Think Like a Teacher: This past week a former teacher of mine passed away. I wrote a short tribute which was graciously published by the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The commentary is entitled “Even in Death, This Teacher Enlightens” and it speaks to how this teacher, Pete Froehle, instructed me by teaching me not “what to think” but rather “how to think.” I know many of you were influenced in similar ways by parents, teachers, professors, coaches, and even friends and colleagues. In honor of those past mentors, I encourage all of you to take a few minutes to think about your thinking. How can you think even better? My teacher did it by keeping me curious and teaching me how to ask better questions.
Think Green: Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of keynoting the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota’s annual construction summit. I discussed a number of trends that will affect the industry but only briefly alluded to the emerging trend of “regenerative architecture.” If you are in either the construction or real estate industry, this trend is worthy of some of your “think time.”
Think Harder: Farmers always have a lot to think about–weather, crop prices, government policies, trade wars, changing consumer tastes, etc–and I am sorry to add more things to this list — but this article on John Deere’s newest self-driving tractor is worth thinking about. The same is true about this article, Young Chinese Show a Growing Appetite for Plant-Based Diets, which may challenge some farmers and ranchers ideas about how long China will remain a large export market for American meat.
Think Smarter: Last week, I shared my annual list of “predictions” for 2022. This week, I’d like to share another thinker’s list of 10 trends to keep your eye on in 2022–and beyond. I especially liked #10–humility is the new confidence. (P.S. If you’re overly confident about how the future is going to turn out, you are most likely NOT thinking hard enough.)
Think Faster: The world is moving so fast that, often, it is easy to overlook the significance of certain new items–even if that news makes the front page. The announcement this week that a human had just received a heart transplant from a pig falls squarely into this category. On a related, albeit less earth-shattering, development is this news that Raytheon recently developed new technology that allows a single human operator to operate up to 130 drones. (Among other applications, it is possible that farmers may soon be applying fertilizer and other chemicals not with big, expensive applicators but, rather, with a fleet of drones).
Bonus Think … Think Like a Poet. My wife, Cindy, shared this post with me. It is entitled “You’re a Poet.” If you’ve been thinking of dabbling in poetry, I encourage you to give the article a quick read. Poetry is a wonderful way to help turn your thoughts into ideas–ideas, which in turn, can help yourself and others take actions to make the world a better, more beautiful, compassionate, and caring place. (Here is a poem I recently wrote, Winter Solstice.)
Afterthought: “The secret to the human race isn’t so much our intelligence, rather it’s our cooperation.”
