T wenty-nine years ago, Prof Vernor Vinge delivered a lecture at a conference organized by NASA. In it he said…
“I believe that the creation of a greater than human intelligence will occur in the next thirty years… When greater-than-human intelligence drives progress, that progress will be much more rapid. … From the human point of view this change will be a throwing away of all the previous rules, perhaps in a blink of an eye, an exponential runway beyond any hope of control. … I think it’s fair to call this event a singularity … It is a point where our models must be discarded and a new reality rules. “
By Prof. Vernor Vinge (1993) Mathematics and Computer Science) at a conference organized by NASA.
When peering into the crystal ball, most futurologists like Alvin Toffler, Kurt Kurzweil and Joi Ito agree that the future is going to be nothing like the present, let alone the past. They also say that the pace of change is accelerating at breakneck speed (actually, Joi Ito calls it Whiplash). How do we prepare ourselves and our organizations to navigate a future that we cannot predict?
- Inner Kompass: Ethics is what helps us to choose our direction and stay the course. When the outcomes are unpredictable, the only way to make important decisions is to base them on one’s inner values. The ethical imperative invites us to choose the right path of action, irrespective of the consequences.
- Resilience: The ability to stay afloat even in turbulent times. For individuals, this means that we have to expect setbacks and prepare for them in advance. Everyone will fail. What matters is how you recover. There is only one way to have a life without failure … stay within your comfort zone, and never try anything new.
- Flexibility: The ability to adapt to changing environments is critical. This requires constant learning and it also requires us to let go of unwanted emotional baggage. As the famous zen story illustrates (youtube video), if you need to replenish your mind, you have to empty it first. How do you empty your mind?
How we Do it
“Humanity’s legacy of stories and storytelling is the most precious we have. All wisdom is in our stories and songs. A story is how we construct our experiences. At the very simplest, it can be: ‘He/she was born, lived, died.’ Probably that is the template of our stories. . . a beginning, middle, and end. This structure is in our minds”.
At the Talk Shop, we believe in the power of stories to change the way we experience the world and ourselves. Storytelling is a time-tested method… to learn, to entertain, to get us to think, to pass on cultural knowledge, and to instil values. Stories help connect people as they are universal and can bridge cultural, linguistic, and age-related divides. It is one of the best means to help us to understand the world around us and our place in it. The true art of telling stories lies in making them come alive, to enthral the audience while touching their lives in some way. That’s what we do in Theater, on stage.
Just what is The Talk Shop?
The Talk Shop is not a registered company or firm, It is a group of friends who share similar, (though not the same) thoughts and perspectives. It is just a platform for us to showcase our work and our thoughts. The Talk Shop is the brainchild of Dr Mathai Fenn, the Principal Consultant, and the Talk Shop is his brainchild. At the Talk Shop Academy, you can learn things that are important for work and living in the 21st Century. This is where you can spend some time at our library or sign up for some of our courses. Personal Growth and Transformation are an important part of learning at the Talk Shop. All our courses are interactive and there are plenty of opportunities to discuss your own experiences and raise doubts. However, if you would like a more personal approach, you can sign up for our Personal Coaching program.
Legal Status
The Talk Shop is not a registered company nor a legal business entity. As mentioned earlier, it is a community of like-minded individuals, and we all have @thetalkshop.in email ids. Like a virtual network, we all work as individuals in consultation with each other and, of course, we help each other out. We like to think of ourselves as a node in a network. Your legal contract will be with an individual and your payment will be to that same person.
What this means for you
- You have a single person who will take care of your needs, you are not dealing with a faceless organization
- The single person is morally and legally accountable and takes responsibility for his words and actions
- That person may work with others in the Talk Shop Network to share the work, but the individual’s fees will include payment to other resources within Talk Shop
In short, working with a Talk Shop Associate is like working with a friend, someone who can make decisions and provide you with what you need, although the Associate is actually connected to a network of resources.