Remaining Authentic In A Synthetic World

I was recently interviewed about my public speaking work and corresponding perspectives on skills necessary to navigate an ever-evolving world with Mirjana Novkovic of Speaker Story Bank . We discussed everything from Artificial Intelligence to the deconstruction of the stale and outdated resume (see clip below). I have received a number of inquiries and anecdotal stories from those in and out of my LinkedIn network.

My hunch, from the correspondence, is that Mirjana and I touched on a nerve or identified a set of universal feelings that many of us tangle with - the notion that the stories we've been putting forth about our accumulated skills and talents may, in fact, be limiting the market's perception of our value.

In the spirit of the name of this newsletter (Upon Further Review), I am reminded of the conditioning most of us, especially in the West, experience. The routine of bolting on experiences and merits, like clothing, to a 'body' of work illustrates some level of accomplishment, originality, and perhaps wisdom in certain circumstances.

There is nothing inherently wrong with cataloging our achievements over a period of time to demonstrate the competencies required to access opportunities. The question, though, is whether or not we fully comprehend the narrative of these experiences and the arc of the story. It can be very easy to fill in an online form denoting where and when we served at a respective post. It is an entirely different activity to document the lessons acquired along the journey that might actually appeal to other decision-makers across one's respective sector of work.

It is the difference between teaching to the test versus acquiring the requisite skills to apply knowledge to new and novel situations that occur over time. The art and science, if you will, of maintaining authenticity within the synthetic walls of our society.

Leaders of all company shapes will be, if they aren't already, confronted with storylines, often not of their own doing, that require a dedicated effort steeped in coordinated storytelling to maintain culture and advance strategy. The wondrous mix of generational talent infuses companies with opinions, perspectives, and edicts of great diversity. Handled deftly, these variations in corporate cultural expectations can serve as the base camp for newly coordinated messaging supportive of both what we sell to a market and to internal teams looking for purpose.

AI can offer slick messaging during very messy times. Those leaders and representative voices committed to authentic roles and stories will undoubtedly advance innovation beyond standard metrics.

The question is, "...have you checked out your public-facing story in recent memory, and if you have, does it authentically represent the essence and skillset you offer?"

Since the last edition of the newsletter, I have had the honor of traveling back to what has become a home-away-from-home, Stockholm. I went back to put a cap on my storytelling with WaterAid Sweden and the Operak?llaren Foundation. Earlier this year, I traveled to Uganda to document their collective efforts to create sustainable water solutions across the country. It was an honor to be asked to speak among dignitaries about my perspectives and the story behind the story.

I found myself sharing a stage with the former foreign minister of Sweden and the former Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, Jan Eliasson, the future Swedish queen, Crown Princess Victoria, and many other notable voices across the Nordics.

The summation of the experience was one of LEGOs. Yes, the famous toys originating from the Nordics. You see, sometimes progress is built off of public policy. Sometimes, progress is built from inspiration and sheer dogged determination, and sometimes, progress is built through a singular focus. The water crisis across the globe isn't one depicted by others in far-off regions of our planet, and it will take voices from every background and platform to create sustainable 'LEGO' structures and outcomes, not for us but for our planet and generations yet to be born.

Nordic Entrepreneur Konrad Bergstr?m Triumphs Through Choppy Seas

Several seasons ago, one might have been soaking up the summer sun in the Nordics as a seasonal athlete looking for a wave to ride, a hot dog to nourish a depleted body, and a memory to bank away for the long, dark, cold winter to come. The day would have been punctuated by an encounter with a young man from the sea, exuberant in his unflappable confidence and eager to be someone in this world.

That young man would experience rapid success as an entrepreneur, unaware of the early dusk to his perceived dawn.

A series of early successes falsely proclaimed that this now-adult had arrived for the long haul. The Viking-like man, in appearance and bold personality, wasn’t riding waves of sustainable revenue. No. Konrad Bergstr?m was sleeping in his car, wondering what had gone wrong, staring at a debt of over a half million Euros.

This isn’t a story about failure but one of second chances that shines a light on the importance of roots and the power of letting go.

