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26 Mentors have stepped up to contribute to this special programme, and I’ll introduce them as the as the journey progresses, because they deserve to be recognised. Each chosen for their particular approach to bridging business and creativity.

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For the reason that I don’t think too many of us get the opportunity to create a mentorship program¹, I’ll share some of my thoughts, maybe it’ll spark interest about creating one for your organisation/class/local good cause/ ..or yourself.

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8 Ideas on Modern Mentorship:

As a mentor:

1. You don’t have all the answers. There was a time when it was feasible that we could predict (with fair accuracy) how the world will operate in the years to come. That time is not now. Share skills, show the hidden paths you’ve discovered – but know that we aren’t in the certainty of our parent’s world. Our job is to inspire greatness.

Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity -General Patton

2. Stories are the best way to learn from someone else’s experience. It’s a quirk of the human brain – music and stories have the sticky stuff. We remember and pass on case-studies, parables, gossip, jingles. Embed big lessons (softly) in captivating true tales of luck, calamity, humour ..and let it unpack later as an aha! Be a great storyteller (the once and future king of all leadership skills)
3. Monoculture is bad, and not just in agriculture. Leave the cloning to the gene-splicing engineers, mentorship is not about sculpting someone into your likeness. Our job is to spot what makes our charge special, draw out what was dumbed down to ‘fit in’. Genius is rarely safe and orderly.

As a mentee (horrible word, but it gets the consensual nod over apprentice):

1. ASK. Most of us far too polite to ask for anything that may inconvenience anyone else (PLEASE do yourself a favour and refresh yourself on Stanley Milgram’s subway experiment). Oh yes, also grab a copy of Dan Ariely’s Predictably Irrational², and read the chapter on social norms vs market norms. It WILL do your head in about what we assume about money and work.
2. That said, the kryptonite to a mentoring relationship is.. asking too much. Take a quick peek at Tim Ferriss’ post on getting this contact right. Entitlement is creepy. Demanding meetings to discuss the Next Big Thing ( still in idea.ware format and prefaced with the ubiquitous NDA), the assault of thick book manuscripts, lifeless CV’s and half.baked business plans to be analysed is something many people in high-profile positions get pelted with daily – witness any Branson gig! Stand out, offer something that would be of value to your would.be mentor (not the great opportunity to buy in now!)
3. You’re never too old or too successful to get a mentor. Brain plasticity³ is an invitation to free.choice learning. Go borrow someone else’s brilliance >>

I think you should profit from the mistakes of others. You don’t live long enough to make them all yourself.” – Lowell Ferguson

As a mentorship curator:

1. This isn’t your average mentorsheep program, so I needed to hunt for mentors who can look around the corner, not just behind them to point paths to success. Many high profile mentors who have forged their success in the world as it was. Globalization, the web, mobile, resource-strain – have rapidly forced us into new work for a new kind of world.. and so we need new kinds of guides.
2. Use fresh tools. It wouldn’t be much of a pioneering program if we didn’t experiment with the different channels that make up our blended.reality⁴. Challenge the idea that mentorship should be bound to 1 hour coffee meetings. The web is teeming with wonderful tools to enhance communication and inspire creativity (struck with tech.terror? ..hunt a mentor to help you learn, of course).

1. Yes, I have been watching Star Wars again in celebration of some of the most famed sequences of masters and apprentices (or padawan). We have very few powerful formal institutions or guilds left that require the mentor/apprentice model that demands that we face a great trial (no, end of year exams don’t qualify) to prove our mastery before entering our profession ..and maybe we’re collectively paying the price for that (but mercifully, I’ll save that discussion for another day!)
2. there’s an audio extract at the bottom of this page link if you’re living 3 weeks from a bookstore
3. your brain isn’t just doomed to entropy with the best wasted on your youth – IF you exercise it. Challenging learning = new neural connections, fresh brain cells and a cranked up IQ whatever your age
4. Our digital home base will be a custom social network from which we’ll begin the journey tomorrow night.. I’ll report back on what works

It’s been a frenzied few months, but { Huddlemind } is getting stronger by the day and it’s time to look up from the books and get out to play.

Many months ago at a geekdinner in Cape Town, the bright Sarah Blake suggested that we start doing geek.girl gatherings here in South Africa. What a great idea! what appalling timing!
We’ve finally resolved to do something about it: though admittedly we haven’t really rolled up our sleeves on organising a serious event, no extravaganza of prizes, nor yet with seeming effortlessness whipping up a luscious feast for the occasion – because we’re too damn BUSY. As you probably are.

Instead we spoke very nicely to the good peeps at Gardens Virgin Active & Stormhoek who are sponsoring workouts and wine (virtue or vino balance each other out surely) and we’re inviting some of the startlingly bright women we know to just come & hang out at my new fave wi-fi & alt.office spot & re.connect ..before we drown in to.do lists and meet our demise ingloriously, at our desks. No karoshi for me thank you!

