Brainpower

We are entering the 4th industrial revolution. This is not the age of steam, coal or manufacturing, but the information revolution, where value is created primarily through the intelligent combination of knowledge and wisdom.

How shall we cope in a world where it has variously been predicted that up to 50% of our jobs will disappear in the next few decades?  What does that mean for education, where the half life of knowledge is in freefall? What will become of money in such a world?

These and other topics are the subject of a new book I’ve just released with Gower / Routledge entitled “Brain Based Enterprises“.

Click to view on Amazon

Brain Based Enterprises offers a unique synthesis of cutting edge academic research and pragmatic insights into business practices in the art and discipline of leading and managing enterprises where ideas, intelligence and insight are the currencies of sustainable collaborative and competitive advantage (SCCA). From the first signs of intelligence through making axes and fire, we now have access to unprecedented powers of creation through the convergence of humanity and technology. Rapid and dramatic advances in our understanding of genomics, biotechnology, computing and robotics make it possible for us to create a better world or destroy what we have created. Brain Based Enterprises explores both sides of the equation so that you can choose wisely.

Four scenarios for our union between man, woman and machine

Brain Based Enterprises draws upon leading edge research but expressed clearly and concisely for the busy person seeking to inform and illuminate themselves with a rich mixture of pragmatism and wisdom. Featuring numerous case examples from companies ranging from biotechnology to banking and bots, Brain Based Enterprises grounds the ideas and relates to busy people seeking practical inspiration.

Brain Based Enterprises addresses questions such as:

1. How shall we function in a world where man and machine will have interchangeable and complementary functions?
2. How will we re-organise organisations to make best use of collective cybernetic and human intelligence?
3. What will intelligence actually mean in a world where we are drowning in data? Instead how shall we swim with information?
4. How may we become more intelligent, individually and collectively?
5. What can and should Governments do to encourage intelligent societies?
6. How will education need to change in order to continue to be relevant and effective?
7. What role can leaders and Human Relations specialists play in stimulating an enterprise’s collective synapses? How can they engender climates and cultures where ideas, intelligence and insight are the norm?

The book and our other offerings lend themselves to keynotes and longer masterclasses via our websites Human Dynamics and The Academy of Rock.

Rather than drowning in data we must learn to swim with knowledge and wisdom in the machine age

Censorship and Music

The latest piece of music to cause controversy and censorship is not a piece about sexual proclivity, drug abuse or one with parental advisory lyrics … merely one that discusses the issue of Post Truth Politics … Have we reached an all time low in participation and democracy when this happens? The BBC claims that it no longer bans any records but seems to have made an exception in this case. Perhaps it was told to?

Buy your copy of LIAR LIAR to highlight the folly of this strategy.  The East Germans and Russians were notable examples of  Governments that sought to control music in pursuit of a totalitarian state. All proceeds go towards food banks in the UK, now part of our “advanced society”.

Click to buy on iTunes

In case you have not heard the song, check out the You Tube video and then buy the track on iTunes, Google Play and so on. Support our campaign to improve our democracy and release us from self-harming Brexit at “Stop Hardcore Brexit”

Famous songs that have fallen prey to censorship include Lola by the Kinks, School’s Out by Alice Cooper, Relax by Frankie Goes To Hollywood and more curiously With My Little Stick Of Blackpool Rock by George Formby which was censored. Banning is almost a surefire guarantee of a song’s popularity and one wonders at the wisdom of such things in an internet age.

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Peter Cook leads The Academy of Rock and Human Dynamics, offering outstanding keynotes, masterclasses and longer term Business / OD, Coaching and Mentoring. He is author of 7 and a half books on business leadership. Check them out at Amazon.

Scotland The Brave

Music and the arts have been a staple of protest and their messages reach people much better than a spreadsheet. I’m delighted to have helped three Scottish National Party MP’s to sing “500 Miles” by The Proclaimers opposite Theresa May’s house in Downing Street the other day. Whilst I don’t want Scotland to leave the UK and nor do I want the UK to leave the EU, let’s try seeing the current state of affairs as it looks from Scotland and in 2019. First, check the SNP MP’s rockin’ out on Downing Street:

As far as I can see, Scotland’s choice if the UK leaves the EU will be:

A – Putting Scotland at the centre of its nearest and largest world market, whilst ALSO being able to trade with England as a full member of the EU.  It is indeed what Theresa May called the “having your cake and eat it too strategy”, except, in Scotland’s case, it would be true.

B – Joining what remains of the UK (probably England and possibly minus London, as recent events show) as “Little Britain” with a WTO style “deal or no deal”.

As such Nicola Sturgeon is quite right to look after the interests of the Scottish people by allowing them to have their say once the UK has revealed what kind of Brexit we are having (Red, White and Blue, Clean, Dirty, a “Brexity” kind of Brexit and so on … !! )

Critics also say that the Scottish referendum was a once in a lifetime affair and we cannot keep having them. Whilst I agree that the continual referenda are inconsistent with having a life and stable Government, on this occasion, Scotland’s vote in 2014 assumed that they would stay in the UK as a member of The EU. Our Brexit decision nullifies that position and Scotland mostly voted to stay in the EU so it is perfectly reasonable for Nicola Sturgeon to test the new decision.

