I made my first presentation for my internship today. It went fairly well, but I think I could have done better. I showed them all the masters program in futures studies and strategic foresight around the world including though not limited to Japan, Mexico, Australia, France, US, and South Africa. Then we looked at a few resources I thought they would find interesting such as TED which I am not overly impressed with. I also showed them a certification organization which sponsors their certified as consultants for a designated area. Then I showed them an educator out of Berlin whom they knew. What they did not know was that he is conducting a benchmarking study of how different corporations such as Siemens, Philips, Deutsche Telekom of which T-Mobile is a subsidiary, and VW use strategic foresight. This led to the idea that we would try to team up with him and led to a further narrowing down of the scope of my project which now focuses on midsized to large consulting outfits which focus on organizations of any kind which do not directly relate to policy. They quite liked the del.icio.us soft which I used for my research. They were quite impressed with it and my use of it. They said they were impressed with what I had done in a week. They’ve had others look at the same thing, and I certainly had the most data. I was very disappointed to find that the others had found things I had not, but there wasn’t too much of that. So, I am a little disappointed about a couple of things, but I really need to learn how to forge ahead and let go of failures.
I tell you one thing for sure: there was a time when I could always find a way to say EXACTLY what I wanted succinctly and eloquently–when I felt like it anyway. Then I went to Korea. I searched for experience and adventure(for lack of a better word just to illustrate my point) and found very little of either. Yet I still came away with a lot of good memories, friends, and a general appreciation for the time spent there. My greatest regret about that place will always be my complete failure to learn the language especially as that is the cornerstone of all the frustrations which monopolized my thoughts at that time and do still today.
I ran over a dog today. Yep, brilliant! I saw him and thought, “oh he sees me. He won’t dash out in front of me.” No sooner did I see him move than his head disappeared out in front of my car. I think I hit the break A Split Second after the bumper hit him. I heard him whimper and whine the entire time my breaks squealed to a halt. The guy I am doing my internship with was thankfully in the car. He immediately got out and checked on the dog while I was low browed but wide-eyed and breathing in short predictable breaths. The dog continued to yelp as I asked Nick if I should go forward or backward. He said that everything should be fine if he could get a jack and just lift the car. I popped the trunk. He got the jack. The car lifted. The dog’s owner slid the poor thing out, and I saw the dog walk away. The breathing slowed as my heart began to beat regularly again. I got my wallet and drew a hundred out. Then I noticed, the owner had a leash which should have been attached to the dog. Plus, I had the distinct impression the old man probably wouldn’t bother taking that damn dog to the vet. I put the car in gear and drove up the hill only to hear something rattle along the ground. It was just the plastic of the undercarriage, but in getting out to check it, we noticed an odd placement of dirt on the fender. Then it dawned on us that it wasn’t dirt. The dog had actually shat himself as I bloody well would have done and nearly did anyway. The rest of the front bumper just had a few scratches. I was very glad the dog was alive and hoped he had learned a lesson not soon forgotten.
Aiglatson Foresight Research 