How Digital Technology is Reinventing “Personal Growth”

How Digital Technology is Reinventing “Personal Growth”

Hardik Gandhi   February 06, 2018

Aren’t you worried about the “digital generation”?

I am often asked this question and it happened again last week. The person asking — a male colleague in his mid-40s — was referring to what he saw as the negative effects of the instant and effortless access to information characteristic of an Internet Age.

His argument?

In a connected world where information is so easily available, the younger generation no longer have the right incentives to really “learn” anything. They don’t have (or even want) “ready knowledge”. This will inevitably have a negative impact on their analytical skills and, in turn, will kill creativity and (ultimately) thwart innovation.

In a word, my answer to this type of question is “No”.

I am not worried about the “digital generation” and remain cautiously optimistic about the future.

However, I do believe that we need to adopt a new understanding of “personal growth” in a digital age. Over the last few weeks, I have been thinking a lot about what this entails.

Here are two thoughts:

• First, I think we should stop talking about “generations”. Such “generation-talk” obscures the new freedoms that now exist for everyone in a digital age.
• And second, regardless of age, we need to ask: what kind of mindset (and related skillset) is necessary to flourish in a world where “knowledge” is readily available? For me, this means seeking out and embracing the opportunities for mutual learning that are created by digital technologies.

A “Post-Generation” World

We are used to living in a stable world of clearly demarcated generations.

We are all familiar with the labels: The Lost Generation, The GI Generation, The Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials (Generation Y), Generation Z.

Each generation is associated with a distinct historical experience (WWI, WWII, the post-war boom, etc.) and a particular set of attitudes and values.

And, within each generation, there were clearly pre-defined career paths and other opportunities. People grew up in a certain way, received a certain type of education, found a certain type of job and, eventually, settled on a certain type of life.

And when you passed 45?

Well, there weren’t many options left. New opportunities were only available to the “next” (and younger generation) that were in touch with the new historical experience, the new technologies and values of a new world.

But, things have gradually changed. And here I agree with Gary Vaynerchuk:

Now, when you are in your 40s, there are still unprecedented opportunities for working and learning, and for changing your life.

The main reason for this is “technology”.

Digital technologies have created a more open, fluid and “flatter” world where generations no longer matter, at least if you embrace the right mindset and develop the right skills.

Why Digital Technologies Change Everything

Of course, there are shortcomings caused by the global proliferation of digital technologies. Such risks include a lack of privacy, accessibility to personal information and the easy dissemination of “fake news”.

But, in general the opportunities outweigh the challenges. Digital technologies offer everyone the possibility of connecting to a truly global community. This reality has the potential to open up new perspectives, jobs, friendships, learning opportunities, etc.

Digital technologies create a flatter and de-centralized world where empowering and experimentation prevail over controlling and planning. Everybody can now be an “entrepreneur”, a “creator” or an “artist” without first being accepted and acknowledged by any centralized authority.

Think of the new opportunities provided by YouTube, Medium and other content platforms. Anyone with a good idea and the drive and talent to implement their idea can reach a global audience or market. One of the most important benefits of digital technology is the possibility of being globally connected.

The Key to Personal Growth (and Success) in a Networked World

How then do we benefit from the unprecedented opportunities of a digital age?

A lot has been written about personal growth and development.

Suggestions on how to improve yourself are everywhere. You should wake up early, read a book every week (or even better every day), work out, eat healthy, take cold showers, etc.

Certainly, there might be truth to all of these things for some people. However, one thing you don’t hear about very often is that you should be more open to the experience of “mutual learning”. I really believe that this is the key to personal growth and success these days.

Young, middle aged and older people that embrace the digital world should not look at each other as being part of a generation. Particularly, when they all share the same mindset. Instead, they are part of a globally connected community in which every member is both a teacher and a student. You see this at technology meetups, hackathons and innovation workshops.

If I just look at my own experience as a professor, I can see this transformation. I used to consider myself as a teacher, inspirer, motivator of the younger generation. My job was to prepare them for the new world, help them build a career.

But this changed recently. As I have mentioned before, I view myself more now as an influencer or, perhaps even better, a collaborator.

The world is changing so fast these days. The exponential growth of technology cannot be ignored. There are so many challenges and new opportunities. And what I found is that teaching has become more and more like a dialogue, a two-way conversation so to speak, where a process of mutual learning happens during every “lecture”.

The last few years, students have made me aware of new apps, new platforms, new values, new perspectives and a new way of communicating that indeed opened many different doors and helped me engage in an on-going process of “learning, un-learning and re-learning” (to use an expression from one of my former students).

There is no need to “settle” anymore. In fact, “settling” may come with certain risks as the speed of technological change means that the future is more uncertain than ever before.