The SNP MP’s, a dog and a random Viking, led by John McNally on the pavement opposite Mother Theresa’s house

Help Scotland defend itself from “Hard Boiled Brexit” – Click on the picture to help

Come on down to Richmond Terrace, opposite Downing Street every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 6 – 9 pm to sing, chant, chat or just enjoy the frolics. Join the Facebook Group and find them on Twitter. Last week we had “Boris Johnson” singing Uptown Funk with a bunch of French students carrying a Breton flag. Strange things happen outside Theresa May’s House …

I must confess that I find it bizarre in the extreme that our elected MP’s felt compelled to reject a public vote on the naming of a Royal Navy ship as Boaty McBoatface, but compelled to accept an advisory referendum informed by gross lies on an issue of strategic importance to the country.  I think that they may seriously need some help in the area of strategy and decision-making …

Join us this Saturday on the StopBrexit March.  Tweet about it using the #StopBrexit hashtag and join our Tweetup this evening Tuesday 21 March from 6-9 pm via AcademyofRock using hashtags #Scotland #ScotlandinEurope #No10Vigil

Brexit Breaks Britain

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Peter Cook leads Human Dynamics, helping companies develop sensible strategies to give them sustainable leadership through OD / high-level Facilitation and Coaching. He also heads The Academy of Rock, offering keynotes and conference designs that blend business excellence with the power of music. Check his books out on Amazon:

 

 

Brain Drain ?? Call for case studies for a new book

I am looking for companies that wish to be featured in my eighth book for Routledge, which deals with the issue of what I call the “Brain Based Economy”, where ideas, intelligence and insight are the currencies of sustainable advantage. You and your company will find this of use if you:

• Lead an enterprise that trades in the fields of knowledge sharing, creativity, intelligent design etc.
• Are interested in finding better ways for “humanity” to interact with “machinery” i.e. computers, robotics, machines
• Are interested in disruptive business strategy and change management

Your company gains from the publicity involved with being associated with the book and it’s global reach and also from the process of data collection itself.  We are already talking with global consultancy Arthur D. Little, Q-Bot – an innovative robotics company in London, Fujitsu and The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development about the consequences for humanity in a world where man, woman and machine have converged.

The book can perhaps be summarised by a paragraph from the beginning which describes the “Brain Based Enterprise” concept. I was recently asked what was the most significant innovation in the last twenty years in an interview. Apart from the fact that the question is almost impossible to answer I was drawn to mention The Human Genome project and Wikipedia. What characterises both of these innovations is that neither are physical products such as the steam engine. Instead they are based on information in an economy where intelligence, ideas and innovation are the currencies of progress in what I call The Brain Based Economy. We have always used our brains to solve problems but we have also thoughtlessly plundered the world’s natural resources in doing so. We’ll have to think much more cleverly and systemically to address some of the problems we have created as a result of this.

Please get in touch if you are interested to find out more.

Brains – the currency of sustainable advantage

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Peter Cook leads Human Dynamics and The Academy of Rock. Author of 7 1/2 books on Leadership, Innovation and Creativity. Find his current books on Amazon.

 

Fitter, Happier, More Productive

Our latest post for Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group can be found at Fitter, Happier, More Productive. It begins with this question:

We have more access to more data about our health, wealth and happiness than any previous generation. But does more data give us a greater sense of wellbeing?

Click to view our articles for Virgin

Well, what do you think?

Shall we ask Tom Waits?

“We are buried beneath the weight of information, which is being confused with knowledge; quantity is being confused with abundance and wealth with happiness”

And the dark thoughts of Radiohead? The song “Fitter, Happier” was described by Yorke as a checklist of slogans for the 1990s, which he considered “the most upsetting thing I’ve ever written”. More than ever, we are bombarded with slogans to live by and we need to be centred in order to cope with modern life.

 

These Foolish Things

We’re throwing a party on April Fools’ Day to formally mark the release of my 7th book for Bloomsbury Publishing plc, at Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Money Lounge in London. I’d like to invite you all to attend.  It’s FREE but booking is essential via 0207 439 8802.

I will be joined by Professor Adrian Furnham from University College London. Adrian is author of 90 books, an eminent psychologist and writer for the Sunday Times on everything from dating to the dark side of climbing the corporate ladder. He will be interviewing me around “Leading Innovation, Creativity and Enterprise”.

May the Creative Force be with you …

Since it’s April Fool’s Day, Adrian and myself will be discussing aspects of creativity, playfulness and tomfoolery, served up in a heady cocktail with some music to lighten the afternoon. Sir Richard Branson knows that a happy workplace is one where people have fun whilst getting the job done and this session will tickle your funny bones as well as carrying some serious messages about leadership, innovation and creativity at work.

Professor Adrian Furnham – he’s no fool

Booking is essential – Give the team a call on 0207 439 8802.

 

Life Aid – Let’s Beat World Cancer

We began a 30 day Kickstarter campaign for Cancer Prevention and Treatment yesterday. Please pledge your support at KICKSTARTER and ask all your friends to do the same.

