Futurist Jim Carroll

Daily Inspiration: "You will never move forward if you keep looking back!" - Futurist Jim Carroll

Some years ago, someone on a social media network somewhere decided that "Monday's are for motivation" and launched the idea that social media posts on that day should have some sort of inspirational edge. The idea being that Monday is such a mind-crushing day that people need some soft of extra motivational oomph! to get them going.

The result is today, if you are online, you'll find posts with the hashtags #mondaymotivation #motivationalmondays and more.

So given that it's Monday, if you need some motivation, here are some thoughts to run with - all in the style of if you don't X, you'll never achieve Y! I stared out by thinking about the need to look forward rather than looking back - and went from there!

- you'll never succeed if you're not prepared to fail.

- you'll never move forward if you keep looking back.

- you'll never learn new things if you keep doing old things

- you'll never find your creativity if you keep it locked down

- you'll never discover your passion if you fear exploration.

- you'll never achieve greatness if you settle for mediocrity.

- you'll never reach your destination if you fear taking the first step.

- you'll never find connection if you isolate yourself.

- you'll never find empathy if you lack understanding.

- you'll never find courage if you let doubt hold you back.

- you'll never find purpose if you lack direction.

- you'll never find resilience if you avoid challenges.

- you'll never find joy if you focus on sorrow.

- you'll never find peace if you dwell on negativity.

- you'll never find love if you guard your heart.

- you'll never find growth if you fear discomfort.

- you'll never find wisdom if you refuse to listen.

That should keep you motivated for a bit!

Have a great Monday!

There are about 75 more in the original post:

https://jimcarroll.com/2024/04/daily-inspiration-personal-motivation-you-will-never-move-forward-if-you-keep-looking-back/

I updated it so you don't have to.

#xz #xzbackdoor

Daily Inspiration: "Assumptions are often just a dangerous, delusional certainty! (Because they will blind you to the reality of your reality!)" - Futurist Jim Carroll

Often, the thing that holds people back from their ability to get to tomorrow is their insane ability to hold to their beliefs, even in the face of absolutely fascinating compelling evidence to the contrary. One might often find that these are due to the assumptions that people cling to.

It's most often been the case with technology and the inevitable disruption that comes along with it. IBM chairman Thomas Watson famously predicted in 1943 that "there is a world market for maybe five computers." n 1995, Robert Metcalfe, the inventor of Ethernet, predicted the collapse of the Internet by 1996, which obviously did not happen. In 1977, Ken Olsen, the founder of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), stated with certainty, "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."

Forecasting the future — particularly with technology — is a difficult thing to do. Many people have said that while it’s easy to predict the future, it’s another thing altogether to be right! Consider, for example, one fellow who in 1868 tried to alert residents of London, England, that they would soon face a very serious problem. Why? In his studies, he had looked at the city's population growth rate and then factored in the bathroom habits of the horses used for travel. His conclusion? In the not-too-distant future, most streets in the city would be six feet deep in manure!

Oops. He failed to see the arrival of a technology - automobiles - that would render irrelevant the potential problem. His assumption was at the core of his failed prediction.

The result of all this is that people often assume that tomorrow will be very much like today.

Read more - >>> Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/04/daily-inspiration-leadership-change-assumptions-are-often-just-a-dangerous-delusional-certainty/

Daily Inspiration: "Anything can be accomplished with courage!" - Futurist Jim Carroll

I drew a blank this morning.

Most days, I pull together the next day's quote the previous day and then spend some time thinking about what I'm thinking about. For some reason, I didn't manage to do that yesterday - the result being that as I started my day, I went into my mindset folder of unused quotes (it's in Gmail) to find something to think about. And I found this one - 'anything can be accomplished with courage.'  It looks like I sent it to myself on December 21, 2021 - I don't remember the context of the time, but obviously, something was on my mind! 

Courage? If that's the theme, here's a key thought for the day - "Courage is the secret to strength!," something I shared way back in 2019.

Courage? Anything can be accomplished with courage - it's the thing that gives you the power, strength, and fortitude to push through those tough times.

But it's not just the tough times that you need to draw upon your reserves of courage - you need it in your everyday life. All of us are being buffeted by change, disruption, volatility, and uncertainty - it always seems relentless. That's why every morning, it might be a good idea to fortify ourselves with our secret weapon - our courage to continue to face the unknown, battle the ambiguity, and innovate our way through it.

We need to make sure that we always dare to buck the status quo, dismiss the naysayers, and make big bold steps.

