0:00:16.740,0:00:17.900 Thank you so much. 0:00:17.900,0:00:21.905 You know, sometimes in our lives[br]something happens to us 0:00:21.939,0:00:26.319 that changes the way we think,[br]that changes what we're going to do. 0:00:26.319,0:00:29.940 And I wanted to start[br]by telling you a story 0:00:29.956,0:00:33.474 about something that happened to me[br]almost five years ago 0:00:33.489,0:00:36.791 which really set me off into thinking[br]about this question 0:00:36.807,0:00:40.189 of how do we regenerate ourselves. 0:00:40.189,0:00:45.967 About four years ago I decided to take[br]my younger son Dominic to Africa. 0:00:45.967,0:00:49.679 You know he's like[br]many teenagers in London 0:00:49.692,0:00:52.639 spending lots of time[br]hanging around, you know 0:00:52.639,0:00:55.718 and I wanted him to really understand[br]what was happening in Africa. 0:00:55.718,0:00:59.142 And in particular you know[br]he was just becoming a young 0:00:59.151,0:01:02.835 adult, I wanted him to spend[br]time with a Masai warriors. 0:01:02.835,0:01:08.652 And so we took a plane - we[br]took a little private plane - 0:01:08.732,0:01:11.771 we got into a car and eventually 0:01:11.771,0:01:13.615 - it took us about two and a half days -[br]we ended up 0:01:13.615,0:01:20.733 in a Masai village in the middle[br]of the Masai Mara in Tanzania. 0:01:20.733,0:01:24.233 And just as we had hoped[br]there were a couple of 0:01:24.289,0:01:27.757 Masai warriors that spent time[br]with us over a couple of days 0:01:27.802,0:01:29.763 talking to us about their rituals 0:01:29.769,0:01:32.796 and so on, wonderful stuff.[br]You know this was great 0:01:32.834,0:01:37.347 for a teenager to really understand[br]what it was like to be a warrior. 0:01:37.850,0:01:41.705 And one morning he took[br]us to the top of the hill 0:01:41.985,0:01:44.238 and what he was doing[br]is he was showing us 0:01:44.384,0:01:48.690 his Masai territory and he was[br]talking about how it was 0:01:48.902,0:01:51.835 to be a Masai warrior[br]and what it meant 0:01:51.835,0:01:54.864 the implications, that they[br]you know, had to live by. 0:01:55.117,0:01:58.861 And there he was standing in his whole[br]Masai wonderful red robes 0:02:01.385,0:02:04.819 carrying a spear, a spear[br]to kill lions with. 0:02:05.434,0:02:07.060 This was an authentic moment. 0:02:07.060,0:02:12.271 And as we stood there,[br]there was a funny little sound. 0:02:13.748,0:02:16.958 Can anyone imagine what[br]that funny little sound was? 0:02:17.742,0:02:18.949 (Audience: It was his phone) 0:02:18.949,0:02:22.591 It's his mobile phone![br]So out of his pocket 0:02:22.591,0:02:24.454 you know this sort of[br]leopard skin pocket 0:02:24.454,0:02:26.287 he gets his mobile phone. 0:02:26.287,0:02:28.603 And like every 23 year-old 0:02:28.609,0:02:31.911 he has a very excited conversation[br]on his mobile phone. 0:02:31.911,0:02:37.654 Well at that moment, I realized[br]that my world had changed 0:02:37.664,0:02:41.971 more than I ever imagined it[br]would have done or could do. 0:02:42.001,0:02:45.806 But that wasn't the only thing that[br]happened that afternoon because 0:02:45.838,0:02:49.756 when he put his phone down,[br]being sort of an inquisitive professor 0:02:49.756,0:02:52.327 at the London Business School[br]I said to him, 0:02:52.339,0:02:55.393 "What was the conversation about?[br]Who were you talking to?" 0:02:55.413,0:02:57.772 And he said "Ah![br]I was talking to my brother" 0:02:57.779,0:03:03.145 Now he as a warrior, his job[br]was to look after the cattle. 0:03:03.160,0:03:07.276 But his brother who was younger[br]than my son a 12 year-old 0:03:07.339,0:03:09.902 was looking after the goats[br]and in fact his brother 0:03:09.940,0:03:13.307 had gone out that morning,[br]at six o'clock in the morning 0:03:13.307,0:03:17.294 and had taken the goats out.[br]This was about 12 o'clock by now. 0:03:17.339,0:03:22.246 He said[br]"Well I was talking to my brother." 