Please also join us at Facebook and Twitter and invite all your friends. Please do not just click the “like” button and “walk on by”. This won’t happen without your active participation. If you are able to pledge that would be brilliant. If not, we need a massive number of people who can. So please direct invites to the campaign are the most effective thing you can do.

Here’s a very short video that explains the project if you only have 36 seconds:

and a SlideShare Deck that goes into more detail about the project which this supports:

And logos you can use to promote the campaign on social media done by Cat Tonge, who kindly offered to do these for alongside her role as a graphic designer at Ted Baker.

We have just 30 days, so please act now in any way that you can. Simply act on the principle:

Seek forgiveness, not permission

Just Do It

 

 

 

 

The Golden Age of Wireless

Thanks to Simon Rose and Greg Watt at Share Radio for an interview on the station, where we discuss Leadership, Innovation, Creativity and Business, both at the individual and corporate level. The interview is available to Listen Again by clicking the picture below:

Click on the image to hear the Radio broadcast

 

Check “Leading Innovation, Creativity and Enterprise” with Bloomsbury via this link:

Click the image to go to Bloomsbury Publishing plc

 

You are cordially invited …

… to my online launch party TODAY Thursday February 25th to mark the release of my 7th book “Leading Innovation, Creativity and Enterprise” with Bloomsbury.  You will receive 30% discount on the book if you order using the code INNOVATION via BLOOMSBURY.

Join the virtual party at Facebook anytime TODAY.  We are having an official launch party at Virgin on April Fool’s day and Bloomsbury later on. OR you may want to host a book launch event in your company. Contact us for details via peter@humdyn.co.uk

I’d be made up if you can share the book details or this post widely on social media. Here’s some tweets that people have already created about Sir Richard Branson:

Got LICE? Bring on the Branson. A perfect accompaniment for when your business thinking is in a pickle

Virgin King of the introverts, piercer of corporate bubbles, reinventor and restlessly inventive. Just hope NHS is safe in his private hands!

Jake Dollery found that the book could help him deal with the dark side of organisational life and kindly made this image:

Some details of the book are available below, which has been fermenting for some 20 years ….

New Year Revolutions

During 2015 I was very lucky to sample some glimpses of what the future holds in healthcare, the environment and music. In this article I’m looking at some snapshots of ingenious innovations in these areas to encourage other entrepreneurs to get busy on their own new year revolutions.

Digital Health

Up till recently technology was not reliable and therefore difficult to use in situations where reliability is key such as healthcare. This has now changed and technology is on the cusp of being a health game changer. I witnessed some of the amazing innovations in healthcare, when I was invited to attend and present by Roberto Ascione, CEO of Healthware International at the Frontiers of Interaction conference in Milan just recently. Here’s three:

Tinnitracks helps manage tinnitus without the use of a pill but rather your music library, cancelling the frequencies responsible for the symptom. This enables us to use our smartphones as a therapeutic device, using our own preferred music to help reduce the hyperactivity of affected nerve cells and this ease the effects of tinnitus.

If a picture is worth a thousand words how is a video worth? Starting from this and from the knowledge that health videos are by far the most desired and effective way we learn about our own health Videum pioneers the potential of making validated health videos available to all in any language. For the first time, people can learn easily about health from high quality video enriched with additional content.

The diabetes management app OneDrop uses timelines, geolocalization, badges and social media to help people to stay within their target glucose level range. OneDrop was devised by a diabetes sufferer who felt things could be a lot better. The free app looks like a visual diary and allows people to simply record their glucose levels by saving them where and when they took the measure and maybe even link them to the photo of their meal. This helps people manage their diabetes better.

Recycling London

Imagine being able to cycle from South East London to West London on your bicycle without fear of being run over? Imagine being able to do that on the River Thames? This is the concept being pioneered by the Thames Deckway project, which aims to construct a dedicated cycle path along the Thames. I was privileged to attend a briefing on the project from a young entrepreneur who has arranged a crowdfunding project to gain momentum to advance the idea. In my opinion the project is viable, novel and would contribute massively to make London a greener, safer city for cyclists, motorists and the general public. If we are serious about the environment we must get busy on pedal power.

Networking and horizontal collaboration

Enterprises are increasingly finding that innovation springs from collaboration, often from networks that they don’t “own”, i.e. through partnership with external agents, customers, even competitors in some circumstances. In this context I am delighted to have been personally invited to the Open For Business global network, the brainchild of Ted Coiné. This global network of speakers, writers and influencers are very much open for business in 2016. Ted explains the concept:

Open For Business in 2016

I am very lucky to have a place in this network at Keynotes, adding to the global networks I share with Nadine Hack and Virgin.com. At last, the world is your oyster …

New Year Revolutions

• In common with Professor Charles Handy, I predict that we are about to realise the power of networks, where small networks can join together to create massive changes in the world for good.
• We are already seeing how small networks can exert big influence in healthcare and the environment. Entrepreneurs can, for the first time, exert major influence with good products and the ability to network them effectively.
• Consequently we will have to embrace all the diversity that this opportunity presents, beginning to understand our relative unimportance in a complex and wired world.