Welcome to the World of Mutual Learning

The digital age has created and continues to create multiple new opportunities.

Thinking in terms of generations is over. Instead, it is all about adopting the right mindset.

In order to grow and succeed in a digital age, you need to capture/embrace the opportunities for mutual learning and self-improvement necessary for building the future together.

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  Erik P.M. Vermeulen

What It Takes to Train The Next Generation of Innovators

What It Takes to Train The Next Generation of Innovators

Hardik Gandhi   January 25, 2018

Unsplash

This article was published on GrowthX Academy’s Blog on August 28, 2017.

Sean Sheppard, founder of GrowthX Academy, discusses the critical skills for the upcoming “Innovation Economy”.

“How do we educate people for a future we can’t predict?” It’s a question that’s been on my mind a lot lately — and, it turns out, it’s been on Sean Sheppard‘s as well.

Sean is a serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and the founder of GrowthX and the GrowthX Academy. He’s someone who’s been steeped in modern sales, marketing and growth hacking methods, so I was excited to get the chance to chat with him recently about the skills he believes will be critical for the coming “Innovation Economy.”

The Problem: Our Outdated Education System

Most of us have the sense that our education systems haven’t kept pace with innovation. In our conversation, Sean explains how deeply behind we’ve fallen:

“The modern education system was developed in the Age of Enlightenment to support the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century as a way to take people off of farms and educate them to work in factories. That’s why there are school bells. They’re meant to mimic factory whistles. That’s why we have the people lined up in desks, in rows, because that’s how an assembly line is constructed.”

As Sean notes, this transition was critical. “In the 1900s, 40 percent of the jobs in this country were farming jobs. Today, only 2 percent are farming jobs.” Moving from an agriculture-driven society to an industrial one required education systems that prepared students for the kinds of jobs that were becoming available.

Sean points out that we’re in a similar transition now. “Very soon, 40 to 50 percent of the jobs are going to be replaced by robots and automation. We’re now entering what the World Economic Forum has called the fourth industrial revolution: the ‘Innovation Economy.’”

The Four Factors of Future Effectiveness

So what changes do we need to make to prepare for this coming transition? What skills do students and professionals need to practice today to build competency for future jobs? Sean highlights four pillars in particular that form the basis of his approach at GrowthX (I’ll give you a hint — none of them involve getting an MBA or liberal arts degree).

1. Mindset

I was happy to hear Sean touch on mindset as one of his four pillars, as it’s something I’ve been hammering into my team at Web Profits. Sean and I agree — the future belongs to those who adopt a growth mindset, rather than a fixed mindset.

None of us can predict with 100% certainty what the future of the Innovation Economy looks like (except maybe Mark Zuckerberg). Limiting yourself with a fixed mindset — one that restricts you to considering things as they are, not as they might be — could prevent you from identifying and taking advantage of opportunities as they arise.

That’s somewhat obvious, but Sean added an important note: “There is no distinction between personal and professional development in the Innovation Economy.” You can’t think of your future performance in terms of your career alone. Embracing the growth mindset Sean suggests means recognizing that every part of yourself — from your work to your health and beyond — can, and should, be improved upon.

2. Mastery

Having a growth-based mindset provides needed flexibility for an unclear future. But mindset alone doesn’t fully answer the question of how you prepare today for jobs that may not exist until tomorrow.

That’s where competency-based education comes into play, according to Sean. “Competency-based education models will be the future of education. It’s the idea that we can measure people the same way you and I measure marketing efforts in real-time. We can assess people quickly about whether or not they’ve achieved the competency.”

Out of competency, Sean suggests, mastery grows. “You acquire the knowledge; there’s a framework for that. You practice it to demonstrate that you can acquire the competencies, and then through the repetitive iteration of that, you develop proficiency and then, ultimately, mastery.”

Sean’s model makes more sense when applied to a hypothetical job. Suppose you want to become a growth hacker. There’s no “official” training program; no university you can attend. So how do you prepare for this job? According to Sean, you study the existing knowledge that’s available. You identify and develop the core competencies involved in the job. Then, through practice, iterative improvement and the simple investment of time, you eventually achieve mastery.

The beauty of this approach is that it’s available to everyone. Sean states, “It’s about being a learn-it-all not a know-it-all. It’s about understanding that the foundation of mastery is that you do not have to be born with some natural level of inborn talent or set of skills.”

3. Career

Transforming personal and professional mastery into a career will look different than it used to, according to Sean. “As an individual you have to focus on your career development, and as a manager and a leader, you have to focus on helping people develop their careers.”

Long tenures with a single company are practically nonexistent these days, and our transition to the Innovation Economy will only accelerate this change. Succeeding in this future — in whatever role you define yourself — will require that you take an active role in managing your career, as well as helping guide the careers of others.

