It’s been a long day, full of Google stuff. There are no surprises, in some ways. I’ve heard about many of the concepts discussed in the Top Contributors summit before; and I sense some of the great new things won’t turn into practical ideas in the real world. (And I learned how some originally brilliant ideas have flopped badly in the realm of practical experience.)
In a conference hall just a short distance by water from Alcatraz, and with a commanding view of the Golden Gate Bridge, I can see the past and the future and appreciate how history ties to?evolution.
Lessons learned? Well, specific details need to be confidential, and with Google’s massive advertising revenues, it has the capital to try out concepts that may be risky, indeed, but would still be a drop in a bucket of the (Alphabet) corporation’s cash reserves.
- Technology continues to advance at an astounding and increasingly rapid pace. This means our assumptions about what should be considered feasible and what might be seen as a pipe-dream should be reconsidered; while some of the technology will just produce incremental, spot changes in our lives, there will be more radical surprises in the years ahead.
- Human nature, the biological mental workings of our bodies and minds, may be changing less rapidly. Notably, Google spends quite a small fortune to bring people together for live meetings and summits. We can’t conduct everything we need to do by digital transmission or videophone.
- ln light of the two points above, the most valuable skills and qualities you may be seeking in your employees and contractors, beyond the technical or job-related specific skills to do the work, will be the marriage of solid personal character with the ability to grasp and embrace change. In an AEC business or practice, for example, you want people who can grasp, introduce, and explain BIM — and still be grounded in the real-world of human relations and connections.
It’s an exciting world out there. And it isn’t too hard to be connected to the future if you look at the basics; and respect the people and community around you.
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