There's no place like California. And living near San Francisco is even better because there are nerds everywhere you look. Smart people with great ideas are on every street corner and some of them can even communicate. It's amazing.
Being a nerd, on a recent Friday evening I found myself part of a social outing which consisted of a lecture presented by The Long Now Foundation. The speaker was Paul Saffo, who is a respected forecaster. Paul’s presentation was mind-boggling, informative and very entertaining. He showed pictures he has taken over the years that were harbingers of major shifts in various industries. He recounted episodes of his personal travels when he was so obsessed with trying to infer the meaning from some observation that he was unable to enjoy the trip. His secret to success seems to be a keen power of observation and a very sharp, inquisitive mind.
Here is an individual immersed in a very unique specialty, who is a published author, prized consultant, and respected presenter. What’s most amazing to me is that he is capable of explaining lofty concepts in such a way that a novice can understand them. Now that’s brilliance.
And it is no accident that the presenter is the champion of cubicle-bound nerds everywhere, Scott Adams. I saw Scott in the late nineties at a Project Management Institute conference. Before he took the stage I wondered how on earth the author of Dilbert was going to be an interesting presenter. I mean, he draws pictures in boxes - for a living.
He was unbelievably good and told stories about what he was thinking, showed us unedited versions of different cartoons and then showed us what the editors allowed him to publish. It was low tech as I recall and involved an overhead projector, which is all he needed to show copies of his comics.
He was great because he knew his audience, he was authentic, and he knew how to construct his presentation to great effect.
I have just finished reading Scott's latest book Stick to Drawing Comics, Monkey Brain, and I'm pleased to say his writing is as funny as his comic strips! What is even more amazing to me is the fact that Scott owns two restaurants right here in Pleasanton, CA so it is possible that I could actually meet him someday.
All those years ago when I was living in Atlanta, GA with no plan to do any public speaking, Scott is the first presenter who showed me what excellence could look like.
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