To do that, we need to draw on our courage reserve - and then take a deep breath, and dive into the deep end, both eyes open.

Because even when you have nothing, you always have something - your courage!

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/04/daily-inspiration-personal-initiative-anything-can-be-accomplished-with-courage/

Here's my summary of the various cases of US v. Donald J. Trump

Justice: words words words words words

DJ Lawyers: words words words delay delay delay

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DJ Lawyers: words words words delay delay delay

Justice: words words words words words

DJ Lawyers: words words words delay delay delay

Justice: words words words words words

DJ Lawyers: words words words delay delay delay

Justice: words words words words words

DJ Lawyers: words words words delay delay delay

Justice: words words words words words

DJ Lawyers: words words words delay delay delay

Justice: words words words words words

DJ Lawyers: words words words delay delay delay

Justice: words words words words words

DJ Lawyers: words words words delay delay delay

Democracy is dying in a flurry of legal brief words.

The future is fascinating.

Politicians and wannabe big thinkers want to fight a battle against EVs and prop up Detroit and jobs.

That's not the big issue - and besides, it won't work.

And they are forgetting this simple fact - it's pretty obvious that China is about to own the 21st-century automotive industry, and car companies need to pick up the pace to have a fighting chance.

Meanwhile, the one guy who was doing all the right things to reinvent the automotive industry has gone off into grievance-mind-for-butter-conspiracy land and has lost the plot.

Daily Inspiration: "Erratic leadership will always bring erratic results, but distracted leadership is guaranteed to bring even worse" - Futurist Jim Carroll

Jim Balsillie wanted to buy himself an NHL hockey team and wasted away precious time with his company RIM - the home of the Blackberry - while Apple was busy redefining the future with the iPhone. Elon Musk went and bought a once-popular social network so that he could feed his ego and pursue some grandiose ideas about free speech, all the while ignoring the fact that Tesla was going from being the world's most advanced car company to becoming, potentially not far away an industry afterthought.

Did you see the Tesla quarter? Missed sales targets, declining revenue, stalled innovation, lower demand despite ongoing rebates, and an absentee CEO? All in the face of a forthcoming Chinese EV juggernaut with new models that are more than just competitive on price, feature set, range, and more.

History is littered with the remains of companies where the CEOs took their eye off the ball, lost the plot, or failed to show up. You can be an erratic leader of a company, moving from crisis to crisis, situation to situation, shiny new object to shiny new object, strategy to strategy, and still recover. But once you become distracted, the future becomes a whole different animal.

It's all a part of the dread disease of CEO Hubris, a topic I've covered here at length - you can find my main post at

https://hubris.jimcarroll.com

I need to add 'distracted leadership' to this list - but check the last item. "A belief they will never fail - until they do."

It's the fact that it is becoming pretty evident that Chinese EV manufacturers are pretty likely to own the global automotive industry in but 10 short years.

And Musk has lost the plot.

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/04/daily-inspiration-leadership-erratic-leadership-will-always-bring-erratic-results-but-distracted-leadership-is-guaranteed-to-bring-even-worse/

"Yesterday’s ideas won’t work for you tomorrow!" - Futurist Jim Carroll

Someone asked me yesterday about my comment that Chinese automotive companies will likely own the automotive industry of the future.

Sadly, I think that it is true - the reason for that being that most auto manufacturers seem to continue to be busy fighting the battles of the last century, using product designs, ideas, and concepts involving the vehicle architecture of that era. The other automotive company that has the opportunity to own the industry in the 21st century has a CEO in place who has no focus on the battle ahead.

Case in point? How about this:

----

Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest carmaker, has since been a frequent EV skeptic, funding misleading advertisements, and lobbying against government policies that promote them around the world.

How Three High-Tech Countries Became Laggards in Electric Vehicles,Japan, South Korea and the US have fallen behind their peers in EV adoption — despite meeting the criteria to be frontrunners.Blooomberg, April 4, 2024

-----

I could dig out a zillion articles like this from my research service that play into this theme, but why bother? Many folks have an ingrained belief that the dominant companies of the 20th century will be the dominant ones of the 21st. It's their right!

Rather than doing that, I went into one of my research services and dug out this article from 1962, which involves a desperate plea from the Association of Buggy Whip Manufacturers.

You want to read this one!