This isn’t necessarily a GEEK.girl session – I’ve realised there are sadly very few of us xx chromosome creatures who go crazy for code – and more about the tech.supported social media infused lifestyle and embracing the new economy that women are flourishing in. One where relationships have heightened value over process. And where trust is the gold standard.

So all that said, it’s ever a good idea to enrich your networth: come hang out with us at Sinn’s on Wed 9th April after work at about 6ish . Click on the p

It was the stuff of a classic unconference: friendships forged, fresh project collaborations begun, and stimulating pioneering ideas shared in the South African sunshine just before our victorious rugby World Cup win.
We even recorded a podcast: (in Afrikaans – for the popular WOEMF network – why Nico & Glen graciously allowed me to mangle the language I’m not sure, but it was fun) embarrassing video thanks to Zoopy (who did a great job of coverage not just sponsorship).

The podcasting conversation has officially begun in Cape Town, and we hope to be hearing from podcampers rocking the AV option now. I’ll be talking about Doug Kaye’s inspiring concept : Podcorps and other channels for local podcasters interested in social entrepreneurial / pioneering communities around the world.

Thanks again to our generous sponsors (Henk Kleynhans of Skyrove who provided wifi is the 2nd techmonkey in the tree – along with our WebAddiCT mashup meister who still owes me a muti Tshirt), to our valuable contributing speakers (esp. Brad Shrimpton of Apple for doing the podcasting walk.through & demos – see podcasting really is THAT easy!) and mostly to the podcampers who gave up a perfect beach day to come to Podcamp Cape Town!

(extra big warm African hug to the co-daddy of Podcamp Chris Brogan for his message to us – and paying attention to the sadness we feel for the loss of iconic South African Lucky Dube) Please watch the vid if you get a sec: it’s really quick, but a powerful reminder about the power of the social media tools, that we learn to use and share, can have real impact on the world.

Click To Play

Good luck with Podcamp Boston 2 from yr extended & growing global family of Podcampers >>

One of the geniuses I celebrated recently on SA Rocks, has joined forces with another ..and finally launched Accelerate Cape Town into the digital playground. Congrat’s Guy!

In the interests of getting the conversation started around re.creating our city the Web AddiCTs have a fun competition for imagineers: My Perfect City Challenge.

I remember reading about one of the Ivy League schools (possibly Harvard) putting out a similar challenge and getting wild wacky AND workable solutions that were successfully implemented. Environmental and human.scale factors featured prominently. But unlike the polite community of a university town.. our city jostles between 1st and 3rd world : ideas, attitudes, infrastructure, cultures that don’t mix easily – a little like oil and water – fairly benign until things start hotting up and then it starts fizzing and spitting ..suddenly it seems like a terribly sensible idea to get the hell out of the kitchen. Which sadly catalyses a dreaded brain.drain.

Fortunately, many volatility-tolerant social entrepreneurial types stayed behind to grab the opportunity to make a difference and a good living. Some helped build bridges between the techies and the marketers (Mike, I know you are a good capitalist, the fact that you do good en route doesn’t make you a flaky philanthropist :-P). Some proactively filling in the gaps where the city fell dismally short on the basics. There are SO many stories of people doing good here : SA Rocks celebrates them, Greater Good SA, SA the Good News among many others. We yearn to be helpful no matter where we find ourselves in the world.

Frankly, though we all think that we need better infrastructure to even begin, that the odds are stacked against us at the bottom of Africa, none of this matters when you have a determined, visionary group of brave people. I remind you of the words of anthropologist Margaret Mead

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has”

Inspiring visionaries can turn a city’s destiny and self-esteem around. Of course Guiliani’s incredible re.vision of New York comes to mind. But for South Africa, may I suggest we look to someone who had to deal with conditions akin to ours for guidance. Jaime Lerner is an inspired urban warrior, architect, mayor and Brazilian senator, a genius who transformed one of Brazil’s capital cities, Curitiba, into one of the most respected and modelled cities in the world for its efficiency, environmental and resource management and generally happy place to live and feel human¹. Read a little about what life is like in Curitiba for inspiration if you’re entering the competition.. (you can win even if you don’t live in Cape Town BTW, just submit what you think would make a perfect city for you – wherever you are)

Fast Company did a feature on the World’s fastest cities 2007 (Curitiba’s there, Jo’burg there – Cape Town not yet!). Feeling some fighting spirit kicking in there. So all you brilliant marketers, greenies, architects, designers, techies I know & love >> let’s flex a little creative muscle and re.vision, re.brand & re.create a city, just for kicks.

(I’m keen for hitting the Creative Class Meccas category or Urban Innovators class? Madam Mayor what say you?)

