{"id":477,"date":"2021-04-20T05:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-20T05:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eventible.com\/learning\/?p=477"},"modified":"2021-09-07T12:09:02","modified_gmt":"2021-09-07T12:09:02","slug":"speakers-corner-with-don-tapscott","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eventible.com\/learning\/speakers-corner-with-don-tapscott\/","title":{"rendered":"Speaker’s Corner: Featuring Don Tapscott, Chairman of the Blockchain Research Institute & CEO of the Tapscott Group"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Don<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Speaker’s Corner: Featuring Don Tapscott, Chairman of the Blockchain Research Institute and CEO of the Tapscott Group<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Don Tapscott, Executive Chairman of the Blockchain Research Institute, is one of the world\u2019s leading authorities on the impact of technology on business and society. He has authored 16 books, including <\/em>Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, which has been translated into over 25 languages.<\/em> In 2017, Don and his son Alex co-founded the Blockchain Research Institute, whose 100+ projects are the definitive investigation into blockchain strategy, use-cases, implementation challenges and organizational transformations. Since then Don produced a new book entitled <\/em>Supply Chain Revolution: How Blockchain Technology Is Transforming the Digital Flow of Assets. The book debuted in June 2020 as the \u201c#1 New Release\u201d in the commerce category on Amazon.com.<\/em> Don is a member of the Order of Canada and in 2019, then ranked as the 2nd most influential Management Thinker by <\/em>Thinkers50, joined Professor Christensen, Michael Porter, Peter Drucker and others in the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame. He is an Adjunct Professor at INSEAD and Chancellor <\/em>Emeritus of Trent University in Ontario where he served as Chancellor 2013-2019.<\/em> It is hard to imagine anyone who has been more prolific, profound, and influential in explaining today\u2019s technological revolutions and their impact on the world.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a leading authority on the subject, how would you sum up the impact of technology on business and society?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digital technology is the product of human ingenuity. Like the arts, it is the realization of imagination that is broad in scope, grand in scale, and long lasting in time. Also like the arts, it affirms and enhances the human experience. But, in my 40 years of studying digital innovation in particular, I\u2019ve come to understand that it\u2019s not about technology\u2019s impact on business and society. It\u2019s about our choices<\/em>\u2014how we as individuals, as business leaders, and as communities choose to use technology. We are not without agency. The point is to accept the responsibility, deliberate on the options, make a decision, and then move. Commit. Act. Lead. The future is something to be achieved, not predicted. And certainly not left to chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tell us a little about your book, Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Behind Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies is Changing the World<\/em>. Why is it considered to be the touchstone manual on how to survive \u201cthe next wave of technology-driven disruption\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the last four decades, I\u2019ve conducted over a dozen in-depth research studies and published books of my findings on the nature and impact of technological change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

None of these books is about surviving\u2014they\u2019re all about embracing the new generation of disruptive technologies and finding ways to thrive. To me, thriving means including more people in the global economy. It means offering fair and equal access to opportunity. It means creating the conditions in which everyone can learn and contribute to society, whether they\u2019re starting their own business, pursuing the arts, raising a family, or serving the public. It means engaging citizens in their own governance and holding elected officials accountable. It means coordinating global efforts and collaborating to solve our existential problems\u2014from the climate crisis and the pandemic to the distrust in science and public institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, innovations in sensors and the Internet of Things will throw off unprecedented amounts of data about the environment that we can record and verify on blockchain, and artificial intelligence will help us to identify those immediate actions that will have the biggest positive impact on the planet. Sure, there is always the possibility that criminals and misanthropes will exploit these technologies. All the more reason to embrace these now and collaborate for good. Prosperity for the many, not the few. I\u2019ve never been more hopeful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is your biggest objective as a speaker?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To connect with the audience. To leave them with an idea that changes them, changes their thinking, changes their decisions, changes their destiny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take us through the core points of the panel(s) you are participating in at Collision 2021. What are you hoping to accomplish via your session(s) there?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m doing a Q&A with the audience, and so I\u2019m eager to hear what\u2019s on everyone\u2019s mind and point people to appropriate resources. For example, the Blockchain Research Institute has completed over 100 research projects, with another 20 projects underway right now. People often don\u2019t know that we\u2019ve published almost all of this research for free on our website, BlockchainResearchInstitute.org<\/a>, under a Creative Commons license<\/a> for anyone to use. Check it out, let me know what you think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a follow-up, do you feel that digital events give you a similar level of feedback\/result vis-\u00e0-vis the live versions? What would you say were the biggest pros and cons of both formats?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digital events can be far more inclusive if the technology used is not so advanced that people with minimum telecom services and low computer processing power can\u2019t participate. But it\u2019s harder to read the Zoom room, so to speak. What is the energy level? What else is competing for people\u2019s attention? The audience is often muted. It reminds me of the ads for the original Alien<\/em> movie\u2014\u201cIn space, no one can hear you scream.\u201d In these virtual events, I can\u2019t hear anyone screaming. It\u2019d be nice if someone screamed once in a while. Let me know you\u2019re out there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To me, there\u2019s nothing like the live audience, fully present, right after breakfast. The laughs, the gasps, the Amens! And I love the random conversation at in-person events\u2014not around my session per se, but in the elevator or on the sidewalk outside the venue, sharing an Uber to the airport, or even on the airplane home from the event. That\u2019s happened! I get to see the event in a larger context, its place in a person\u2019s life, its meaning to the people who showed up and reached out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you know, our start-up, <\/strong>Eventible.com<\/strong><\/a>, is a review platform for B2B events. Given how review-driven our lives have become today, do you think reviews will bring in a level of transparency to the events industry? Would you rely on event reviews from other speakers if you had to make a speaking decision?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve said the magic word: transparency<\/em>. That means you<\/em> reveal as much as legally possible about your review platform, how it works, what data you\u2019re collecting, whether you\u2019re associating it with anyone\u2019s actual identity\u2014name, email, phone number, website\u2014whether you\u2019re storing it, how you\u2019re using it, and so forth. I published a book on the topic: The Naked Corporation<\/em><\/a>, with one of my favorite tag lines: “If you\u2019re going to get naked, then you\u2019d better be buff”. That means that you seek each participant\u2019s explicit consent rather than bury what you do in long terms of use or terms of service that no one reads because the typical TOU or TOS is unreadable by human beings. Equally important, it means that you welcome reviews from people without collecting or storing any data about them, if they choose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to the results, transparency means answering such questions as how many people did you ask to give a review? Who were they in general terms such as job title, type of organization, industry? How many people actually responded? What is their relationship to the speakers\u2014was there any incentive for responding or for giving a high rating? And so forth. Blockchain-based platforms are really good at zero-knowledge proofs, where users can confirm that something is true without a platform\u2019s collecting or revealing any person\u2019s data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, do you have a favorite\/go-to book? What is it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a tough one, since many of my friends and colleagues have written excellent books\u2014fiction, nonfiction, poetry. So, I\u2019m going to hedge and go with music\u2014Sugarloaf and Van Morrison at one end of the spectrum to Alicia Keys and Taylor Swift at the other. As a musician, I have a song book for every situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can follow Don on LinkedIn<\/a> and Twitter<\/a>. Review Collision 2021 he<\/a>re<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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