junkies ( of whom I am an honorary member!) could construe as being anti social media or anti-computers. And indeed, some did. But I was relieved when by and large, the feedback I had at the post TED cocktail party and ever since then in a constant stream of tweets, blogposts and LinkedIn requests, that my talk HAD provoked reflection and stimulated people to think more deeply. ( The video is not yet available, and I will insert it when it’s up, but my talk was about The Maker Instinct- the relationship of how we learn by making things in a physical sense and how using ALL our senses and intelligences, underpin our ability to create and innovate.)

My final reflection on this experience I could not include in my TED Talk….I needed the reflection time after for its message to crystallise although it did pop into my conscious mind as I was in the process…..and that is:

The “MAKING” of a speech is in itself an enormous act of personal ( and professional) innovation and courage.

It forces you to let go of fear, to find courage, to hold opposable ideas in your mind, to anticipate objections, to think with both reason and emotion, to experiment, to fail, to stand up and try again.

(The proviso is that you do it yourself…don’t outsource it! )

And THAT’s why I’d jump at another opportunity like this. Speeches are a pain…they take HOURS to prepare, can totally tank if you misread your brief, but you learn so much about how to communicate and engage others in the process.

So here’s my next big idea:

I think delivering an 18 minute speech on a big idea or value should be a mandatory hiring test for all people leaders!  

( Hint: That may be an idea worth spreading! What do you think? Shall I start working on that in case someone wants to give me another go at this? )

(On 25 Nov I received the video link to YOUTUBE- so now you can see me in my imperfect glory…and you can see I’m actually having fun!) 

 

Good, evil and the role of leaders

In preparation for a proposed talk at TED X Melbourne, I have been doing a bit of reading and research on creative emergence, complex systems, interconnectedness, strategic decisions, community, sustainability and change ! Yip, just the sort of stuff that will keep you indoors on a beautiful sunny Spring morning in Sydney, when the rest of your family is frolicking on the beach. 

I also found this poem, which I think I may use to illustrate a point about the role of leaders in times of rapidly accelerating change and ambiguity….that sometimes, evil and good present in indistinguishable form- aided by an abundance of information channels, which means anyone can peddle any story, and people don’t know who or what to believe. 

Take any big and complex issue….or dilemmas if you like, because whichever course of action taken to address these issues, there’s a trade-off choice- one bad thing instead of a badder thing, or one bitter pill to swallow for the greater good…Global Climate Change, Carbon Tax, Mining Tax, Coal Seam Gas drilling, Illegal immigration…..a long list of complex interconnected systems and not a lot of consensus between good and evil.

Populist leaders exploit these scenarios for short-term gains by polarising communities and playing fear-mongering cards instead of encouraging enquiry, questioning and debate. A confused electorate can be easily swayed by a simplistic reduction of a complex issue that appears to provide certainty, clarity and convenience that fit with what people want to hear, no matter how ill-informed or cancerous to the greater good.

In Australia we have a famous example of an outspoken politician stating publicly that “Climate Change is crap!”, only to be haunted by that statement when the leadership tables were upturned and,in the full glare of the media, he found himself as Leader of the Opposition with a lot of explaining to do for THAT remark. Reducing the complex by oversimplication is a strategy that works well in mobilizing the ignorant (confused, overloaded) masses for a short-term gain, but its a poisoned chalice. 

Far harder is it to take time out for questioning, fact-gathering and reflection to understand the complex relationships between things and set a vision for a pathway through a complex issue. It doesn’t work well as a slogan or as a 140 character tweet! 

In an age of interconnectedness and abundant information, citizens will have to do much more personal homework to inform themselves and to hold decisionmakers accountable for short-term decisions with long term consequences that will prove poisonous to our future, our environment and our economy. 

Leaders who face up to tough messages, who understand the interconnectedness of complex systems….they have to be the sensemakers. They have to connect the dots for people and paint the pictures of change through their words – through stories that change hearts and minds- one by one. Truth is the new scarcity. And integrity right alongside! 

As volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity increase, people are looking for leadership that can:

• See through the messes and contradictions
• See a future that others cannot yet see
• Find a viable direction by which to proceed
• See hope on the other side of trouble
• Inspire with their message, attract followers and build momentum for change

It’s not easy, but it matters.

And for the record, I am opposed to Coal Seam Gas Mining because in spite of its apparent good in terms of job creation and clean energy in the form of gas, its the permanent damage to water tables ( see report http://lockthegate.org.au/documents/doc-279-scoping-study -groundwater-impacts-of-csg.pdf) in a land dogged by drought that I cannot get beyond.  We have many alternative sources for energy- there is none for water. Not blind opposition to progress, but opposition to BLIND progress.

