Innovation Bus.

We are living during the most powerful and exciting time of innovation in human history. Until now, the most important period of human innovation and advancement was between 1880 and 1929; this is when powerful waves of growth and change were unleashed with the inventions of electricity, the telephone, airplanes, and the internal combustion engine. Of course, we have enjoyed a thousand points of game-changing innovation along the path, such as the introduction of the personal computer in the early 1980s, the Internet in the early 1990s, and electric cars in the early 2000s. But what is remarkable about our current situation is that there are so many disruptive technologies and innovations converging at one time: TaaS and autonomous vehicles, Fintech, robotics, genome sequencing, 3D Printing, Graphene, Blockchain, artificial intelligence, Cloud, IoT, Manufacturing 4.0, energy storage, super-computing, and so many more. When you slow down for a moment and look around, and take stock, there are so many technologies and natural forces reshaping how we think, collaborate, and create. This amazing energy and potential is being released in such a small, tight window of human history.

We are all bozos on the bus. Hopefully, we are all riding on the Innovation Bus. This famous "Charter" (1978) piece, with the bus driver at the wheel, is a work by one of the most famous Canadian painters of all time, Ken Danby. (His most defining piece, "Beyond the Crease" (1972), has a pensive hockey goalie ready to stop a shot on net. I'm sure you have seen this iconic painting. That one painting probably hangs on more Canadian walls than any other single piece. Ever.) I always wondered why the unnamed driver wasn't looking forward? Who was riding on this classic Greyhound, and where were they going? Maybe this painting is a great metaphor for our current thinking? Too much looking to our right and left, and in the rearview mirror, and not enough time looking forward?

According to Fortune Business Insight (2021), there are more than 4.88 billion cell phones and 62% of the world's population now has internet access. The world's combined GDP is just over $80 trillion, and the 18,000 or more banks around the globe can process about 800 data points and make many decisions in 60 to 90 days. Square can now process over 300,000 data points in less than 7 minutes - and make decisions before the end of a short coffee break. Over one billion people are considered "unbanked" and will now begin using their cell phones for all banking transactions. Yes, the game is changing in a big way. Also consider that there are over 2,000 cryptocurrencies, but Bitcoin now controls 60% market share and is ready to officially declare itself the so-called default reserve currency in that emerging space; just like the US dollar remains the default reserve currency for the world economy. For now; we all know that could change with little notice.

Are we ready for the massive convergences of innovation and technology in our workspaces, homes, schools, government, and mindsets? Are we bozos on the bus? Are we on the right Innovation Bus? Where are we going? Should we fasten our seatbelts?