0:03:22.253,0:03:24.429 I said,[br]"Well what was the conversation [about]?" 0:03:24.429,0:03:27.760 He said "My brother[br]had phoned me to tell me 0:03:27.760,0:03:31.583 that the goats had[br]just found green grass" . 0:03:31.583,0:03:35.592 Now you see that for me is[br]the paradox of the future 0:03:35.623,0:03:39.892 because in many ways things[br]changed beyond imagination. 0:03:39.894,0:03:42.683 Who would imagine that a Masai[br]warrior four years ago 0:03:42.683,0:03:44.597 would have a mobile phone? 0:03:44.597,0:03:47.079 By the way he had no electricity,[br]he had no car, 0:03:47.138,0:03:49.776 he had no refrigerator, but he[br]did have a mobile phone. 0:03:49.791,0:03:53.315 But yet at the same time there[br]were things about his life 0:03:53.315,0:03:56.233 that had remained essentialy the same 0:03:56.248,0:03:59.463 in terms of his values, his beliefs,[br]and what was important to him. 0:03:59.463,0:04:02.526 You know, I think the challenge[br]that we face now 0:04:02.526,0:04:06.493 is we are in the midst of the[br]biggest transformation 0:04:06.579,0:04:08.328 that the world had ever seen. 0:04:08.328,0:04:11.147 When I wrote my book[br]"The Shift" I said 0:04:11.147,0:04:13.983 "The biggest transformation[br]since the industrial revolution" . 0:04:13.983,0:04:15.830 I don't think that's the case anymore. 0:04:15.838,0:04:19.296 In the two years since[br]that was written 0:04:19.320,0:04:22.434 I realized it's the biggest[br]transformation ever. 0:04:22.434,0:04:26.131 And one of the challenges that[br]we face is to ask ourselves 0:04:26.149,0:04:29.047 "What sort of a world do[br]we want to construct?" 0:04:29.047,0:04:32.973 And more importantly, what sort[br]of a life do I want to construct? 0:04:32.973,0:04:36.015 And there is no question[br]that there are some 0:04:36.015,0:04:39.664 pretty tough things happening[br]to us in the future. 0:04:39.664,0:04:43.114 If we look into the future[br]what's clear is that 0:04:43.114,0:04:46.913 you could walk into[br]the future blindfold. 0:04:46.913,0:04:48.650 You know you could walk[br]into a default future 0:04:48.650,0:04:52.791 where you don't make choices,[br]you let the future unroll 0:04:52.791,0:04:57.628 in front of you or you could be[br]a lot more thoughtful 0:04:57.659,0:04:59.555 about the future that[br]you want to create. 0:04:59.555,0:05:03.162 You can create in other[br]words a "crafted future". 0:05:03.179,0:05:06.455 Now to do that, I think you[br]have to think about 0:05:06.504,0:05:09.434 some of the things that are[br]happening in our lives 0:05:09.434,0:05:11.265 over the next couple of decades. 0:05:11.265,0:05:15.827 Both in terms of the bright side[br]and in terms of the side 0:05:15.827,0:05:18.795 which is a dark side. 0:05:19.134,0:05:22.983 You know, one of the things[br]that's really clear about the future, 0:05:22.983,0:05:26.250 about our lives,[br]about the lives of our children 0:05:26.250,0:05:29.138 is it could be a life[br]of fragmentation, 0:05:29.138,0:05:33.802 it could be a life where[br]in fact everything is broken 0:05:33.802,0:05:35.382 into three minute periods. 0:05:35.382,0:05:40.160 If you look even now at your life[br]you'll find that even now 0:05:40.179,0:05:43.090 you're constantly interrupted[br]by technology. 0:05:43.099,0:05:45.643 It's sort of like a bad tempered[br]two year-old. 0:05:45.700,0:05:49.506 You know you can't really[br]find the time within your life 0:05:49.508,0:05:52.084 that allows you to be reflective, 0:05:52.084,0:05:54.308 that allows you to be thoughtful. 0:05:54.308,0:05:58.941 So isolation, fragmentation,[br]is a really important part 0:05:58.981,0:06:02.631 potentially of our lives. But yet it[br]doesn't need to be like that. 0:06:02.631,0:06:04.918 The very technology[br]that interrupts you 0:06:04.918,0:06:07.054 the very technology[br]that behaves like 0:06:07.054,0:06:09.298 the bad tempered two year-old 0:06:09.298,0:06:13.436 can also provide enormous[br]opportunities for co-creation. 