I am typing this post in the Denver Airport, on my way home from the Aspen Ideas Festival. I’ve had three remarkable days that have supplied me with enough fodder to fill this blog for months. It was like attending the intellectual Oscars, while also feeling like a bit of a spy.
First impressions don’t last long, so I’m typing without having processed these ideas very much yet — that will come. For now, here’s what I noticed:
- Relevance matters. This event — full of commentators, researchers, journalists and podcast hosts — would have been hollow if it hadn’t spoken to the issues of the day. (And by that, I mean yesterday or today). The topics were timely, and the speakers were credible and current — the polar opposite of oblivious (and you know how important that is to me!)
- Setting matters. Aspen isn’t easy to get to, and many participants experienced travel woes. Once there, we found music, art, sunshine, mountains, exceptional food, generosity and an enthusiastic welcome. The attention to detail was remarkable. It was a festival, not a conference. All of this contributed to a vibe of good humour that buffered vigorous debate and the big feelings that inevitably came up.
- Learning matters. It’s energizing to put myself in situations that stretch my thinking and inspire me. But it takes planning and intention to make that happen — I’ve had this event on my radar for well over a year. (Solopreneurs out there — this is a message especially for us. I know professional development can be expensive and lonely and a nice-to-have). Invest in staying sharp.
- Community matters. The importance of community came up all over the place, even in sessions not explicitly about that. Connection with others. Local solutions. Collective identity. This is the water I swim in, but it became more visible against this backdrop of discussions primarily focused on global politics and macroeconomics.
- Narrative matters. Yes, we are living in polarized times. But we are also living in times of innovation and imagination, health and prosperity. It’s important to choose the stories we tell and focus on. That in itself is an act of resistance.
- Hope matters. Even in the conversations wrestling with the darkest of times and topics, optimism won the day — for reasons equally well thought out to those that informed the words of warning and lament.
I’ll look forward to hearing which of these observations translates best into your context today.
My flight is boarding. More to come.