Look out! It's the RenGen!
Patricia Martin has coined (or at any rate, likes to use) the term "RenGen," a condensation of "Renaissance Generation." It is her belief that humankind, or US society at any rate, is on the edge of a cultural renaissance rivaling the original, that it has been on the edge for some time now, and that our marketing, production, and business values should reflect this phenomenon. (I am not sure I agree. I am not close to it, even if it is so.)
Anyway, there is a
substantial podcast interview at the DishyMix blog, and I listened to the 30-minute discussion with great interest. And I was asked to pitch a question or two for DishyMix writer Susan Bratton to toss at Martin for an answer. Here is what I came up with:
Her theories are interesting, but in my opinion, they are for the most part theories. Still, what do I know? I'm no advertising expert. Anyhow, moving into the interview...
"rengen" == "renaissance generation" --> OK.
"sponsorship marketing" == "selling sponsorships for various 'experiences'" --> OK.
I need to know the above stuff to understand what I'm hearing. So here are a few questions. Maybe you will decide one is of some value. I was greatly entertained... but I'm afraid I found myself doubting some of the assumptions she makes about what's going on in society. I am gonna think about that a while. And I'm gonna stick a thing in my own blog about the show. Very slick and professional. I'd like to be more like that when I grow up. LOL
I wonder how it is that our society can pull of a renaissance without our ability to actually produce lasting goods? We don't really do manufacturing anymore. Maybe we set up well for a renaissance otherwise, but as a society we're not making anything except trades of information. Don't we have to build? Create? Manufacture? Export?
I have to assume that "a sharp intake of fear" is not the only possible catalyst for a renaissance, because 9/11 was the most fearful moment American society has experienced in my adult life, and yet here we are still on the edge seven years later, instead of in the middle of the renaissance. What other catalysts might kick in here?
Is it really that people are expressing more? Or is it more that we KNOW they are, because of tools like YouTube that enable the self-expression to reach a wider audience? Or is it the increased ease of use of online tools, instead, perhaps, of a smarter society? Maybe all these ideas are just different points of view of the same phenomena?
What do you think of luxury brands? There seems to be no end of them. Would you classify them as "anxiety" brands? I work with underprivileged high-school kids. They tend to spend money as soon as they get it. That's why I ask.
Anyway, if I get an answer to any of these, I will expand a bit later. Cheers!
Labels: character, young entrepreneurs
Engineering Meditations
Let's face it: many companies TALK like "our people are our most valuable resource," but they ACT like money is more important than people or things. It therefore should come as no surprise to any engineer that those who bring the money in (the marketers) and those who parcel out the money (the finance guys) are more highly paid and valued than those who deal with people (like human resources) or those who deal with things (like engineers).
There is a chance that we engineers can live with this state of affairs, if we believe that our lives are enriched by nerdly activities like taking things apart. We DO believe this, but many of us want the money and respect too. Those of us who want the money are drawn toward MBAs or entrepreneurial careers. That can be a cure for our natural tendency to be so drawn to things that we forget what dealing with people is like.
Some of us think we're smarter than everyone else because of our problem-solving skills. I think I'm plenty smart, but I realize that others have smarts and many others can do things I can't do. It is possible, though, that some of us would have an easier time doing the jobs of non-engineers than the non-engineers would have doing our jobs. (I'm serious, here. LOL) Those of us with multiple types of intelligence are sometimes sucked into management or consulting careers. Our biggest problem in that case is becoming impatient with others who don’t have such a range of skill.
So why is it we are considered geeks and nerds and are given so little respect by the world at large? Some of us think it's because we just don't know when the rest of the world is bored by the stuff we love. If we can’t see the eyes becoming glazed, then no, we won't know when to stop.
Engineers have this reputation of being unable to communicate to others. It's not always deserved, but enough people hold it that they are actually surprised to come across an engineer who is good at writing and speaking. Those engineers are sometimes drawn to consulting careers as well, or technical sales.
If we have any of these other skills at all, it separates us from the engineers who are pure number-crunchers. But... even among the "pure" engineers are some who are more analytical, and some who are more design-oriented, and some who love to test things. Those are three different types of engineer – and there may be more than that, and there are degrees of each.
Labels: engineering
I've had a chance to pitch in with getting the new coaching organization Sky Scrapers Academy get off the ground in India. I don't know much about executive coaching -- yet -- because the field appears to be fairly young. But it's growing in a hurry, and Shalini Verma has positioned herself to get a piece of this growth. Let's take a look at coaching, compared to other types of advice:
| Coaching | Therapy |
| for complete, successful people | for incomplete, hurting people |
| a coach listens and prompts you to action | a therapist listens and provides you with empathy |
| Coaching | Consulting |
| all coaches are consultants | not all consultants are coaches |
| coaches enable you to seek answers within yourself | consultants provide you with answers |
| Coaching | Friends, Lovers, Bosses |
| a coach will listen and try to hear what is not being saidThe coach is IMPARTIAL | Friends and lovers will listen and try to maintain the relationshipbosses will listen and you hope they will be impressed |
Shalini tells me
If executives form a relationship with a professional coach, the coach will gain a full understanding of the business circumstances involved, and then support thoughtful planning and decision-making. This allows the executives to apply their personal strengths to their goals, and they will develop enhanced self-awareness and new perspectives on the way.
She has a blog set up
for people who want some free relationship coaching.
She's well-organized, she's driven, and she knows where to go when she needs a couple little things done for her. (Ahem.) The Sky Scrapers Academy is going to be hot!
Labels: young entrepreneurs
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