The two weeks I had at the beginning of June was a whirlwind of an experience. You could say that it was a compressed multi-year deep dive into the investment realm - similar to an infinite dig into Hermoine Granger's beaded bag.
The two weeks started with a government conference in Ottawa, and the chapter was closed with a 'Burning Man Camp For The Bright' in the California Redwoods.
Right in the middle of those two weeks was my graduation from the most rigorous roller coaster of my career: Creative Destruction Lab.
As a result, I've had to ask myself a recurring question. Was I destroyed in terms of innovation for the greater good, or was I just plain annihilated?
Creative Destruction Lab vs. Annihilation
For the people who saw the film Annihilation, you can skip this next sentence. For those who haven't, here's my interpretation of the message the film was trying to send.
Human cells as the result of exposure to an 'aura' go through a metamorphosis into new life forms that are arguably more efficient and enlightened than the human being itself. The original human being exposed to this metamorphosis has ambiguous feelings towards the outcome.
In other words, what's good for us does not always feel good.
In both Creative Destruction Lab and Annihilation, my observation is that when it came to both the accelerator and the film, the human experience plays out in Greek mythological proportions.
However, here's the difference. Creative Destruction Lab is in service of the business and Annihilation is in service of the planet. Both require the individual to live in the reality of what it takes to survive and succeed.
A Metamorphosis Of My Own
Creative Destruction Lab's gift to me was to burn off the parts of my thinking that do not serve the company; fear, ambivalence and aversion to risk. Most importantly, it helped me to focus on becoming the leader the company needs.
The Super Session was just in time to meet up with a group of people in the Innovation Endeavours eco-system, some of the most experienced and accomplished leaders in technology. Without a doubt, I would not have been ready to meet them, had it not been for Creative Destruction Lab.
Thank you to Ajay Agrawal for starting it. Thank you to Paul Cubbon for pioneering it on the West Coast.
Last but not least, the mentors to Nano-Lit: Colin Harris, Chen Fong, Shahram Tafazoli for investing, and Barney Pell and Patrick Lor for their guidance.
You have, without a doubt, changed my life.
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