How to be ready for your future, now - Lynda Gratton at TEDxLondonBusinessSchool
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0:17 - 0:18Thank you so much.
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0:18 - 0:22You know, sometimes in our lives
something happens to us -
0:22 - 0:26that changes the way we think,
that changes what we're going to do. -
0:26 - 0:30And I wanted to start
by telling you a story -
0:30 - 0:33about something that happened to me
almost five years ago -
0:33 - 0:37which really set me off into thinking
about this question -
0:37 - 0:40of how do we regenerate ourselves.
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0:40 - 0:46About four years ago I decided to take
my younger son Dominic to Africa. -
0:46 - 0:50You know he's like
many teenagers in London -
0:50 - 0:53spending lots of time
hanging around, you know -
0:53 - 0:56and I wanted him to really understand
what was happening in Africa. -
0:56 - 0:59And in particular you know
he was just becoming a young -
0:59 - 1:03adult, I wanted him to spend
time with a Masai warriors. -
1:03 - 1:09And so we took a plane - we
took a little private plane - -
1:09 - 1:12we got into a car and eventually
-
1:12 - 1:14- it took us about two and a half days -
we ended up -
1:14 - 1:21in a Masai village in the middle
of the Masai Mara in Tanzania. -
1:21 - 1:24And just as we had hoped
there were a couple of -
1:24 - 1:28Masai warriors that spent time
with us over a couple of days -
1:28 - 1:30talking to us about their rituals
-
1:30 - 1:33and so on, wonderful stuff.
You know this was great -
1:33 - 1:37for a teenager to really understand
what it was like to be a warrior. -
1:38 - 1:42And one morning he took
us to the top of the hill -
1:42 - 1:44and what he was doing
is he was showing us -
1:44 - 1:49his Masai territory and he was
talking about how it was -
1:49 - 1:52to be a Masai warrior
and what it meant -
1:52 - 1:55the implications, that they
you know, had to live by. -
1:55 - 1:59And there he was standing in his whole
Masai wonderful red robes -
2:01 - 2:05carrying a spear, a spear
to kill lions with. -
2:05 - 2:07This was an authentic moment.
-
2:07 - 2:12And as we stood there,
there was a funny little sound. -
2:14 - 2:17Can anyone imagine what
that funny little sound was? -
2:18 - 2:19(Audience: It was his phone)
-
2:19 - 2:23It's his mobile phone!
So out of his pocket -
2:23 - 2:24you know this sort of
leopard skin pocket -
2:24 - 2:26he gets his mobile phone.
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2:26 - 2:29And like every 23 year-old
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2:29 - 2:32he has a very excited conversation
on his mobile phone. -
2:32 - 2:38Well at that moment, I realized
that my world had changed -
2:38 - 2:42more than I ever imagined it
would have done or could do. -
2:42 - 2:46But that wasn't the only thing that
happened that afternoon because -
2:46 - 2:50when he put his phone down,
being sort of an inquisitive professor -
2:50 - 2:52at the London Business School
I said to him, -
2:52 - 2:55"What was the conversation about?
Who were you talking to?" -
2:55 - 2:58And he said "Ah!
I was talking to my brother" -
2:58 - 3:03Now he as a warrior, his job
was to look after the cattle. -
3:03 - 3:07But his brother who was younger
than my son a 12 year-old -
3:07 - 3:10was looking after the goats
and in fact his brother -
3:10 - 3:13had gone out that morning,
at six o'clock in the morning -
3:13 - 3:17and had taken the goats out.
This was about 12 o'clock by now. -
3:17 - 3:22He said,
"Well I was talking to my brother." -
3:22 - 3:24I said,
"Well what was the conversation [about]?" -
3:24 - 3:28He said, "My brother
had phoned me to tell me -
3:28 - 3:32that the goats had
just found green grass" . -
3:32 - 3:36Now you see that for me is
the paradox of the future -
3:36 - 3:40because in many ways things
changed beyond imagination. -
3:40 - 3:43Who would imagine that a Masai
warrior four years ago -
3:43 - 3:45would have a mobile phone?
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3:45 - 3:47By the way he had no electricity,
he had no car, -
3:47 - 3:50he had no refrigerator, but he
did have a mobile phone. -
3:50 - 3:53But yet at the same time there
were things about his life -
3:53 - 3:56that had remained essentialy the same
-
3:56 - 3:59in terms of his values, his beliefs,
and what was important to him. -
3:59 - 4:03You know, I think the challenge
that we face now -
4:03 - 4:06is we are in the midst of the
biggest transformation -
4:07 - 4:08that the world had ever seen.
