The Economics of Intelligence and Creativity

Intelligence and creativity are the new economy - the knowledge economy.  Individuals who are able to adapt quickly and make use of technologies to build new solutions to old problems while helping to shape the future through innovation are the clear winners. The differentiators are 'what we know', 'who we know' AND 'how quickly we can adapt'. The combination of know-how, social media, and technology is lethal for individuals who are stuck in the industrial age.

Intelligence and creativity are driving the new economy at hyper-connected speeds where being average is no longer viable. Everyone has to step up and redefine their own 'How-To' in order to interact with this new world. Knowledge is the key.

Strong knowledge economies contain:

• Appropriate economic incentives and institutional regimes
• Skilled, flexible, and creative people
• Dynamic information structure
• Efficient innovation systems

Some tasks for knowledge workers include:

• Information gathering and data mining
• Data analysis and trend identification
• Understanding cause and effect
• Brainstorming or modifying strategies

Reinforcing the knowledge economy requires schools that are able to respond - and many traditional institutions are not even close.

...as Peter Drucker and others have demonstrated forcefully, workers at all levels in the 21st century economy will need to be lifelong learners, adapting continuously to changed opportunities, work practices, business models, and forms of economic and social organization. Education systems will have to adapt accordingly...

Building Knowledge Economies

Final Report of the Knowledge Economy Forum

World Bank and OECD 

Do schools kill creativity? Take a few minutes to listen to Sir Ken Robinson's humorous examination of this very serious topic.




If schools kill creativity, then Destination Imagination (DI) is the type of organization that brings it back to life. DI nurtures teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving which are essential ingredients in the knowledge economy.

Destination Imagination encourages teams of learners to have fun, take risks, focus, and frame challenges while incorporating STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), the arts, and service learning. Our participants learn patience, flexibility, persistence, ethics, respect for others and their ideas, and the collaborative problem solving process. Teams may showcase their solutions at a tournament.

My daughter is in her second year with DI thanks to a tremendous and tireless Team Manager. After watching her team work through various scenarios and serving as a tournament appraiser this year, I'm inspired to ask the question - 'should DI challenge elements be used to help screen job candidates?'

5 Ways To Increase Your InterNET Worth

Intellectual capital and intellectual property are compelling to think about, right?  We typically go about our lives educating ourselves, working hard, building families, and making a difference in the world without generally considering how much we’re truly worth.  Is this OK?  Sure it is - if we’re not interested in maximizing ourselves or our contributions. I challenge myself to ask better questions and to find different answers other than “that’s just the way it is” or “everyone needs to pay the bills”. Is that really just the way it is? There is overwhelming evidence to the contrary. We really can choose our destiny. Take a closer look.

In his essay titled The Nature of the Firm (Coase, R. H., 1937), Nobel prize-winning economist R. H. Coase (1910 – 2013) defined the legal concept of employee and employer as closely related to  the “master and servant” relationship.  He explored “...why a firm emerges at all in a specialized exchange economy.”  In this context the term firm refers to corporation or organized structure that controls and manages production of goods and services.

This is a complex subject made simpler by Coase’s flashes of insight about an individual’s desire to “...accept less in order work under someone instead of dealing with the stress normally laid on the advantage of “being one's own master.”  I suspect that this is the trap that many of us have fallen into and it can be difficult to get out - but hundreds of millions have taken the step.

According to an article by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM, 2012), the number of entrepreneurs in the world approached 400 million across 54 countries in 2011!  That’s right 400 million—or 5.7% of the world’s population!  Keep in mind that these figures are from 3 years ago.  Let’s break it down further.  Of the millions of entrepreneurs, 39% are Women Entrepreneurs, 40% are Young Entrepreneurs (18—25), and 17% are Innovators, and 4% are Global Entrepreneurs.  Undoubtedly these individuals are dealing with the stress of “being their own master” in order to maximize their contributions and their worth in the world.

Not clear yet what this all means?  Take a look at this INFOGRAPHIC.  What can you do to increase your InterNet worth?  Here are 5 steps that you can take.

STEP 1 - Know Your Industry: Is the industry that you’re currently in growing or dying?  When will major shifts occur?  Who is the competition?  Where are they located?  What do you read to stay on top of it?  Who do you know that can help you stay smart?  If you think these types of questions are just for the “bosses” or strategists, you’re wrong!  These are the types of questions that every person should be asking themselves in order to create winning personal outcomes.

Step 2 - Know Your Numbers: How many people are there in your industry?  Where are the majority of workers located?  Has there been a shift in the number of workers in a particular location?  Is there a clear migration pattern emerging?  What is the market rate for your current position?  What is the top role in your industry?  What is the market rate for that industry top spot?  Is that role in the private sector or public sector - could be either?  Explore it!

Step 3 - Know Your Outcomes: Are you where you want to be in your career?  If not, why not?  Are you in the right industry?  What is your ultimate objective - to make a difference, to make more money, to solve a social problem, to support your family?  What alternative paths have you considered?  How much time do you intend to spend where you are before making a shift?  Have you explored higher education as an option?

NOTE: Higher education is a must-have just to remain status quo.  Don’t believe me?  Check out the competition!

