DOne of the thoughts that really got me thinking today was the following provocative comment I found on The DaVinci Institute's website:
"People who live to be 65 today in the United States live an average of an additional 18 years. Over the first two decades of the 21st Century, because of advances in health care, nutrition, exercise, wealth, and biotechnologies of various kinds, this average will increase toward 30 years, then 40 years after age 65. How will we reinvent the third phase of life now called retirement?" - Glen Hiemstra -Futurist.Com
What a fascinating question for us all to ponder. We can already see the trend that many people are working well after their 65th birthday. Soon governments will not be giving retirement pensions to anyone younger than seventy - we will all still be working at this age. For some this may be working part time, or having a portfolio of jobs to keep us interested, and to give back to society. Even the wealthy will not retire, but choose to occupy their time in a range of different ways. Will retirement exist? Maybe we should remove the word from our vocabulary all together.
Showing posts with label diversity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diversity. Show all posts
Saturday, 23 August 2008
Sunday, 16 December 2007
Diversity
Yes - diversity is a buzz word right now. But it is also of major significance as we move forward to become global leader. In his blog, Jim Kouzes talks about global leadership in terms of thinking beyond your culture and being open to many ways of doing things. "In brief, it's getting out of yourself!"
Recently, I had the opportunity to travel overseas for three months. That time certainly helped me reflect on my role as a global citizen and to think widely, see others' viewpoints and reflect before acting. A friend of mine talks about considering all the possibilities before even beginning to narrow down ideas. This is not only about understanding other people's viewpoints but actively visualising diverse stakeholders as real people - giving them a name and an avatar and getting into their way of thinking.
Not everyone is able to travel but there are other ways of getting out of yourself. One way is to spend time in your own town or city, observing what is around you. Take time to meet people from all walks of life...talk to taxi drivers....try some different activities...act as a tourist for a day. Spend time in your clients' environments to see what it is really like for them.
Another example of thinking beyond is using the internet to keep up to date with trends and ideas. Find some blogs or websites you really enjoy and visit them regularly, or sign up to an rss feed if they have one. The web 2.0 environment expects you to be an active participant so go to it! Challenge yourself to find diverse material, including that which really challenges your thinking or provides a different viewpoint from your own.
Recently, I had the opportunity to travel overseas for three months. That time certainly helped me reflect on my role as a global citizen and to think widely, see others' viewpoints and reflect before acting. A friend of mine talks about considering all the possibilities before even beginning to narrow down ideas. This is not only about understanding other people's viewpoints but actively visualising diverse stakeholders as real people - giving them a name and an avatar and getting into their way of thinking.
Not everyone is able to travel but there are other ways of getting out of yourself. One way is to spend time in your own town or city, observing what is around you. Take time to meet people from all walks of life...talk to taxi drivers....try some different activities...act as a tourist for a day. Spend time in your clients' environments to see what it is really like for them.
Another example of thinking beyond is using the internet to keep up to date with trends and ideas. Find some blogs or websites you really enjoy and visit them regularly, or sign up to an rss feed if they have one. The web 2.0 environment expects you to be an active participant so go to it! Challenge yourself to find diverse material, including that which really challenges your thinking or provides a different viewpoint from your own.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