Market for Buggy Whips Diminishes
Morning Sentinel, Waterville Maine, December 29, 1962

#leadership #disruption #transformation #automotiveindustry

https://jimcarroll.com/2024/04/daily-inspiration-leadership-disruption-yesterdays-ideas-wont-work-for-you-tomorrow/

Daily Inspiration: "Your potential lies on the other side of your inaction!" - Futurist Jim Carroll

I regularly meet people who are stuck.

Often they are trapped in situations in which they are doing things they don't want to do and are chasing the same excuses every day about why they want to escape and set themselves free.

Yet they never do. They end up defining their future by their inaction rather than their initiative.

One of the worst things you can ever do when it comes to aligning to tomorrow is to let your inaction drive your decisions - the only way to move forward is actually to make the steps to go there.But what is holding you back? Fear of failure? Could the dread of disappointment be paralyzing you? Do you doubt your ability to succeed? Is it the warm embrace of your comfort zone, your safe space, or the fact that doing nothing drives your decisions? Are you endlessly procrastinating, deferring the decisions that might get you moving? Are you overthinking each step of your escape, letting analysis paralysis guide your inaction?

Maybe you should do an inaction inventory. Identify the uncertainties that are immobilizing you, the negative self-talk that chips away at your confidence. Is it fear of the unknown? Lack of resources? Self-doubt?

People around you are negative influences, feeding you the message that what you are thinking about can't be done.

Moving forward can often be overwhelming - but standing still, in the long run, will be even more overwhelming because you will come to define yourself by your inaction rather than your initiative.

It's Motivation Monday, folks! Get motivated, and get moving!

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/04/daily-inspiration-initiative-momentum-your-potential-lies-on-the-other-side-of-your-inaction/

Daily Inspiration: "Make more of the moments that matter!" - Futurist Jim Carroll

This was a selfie I took yesterday at the airport in Sherbrooke, Quebec, yesterday, just moments after the conclusion of the full totality portion of the 2024 eclipse. To say that I was a bit overwhelmed by the experience would be an understatement - as would seem to be the case with everyone there, and all of the millions who made their way to the path.

I tried to immerse myself within the moment, rather than spending a lot of time trying to film and record the event, having read and listened to a few reports from various eclipse veterans. But my good friend and pilot of our adventure, Osama Arafat, did manage to catch the moment in all its glory.

I won't try to wax poetic about what I witnessed and the beauty of the moment, other than to say it far exceeded all of my expectations. I am so thrilled to have put in the effort and drawn upon the information resources I had to end up at a tiny little airport in Southern Quebec, traveling there in a private plane.

My original plan was to head down to Fort Erie to visit a close friend; however, a health issue that emerged for him last week put this out of the line of action. Not only that, but the weather forecast for the region started to look pretty dismal.

For days, I'd been relying on every powerful cloud prediction model available, obsessing over the potential accuracy of a difficult weather forecast. I ended up relying on a fantastic site that a Ph.D. in meteorological science had put together that gave detailed, up-to-date forecasts for every city along the path. 

I began to look at options. The weather models told me, "Go east, young man!"

On Saturday, I sent a text to my good friend Osama - who owns a plane - and yesterday, found myself in the middle of mayhem at the often sleepy Sherbrooke, Quebec airport!

Read more: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/04/daily-inspiration-eclipse-2024-make-more-of-the-moments-that-matter/

My 2024 Eclipse video. You can't begin to describe it; this will give you a sense of how quickly it goes from day to night to day, with a 360 degree sunrise all around you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF5T7NGJIlM&feature=youtu.be

The excitement of seeing your new MacBook fly over your house early in the morning on a big ol' MD-11.

"It's the reality that matters (not the hype!)" - Futurist Jim Carroll

I have a good friend from my ski club who has been reading my Daily Inspiration post (what you are reading right now) for many, many years. He told me a few months back that he always finds them to be interesting and helpful - but also observed that sometimes they get a little promotional.

I suppose so.

But often, I find that I'm sharing in these posts some motivational insight that comes from the unique nature of the work that I do. And sometimes I need to share the unique nature of that work, to provide the inspiration that you might need to interpret the world around you.

With that in mind (my favorite phrase), I think it's important that when it comes to the future, it's always critical to keep your eyes focused on the reality of any particular trend 0 and not the hype that comes with it.

And gosh knows that AI has been hyped in the last few years - perhaps, overhyped. On the Gartner Hype Cycle, we are clearly at the "Peak of Inflated Expectations!"

