This seminar was given by Ben Kohlmann in October of 2011. It was the second meeting of the Strategy and Innovation Forum. We were a bit ambitious as to what we thought people would actually read in the run up to the seminar. We have since become much more realistic…
The focus of this month’s effort will be on the theoretical side of things – reaching towards the edge of the envelope. It is the first of three “Big Picture” seminars to get us in the right frame of mind to start exploring how we want to influence the world around us and start shaping the discussion utilizing new ideas. The books portion features four authors who have challenged the status quo with their unorthodox approach to problems – or have laid the foundation for effective communication of complex ideas. The articles delve into the nature of reality as being complex and unpredictable – but able to be tamed if a flexible disposition is adopted. Finally the TED talks get us to look at order amidst chaos and the identification of unanticipated, interesting trends.
We’ll also begin to quantify concrete steps we can take to be agents of change, and how best to market and spread our message. Think about the contacts you know, and what would be useful to them and others. We will identify specific areas of concentration and collaborative teams pertaining to our various interests.
BOOKS:
John Robb: Brave New War
Christopher Hitchens: Letters to a Young Contrarian
Dale Carnegie: How to Win Friends and Influence People
Isaac Asimov: Foundation
ARTICLES:
Benoit Mandelbrot: A Multi-fractal walk down Wall Street
John Ford: A Vision So Noble
WEBSITES:
VIDEOS:
Chris Jordan Pictures Some Shocking Stats
Inventing the Next Amazing Thing
Ray Kurzweil Announces Singularity University
Welcome to the Genomic Revolution
