The clue is Oracle and BAFTA, because today I attended an event run by Oracle to showcase their new CRM product, Fusion. This was held at BAFTA in Picadilly and was my first visit there. It was here the three caught my attention.
In the auditorium many of the seats are "endowed" and the one in front of me had a small plaque, readings "Endowed by Roman Polanksi in memory of Sharon Tate". This had me smiling during the main product speeches, but then Lord Digby Jones got up as the guest speaker.
Wow! He spoke irreverently about all the political parties and about Europe, but boy did he speak sense! Not only is he a great platform speaker, he "gets it" and is not afraid to call a spade a spade.
If he had a party I think I would sign up. His ideas about leadership and the malaise with the UK were spot on. His view that the 21st century belongs to Asia (with a honoury membership for Brazil) was compelling. I heard more sense spoke in less than a hour than for years of rhetoric from our politicians.
I just wish the talk had been recorded so I could have shared it with my daughter, a sixth former. I did ask him how he thought we could prepare our children for the future; his answer was to help them find time to think in a world that is focussed in immediate gratification and instant response.
If you get a chance to hear him then I wholeheartedly recommend the experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment
If something I have said has made you think, angry or simply feel confused, please to leave comment and let me know.