(Editor’s Note: This week, my colleague Jeff Appelquist and I are in Montana leading a group of corporate executives through our experiential leadership program, “Into the Unknown: The Leadership Lessons of Lewis and Clark“. This week’s newsletter will be a little shorter than usual.)
Think: If you want to think better, I recommend taking a walk in nature. While on the walk, try to expose yourself more to the experience of “awe.” If you’re unsure of how to do this, I recommend this excellent article–This Kind of a Walk is Much More Than A Workout.
Think Smarter: Almost everything around us is made from materials yet few people spend much time thinking about material science. This is a shame because the near future will be transformed by advances such as the ones mentioned in this article: “Buckle Up: A New Class of Materials in Here.”
Think Different: To be a good futurist, one must always look for information that runs contrary to one’s expectations. I speak a great deal to agribusinesses and the farming industry and these two articles have surprised me because they suggest the trends in vertical agriculture and plant-based protein might not arrive as quickly as I had previously expected: Firm building vertical farm in Pennsylvania shuts down and Plant-based burgers are better for the environment but two ingredients threaten tropical ecosystems.
Think Visually: Those subscribers living on the East Coast need no reminder but the effects of the forest fires raging in Canada are having a real–and horrendous–impact on people’s quality of life. This graph suggests more problems may be on the horizon:
Think Harder: At risk of beating a “dead horse,” it is imperative that business leaders continue to think about the very real risks that artificial intelligence poses. This topic is too important to leave to the individuals and companies developing AI. (If you’re curious about how good AI is getting, check out this AI-generated photograph–which won the top prize in a recent photograph contest. (Being an honorable artist, the developer refused to accept the prize money.)
Think About the Unthinkable: Solar energy beamed from outer space? It is still the stuff of science fiction but it is moving closer to “science fact” every day: Beaming Solar From Space Gets Closer to Reality.
Afterthought: “In the world of tomorrow, the thinkers of today will be the leaders of change.” – Unknown
