Juxtapositions

1 Digital siliconbased data driven solutions Analog carbonbased emotional challengesA machine computes A human dreamsThe elegance of code is often thwarted by the messiness of peopleAlgorithms find corelations between present and historical data sets Adventuresome people leave the beaten path and innovate by forging new connections between things that were unconnected beforeSoftware is written but TE Lawrence Lawrence of Arabia emphasized quotnothing is writtenquot in human progressIt is imaginedSilicon Valley believed AI could monitor and clean up the weaponized mess of social media Lots of computing power and tens of thousands of people later the situation continues to sizzlePeople surprise and are illogicalMachines are not yet madMath has no meaningMeaning often has no math2 Diversity of people The diversity of voicesDiversity is criticalDiversity ensures innovation as differences of perspectives voices and expertise find ways to connect intersect compete and intertwineThe drive to diversity whether it be gender ethnicity sexual preference or background is important because it is fair just and supports ideas value freedom and wealthEven more critical is that the diverse voices are heard and diversity is not just diversity of faces or quotas to meet benchmarks3Why we join Why we stayWe seek jobs and careers that will afford us money power and fameAnd we measure our wealth our span of control and our influenceBut we stay for connections purpose and personal growthDo we feel connected to the people we work with the purpose and values of the place we spend our lives and do we feel we are growing as people with our skill and expertiseWe came for the numbers that we could measure on a spreadsheetWe stayed for the stories that strengthened our heartbeat4 The potential of the old The fixation on the youngOver the past twenty years the 52to70year age cohort has doubled its wealth to 12 million dollars a household while the 20 to 35 has declined by 10 percent to just over 100000 a householdModern health care indicates that a healthy 52 will not only have money but over 30 years of a physically healthy life Today the growth market for most businesses in the US and in most developed markets from Europe to Japan are 50 They do not see themselves as seniors and Covid19 has underlined that they are open to new behaviors and brandsBut look around at the marketing in most countries which aims decades below where the money is not only in depiction but also tone of voice Survey the ages of folks in marketing departments and agencies Millennial fixation did not help Buzzfeed Vice or Group NineMoney and not quotviral likesquot makes the world go around5 You The other youA person in two moods can be more different than any two peopleYou are both what you were and what you are as what you will becomeSome things change and some things stay the sameIt is hard enough to understand yourself and really difficult to understand other peopleThus let us be careful in both life and in business to believe we have anybody peggedWhen you have someone segmented and boxed and xrayed You have measured their ROI and Lifetime value When you have them tiered and graded and valued remind yourself that someone is doing the same thing to youHow does it feelAnd don39t you sometimes just do strange things to make their calculations crackle and burn and go all wrongYou are the marketer and the one marketed to beYou are the archer and you are the target6 Balance Unite IntegrateIn the digital world there are zeros and onesIn the real world there is a spectrum between zero and 1 including zero and onesIn the fantasy world there is a yes and no for every answerIn the real world there are yes no maybe depends later avoidance of an answerThe wise understand that one has to continuously manage a spectrumA spectrum of people voices opportunities options and decisionsThe challenge is how to balance between the outcomes unite what can be united and integrate the optionsAnd to remember humans are incomplete imperfect and impermanentAs are all the decisions we make and the positions we takeAnd in the juxtapositions is where the meaning of life liesClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNetamp160

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Juxtapositions

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Rishad Tobaccowala

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Juxtapositions

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