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May 29, 2006
Watts Wacker is my new hero
Wacker's book, "The 500 Year Delta," was one of the more popular books of the go-go 90's, and I fully expected upon arrival at last week's PRSA Counselors Academy Spring Conference to listen to a too-cool-for-school new-ager tell us how smart he was.
Boy, was I wrong...
Instead, Watts came to the conference early, sat in on numerous sessions, took the time to talk (and listen!) to several other sessions, and then spent an all-too-quick hour sharing his thoughts on the key factors that comprise the "Zeitgeist," which for those of you like me who don't speak German, loosely translates into "the spirit of our time."
It wasn't just what he was delivering -- it was the method with which he delivered it. Here's a guy who has truly found his calling -- observing everything, reading anything he can, taking every opportunity to learn, and then translating it into useful advice. I came away thoroughly inspired.
While I can't give his talk justice, I'll do my best to summarize Wacker's six key ingredients of a Zeitgeist:
1. Social Agenda -- points to the emerging trend toward self-selecting social organisms both online and offline. Hence the tsunami that is Myspace and the renewed interest in socially-oriented hobbies like scrapbooking.
2. Governance Models -- exploring the idea of a post-American geopolitical future -- one where America is no longer the only economic superpower (can anyone say China?)
3. Agenda in the Arts -- the resurrection of beauty in the arts. No more elephant dung as artwork.
4. Dominant Science -- life sciences in all of their forms emerges and surpasses physics as the primary science discipline of the day
5. Economics -- this one's out of my league, but it has to do with the role of intellectual property in driving wealth
6. Technology -- the fusion of silicon and carbon -- yes, folks, thinking robots.
A person would do well to pay attention to these six aspects of the Zeitgeist, and be reasonably conversant in them to successfully meet the challenges ahead. If you get a chance to hear Wacker in person, by all means invest the time. At minimum, buy his recent book, "Deviant's Advantage." Hope you'll be inspired too.
Posted by Matt Kucharski at May 29, 2006 8:44 PM
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