4. Community

Mindset, mastery and career are all factors you develop on your own. But, in Sean’s opinion, where things really come together is in a focus on community. “The modern education requires diversity of thought, opinion, background, and experience from a whole host of different points of view.”

Simply put: you need a diverse community whose wisdom you can draw on to advance your learning beyond what you’re capable of on your own.

Sean attempts to build communities like these through GrowthX (the next session starts September 12th), but you can also cultivate your own community by connecting with older mentors, those in other industries and thought leaders you admire.

Now isn’t the time to remain idle. By focusing on updating your mindset, mastery, career and community, you’ll be ready to face whatever challenges come your way in the new Innovation Economy.

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This article was published on GrowthX Academy’s Blog on August 28, 2017.

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Are there any unavoidable technologies?

Are there any unavoidable technologies?

Hardik Gandhi   January 19, 2018

Last night I was struggling to fall asleep. So I started to reflect on a documentary I had seen. It was dedicated to Nikola Tesla, the visionary inventor who was obsessed with electrical energy at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

The story that made me reflect is the famous “currents war” (a movie version with Benedict Cumberbatch has just been released). Thomas Alva Edison argued that direct current was the ideal solution to “electrify” the world, and invested on it large sums. Tesla, who worked a few months for Edison, was instead convinced that alternating current was to be used.

I do not go into technical explanations. Let’s just say that Tesla, allying with Edison’s rival, the industrialist George Westinghouse, won it. Today we use alternating current (AC), but then transform it into continuous (DC) when we need to power our digital devices (or any other battery-powered object).

The question I asked myself was: if there were no Westinghouse and Tesla, would we have direct current distribution networks today?

Most likely not, because the advantages of AC distribution would still have emerged, and even rather soon.

More generally, the question is: are there unavoidable technologies?

Are there any alternative technological paths?

In the only case study available, that of human civilization, some discoveries and inventions, and the order with which they were made, seems to be obligatory: fire-> metals-> agriculture-> city-> wheel-> earthenware for example.

But also hunter-gatherer societies could have invented the wheel: it would have been very convenient for them, there was no reason not to have the idea and they had the ability to build it. Perhaps some tribes did so, using it for generations before memory was lost.

A sculpture of Göbekli Tepe -By Teomancimit — Yükləyənin öz işi, CC BY-SA 3.0

Scholars think that to get to the monumental buildings, cities and civilizations we must go through the agriculture: the production surplus is able to support a large number of people and to give birth to social classes, as nobles and priests dispensed from manual work but able to “commission” great works.

The extraordinary discovery of the Göbekli Tepe temple — dating from around 9,500 BC — has however questioned the need for the transition to an urban society with social differentiations to create such buildings.

Another example. Sophisticated mechanisms such as those of clocks began to spread in the early Middle Ages, with the first specimens placed in church bell towers.

Why did not the Greeks or the Romans, so skilled in the practical arts, come to develop similar mechanisms? In fact, after the discovery of the Antikythera mechanism, a sophisticated astronomical calculator, we have seen how the capabilities (for example to have minimum tolerances) and the techniques to build high precision instruments existed. Probably social, economic and commercial structures more than technological limits did not allow to have Roman pendulum clocks. In the same way, having a lot of low-cost labor, the slaves, did not stimulate the invention of steam engines, if not some rare and simple system used for “special effects” in the temples.

A reconstruction Antikythera mechanism- Dave L via Flickr CC BY 2.0

With regard to the innovations of the last 120 years, it is important to underline, alas, the crucial importance of the two world wars, especially the second, for the acceleration of technological development; we only think of rocketry and computer science, born in that period, and electronics developed shortly after (and there was the Cold War …).

If there had not been World War II, what technologies would be surrounded by our daily life?

Probably we will be at the level of the 60s / 70s, with mainframes, first satellites in orbit, color televisions but with cathode ray tubes, first commercial jet planes, just in time production chains etc.

Perhaps an analog Internet would have developed, thanks to unpredictable developments in the amateur radio network hybridized to systems such as fax and video / audio cassettes.

Difficult to establish the timelines, life cycles of individual technologies, their interconnections and interdependencies.

In a complex system such as that of human society, small variations in the initial conditions can generate great changes in the trajectories and directions of the space of innovations.

As a last example we think of the web. Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee created it while working at CERN in 1990.

The web (or a similar one) could have been developed at least 10 years before, in one of the American universities already inter-connected with a telematic network.

This would have meant that the portals of the first web would have appeared at the end of the 80s, the web 2.0 around 1994, the social networks would have been established around 1997 and today … we can not know it. Also because there would have been a longer interval to have the mobile web, since in any case the evolution of mobile telephony would have followed its course as in our timeline. Or not?

This story is published in The Startup,