-
4:08 - 4:11When I wrote my book
"The Shift" I said -
4:11 - 4:14"The biggest transformation
since the industrial revolution" . -
4:14 - 4:16I don't think that's the case anymore.
-
4:16 - 4:19In the two years since
that was written -
4:19 - 4:22I realized it's the biggest
transformation ever. -
4:22 - 4:26And one of the challenges that
we face is to ask ourselves -
4:26 - 4:29"What sort of a world do
we want to construct?" -
4:29 - 4:33And more importantly, what sort
of a life do I want to construct? -
4:33 - 4:36And there is no question
that there are some -
4:36 - 4:40pretty tough things happening
to us in the future. -
4:40 - 4:43If we look into the future
what's clear is that -
4:43 - 4:47you could walk into
the future blindfold. -
4:47 - 4:49You know you could walk
into a default future -
4:49 - 4:53where you don't make choices,
you let the future unroll -
4:53 - 4:58in front of you or you could be
a lot more thoughtful -
4:58 - 5:00about the future that
you want to create. -
5:00 - 5:03You can create in other
words a "crafted future". -
5:03 - 5:06Now to do that, I think you
have to think about -
5:07 - 5:09some of the things that are
happening in our lives -
5:09 - 5:11over the next couple of decades.
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5:11 - 5:16Both in terms of the bright side
and in terms of the side -
5:16 - 5:19which is a dark side.
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5:19 - 5:23You know, one of the things
that's really clear about the future, -
5:23 - 5:26about our lives,
about the lives of our children -
5:26 - 5:29is it could be a life
of fragmentation, -
5:29 - 5:34it could be a life where
in fact everything is broken -
5:34 - 5:35into three minute periods.
-
5:35 - 5:40If you look even now at your life
you'll find that even now -
5:40 - 5:43you're constantly interrupted
by technology. -
5:43 - 5:46It's sort of like a bad tempered
two year-old. -
5:46 - 5:50You know you can't really
find the time within your life -
5:50 - 5:52that allows you to be reflective,
-
5:52 - 5:54that allows you to be thoughtful.
-
5:54 - 5:59So isolation, fragmentation,
is a really important part -
5:59 - 6:03potentially of our lives. But yet it
doesn't need to be like that. -
6:03 - 6:05The very technology
that interrupts you -
6:05 - 6:07the very technology
that behaves like -
6:07 - 6:09the bad tempered two year-old
-
6:09 - 6:13can also provide enormous
opportunities for co-creation. -
6:13 - 6:18Right now across the world
tens of thousands of people -
6:18 - 6:21are joining together on platforms
like InnoCentive -
6:21 - 6:24to share ideas, to think
through the opportunities, -
6:24 - 6:27to solve problems, both
in their own country -
6:27 - 6:29and indeed in other countries.
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6:29 - 6:32It could be a world of isolation.
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6:33 - 6:36There is a potential for many of us
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6:36 - 6:39to be living in small families.
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6:39 - 6:45We've moved into the city,
we've lost our family roots -
6:45 - 6:48we're very mobile,
we're working at home -
6:48 - 6:53rather than in an office and it could
be a really isolated future. -
6:53 - 6:56It could be a future where
it's hard for you to connect -
6:56 - 6:59but at the same time
you know there are -
6:59 - 7:02opportunities as we've heard
today to really connect -
7:02 - 7:05into your societies to connect
into your communities -
7:05 - 7:09to be part of the place that you live.
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7:09 - 7:11And it's a world of exclusion.
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7:11 - 7:14It's a world where the rich get richer,
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7:14 - 7:16where the poor become poorer,
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7:16 - 7:19wherever they happen to be located.
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7:19 - 7:22It's a world where if you don't
-
7:22 - 7:24or you're not educated you can't join
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7:24 - 7:26the global labor talent pool,
-
7:26 - 7:29you have no way
of actually accessing -
7:29 - 7:31the value that the world's creating.
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7:31 - 7:35But it could be a world
where you become engaged -
7:35 - 7:39and where five billion people
can connect to each other -
7:39 - 7:43using the abundant knowledge
that's available now -
7:43 - 7:48through the sort of hand-held
devices that my Masai warrior -
7:48 - 7:52was holding that could create
enormous amounts of engagement. -
7:52 - 7:56And what I want to suggest
is that the challenge -
7:56 - 7:59that we face now
is that we could walk into -
7:59 - 8:06the future blindfolded or instead we
could make some important shifts -
8:06 - 8:08that change the way that we think,
-
8:08 - 8:12that change our behavior,
that change some of the ways -
8:12 - 8:16that we want our future to continue.
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8:16 - 8:21And it seems to me, that right now,
we are faced both with choices -
8:21 - 8:23and with consequences.