And I am prepared to speak out. My question to all decision-makers and voters is: How will the future judge you if you don’t?  

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEM

By Cliff Crego

Along a trail

through a high
cottonwood meadow,

horsemint and death camas

grow side by side,

the one healing herb,

the other poison root.

 

Such is the strangeness

of the way things are.

Sure sign of “evil”

as a dark

force of nature,

out
to do us in?

 

Quite doubtful . . .

More the ever-present possibility,

as we cross paths with the good,

and the bad,

of not knowing the difference 
between them.

Horsemint

/> Death Camas

 

How learning, innovation and culture impacts business reputation

I presented this topic at the IQPC Reputation Management conference in Sydney today, with special reference to the Amplify Festival as a case study that encapsulates much of the established, proven ingredients for cultivating innovation, and demonstrating the impact on reputation.  (Drawn on research of MIT Sloan School of business and the Innovators DNA).  Regarding the problem with organisational structures and silo thinking that impedes enterprise collaboration in the digital era of abundant information, I referenced the most recent McKinsey Quarterly, Q3, 2011- an article called We are all marketers now, and also interviews with 3 executives leading the adaptation of their businesses to an era of social engagement. I linked that back to the Onnovation Festival and how we use that as a testbed to demonstrate the power of connected platforms and drawing on diversity of talent- including partners, customers….and even competitors! 

Here are my slides- it’s been fun creating the story for you. Obviously, it works best if I accompany it with story! 

 

I have removed all the embedded video from the slide show and instead will just provide embed links to the ones I used. They are all saved on the YouTube channel of AMPLIFYfestival. 

Amplify Festival 2011: What is it? Highights

Yammer- a connective platform for real-time collaboration and serendipidous discovery

Apart for sharing all of the AMPLIFY FESTIVAL content with the Australian public via free live audio feed and published video content, we also created the world’s first Smartphone famine to raise awareness of those who are not able to enjoy the connectibity we take for granted. We raised $40 000 after dollar-matching by the AMP Foundation. 

And here is the Amplify Effect measurement tool we designed and built. Expressed as a single number, the algorithm behind it counts the physical attendance (captured by RFID swipes), and the online engagement generated.  The video explains it! And we are white labelling it for commercial use by conferences and events- all profits will be ploughed back into growing and innovating Amplify! Contact @maverickwoman via Twitter for more information or write to annalie Killian at amplify (at) amp.com.au

 If you missed it, I will be talking again on the subject of culture at The Internet Show at the Sydney Convention Centre on 27-28 October. If you’re in the USA, I will be speaking at the Business Creativity conference in Washington DC on 23 October. There’s a fantastic line-up of speakers- so I am thrilled to be able to participate! 

Innovation is my passion and working on culture is my specialty. I am always interested to learn from other people and likewise, happy to share my experiences. We learn most when we have to explain! 

No-one wants to die

No one wants to die.

Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there.

And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it.

And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

[Stanford commencement speech, June 2005]

Loyalty Card overload! Innovation required

Along with expensive CRM systems, every brand under the sun, including local chicken take-away shop,Pet-products, several coffee shops that I frequent all the way to 4 different airline programmes have been issuing me with loyalty cards….and somehow neither Marketing Departments nor wallet designers give any thought to how customers are meant to carry that many cards with them. Handbags are growing bigger and heavier as we carry more cards, more devices ( yes, no point to the handbag if it can’t fit my iPad thanks!) amongst the other stuff that women have to carry around….like the kitchen sink, and everything inbetween on behalf of all other family members. 

In a handbag clean-up tonight, I counted 51 of the plastic cards loyalty cards and a further 18 paper cards- and this did NOT include a driver’s license, Medicare, Private Health Fund,  2 credit cards and 3 ATM cards. There is no wallet/ purse that can hold all of these AS WELL AS coins and cash. 

So, if you’re in marketing….I just wanted to let you know….get ahead of the rest and give me a solution I don’t have to carry around in my wallet….can’t I just wave my mobile phone or something? 

 

 

 

Amplify Festival: Random tweets, observations, pics and videos shared

[View the story “AmplifyFest Resources” on Storify]

A video chronology of Amplify Festival 2011 via Storify

[View the story “Amplify – Everything Connects” on Storify]

One blogger’s take outs from the Amplify Festival speaker sessions

Enormous thanks and gratitude to Ralf Lippold, Blogger in residence, for this record and synthesis created of Amplify Festival 2011.  I am sure that Ralf’s prolific tweeting was a large contributor to our humble efforts resulted in us being the top trending hashtage on Twitter several times during the week!

http://leanthinkers.blogspot.com/2011/06/work-in-progress-when-reality-hits.html