0:06:13.436,0:06:17.509 Right now across the world[br]tens of thousands of people 0:06:17.509,0:06:20.638 are joining together on platforms[br]like InnoCentive 0:06:20.638,0:06:24.201 to share ideas, to think[br]through the opportunities, 0:06:24.245,0:06:26.731 to solve problems, both[br]in their own country 0:06:26.731,0:06:28.982 and indeed in other countries. 0:06:28.982,0:06:31.883 It could be a world of isolation. 0:06:32.687,0:06:36.289 There is a potential for many of us 0:06:36.289,0:06:39.327 to be living in small families. 0:06:39.339,0:06:44.565 We've moved into the city,[br]we've lost our family roots 0:06:44.565,0:06:47.686 we're very mobile,[br]we're working at home 0:06:47.686,0:06:52.548 rather than in an office and it could[br]be a really isolated future. 0:06:52.548,0:06:55.826 It could be a future where[br]it's hard for you to connect 0:06:55.826,0:06:58.889 but at the same time[br]you know there are 0:06:58.889,0:07:01.990 opportunities as we've heard[br]today to really connect 0:07:01.990,0:07:05.146 into your societies to connect[br]into your communities 0:07:05.177,0:07:08.919 to be part of the place that you live. 0:07:08.919,0:07:11.327 And it's a world of exclusion. 0:07:11.379,0:07:14.052 It's a world where the rich get richer, 0:07:14.075,0:07:16.443 where the poor become poorer, 0:07:16.443,0:07:19.391 wherever they happen to be located. 0:07:19.391,0:07:21.560 It's a world where if you don't 0:07:21.560,0:07:24.299 or you're not educated you can't join [br] 0:07:24.299,0:07:26.313 the global labor talent pool, 0:07:26.381,0:07:28.894 you have no way[br]of actually accessing 0:07:28.924,0:07:31.443 the value that the world's creating. 0:07:31.443,0:07:34.814 But it could be a world[br]where you become engaged 0:07:34.859,0:07:38.802 and where five billion people[br]can connect to each other 0:07:38.802,0:07:42.628 using the abundant knowledge[br]that's available now 0:07:42.628,0:07:47.968 through the sort of hand-held[br]devices that my Masai warrior 0:07:47.968,0:07:51.831 was holding that could create[br]enormous amounts of engagement. 0:07:51.831,0:07:55.502 And what I want to suggest[br]is that the challenge 0:07:55.502,0:07:59.482 that we face now[br]is that we could walk into 0:07:59.482,0:08:05.855 the future blindfolded or instead we[br]could make some important shifts 0:08:05.855,0:08:08.155 that change the way that we think, 0:08:08.155,0:08:11.975 that change our behavior,[br]that change some of the ways 0:08:12.032,0:08:16.378 that we want our future to continue. 0:08:16.397,0:08:21.268 And it seems to me, that right now,[br]we are faced both with choices [br] 0:08:21.273,0:08:23.224 and with consequences. 0:08:23.224,0:08:25.757 And I want to suggest three shifts 0:08:25.757,0:08:29.029 I think each one of us[br]should be thinking about 0:08:29.029,0:08:32.267 in terms of how we create[br]the sort of future 0:08:32.267,0:08:34.975 that's going to be important to us. 0:08:34.975,0:08:39.439 The first is about the way we[br]think about our own skills. 0:08:39.439,0:08:42.227 Now you know there was a time 0:08:42.227,0:08:45.161 that you thought maybe,[br]you know, to be a generalist 0:08:45.161,0:08:47.290 would be wonderful. 0:08:47.290,0:08:49.991 I just need to be like a[br]T-shaped manager. 0:08:49.991,0:08:53.339 I need to know a little[br]about a lot of things. 0:08:53.669,0:08:57.893 But frankly if you know a little[br]about a lot of things 0:08:57.893,0:09:04.295 you're competition is not those smart[br]highly educated people in China. 0:09:04.303,0:09:07.803 Your competition is[br]Wikipedia and Google. 0:09:08.327,0:09:11.979 So, you need to build mastery. 0:09:12.041,0:09:17.345 You need to focus on areas that you[br]love, that you're passionate about, 0:09:17.429,0:09:20.726 because the future in my view[br]is about hyperspecialization. 