November 2009 – Speaker Insights Newsletter – HTML version with photos and more links available by request
What did people think today's world would be like 100 years ago? We share predictions number 15-28 from the year 1900. Some of them came true long before 100 years were up.
You'll read what contemporary futurists predict, courtesy of the Singularity Summit. How can you facilitate stronger bonds among colleagues while solving problems? World Cafe may be the answer. Forbes published a meetings feature with topics like Banning Blackberrys, How to Reduce Business Travel Stress, Waste Less Time and Making the Most of Face to Face Meetings.
Coming Issues
1) Should Speakers respond to Social Media input in real time?
2) The Post-Recession Economy
3) Health Care Policy Blog announcement
In This issue:
1) 14 More Predictions from the year 1900
2) 2009 Technology and Society Predictions
3) New World Cafe Format Builds Attendee Relationships
4) Forbes Magazine Meetings Feature
5) Speakers added to Promenadespeakers.com
In Recent Issues:
1) Ins and Outs of Hiring Speakers: Frequently Asked Questions
2) Newly Added Speakers/Speakers $10,000 and Under
3) Where is the Productivity in a Recession? by Chad Hymas
4) 14 Predictions from 1900
5) Growing Sales Potential of Women Owned Businesses
6) Don't Cancel That Meeting -- Rethink It!
7) Increase Your Negotiating Leverage with Speakers
8) The Firm Offer: A Key to Booking Headlining Speakers
9) Ben Stein on the Value of Business Meetings
10) Healthcare Reform, Economics and Social Media articles by our Speakers
Visit www.promenadespeakers.com for recent newsletter issues.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
14 More Predictions from 1900
What May Happen in the Next 100 Years - the Ladies Home Journal/John Elfreth Watkins Jr. (Predictions of the Year 2000 from 1900 c/o of The Singularity Summit 2009 program brochure and YorktownHistory.org)
Predictions 1-14 are in our October newsletter and on our site via the link below.
15) No Foods will be Exposed. Liquid-air refrigerators will keep great quantities of food fresh for long intervals.
16) There will be No C, X or Q in our every-day alphabet. English will be a language of condensed words expressing condensed ideas, and will be more extensively spoken than any other.
17) How Children will be Taught. A university education will be free to every man and woman.
18) Telephones Around the World. Wireless telephone and telegraph circuits will span the world.
19) Grand Opera will be telephoned to private homes, and will sound as harmonious as though enjoyed from a theatre box. Many devices will add to the emotional effect of music.
20) Coal will not be used for heating or cooking. It will be scarce, but not entirely exhausted.
21) Hot and Cold Air from Spigots.
22) Store Purchases by Tube. Pneumatic tubes, instead of store wagons, will deliver packages and bundles.
23) Ready-cooked meals will be bought from establishments similar to our bakeries of today. Having one’s own cook and purchasing one’s own food will be an extravagance.
24) Vegetables Grown by Electricity. Winter will be turned into summer and night into day by the farmer.
25) Oranges will grow in Philadelphia. Fast-flying refrigerators on land and sea will bring delicious fruits from the tropics and southern temperate zone within a few days.
26) Few drugs will be swallowed or taken into the stomach unless needed for the direct treatment of that organ itself.
27) There will be no wild animals except in menageries. Rats and mice will have been exterminated.
28) To England in Two Days. Fast electric ships, crossing the ocean at more than a mile a minute, will go from New York to Liverpool in two days.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Singularity Summit Predicts Living to 150
Last month, we attended The Singularity Summit - a collection of social theorists, technologists, ethicists and scientists. The "Singularity" refers to the merger of man and machine. Many speakers see this taking place in 20-30 years, with countless implications for the quality of our lives. Among their observations:
The first 150 year old human has already been born. They will not be born too much earlier than the first 1,000 year old.
The merging of man and machine isn't proceeding fast enough and is the only way to solve our major problems of poverty, energy, disease, etc.
Expectations for 8-10% investment returns are not reasonable and lead to bubbles. The only way to achieve them is through technology and scientific R&D.
The best thing about living to 104... lack of peer pressure.
10 Years from Viability: Robocars for everyone (self-steering, reduce accidents, more fuel efficient and cleaner)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Colleagues Connect and Solve Problems with World Cafe Format
The World Café is a group format to reintroduce us to a world we have forgotten, where we enjoy the age-old process of good conversation. The process is facilitated by Christie Ward to create structured problem solving in an atmosphere that fosters trust and collaboration. The flow is very different from a regular business meeting or even a training or event. There is no predetermined agenda or presentation, and people move from conversation to conversation, focused on well-thought-out questions that explore the complex and the particular issues of an industry or association. The skill of the facilitator is key, and this person acts as a host, inviting people to enter into conversations around topics that are important to them, and then moving them to other groups to connect with new people. It is also a great tool for a conference to get attendees to network and really get to know others.
Today, people are more polarized, more overwhelmed, more impatient, more easily disappointed in others, and more withdrawn than ever. The World Café creates an opportunity to connect with colleagues and innovate in a safe environment. It has been used in many cultures, governments, educational institutions and world organizations to discover collective wisdom and collective intelligence. Participants leave with personal resolve to do more of, to change or to make better their current state.
The World Café is a unique format that will ignite the passions and innovation of any group, creating opportunities for them to work together in new ways to accomplish new things. If you are ready for a different conference experience, ask how Christie Ward can run one for you.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Face-to-Face Meetings Matter - by Forbes Magazine
Forbes Magazine recently published strategies and rationales for face-to-face meetings. Please follow the link below:
Face-to-Face Meetings Matter
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Newly Added Promenade Speakers
Several speakers have recently been added to our site including:
Larry Winget
The Pitbull of Personal Development and Sales Motivation
http://www.promenadespeakers.com/page242.html
Andrew Razeghi
Where Ideas Come From and How to Get Better Ones
http://www.promenadespeakers.com/page243.html
Robert Steele
Recovering Spy, Open Source Intelligence and Hacking Expert
http://www.promenadespeakers.com/page244.html
Billy Riggs
The "Dr. Phil" of Magic, Positive Mental Attitude
http://www.promenadespeakers.com/page250.html
Terry Jones
Travelocity Founder Speaks on Innovation, Digital Marketing and Leadership
http://www.promenadespeakers.com/page252.html
Jeff Salz
Global Explorer - The Manual for Organizational Change
http://www.promenadespeakers.com/page253.html
Michael Treacy
Double Digit Growth and The Discipline of Market Leaders
http://www.promenadespeakers.com/page255.html