That's why, in all of my recent keynotes, I've been focused on the reality of the strategic opportunities that are unfolding with AI - often which will take some time to evolve and mature (i.e. get to the "Plateau of Productivity." I recently relaunched my AI-focused Website with a whole new design and layout  - it's over at https://jimcarroll.ai - and am focusing on the strategic stories that I've been sharing.

And those strategic stories are very, very real.

Read about them here.

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/04/daily-inspiration-artificial-intelligencer-its-the-reality-that-matters-not-the-hype/

Daily Inspiration: "Your ability to spot the opportunity will define your ability to counter the threat!" - Futurist Jim Carroll

Of all the dumb things said about AI in the last few years, this has perhaps ranked as the dumbest:

International Business Machines Corp. Chief Executive Officer Arvind Krishna said the company expects to pause hiring for roles it thinks could be replaced with artificial intelligence in the coming years. "Hiring in back-office functions — such as human resources — will be suspended or slowed, Krishna said in an interview.” Bloomberg,  May 1, 2023

I often like to point out that his assumption is probably inherently wrong, and that it has caused CEOs worldwide to think, "How can I get some of that too?"

It's all a part of the popular, common wisdom that millions of jobs are at risk and are set to disappear as the AI juggernaut sweeps through the global economy, with headlines such as this feeding into the hype and hysteria.

AI could eliminate nearly 8 million jobs in UK, study shows
The technology could herald a "job apocalypse," the study said.
ABCNews, March 27, 2024
Report: AI Will Replace 2.4 Million US Jobs by 2030. While AI remains a threat to white-collar workers, the technology is likely to reshape far more jobs than it replaces.
TechCo, .Sep 8, 2023

This seems to feed people the idea that they will soon find themselves working hand-in-hand next to some sort of humanoid robot that will have extremely human-like qualities - and might one day be replaced by these robots.

While I have no doubt we are seeing fascinating fast-paced developments with humanoid robot development, I find this whole perspective to be pretty silly.

Here's why.

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/04/daily-inspiration-ai-jobs-your-ability-to-spot-the-opportunity-will-define-your-ability-to-counter-the-threat/

@duncanhart

I've always got a few upcoming speeches on the go, and am always researching and prepping for those. Ongoing research into various trends clients are asking about. Occasional broadcast studio video production on stuff. Things like that.

Daily Inspiration: "Today? It's business as unusual!" - Futurist Jim Carroll

Today's photo is from an event I did a few years ago for a group called Havi International - which represents a massive number of companies that are suppliers of products to McDonald's. The theme of their event was, if it is not obvious, "Partnering for Growth" - the key idea being that an organization can best move forward when a group of companies can move together as one within an industry to align with the innovation requirements of a core customer.

It's an important theme and often plays out in the various events I speak at. Yesterday, I was just on a call with another such client - BNSF Railway - a Warren Buffet company! It's the largest freight railroad in the United States, with 36,000 employees, 33,400 miles of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. I will be speaking at their 2024 key customer event to be held down in Fort Worth in June, and the purpose of the call was to explore the potential direction of my time on stage. Like many clients, they spent quite a bit of time browsing my site and my message before booking me, and I guess they liked what they saw. They liked the general direction and tone of my topic; the call was to refine it a bit further.

It's always fun when your thinking aligns perfectly with what is on the client's mind!

Today, it's no longer business as usual - it's business as unusual!

Understand that, and plan accordingly!

Read more.

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/04/daily-inspiration-business-volatility-today-its-business-as-unusual/

working out

I'm 65 years old today.

In the olden days, you retired at this age.

Not me. I'm just starting! (-;

Every day on my birthday, I have my first swim of the year - a 30-year tradition. Some years, it's been in snow or ice; in other years, it's been sunny and warm.

And this morning at 525AM, it was dark and rainy but glorious. I've arrived here in pretty good shape!

Daily Inspiration: "Retirement? It's no longer a number, it's a phase!" - Futurist Jim Carroll

Years ago - many years ago, it seems - I wrote this into an article:

"Are you ready for a world in which the concept of "retirement' has come to an end? If not, you'd better be, as this is likely to rapidly emerge as the most significant issue for every organization through the next ten years. That's because right now, we have a "perfect storm" brewing that involves three succinct but interrelated trends that will see the ongoing involvement in the workforce of people well past the age of 65." 

In that context, yesterday was a pretty big and important milestone day for me!

According to the rules and norms of the 'olden days,' I should be fully retired as of this moment - after all, that's what you were expected to do! But retirement? That's not going to happen! Things have changed much in the past years, with the fact being that many seniors are of a mindset to keep on going with what they enjoy doing. Many are instead deciding to perhaps slowly wind down for a time rather than fitting into some hard, specific date.

