I’ve been working on some AI projects lately and I’m feeling 2009 vibes.
In 2009 I attended the One Club for Creativity’s inaugural Digital for Creative Leaders Workshop in partnership with the premier digital school, Sweden’s Hyper Island.
The goal of the program was to get dinosaur creatives like me proficient or at least open to the ever-widening and dominating digital landscape.
Then, like the AI adoption happening now, there were three types of people: One, the “into it” types. Two, the skeptical but persuadable types. And three, the arms-folded, never-gonna-accept-it rejector types.
I was Type 2.
The curriculum was robust. It was a blend of theory, practice, and collaborative learning, drawing heavily on Hyper Island’s methodology of experiential learning.
Some of the main elements of the program included:
Creative Leadership. Which was all about understanding the role of a creative leader in fostering innovation and motivating teams. And learning techniques for leading creative projects and managing diverse teams.
Digital Transformation. This was the big lightning bolt that emphasized how the digital landscape was changing the creative industry. And there were strategies taught for integrating digital technology into creative work.
Practical Applications. Here we took to hands-on tasks and our real-world projects to apply what we were learning.
It was truly a transforming moment in my career.
I was reflecting on all of this over the last few weeks as I was learning more, experimenting more and inspiring folks about AI.
It got me thinking about one of the most powerful ideas I heard at this OneClub/Hyper Island program about how to approach the digital world. (And now you can apply it to this AI moment).
I call it the “Canoe Theory.”
It goes like this.
Think of technology like a river. Right now, we are seeing an AI river. Upstream things are happening. Downstream things are happening. Right in front of us things are happening. It’s all endlessly flowing.
Now, you can stand at the edge of this river and admire it. Or even fear it.
Or…you can grab an oar and push yourself and your canoe into the water. Once there, you can feel the flow. You can paddle fast or slow. The point is, you’re in.
The AI age is here.
It’s time to get your boat in the water.
Rob Schwartz is the Chair of the TBWA New York Group and an executive coach who channels his creativity, experience and wisdom into helping others get where they want to be. This was originally posted on his Substack, RobSchwartzHelps, where he covers work, life, and creativity.
Header photo by Adam Kring on Unsplash.
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