Melissa Neighbour

The most important skill for the 21st century, and how to start cultivating it right now!

Technological disruption requires us to learn faster than we ever had to before. Behaviours we’ve honed for decades are becoming obsolete in a few short years. Combined with a generational mindset shift in how we view the world, many are wondering how to remain relevant. What’s the key quality for success in this world of constant change?

Future Crunch might be able to help. With trademark humour, dynamism and gold-plated research, they explore what the Harvard Business Review calls, “the new competitive advantage.” You’ve heard of IQ and EQ; this century belongs to those that are quick to read and act on signals of change. People with a high Adaptability Quotient (AQ): the ability to thrive in unpredictable environments. Instead of being really good at doing one thing, adaptive people are really good at learning how to do new things.

Drawing on the latest insights from the worlds of technology, neuroscience and management, this talk reveals why the best predictor of success is how we embrace rapid experimentation. Audiences will walk away with an understanding of what it takes to foster AQ, how to identify it in others, and how it can be a superpower for anyone looking to maintain an advantage in the next economy.

A rollercoaster tour across the frontiers of technological disruption!

Technology used to be thought of as a function to be outsourced, or a sector on its own. Today, it’s a layer across all aspects of the economy.

Connectivity, digital disruption, artificial intelligence, intuitive computing, robotics, additive manufacturing, clean energy, electric vehicles, autonomous transport, gene-editing, bio-engineering. Each of these technologies are transformative in their own right. Together, they’re a roaring tornado creating once in a hundred year revolutions in every industry at once.

That’s why understanding what's over the horizon is essential for any organisation wishing to harness the opportunities of a rapidly changing global economy in the 21st century. Audiences will come away from this talk with the ability to think clearly and critically about the way technological disruption is changing the economy, a skill that's particularly relevant for leaders who wish to maintain a strategic advantage — and protect their organisations against competitors looking to do the same.

Why we’re completely wrong about how bad things really are!

By almost any measure, the world is becoming a better place. Poverty is disappearing, war deaths are falling, violence is less common, the world is becoming more tolerant, suicide is decreasing, life expectancy is increasing, literacy is on the rise, child mortality is declining. Yet most people have no idea that this is the world we are living in.

This presentation helps audiences imagine new futures, and direct their imaginations towards the futures we want. It’s a story about people who are making the world a better place. It's about opportunities and solutions, rather than problems and threats. It's a story that's informed by intelligent, evidence-based optimism.

Audiences will learn how our cognitive biases distort our view of the world, making us feel unnecessarily pessimistic, and preventing us from achieving our true potential. And they’ll walk away with a renewed sense of hope, purpose, and commitment to problem solving, innovation and organisational change.