With that in mind, here's the article I wrote back in 2004. It makes even more sense today!

The End of Retirement
by Futurist Jim Carroll
CSAE Association Agenda, 
May 3, 2004

Read on:

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/04/daily-inspiration-workforce-trends-retirement-its-no-longer-a-number-its-a-phase/

@adamvs1 I have a unique job in that I haven't had a traditional job for 35 years, leaving the corporate world to do my own thing (writing, speaking, advising). I still love what I do, and managed to get 100 rounds of golf in last year, so I have the best of both worlds!

Hey @futuristjimcarroll - you there?

Daily Inspiration - "Don’t just show up. Show up with ideas!" - Futurist Jim Carroll

There are a lot of people who go through the motions. Put in the minimums. Barely get involved. Never contribute. The fact is, it never ends up working well for them.

Are you one of those people? Consider how this puts you out of touch with the rest of those around you:

No one likes the person who only tears ideas down rather than offering up their own

No one remembers the person who doesn't have ideas.

No one gets inspired by the person who never contributes.

No one finds optimism in someone who is always negative.

On the other hand, the flip side is true for those who do take the time to contribute:

No one likes the feeling of being stuck in a stagnant environment where there are no new ideas.

No one likes being in a group where their contributions aren't valued or acknowledged.

No one likes to feel like their voice doesn't matter

No one likes it when someone dismisses their ideas without giving them proper consideration.

No one likes feeling like their ideas are falling on deaf ears.

Ideas are currency. Ideas are valuable. Ideas are fuel for innovation momentum.

Recognize them for the criticality of what they represent, and treat them with respect - regardless of where you fit on the spectrum of participation!

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/04/daily-inspiration-innovation-dont-just-show-up-show-up-with-ideas/

Daily Inspiration: "Excitement should be your destination, and innovation your mode of transport!" - Futurist Jim Carroll

Some of the events at which I speak feature a 'graphic recorder' - an individual who creates a digital image-based overview of the key points in my keynote, doing this in real-time while standing next to my stage, This is the one that was created while I spoke at CattleCon 2024 in Orlando.

Moments before I took the stage, the graphic recorder from Ink Factory was ready to go with a blank slate - and by the end of my talk, had created moments of magic

Visit their Website - I love the tagline: "You talk. We draw. It's awesome"

And it is true - their work is awesome!

Over the years, there have been many events where these graphic recorders have worked to capture the essence of the insight I shared from the stage. These artistic creations are a fantastic way of capturing insight at conferences and events and are often distributed to attendees post-event. I've always been fascinated to watch these people working, sometimes keeping a close eye from the stage on their progress and effort. I'm mesmerized by the speed of their creative process, particularly as I offer up my insight at a relentless pace of velocity.

But in this case, a second storyboard was created, and the insight it shared was even more awesome!

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/04/daily-inspiration-the-future-of-agriculture-excitement-should-be-your-destination-and-innovation-your-mode-of-transport/

Daily Inspiration: "Never hesitate to take on the tough stuff!" - Futurist Jim Carroll

In some situations, people are eager to take on the message of change; in other cases, not so much.

That doesn't mean you should try to avoid the latter.

There are a. number of keynotes coming up from now through the fall of 2024, and each and every one is somewhere in my mind. I'm always thinking about them, the issues that will be on the table, and the challenge that the people in the room are facing. Subconciously, I'm constructing a path for each keynote, so that one day before the event, I can commit it to my slide deck.

With this thought process in play for every event, some keynotes are easy to pull together and commit to my slides; others, not so much! Case in point - this June, I will be headlining the Canadian Petrochemical Summit.

At the event, to be held out in Alberta, Canada, are executives from many of the major Canadian oil and petrochemical companies. It's no secret to anyone that the industry faces deep challenges. The product is essentially landlocked, with the Biden administration shutting down access to the US market through the keystone pipeline decision. There is little infrastructure to ship it outside of the country. Trends toward electric vehicles and renewables promise to put a significant dent in global demand. The politics surrounding the industry in Canada are raw, to say the least.

There is no doubt that there might be a degree of hostility around some of the trends of which I might speak; after all, I've shared blog posts such as The End of Oil, much of which is based on insight that I share on stage in many events, conferences and leadership meetings.

That's not necessarily the type of story that these folks might want to get into.

I could have taken the easy way out, avoiding altogether a tough keynote situation like this - but I didn't.