0:09:20.784,0:09:25.184 And if can do two things,[br]then that's even better. 0:09:25.184,0:09:30.382 So, number one, first shift,[br]think about what you love, 0:09:30.382,0:09:34.355 what you're passionate about[br]and really really focus on it. 0:09:35.012,0:09:40.084 Number two. You know[br]certainly when I was 0:09:40.084,0:09:45.024 growing up what we thought was[br]the way to get on was to compete. 0:09:45.060,0:09:49.188 You know, that there was a rank[br]and some people will be at the top 0:09:49.193,0:09:51.189 and some people would[br]be at the bottom. 0:09:51.189,0:09:52.961 And the way to make sure[br]that you were at the top 0:09:52.961,0:09:56.158 was to compete with[br]everybody else around you. 0:09:56.158,0:09:59.583 and to be the best that you can be. 0:09:59.993,0:10:03.285 What we're now realizing[br]about the future 0:10:03.343,0:10:07.072 is that there are[br]incredible opportunities 0:10:07.072,0:10:10.733 to build value through collaboration[br]and through cooperation. 0:10:10.733,0:10:13.449 Technology, those[br]billions connected, 0:10:13.662,0:10:17.198 abundant knowledge provides[br]incredible opportunities 0:10:17.224,0:10:20.741 not simply to compete[br]but also to realize 0:10:20.741,0:10:23.607 that networks are going[br]to be important. 0:10:23.610,0:10:26.111 And those could be[br]the sort of networks 0:10:26.111,0:10:30.764 that are the possy, you know those[br]people who are really close to you 0:10:31.464,0:10:34.141 who understand your knowledge[br]who can ride with you 0:10:34.261,0:10:36.991 it could be the regenerative community, 0:10:37.028,0:10:40.764 those people who you're close to,[br]who you give time to, 0:10:40.828,0:10:44.198 who you can reflect to, it could[br]be the big ideas crowd. 0:10:44.345,0:10:46.910 The thousands of people[br]you might know 0:10:46.910,0:10:50.450 who between them have ideas[br]that you can't even imagine 0:10:50.560,0:10:54.541 but the combination with your[br]ideas could be very valuable. 0:10:54.541,0:10:57.166 And the final shift is this. 0:10:57.166,0:11:00.386 You know when organizations[br]began to industrialize 0:11:00.386,0:11:04.426 the deal between the worker[br]was very simple. 0:11:04.426,0:11:11.339 You work to earn money to buy[br]stuff that makes you happy. 0:11:12.145,0:11:14.467 I don't think that's working anymore. 0:11:14.511,0:11:17.118 I mean what we're[br]beginning to realize 0:11:17.118,0:11:21.488 is that there's very little correlation[br]between higher standards of living 0:11:21.488,0:11:24.514 and better feelings about[br]happiness or quality of life. 0:11:24.514,0:11:25.969 And what we're also[br]realizing is that 0:11:25.981,0:11:31.144 if we're going to be working[br]until 75, which we will be, 0:11:31.144,0:11:33.597 and if we're going to have[br]work as a center 0:11:33.597,0:11:36.147 of our life, which for most of us[br]it will be, 0:11:36.147,0:11:39.086 work is where we find[br]meaning and I believe 0:11:39.086,0:11:42.745 that in the future the shift[br]comes less from thinking 0:11:42.745,0:11:45.478 about work as a means[br]of making money 0:11:45.546,0:11:48.370 to buy stuff that you[br]can consume 0:11:48.377,0:11:52.955 but rather to see work[br]itself as a source 0:11:52.955,0:11:56.298 of enormous creativity[br]and a source 0:11:56.298,0:12:00.862 of enormous possibilities in[br]terms of what would help 0:12:00.926,0:12:04.556 each one of us to become[br]the very best we can. 0:12:04.660,0:12:08.056 You know human potential[br]is indeed infinite. 0:12:08.060,0:12:10.853 And I believe that[br]whilst there are 0:12:10.853,0:12:15.325 some very tough parts[br]of the path ahead 0:12:15.325,0:12:18.245 at the same time,[br]we have opportunities 0:12:18.304,0:12:23.562 for the next 10, 20 years[br]to be incredibly exciting 0:12:23.624,0:12:25.211 for every one of us. 0:12:25.211,0:12:26.322 Thank you. 0:12:26.322,0:12:28.073 (Applause)