I was a director of engineering in Consilium in the 1990’s when my manager told me something that I did not want to hear. In the annual performance review, under Opportunity for Improvement, he said:
“Patience – In past years Shantha was quick to show displeasure with those who did not meet her high standards, including herself. Shantha has made excellent progress in controlling her feelings but at times allows her frustration to get the better of her.”
This past weekend I read the book BOLD by Diamandis and Kotler (February 2015). In the prequel to BOLD Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think, four formidable emerging forces—exponential technologies, the DIY innovator, technophilanthropists and the rising billion were discussed as reasons why we would be able to solve the biggest challenges facing the world today. BOLD first talks about the strategies to make it happen by presenting the exponential technologies of today such as 3D printing, artificial intelligence, robotics, networks and sensors, and synthetic biology.
Another favorite song from my youth (see this article for the other song) was In the year 2525 by Zager and Evans, which was a great hit in 1969. It made the book listing 52 most depressing songs, for those of you who love trivia.
In two years it will be the 50th anniversary of this hit, and I thought it would be fun to see where we are today and where we are predicted to be heading (OK, so I couldn’t wait another two years to do this, since the thought struck me yesterday as my playlist presented it to me).
Shantha Mohan 