Read more.

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/04/daily-inspiration-upcoming-keynote-never-hesitate-to-take-on-the-tough-stuff/

"Yesterday's knowledge won't cut it in tomorrow's world" - Futurist Jim Carroll

I asked an AI to draw a picture of a car from 'the olden days,' and this is what it imagined. It might be more complex than vehicles actually used to be!

But let's talk about cars. By the time you are reading this, I'll be making my way over to Birmingham, England, where on Saturday I'll speak to several hundred managers of KwikFit automotive service locations about the future of their industry.

They're in the business of tire, brake, air conditioning, safety and other repairs, and pride themselves on responsive customer service in the face of a vastly competitive industry.

And their industry is changing - essentially, with a far-reaching change to the very essence of what a vehicle is. This is a quote I've been using for years, and I still think it captures the essence of what is underway.

As we all know, the automobile of today - until recently - is pretty much the same as it was 100 years ago, and yet, as digitization and electrification takes hold, it becomes a different thing altogether. I'm sharing with them many slides that put in perspective the nature of the change they are dealing with, and then walking them through strategies of how to respond. I'll probably share more about this keynote in the coming days.

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/04/daily-inspiration-automotive-industry-skills-yesterdays-knowledge-wont-cut-it-in-tomorrows-world

@duncanhart I've got multiple speakers bureaus / agents worldwide who know of me and put me into proposals when relevant. A LOT of word of mouth. People finding me organically. I push out a lot of content...

So, today, I'll have an AI create a musical tune right on stage during my keynote for KwikFit managers.

Something like this.

Daily Inspiration: "To be a part of tomorrow, you need to be a part of the journey!" - Futurist Jim Carroll

An organization will never successfully get to where it needs to go if it doesn't have the full support and understanding of its team - and in some cases, my role is to help build that support and understanding.
Here's a photo from when I was doing a stage check on Friday in Birmingham, England, before my keynote Saturday for service managers of KwikFit, an automotive services company with hundreds of locations throughout the UK. It was a pretty large crowd, with about 500 of them in the room; my keynote was the closing bit for this short one-day event that the leadership organized, with a message that had an eye to the future.

Many of my keynotes are for senior leadership teams of organizations as they take on the major challenges and trends impacting their industry. And yet, many others are like this event - one where the leadership team thinks that it is important that those 'in the trenches' - the individuals throughout the organization who are interacting with customers, doing the heavy lifting, and undertaking the overall mission of the organization - need to understand how things might change in the future.

In other words, it's important that if they are to be part of tomorrow, they need to be part of the journey - and in fact, will bear much responsibility for the success of that journey. That's why, at the opening of my talk, I challenged them with this observation: "

“Innovation and change is going to invade your life. The big question is - what are you going to do with it?”

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/04/daily-inspiration-leadership-change-management-to-be-a-part-of-tomorrow-you-need-to-be-a-part-of-the-journey/

This is big!

And my self-hosted Ghost site is over at https://daily.jimcarroll.com

https://activitypub.ghost.org/?ref=ghost.org

Daily inspiration: "One day soon, we’ll recognize that at this very moment in time, we were on the edge of the arrival of the end of reality - and didn’t have a plan to deal with it" - Futurist Jim Carroll

So this happened.

You can scan to about 0:28 on the timeline for the actual incident - with the whole thing being captured automatically on 4 of the cameras on the car when it happened back on February 4. A Tesla Model 3 actually has 8 cameras though - and so I filled out the form on the Tesla site to get additional details of the crash, and received back this video, among a rather massive data set concerning the crash. (You can see data where the sensors seem to be considering whether to deploy the airbags or not.)

The good news is that both Christa and I are OK - no injuries. The bad news is that the cost to fix it came to $24,000 - indicative of the massive complexity of today's automobile. The good news is that this cost was covered by insurance. The bad news? It took months to fix the damage. The good news is that I finally got the car back last week. The bad news for her is that she was found to be at fault.

The good news is that I found adequate insight through the entire saga to feed into several keynotes over the last few months.

For example, I was the opening keynote for the Verisk Fraud Management Summit in Houston and had been thinking quite a bit about the potential role of the misuse of artificial intelligence in the world of insurance fraud - and the incident gave me the perfect foundation to build a story around new, emerging risk.

Going in, I was aware that the insurance industry has long been in the midst of a massive battle against the 'bad guys' - the sophistication and complexity of the actions undertaken by those defrauding the industry have accelerated at a furious pace, often aided by accelerating technologies.

