Sir Ken Robinson
Just under 20 years ago I was a Brand Manager for The Macallan in NYC. An organisation (they are still around) called Richmond Events were hosting one of their ‘strategic business forums’ aboard the, I think, Norwegian Dawn - remember pre social media and camera phones we never catalogued these things.
In a nutshell these events brought together brand representatives (who paid nothing and stayed in balcony cabins) with agencies and service providers (who paid and stayed in inside cabins) onboard a cruise ship that was perhaps undergoing light maintenance (eg painting). The cruise ship would be only about 25% full, you’d ‘steam’ up and down the coast of Long Island for 3 days and attend meetings and talks.
It seemed like a good idea and I signed-up.
The signature speaker was Sir Ken Robinson. I admit to having never heard of him. He was an ‘education expert’ and that felt like another strike against this ‘keynote’.
I have never been more wrong in my life.
To this day I have never heard a greater orator nor witnessed someone so able to both entertain and enlighten. From that moment forward I compared, unfavourably, every speaker with him and watched almost all of his presentations.
His most viewed Ted Talk is below. It will be the best 20 minutes you spend today. If you haven’t watched it before - watch it. If you have watched it before - watch it.
Sir Ken died on Saturday and when the tweet from his account announced the news it felt like a close friend had passed. You can read a tribute from Oliver Friedman here.
Here are some great quotes from him;
”For most of us, the problem isn’t that we aim to high and fail. It’s just the opposite: we aim too low and succeed.”
”If you are not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.”
”Being in your element is not only about aptitude, it’s about loving what you do.”
”Life is not linear. When you follow your own true north you create new opportunities, meet different people, have different experiences and create a different life.”
He’s been an inspiration for many and I have no doubt he will continue to be so.
Creativity, constant learning, helping others and being passionate. Ultimately trying to live our best lives.
RIP.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mark Izatt is a brand consultant living in London and founder of Mission Critical, a highly focused and curated weekly briefing for time poor and information hungry decision makers and THE FIRST, a monthly briefing containing 31 inspirational insights. Mission Critical is a digital product delivered via his Estonian Consultancy business.
You can email Mark here and read about his recently published book ‘Mission Critical - 101 tips to survive and thrive at work in the office, on the move and at home’.
