As a new year beckons and economic uncertainty still reigns, I find myself in search of motivation, which leads me to Ted. No, my newlywed status is not in peril, I speak of TED, the nonprofit dedicated to ideas worth spreading . What began in 1984 as a one-off conference bent on uniting people from the worlds of technology, entertainment and design has reached cult status, attracting such speakers as Bill Clinton, Bill Gates and Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. The concept was so popular, a twice-annual conference was born and spawned many TED-affiliated offspring. TEDx took the tenets of its predecessor and created a model for replicating the experience at the local level. The first TEDx Napa Valley came in 2011 and encored in December 2012.
Let’s get connected
With the promise of inspirational mojo, I arrange to attend. A cynical New Yorker at heart, I enter the Napa Valley Opera House with low expectations but yearning to be inspired. Having cut my teeth on technology prior to my reincarnation as a journalist, I appreciate this year’s theme: Connected. A worthy topic given we can connect in more ways than ever yet we’ve never been more disconnected from humanity.
From the heart
Iraqi war veteran, Mike Dowling, steps on stage and, seconds later, a member of the audience has a seizure. The participant is rushed out of the auditorium where 300 attendees sit stunned. This day will be a memorable one—of that I’m certain. Berkeley-born Dowling and his loyal pooch, Rex, specialized in Weapons of Mass Detection—as a military dog team during the war. Dowling’s voice waivers, which I imagine has more to do with the gravity of what he endured than stage fright. He and his canine located improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and were awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for their work in the “Triangle of Death.” Rex isn’t with us, having retired from his 10-year post, so handler Dowling shares the secrets to connection. “These apply not only to dogs, but people. Build rapport, reward good behavior, emotions run up and down the leash, and always be on the lookout for changes in behavior.” His parting words may also apply to our species: “For Rex, it’s not work, he does it for the love of being loved.”
Inspiration abounds
Artist Peter Hassen inspires through his graffiti initiative, The Values Project. He and more than 140 volunteers gathered to “paint integrity” via stenciled inspirational words in parking spaces in 63 lots across Napa. Hassen views the project as a “community connector” and a way to leverage art as a catalyst for change. Dianne Aigaki, a nonprofit consultant and volunteer for the Tibetan exile government departments, furthers her concept of connecting with citizen diplomacy. She shares motivational messages from her compassion tours, “Be open to serendipity and synchronicity, believe in the value of you, be flexible, follow your vision and passion and don’t ever give up.” The crowd hums in agreement with a final quote: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Tapping the economy
While I yearn to be inspired, I enjoy dissecting the economic woes defining another generation like the dot-com bubble boom and burst defined mine. I perk up when Lisa Gansky, an entrepreneur and author, takes the stage. With Gansky’s Gaga hairstyle, my first reaction is to reject everything she has to say, until she sheds this premise: Value unused equals waste. Her nutshell on our times, “In this economy, it’s about tapping into waste and connecting into excess. We’re in a time of a sharing economy.” She distills the win-win business model apparent at websites such as Vacation Rentals By Owner. Property owners have something in excess—a spare residence. Vacationers are looking for ways to economize. One person’s excess becomes another’s value proposition.
My husband shoots holes in her view of a shared economy. VRBO provides a value lodging solution, but at the expense of other hotels and B&Bs that potentially sit with lower occupancy rates, thus leading to staff cuts. But I see the merits of Gansky’s sentiments. She leaves us with, “Technology connects us, humanity unites us.” I experience the fallout of her notion daily while waiting for my barista to stop tweeting and start grinding my morning brew.
Getting off the crapper
Whether it’s something as simple as an attentive cup of coffee or as costly as getting your car repaired, service isn’t as stellar as we might expect, given how loudly companies have been roaring for our business ever since the economy took a nose dive into the crapper. I expected service to soar but, instead, piss-poor relations became the norm. Holly Stiel, author and president at Thank You Very Much Inc., who literally wrote the handbook on concierge service, echoes my sentiments, “Poor customer service is so prevalent,” she says. Her antidote to the problem? “Snapping into it.” This begins with staying open and ends with transforming ordinary moments to extraordinary experiences. While such ideals might sound lofty in less service-centric hands, Stiel snares in us cynics with her tale of the “strange tattooed fruit stand guy,” who so wowed her with service, she invited him to dinner to pilfer trade secrets. She shares his mantra: “As I drive to work every day over the Golden Gate Bridge, I say to myself all the way, I can make a difference in someone’s life today.”
For the rest of my time at TEDx, I listen to speeches and performances and make a concerted effort to connect with each of the words imparted. Most of the speakers operate in a style foreign to my own type-A tendencies, relying on philosophies and feelings. Yet with Stiel’s tip, I remain open .
For now, I’ll choose to believe that connecting and service in the new millennium might be as simple as trying to make a difference in someone’s life today.
