Spatial Shift is a Thing, Slowly then Suddenly.

When I first created the brand called Spatial Shift in 2007, the words “spatial” and “shift” did not really go together. In fact, for the next 11 years my Google Alert rarely, if ever delivered an exact match to that word combination other than mentions for my company. It was a lonely place to live out on the edge, continuing to believe that one day this edge will start to become the home of early adopters.

Slowly, I have begun to see new alerts becoming actual matches. Today an alert arrived in my in-box for a speech by Dr. Pritam Singh from Oxford school of Global and Area Studies, University of Oxford delivered in Islamabad, Pakistan. His speech entitled "Sustainability implications of the spatial shift in global capitalism: An eco-socialist perspective", was delivered to an audience dealing with the shifting dynamics of climate change and the social economic impacts across geo-political boundaries.

I have also observed several other “Spatial Shifts” starting to appear as we begin to see the true impact of exponential technologies. Peter Diamandis, a co-founder of Singularity University and founder of Xprize has been writing about the emergence of the Spatial Web and how that is going to drive the next era of work, humanity and creativity.

In 2017, CBInsights CEO Anand Sanwal gave a keynote presentation on the notion of Gradually then Suddenly to a room full of executives. This has now evolved into one of their product offerings as a way to look at shifting curves impacting industries, businesses and competitive evolution. It appears that Spatial + Shift is now becoming a candidate for the “gradual then suddenly” mental model.

Spatial Storytelling has emerged over the last decade as game narrative and exponential technologies have come to the forefront of the digital native generation. McAfee and other cyber security companies are now looking at gamers as a natural line of defense in managing cyber security breaches by building solutions using AR/VR constructs mapped to data leaks, as a way to navigate and protect cities and companies under siege from the dark side.

The original idea for Spatial Shift was born as a result of being a parent with a special needs child who was IDD (intellectual developmentally delayed). I was fascinated with how his brain worked. How we would create an environment where he could learn and become the best possible version of himself in a new normal world. That led to many books on neurosciences, cognitive and emotional sciences, behavior sciences, social sciences and narratives associated with his world.

Thirty years later, I find myself a Modern Elder. An individual driven by curiosity and thirst to learn more now, then ever before. Yet, it is also a period of great unlearning. Rewiring, as Chip Conley so eloquently states in his latest book Wisdom at Work. This has led me to connect dots between my youthful ambitions and dreams, my realities of life as a husband, father and provider, with the desire to see Spatial + Shift become a slowly, then suddenly phenomenon that leaves the world a better place then I found it.

Abundance

Labor Day in the Age of Abundance requires us to rethink what we know.  Our historical perspective of living with a scarcity mindset is no longer the only valid option.  Having recently attended the Singularity University Global Summit, I went in with an open mindset to unlearn what I know and to embrace a different way to think. 

The subject of "unlearning" was prevalent throughout the three days.  What exactly did that mean? I must admit, at 57, with a birthday coming soon - I was perplexed by how to do that exactly.   Albeit, this year, I made sweeping bold moves to push myself beyond my comfort zone and shift my world view.  We sold our house.  Moved to a new city.  Changed "no" to "yes" and started to adopt "beginners mind" as a new way to exist. 

I immersed myself in a program called 52 Weeks Momentum, curated by Benjamin Hardy that started on January 1st.  Thus far I have read over 12 books associated with changing one's mindset and behaviors.  I have been challenged to mediate, create my own personal narrative and reset my routines. 

In February, I had the good fortune of attending the Modern Elder Academy in Baja Mexico, that Chip Conley created for Modern Elders. The idea being to rewire your thinking as a 50+ individual.  To think about becoming both a mentor and intern as we share our wisdom, while learning from the next generations.   There are now 350 Modern Elders who have embarked on the lessons learned from this newly minted approach. 

In July and August, I had the pleasure of working on Singularity University's narrative at a corporate, enterprise and venture level leading up to the Global Summit mentioned above.  I learned about "exponential thinking", "10x scaling", "10x leadership" and "10x strategy".  And, more importantly, how to apply that thinking by shifting my reference from linear to exponential application via a Mark Boncheck session on Narrative. 

The Global Summit introduced the idea that you have to be ambidextrous in your mindset - you have to live in both linear and spatial modes to compete in today's modern marketplace.  A new switch that will need to be mastered in order to remain relevant in an era dominated by AI and Abundance.   

As I ramp up for the blast off normally associated with Labor Day, Seth Godin was also thinking the same thing.  He is always good for centering our thinking and encouraging us to see differently.  When I combine his wisdom, with my new found desire to "unlearn and relearn", I am finding new mental models, frameworks and approaches to improve my craft.  Because in the Age of Abundance, it won't be business as usual.