Add AI into the mix - we are into a vastly new complex and more challenging world.

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/04/daily-inspiration-ai-risk-one-day-soon-well-recognize-that-at-this-very-moment-in-time-we-were-on-the-edge-of-the-arrival-of-the-end-of-reality-and-didnt-have-a-plan-to-de/

Daily inspiration: "You can create more opportunities or you can create more problems. Choose wisely." - Futurist Jim Carroll

It's all about a series of choices.

You can choose to be a barrier, or you can choose to be a gateway. Someone forging a path for going forward, or on a road looking back, towards a destination called tomorrow instead of getting back to yesterday. A mindset that chooses to be part of the change process to get there or one that chooses to get in the way. Someone who chooses to become a team member who builds enthusiasm for the reality of change, or someone who chooses to stew in their anger, worry, and concern for the fact that change is happening. Someone who understands the scope and scale of the effort for the journey, or someone who goes through the motions and slows everything down.

Every time I look out at an audience, I try to read the mindset of those in the room. I can often see it in their faces and body language - the change engineers seem eager and engaged, the change destroyers sullen and downcast. I know that my message will resonate easily with those in the former camp. I work hard to try to reach some of the latter, knowing that if I can reach just a few of them, I will enjoy some success through my efforts. And then I can spot those who have no interest in tomorrow - and view my message with hostility. I can't reach them - I never will.

It's an odd job at times.

The sad fact is that those who choose not to be a part of the journey end up causing a tremendous number of challenges that make the future-forward journey more difficult for everyone else. The key thing is that their efforts usually have little chance of success.

They end up causing more problems than opportunities - and it never works out well for them!

The fact is, change is going to happen. That's a reality.

Deal with it.

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/04/daily-inspiration-personal-development-innovation-you-can-create-more-opportunities-or-you-can-create-more-problems-choose-wisely/

Daily Inspiration: "It's better to construct an understanding instead of manufacturing fear!" - Futurist Jim Carroll

The long version is this: "It's better to construct an understanding of what tomorrow might bring instead of manufacturing fear about what it might take away!"

I've got a steady stream of keynotes on the books going well into the fall. One of them, in October, will be for the Chicago-based Great Lakes Construction Association. This is a union-based contractors association, so it's fair to say that there will be a lot of sensitivity to the labor issues of AI in the room. Five other similar organizations are joining in with the event.

We began to explore topic issues, areas of focus, and opportunities during a call yesterday, and I must say, I'm quite looking forward to this event.

The fact is, AI is going to have a huge impact on the construction industry and the people who work with it as the level of spending explodes, going from $2.1 billion in 2022 to $23.1 billion by the end of the decade.

While there are many opportunities to enhance knowledge and understanding with tools like ChatGPT and CoPilot, the fact is other AI trends can be much bigger - things such as digital twin technologies, machine vision for quality inspection, project management, and more. I've shared these opportunities on stage in many recent events. With those trends, here is no doubt that there will be a lot of robots about!

The fact is, it's this latter reality that might cause the most worry and concern for members of an association like this. After all, the media and press are full of articles that suggest that AI is going to destroy millions of jobs and that everyone is doomed!

That's why I impressed upon the team during the call yesterday that I will focus on the reality, not the hype; the opportunities, not the hysteria; the evolution of skills, not the sudden irrelevance of them.

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/04/daily-inspiration-personal-development-innovation-you-can-create-more-opportunities-or-you-can-create-more-problems-choose-wisely/

@duncanhart Not really. Just dealing with some stupid permission problems right now with the upgrade process, that would be about it. It's running on a pretty barebones system. I was even able to do a migration of my Substack posts over to it.

Daily Inspiration: "Motivation is overrated in the face of better insight!" - Futurist Jim Carroll

"Are you a motivational speaker?"

Hell yes! But not really.

That's the question I always get when meeting new people and the topic comes around to what each of us do for a living. The question quite possibly could drive me nuts, because  I think "motivational speakers" like Tony Robbins and others who encourage people to walk across the fire to discover their 'internal strength' are just a bunch of crackpots!

I know that I'm now headed into the season when I'll get asked the question a lot - with my golf season starting soon, I'll be meeting many new people out on the course. Sometimes, for the fun of it, I explain my career this way: "Well, I go out and talk to large groups of hungover people." To a degree, that's what I'm doing when I'm keynoting events in Las Vegas, Palm Springs, or New Orleans - the big convention cities where people head to their annual conferences and events. The fact is, speakers like me earn our pay with audiences like that -- yet can still change their world for the better if we can get through the haze of their misery!

