The Power of Networking

An interesting idea is to involve students in social network projects in schools and colleges. Humans are wired to socially connect. Connections are not just starting a venture but a way a thinking and a way of life. It is the constant quest to do better, to doggedly follow improvements and develop the keenness to make a difference.

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We live in an age where there is a surfeit of information. For every topic under the sun, there is information and snippets available on the internet and often well catalogued. From normal daily habits to the workplace, we are facing new ways of working and living, in every aspect of life. When we pause and look at the welter of change around us, the scenario which stares back to us is that of massive flux. It does not require us to dig deep to the roots of change to see that technology is the primary disruptor of our times. The quotient of change also requires us to be far more creative and proactive than the yesteryears. It is not just enough to be great problem solvers, today, we need to be pre-empting and finding potential problems. While the thinking capacity to master new technologies will be key, these critical skills need to also be buttressed with aggressive pace and nimbleness.

Most of the information that we have around us needs to be synthesised into byte sized knowledge and connected with what we know and have learned in the past. This also brings in paradigm changes in the way we think, work and live. Add to the demographic dimension, there is also the massive advent of technology that we have to negotiate with. The laptops, the constantly flickering smart phones are an extension of the human body for today’s professional. Very simply, the average knowledge worker of today has these massive distractions whether she is at her work place or at home and trading casual banter in a coffee shop!