Last night I attended a conversation with Alan Webber founder of the edgy business magazine Fast Company at Japan Society’s Innovative Network series. Attracted to Alan’s funny smart observations about culture and business, his new book ‘Rules of Thumb’ is a 52 rule portfolio of life lessons he has collected over 40 years, from his diverse network of teachers. Listening and learning is at the core of his process from established and unlikely sources while capturing their memorable quotes on 3 x 5 note cards. The program’s host, Polly LaBarre, an original member of the Fast Company team as Senior Editor, kept the conversation moving leading Alan into his proverbial witticisms. Statements such as ‘The status quo is a greater risk than change’, ‘More a dialogue than a monologue’, ‘Stay alert, there are teachers everywhere’ and ‘Create your own currency’ rings as I Ching or teachings from Siddhartha instead from a former editorial director of the Harvard Business Review. Hopefully, this will inspire frantic CEOs struggling to find order in this ‘different’ economy where consumer spending is being influenced by frugality and social fairness. Or more importantly, newly minted entrepreneurs, creating their own ‘score keeping’. Some of my favorite life lessons from the discussion were ‘Pain is the best teacher and no one wants to go to the class’, ‘There is no wizard behind the curtain’, and ‘Ask the last question first’. You can participate in the conversation with Alan on his blog here.