But then I will patiently explain that I'm a 'futurist, trends & innovation expert," and outline a little bit of the work I do. Some folks still don't quite understand that after I spend a bit of time explaining what I do from the stage, and some I will finally give up and will admit that yes, I am somewhat like a motivational speaker - and that I'm pretty darn good at it!

Here's why - read on!

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/04/daily-inspiration-future-initiative-motivation-is-overrated-in-the-face-of-better-insight/

@duncanhart Yup, 22.04. Running it on Hetzner for pretty cheap.

A guy bought The Onion.

He wants $1 from everyone to keep it going.

I gave a buck. Actually, $1.40 Canadian which is $1.00US

You should too.

https://theonion.com

@greggyb @duncanhart ya, the email setup sucks. a) would be great to have an alternative to Mailgun for subscriber mail and b) configuring admin email is just a pain (i.e. I'm using Amazon SES) (see a). It's not all well documented.

@duncanhart i just like running my own stuff. always learning. also the benefit of having my own domain name

Daily Inspiration: "You'll never find your opportunity in the depths of your despair!" - Futurist Jim Carroll

I'm down in Silicon Valley in California today, where I've got a last-minute film project with Intel and HP on what else - artificial intelligence! More to come on that project in the days to come.

But while walking around yesterday after our flight in, I was reminded of the 80s song that features the phrase "Always something there to remind me" - because it seems anywhere I go, there's always something there to remind me! That's certainly the case with the world's hi-tech hotspot here in the Valley because I've certainly done my share of keynotes and talks in these parts over the years.

One, in particular, is the genesis of today's quote. It involves the time when SAP and EDS - which is now part of HP - invited me down to the Valley in November 2008 to speak to a small, intimate group of CEOs and tech executives from the region. The dinner menu was sublime!
I think I had the lamb.

In any event, EDS (which is now fully part of HP), brought me in for this small, intimate dinner event to provide a reality check on the mindset that was then pervasive throughout the Valley as the recession took hold - despair and pessimism suddenly ruled the industry! You need to remember where we all found ourselves at that period - Lehman Brothers had collapsed, car companies were on the brink, banks were being bailed out as the great recession of 2008 unfolded.  

In the tech sector, an immediate mindset unfolded that the downturn was going to bring a crashing halt to the success the industry had enjoyed since the dot.com collapse of 2000-2001. My mindset? I always beg to differ!

And that's the story I shared at this event...and I proved to be prescient, as the Valley entered into it's most prolonged period of growth after that small moment in time.

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/04/daily-inspiration-volatility-trends-youll-never-find-your-opportunity-in-the-depths-of-your-despair/

Daily Inspiration: "The best way to find creative solutions to your real-world problems is to listen to the wisdom of those who have already found them!" - Futurist Jim Carroll

You know you've been a real road-warrior speaker when you check into your Hilton hotel in San Jose and get a feeling that you've been here before! You look back in your email, and realize that it was once a Fairmont hotel and that you spoke in this exact hotel at an event in 2006!

I looked up the event that I spoke at in 2006 and realized that it was also for SAP - see yesterday's post for a reference to that other event. In this case, I was an opening keynote for existing and potential customers of SAP from throughout Silicon Valley, where I shared duties on the stage with the CEO, Bill McDermott.

What was more important than the keynote though was the additional panel discussion that I led right after my keynote - where customers of SAP were leading others through their strategies, methodologies, and structure for aligning to a faster future and dealing with disruptive trends. I ended up doing these panel discussions - letting customers tell the story - about 20 times or more throughout North America on behalf of SAP.

Notice the tagline in the promo copy - "Creative solutions to real-world challenges." In this particular event, I was interviewing executives from companies such as Johnsonville Sausage, Abiomed, and Pressman Toy - not major global companies, but organizations who were learning how to deal with the disruptive change swirling around them. This came on the heels of similar panel discussions with Adobe, Lennox, Fossil Watches, Hunt Petroleum, Fossil Watches, and many more.

All of these panel discussions delved into the world of digital transformation - how could we align our organization to deal with volatility, complexity, and fast-moving change by developing more agility and flexibility?

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/04/daily-inspiration-innovation-leadership-the-best-way-to-find-creative-solutions-to-your-real-world-problems-is-to-listen-to-the-wisdom-of-those-who-have-already-found-them/

my office today in San Jose!