Gratitude and Connection

How are you a transformation leader?

“You are all “C-level” transformation leaders.”

Decades ago, that’s what Douglas Engelbart, computer visionary and inventor of the mouse, told us when he spoke at the InnovationNetwork conference I produced in Santa Barbara.

His concept was simple … which is probably why it stayed with so many of us as we proceeded with our lives long after his talk had echoed away. He believed that we were “influencers of influencers” and had a role to play in raising the intelligence of our world and improving our future.  His graphics were much more sophisticated than the one shown above, but this is how it translates in my mind.

In these heady days when we debate the possible apocalyptic future as well as the value of AI, it’s hard to conceive of a time when the seeds of most of what we take for granted today only existed in the minds of a few people. Here is a video from 1968 of Doug painting a picture of a barely imagined future in what is now called the “Mother of All Demos.” It was a different world then; it’s a challenged world now.

For more about Doug Engelbart, don’t miss Andrew Smith’s post: Mother of All Demos

What takes my breath away is knowing that hidden away in offices, coffee shops, and Zoom meetings across the globe, there are minds imagining new worlds, unknown geniuses reinventing new paths for us. There are now 8 Billion of us, each one of us part of the problem and each one of us a potential source of solutions.

Special thanks to influencer of influencers Russell C. Smith, author on Substack of “The New Now” who encouraged me to broaden my scope about gratitude and connection. I’m grateful for his call to all of us to be part of today’s issues, each in our own way. We may not invent a new technology or take a place on the world stage; however, each of us influences those around us who influence those around them.

How will we be part of the positive ripple of influence that makes our world a better place?

Gratitude is a good place to start.