This is it for TEDxKC reflections, I promise, but I've never been involved in any two hour event which offered so much innovative thinking! Thanks to Kansas City's VML and the other sponsors for bringing such an incredibly-rich experience as TEDxKC to Kansas City!
- My mother once said I have a look which says, "Don't bug me. Don't get near me." If that's true, it must have been on display at TEDxKC. In an oversold event, in a supposedly jam-packed auditorium to see the live presentations, I walked in 10 minutes before the start and found two seats on an aisle mid-way back. After sitting down, the row consolidated, freeing up another seat, so there were still two seats by me. In the following ten minutes, not one person came in and sat down by me. Sorry everybody for "the look." I try not to make it!
- Watching the opening TEDxKC performance by Quixotic Fusion, it struck me how true it is that whatever your talents, you can create "art." That's the case whether in the traditional view of art or the art of day-to-day work and life. The difference is a person's willingness to experiment, to be innovative, and to put themselves in the vulnerable positions which make one an artist.
- The recent CEO study where creativity was identified as a critical success attribute in business was referenced during one presentation. Every time it's cited, I always wonder: Did the CEO respondents REALLY believe that? It was probably viewed as a "hip" answer so everybody said, "Sure, a person needs more creativity...after financial acumen, a strict operational orientation, and a ruthless managerial style. Then, we need us some creativity."
- In her video presentation, Jane McGonigal of the Institute for the Future suggested the key to solving the world's problems would be people collectively spending 21 billion hours weekly in online gaming. My question is, "What would happen to improve the world if we spent 21 billion more hours weekly praying?"
- After attending a recent conference with nearly no diversity among presenters based on race, gender, and age, I'm even more conscious about diversity at live events. So at TEDxKC, of the 5 individual presenters (including host Mike Lundgren from VML) to take the stage, 4 were men, and 3 of the men were named "Michael." While I always love listening to Mikes (and one other presenter's last name was "Brown"), this was both homogenous and quirky.
- My thought for the evening at TEDxKC: "Take the ordinary and attach it to something of significance to you. Then it's strategic."
Additionally, here's the embedded video for the full TEDxKC program. Enjoy! – Mike Brown
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