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8:23 - 8:26And I want to suggest three shifts
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8:26 - 8:29I think each one of us
should be thinking about -
8:29 - 8:32in terms of how we create
the sort of future -
8:32 - 8:35that's going to be important to us.
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8:35 - 8:39The first is about the way we
think about our own skills. -
8:39 - 8:42Now you know there was a time
-
8:42 - 8:45that you thought maybe,
you know, to be a generalist -
8:45 - 8:47would be wonderful.
-
8:47 - 8:50I just need to be like a
T-shaped manager. -
8:50 - 8:53I need to know a little
about a lot of things. -
8:54 - 8:58But frankly if you know a little
about a lot of things -
8:58 - 9:04you're competition is not those smart
highly educated people in China. -
9:04 - 9:08Your competition is
Wikipedia and Google. -
9:08 - 9:12So, you need to build mastery.
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9:12 - 9:17You need to focus on areas that you
love, that you're passionate about, -
9:17 - 9:21because the future in my view
is about hyperspecialization. -
9:21 - 9:25And if can do two things,
then that's even better. -
9:25 - 9:30So, number one, first shift,
think about what you love, -
9:30 - 9:34what you're passionate about
and really really focus on it. -
9:35 - 9:40Number two. You know
certainly when I was -
9:40 - 9:45growing up what we thought was
the way to get on was to compete. -
9:45 - 9:49You know, that there was a rank
and some people will be at the top -
9:49 - 9:51and some people would
be at the bottom. -
9:51 - 9:53And the way to make sure
that you were at the top -
9:53 - 9:56was to compete with
everybody else around you. -
9:56 - 10:00and to be the best that you can be.
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10:00 - 10:03What we're now realizing
about the future -
10:03 - 10:07is that there are
incredible opportunities -
10:07 - 10:11to build value through collaboration
and through cooperation. -
10:11 - 10:13Technology, those
billions connected, -
10:14 - 10:17abundant knowledge provides
incredible opportunities -
10:17 - 10:21not simply to compete
but also to realize -
10:21 - 10:24that networks are going
to be important. -
10:24 - 10:26And those could be
the sort of networks -
10:26 - 10:31that are the possy, you know those
people who are really close to you -
10:31 - 10:34who understand your knowledge
who can ride with you -
10:34 - 10:37it could be the regenerative community,
-
10:37 - 10:41those people who you're close to,
who you give time to, -
10:41 - 10:44who you can reflect to, it could
be the big ideas crowd. -
10:44 - 10:47The thousands of people
you might know -
10:47 - 10:50who between them have ideas
that you can't even imagine -
10:51 - 10:55but the combination with your
ideas could be very valuable. -
10:55 - 10:57And the final shift is this.
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10:57 - 11:00You know when organizations
began to industrialize -
11:00 - 11:04the deal between the worker
was very simple. -
11:04 - 11:11You work to earn money to buy
stuff that makes you happy. -
11:12 - 11:14I don't think that's working anymore.
-
11:15 - 11:17I mean what we're
beginning to realize -
11:17 - 11:21is that there's very little correlation
between higher standards of living -
11:21 - 11:25and better feelings about
happiness or quality of life. -
11:25 - 11:26And what we're also
realizing is that -
11:26 - 11:31if we're going to be working
until 75, which we will be, -
11:31 - 11:34and if we're going to have
work as a center -
11:34 - 11:36of our life, which for most of us
it will be, -
11:36 - 11:39work is where we find
meaning and I believe -
11:39 - 11:43that in the future the shift
comes less from thinking -
11:43 - 11:45about work as a means
of making money -
11:46 - 11:48to buy stuff that you
can consume -
11:48 - 11:53but rather to see work
itself as a source -
11:53 - 11:56of enormous creativity
and a source -
11:56 - 12:01of enormous possibilities in
terms of what would help -
12:01 - 12:05each one of us to become
the very best we can. -
12:05 - 12:08You know human potential
is indeed infinite. -
12:08 - 12:11And I believe that
whilst there are -
12:11 - 12:15some very tough parts
of the path ahead -
12:15 - 12:18at the same time,
we have opportunities -
12:18 - 12:24for the next 10, 20 years
to be incredibly exciting -
12:24 - 12:25for every one of us.
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12:25 - 12:26Thank you.
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12:26 - 12:28(Applause)
- Title:
- How to be ready for your future, now - Lynda Gratton at TEDxLondonBusinessSchool
- Description:
-
Lynda Gratton suggests 3 shifts for the future generations from her own experiences.First, to build mastery in the field that you love, instead of to become a generalist. Second, the future environment will not be only about competition but about combination and cooperation. And finally, work will be where we find meaning of life than just a place to make money.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 12:35
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