By Kate Salmon, Senior Manager, Marketing
Recharge was an amazing day, full of learning and laughter and new connections. As a previous attendee who had the privilege of being involved in the planning this time around, I was amazed at how the day exceeded even our most ambitious plans for it. And it was all thanks to the passion and presence of the people involved. We had speakers from all over the world, each sharing their authentic perspective and contributing their own pearls of wisdom.
Here are some of my favourites:
1. Yes, and
Every improv fan recognizes the technique for building on a scene, but few think to apply it to the workplace. In her morning session, Nancy Watt demonstrated the ways that we can shut down or take over the collaborative process and reminded us that the real magic happens when everyone participates.
2. What decisions should we allow robots to make?
This question from Ali Hirji, in our panel on tech disruption and AI, caught many of us by surprise. As automation becomes increasingly prevalent in the workplace, I suspect many Recharge attendees will be confronting questions like this in the months and years ahead. It’s important that we think critically about the interaction between humans and machines when jobs and lives hang in the balance.
3. Don’t talk to me about the rain, talk to me about the umbrella.
I just love this line that Kathryn Matheson dropped during the unspeakables panel. It’s important to remember that almost every problem has a solution and focusing on the way breeds resilience. JF echoed this in his session when he talked about having a mind that functions like a GPS, constantly recalculating when it encounters an obstacle.
4. Preferment over retirement
According to Tricia Naddaff, many baby boomers are opting to choose the work they really enjoy rather than exit the work force altogether when they reach retirement age. Looking at it this way, and remembering that boomers will live much longer than the generations before them, it’s kind of hard to blame them for continuing to work.
5. Little wins
Jean François Ménard works with professional athletes under incredible amounts of pressure, and he shared surprising strategies for us to manage the pressure in our own lives. (Stay tuned for a blog post dedicated to his session!) My favourite suggestion was one that he took from his athletes: celebrate every little victory, even if it’s something as simple as cooking dinner. Now, every day that I bike to work in the cold I tell myself I won that commute, and walk in the door with a big smile on my face.