Check out the rest of the article!

Upon Further Review - a look back at this article.

Upon further review, I am reminded that becoming an entrepreneur can be a decision or a forced choice. There is a humanity about Konrad that I can relate to after spending time with him again last month in Sweden.

He isn't perfect.

His story isn't perfect, and yet that is what endears him to those in his ecosystem.

Sometimes, when I profile someone for an article, I get a beat on them right out of the gate, and other times, I find myself swimming in doubt. Konrad is defined by the seas surrounding his homeland of Sweden and the seas of stories deep with meaning and beauty.

Konrad reminds all of us that the whole of one's story can be both revealing and inspiring. The notion of perfect is not authentic, nor is its relative, known better as being right. Innovating and leading are terribly messy endeavors.

Upon further review, I prefer to get a bit messy.

Konrad continues to be one to watch.

If you haven't checked out the publication Fair Observer , I'd highly recommend adding it to your favorites tab. The Fair Observer is an independent nonprofit and publishes nearly 3,000 authors from over 90 countries, including former prime ministers, retired diplomats, professors, noted authors, and bright young minds from different fields. You can check out their free newsletter and follow them on social media: Facebook , LinkedIn , Twitter , YouTube , and Instagram .

One of my favorite columns is by Peter Isackson - here is a snapshot of a recent column from Isackson about AI in our world.

I opened this week’s conversation with these reflections.

“I’m a great fan of Artificial Intelligence and, as an optimist, believe that the most extreme fears expressed about the potential risks are understandable but exaggerated. I hold the conviction that the kinds of people who develop and control AI will take steps to prevent the worst from occurring. I think that most of the apocalyptic fear related to AI stems from a voluntary misunderstanding of the very notion of intelligence.

“I tend to think that the very idea of the singularity — the moment when AGI surpasses human intelligence — is based on the nonsensical, culturally loaded metaphor of a race. It reminds me of Zeno’s paradox, in which mathematics was used to prove that Achilles could not overtake a tortoise in a footrace. The idea that every time Achilles reached a point occupied by the tortoise, the tortoise would have advanced further troubled Western philosophers for many generations. In both cases, the illusion turns around the idea that the problem was about catching up with a competitor or attaining the same position. It’s easy to visualize why Zeon’s paradox doesn’t work in reality. In the case of intelligence, however, the modes of production are so fundamentally different that no true comparison can be made.

“To my mind, the intelligence paradox has a cultural explanation. Our technologized civilization has fabricated a value system focused on performance and productivity. We are conditioned to assume that we can measure intelligence by analyzing what it produces. It should be obvious that today’s AI already outperforms humans in sheer volume and speed of production.

Read more of Peter's column, "Outside the Box," here!

When was the last time you were tested? Really tested? I have an 11-year-old son who is experiencing exams for the first time in his academic career. A right of passage. A true test of capacity building, one might quip. I was giving him advice on the eve of his exams, feeling as if I'd split myself in two - the father who wants to calm nerves and inspire excellence and the 11-year-old version of myself who struggled to balance the fluid nature of expectations during one's youth.

While I believe that my advice was rooted in the calm winds of experience, I think it was the sidling up to my son that might have been the difference. Sometimes, in life, we don't need the answer. Sometimes, we want authentic acknowledgment that our perception is one of reality and that others can attest to the essence of the experience.

You may not be in the same phase of life as I am, domestically, but I'd bet we share both a desire and approach to life that supports shared experiences and the telling of those experiences to forge new relationships, better partnerships, sustainable and solvent companies, and leaders who inspire.

Let us not forget that individual growth and the progress of groups sits atop legacies, past and present, courageous enough to share the whole story, the whole experience of life.

We buy goods from companies we can relate to.

We follow leaders who have been in our shoes.

And we choose companies and careers that share our narrative horizon for the future.

Lastly, I want to thank you for checking out my newsletter, 'Upon Further Review,' and I encourage you to subscribe!

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"Our professional story is defined not by thresholds of arbitrary success but rather by the questions that build context around our dreams." – Dr. Rod Berger