Tag: Winter Olympic Games

Automation and creativity

What if you had a third eye in the back of your head? (one of the Creativity Test questions). Or how would it turn out if Earth goes without 0xygen for 5 seconds? If you were a car, what would that be?

Gone are the days of “you can have the model T’s in any color you want, as long as it’s black”.

In fact, S Korea not only won the bid to the Winter Olympics, Kia and Hyundai are surpassing Ford to position against Nissan and others.

Apple was quite daring when it tried to personalize the PC’s (emphasizing the P in PC). The result was the Mac series (when Jobs was still “hungry”, he took a calligraphy course, which helped shape Apple’s product  differentiation).

Once we reached full-automation, the only thing that makes us stand out is creativity and differentiation.

In the 70’s music was commoditized with unbundled single albums and in 2000’s for 99 cents (free Facebook Video chat and Google Plus ‘ hangouts).

Even Facebook IT admin jobs are not safe: they dispense hardware accessories via in-company vending machines (automation that cut through the red tape).

We cherish vintage cars (the Mini’s, the VW‘s) because they strike a chord: nostalgia.

Manufacturers will have to consider women in the work force, translating into purchasing power and buying decision. Pretty in pink.

The rise of Food Network and Interior Decor shows our inclination to differentiate and personalize (hence, the rise of my Facebook page or WordPress theme).

Yes, we often choose default template out of convenienc (organ donation default choice in European countries), but we also want to embrace individuality (a taboo in Asian culture).

Yet on this side of Taylorism, that’s what makes us stand out. Personal branding (I could hardly find my little silver Civic outside the Mall).

The age of automation asks: which do you prefer, a black car or a black car?

I applaud S Korean’s dare-devil (as opposed to highly conforming Japanese culture) choice for pink car. It must have been an eye-sore to older generations. After all, it’s the same over here when Mrs Robinson song was in full blast with Dustin Hoffman, the Graduate, zooming down the coast in a red convertible. You can cutaway to modern Korea, and visualize how the Presbyterian congregation there react to their  version of “Dustin Hoffman” in a pink car. “Heaven holds a place for those who pray” hey, hey, hey.

Winning is contagious!

If you need to be motivated as I do, watch the Winter Olympics.

You will share peak emotions, peak performance and peak mountain spots of Vancouver.

Everybody loves a winner, and the winner loves to savor and share that moment .

We empathize with their struggle, their trial and triumph. In a word, we self-project.

Their hopes, fears and dreams become ours.

Think of that Newsweek cover photo of the US women soccer player who took off her shirt on the green (Olympic 96?). Spontaneous and sweet victory.

Or at SB44, when the Saints number 22 intercepted that football (he pointed the finger at the end zone, where he was sure he would be in seconds).

No point of stopping someone on a winning trajectory.

Down in Brazil and New Orleans, the parades rage on.

Good to be alive. But it’s better to win.

Unless you were into anti-hero theme, winning has been popular in literature, film and throughout history.

Sadly, to win, you need to learn from the mistakes of others. That’s where training films and failed-business case studies come into play.

Remember that uncle in your secret family history? It’s better to whisper and leave the past in the dungeon. We all involve in mental editing, of data scrubbing to reinvent ourselves, just like the bean counters of Worldcom and Enron, to show positive P/E. There is nothing wrong with self-reinvention. But we need solid “wins” to show.

At the Olympics, sometimes, winning comes after years of training and practice. Even loss of life. But so contagious is winning . “I’ll have some of that” (Rob Reiner‘s mom said that famous line in “when Harry met Sally“.)