Sept 22, 2020
This year has been a rollercoaster of events and emotions. In light of everything else happening out there, I want to share a bit of personal news.
The World Economic Forum invited me to the Global Future Council as a Fellow for the 2020-2021term. The GFC gives its members a platform to support WEF's vision to understand and shape global systems in the face of rapid social and technological transformation. Fellows provide strategic insights through the Forum's year-round meetings (including Davos Forum), scientific evidence in written reports, forward guidance by translating ideas into action, and multidisciplinary understanding of major issues that will shape the post-COVID-19 world. We are the brain-trust of experts for the forum.
In short, I get to use my unique skills and experiences to shape a global, regional, and industry agendas.
That's no small feat, but here is my take-away.
Global Future Council on Agile Governance
Trace your own journey
My journey was unconventional, and I often found myself explaining my decision to others. I lost count of how many times I explained to relatives that offices, suits, and 9-5 were not my dream job. I wanted to work at the intersection of science and policy. There was also GUILT… ufff the sense of guilt and disappointment when I felt I was not fulfilling others' expectations. This was especially true when I decided to take my academic degree to be more entrepreneurial and actively seek ways to shape policy. Many colleagues saw my choices as a cop-out.
My point: Don't ask others for directions to places they have never been to. People will tell you the place doesn't exist. They may even be right. You may have to wield that place into existence.
Today my unconventional choices feel validated. The World Economic Forum came knocking and I'm prepared to open the door. I will join the Agile Governance Council, to help develop agile governance tools to enable policy-makers to maximize the benefits of science and technology for society. For those of you that have been with me for a while, this was the thesis of my engineering dissertation and exactly what made it seem like an impossible feat. WEF's invitation is the validation of years of impossible pursuits and projects.
That seems like something worth celebrating today!
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PS: Ever had your own impossible/radical idea? Did you pursue it? Tell me how it went.