Step 4 - Know Your Support System: Who do you have in your corner that can help you get to where you want to go?  Expand your networks and circles of influence. Do you have mentors or coaches?  Are you on your own?  No one gets to where they want to go on their own. Build a substantial and influential support team.  Don’t wait until the last minute to ask someone to “be your mentor”. Actively seek out individuals who have what you need and borrow with pride. This is called modeling and it’s not a crime. It’s what human beings do.  We model others to learn.

Step 5 – Know Your InterNET Worth: Social media profiles are a great way to let everyone know who you are and what you stand for. Watch your traffic! One of the first things potential employers, business partners, or curious bystanders do is to “google” you to see who you are. Are you leaving a data footprint that you’re proud of?  If not, change course and mind your data!  Clean up what you don’t want to be seen and be proud to tell the world who you really are.  My social media preferences are Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn along with my blog and my website.  Social media profiles are the new “business card” and I’m leveraging the advantages offered to increase my InterNET worth.

Do you know your worth - InterNET or otherwise. If not, find out. You're WORTH it!

Social Media Is Not Just "Social", It's Big Business

Social Media is not just "social", it's business - BIG business!  Unless you've been sleeping for the last five years you already know this. The number of technologies, apps, and platforms supporting the engagement, measurement, nurturing, and conversion of contacts into employees, customers, partners, clients, acquaintances, and friends continue to explode. Women and men alike devour content as fast as it gets generated and still want more. The 'free line' has moved. The free line is the boundary between the amount of content products, or services that are given for free versus what customers will pay for. Companies scream louder and louder to get the attention of potential customers - and we've gone deaf. Or have we?


Social Media Intelligence Reports Crazy Growth

RPV (revenue-per-visit) continues to shatter previous records. Whether you're on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, LinkedIn or any other social media platform, you undoubtedly see an increase in the unique types of ad traffic that's designed to get your attention. Reviews of CTR (click-through-rate) or CPC (cost-per-click) provide insight into whether a shift in strategy is warranted. Goldman Sachs recently increased its valuation of Facebook ads due to higher confidence in Facebook's ad ROI (return-on-investment) and mobile strategy.

Social media channels are picking up steam and have their eyes on capturing a greater portion of search dollars. The real race will not be between social media channels, but between marketer's allocation of dollars across search, display, and social.

Social Intelligence Report

Adobe Digital Index Q4 2013 

Internet Ad Revenue Tops $20B at HY 2013

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report on internet ad revenue generated from more than 600 leading media and technology companies that are responsible for selling 86% of online ads in the US and is considered to be the most accurate measurement of revenue in this space. According to the IAB press release, internet ad revenues topped $10.7B USD in Q3 2013, a 15% increase over Q3 2012. Growth into 2014 and beyond is expected to accelerate.

Digital has steadily increased its ability to captivate consumers and then capture the marketing dollars that follow. Mobile advertising's breakneck growth is evidence that marketers are recognizing the tremendous power of smaller screens.

IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report

2013 First Six Months Results October 2013

Battle of the Sexes in Social Media

So what do we do with all of these social media outlets? You might imagine that women and men use them differently and you'd be right. Take a look at how the battle of the sexes plays out on social media platforms.  If you're planning on using the platforms for business or for pleasure, it's helpful to know who is listening.

Humans and Technologies Collide When It Comes to Jobs

 

For years I searched for details that would show the rate of change between technology innovations and the rate of decline or shift in the number of jobs. I had seen information or predictions circulating about IT jobs, but what I was looking for was an in-depth scientific study that would reveal substantive results across industries. At the time I wasn't in a position to do the research myself. Well - I should be careful of what I ask for.

A recent study by Carl Frey and Michael Osborne (September 2013) examined interactions between 702 job types as defined in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 2010 data set, Machine Learning (ML), and Mobile Robotics (MR). Their results are shocking, but realistic.

According to our estimates, about 47 percent of total US employment is at risk.  We further provide evidence that wages and educational attainment exhibit a strong negative relationship with an occupation's probability of computerization. 

The Future of Employment: How Susceptible are Jobs to Computerization?

 C. Frey, M. Osborne; Oxford University (September 2013)

Probability of Computerization

Technology innovations such as industrial robots, friendly robots, data analytics, low cost sensors, vehicle automation, and prefabrication will continue to impact jobs in transportation, manufacturing, farming, construction, administration, sales, and services in the near term.  These are the areas of greatest concern - the 47%. One has to simply catch snips from daily news feeds to confirm the facts. The study cites a plethora of examples showing that the world as we know it has already changed - past tense.

How do we navigate this type of significant shift? By rapidly defining and gaining new skills - skills that aren't in the cross-hairs of ML or MR. The 10,000-Hour Rule (Gladwell, M. (2008); Outliers pp. 35-68) is a challenge but we have time if we start now - right now - to figure out what new skills are required to maintain a sufficient standard of living as the world continues its transformation. Areas requiring a high degree of social and creative intelligence have yet to be conquered by technology. However, it may simply be a matter of time - and human ingenuity - before jobs in these areas also become computerized.

There's a bit of humor in the infographic below, but consider it well. The world has changed.

Everyone Will Become an Entrepreneur [INFOGRAPHIC]

A. Vital, A. Unak; Funders and Founders (September 2013)