Creativity comes when you cut a zero from your budget
- Jaime Lerner

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1. Guy, Martin, Dave, Jon, Sheryl, Helen ..please can we organise to jet this fellow into town for a power strategy session on co.creating our city

Sharing their vision is exhilarating – and refreshing – especially after the numbing effect of news. The news presented by mainstream media, (TV & papers particularly) is largely reactive, and leaves us feeling impotent to change the outcome of almost everything we’re offered.*

No wonder so many of us are disproportionately stressed. We’re operating on hair.trigger fight or flight. Pumping our adrenals, pushing blood.pressure and flooding our blood with redundant cortisol. Not a foolproof recipe for creative healthy problem.solving. And yet the world is demanding that we operate at higher speeds, learn faster to keep up with technology, innovate, take on multiple projects just to get into the game.. aah yes and then we have to bloody well be remarkable too!!

It’s frankly exhausting.
So who the hell are the brilliant ones who get it right? The ones who determinedly live out their dreams & follow their hearts & minds into places most of us won’t dare. Curiosity drove the hunt, love drives the connection: gratitude that these power people exist. Each is a thought leader, as well as expressing their being in their doing.

My choices may surprise you.. but you’ll surely know why soon enough ;-)

* [hunt down a copy of Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death if you haven't yet - it made a ding in my perception of the media/publishing/ entertainment industry years ago - it's still right on the mark]

The hunter of genius was stopped in her tracks when confronted with deep genius ..and was mostly just in goofy awe.
I’ll post through the week on the funtimes and fundamental techtonic-shifts these internet icons brought our ZA way.

• 1st @SARocks! on how both slammed the telecomm’s stranglehold in South Africa

• 2nd :’-D Justin Nurse of Laugh It Off from his intro at the iCommons conference (where Justin certainly laughs something off! LOL)

Click here to view the embedded video.

I LOVED meeting more of the online crew like the Muso’s, the brilliant Buckland, the Apache founder fellow from SF, it was FUN and educational … more edutainment to come in the week >>

Online, most of us are so exposed (of our own volition): emotionally, professionally, even physically (what would the porn industry be without the avalanche of happy amateurs). Yet, without basic trust protocols protecting us very little of what the web has evolved into, particularly social media, would EVER have spawned. You may love taking your clothes off – but odds are, you’re not going to do it while strolling down the main road.

We WANT to share what we’re good at, to give freely of our best. Sometimes – wow – we’ll even do it for free! All safely contained within the abundant bounty of CAPITALISM. (Opensource being the pinnacle of sophisticated economic structure.. the best extreme of applied capitalism). What is participation culture & crowdsourcing if not this potent force in action.

We all have a fundamental need for unique expression (identity) coupled with a need for recognition & belonging. Characterful & creative people have to be naked to some degree when sharing their ideas/concepts/efforts: it’s not always a safe space, but the risk:reward ratio is balanced by TRUST.

Trust is a paradoxical thing, so much of it happens in an instant. blink
Yet it takes ages to really EARN trust. This is something that can only be defined through whether we PROVE ourselves trustworthy when adversity or temptation present.

Because trust is so valuable personally and professionally, when we feel like someone has betrayed our trust, it is interpreted as a direct survival threat by the primitive part of our elegant multilayered human brain. Fight or flight response hits the red alert.. and we burst into flame. Anger & adrenaline flood our cells & the fight ensues>>
But what we may not realise is that

ALL anger = stepping over someone?s rules. simple.

Assuming that we all share the same reality or everyone shares the same rules as us about what is right or wrong can translate into feeling pretty angry & victimized, a lot of the time!
Even if we share the same outlook, values or really give a damn about one another, there’s no guarantee we will always agree. Rules about what we do & how we do it are just agreements.

Anytime we get angry it’s because someone has overstepped what we believe is right by our perception (all relative to our education, culture, experience, religion blah blah) therefore we have to AGREE between us what is acceptable practice (our code of ethics) to achieve peace and creative productivity.

“If people who have to work together in an enterprise trust one another because they are all operating according to a common set of ethical norms, doing business costs less.” –Francis Fukuyama

Practically we only discover each others rules only by stumbling over a trap-line or tootle innocently into a minefield. No matter how well you think you know somebody (you’ve been married to someone for 8 years so how could they POSSIBLY not know that that pisses you off!), no matter how much you love or understand someone you’ll hit a rules rock somewhere. sometime.
Even getting angry at ourselves is overstepping our own rules designed to keep us safe or healthy – eg. I am NOT going to have wine at the geekdinners

Rules are based on their beliefs about the way the world should operate – which maybe quite close to their heart, so don?t go trying to change them. It only makes the inflammation worse. Just understand that it?s different from yours. Polishing till we see each other clearly requires friction. Expect heat.

In these matters ’tis best not to employ the Othello model (in fact almost every Shakespearian tragedy is based on the sequence: incorrect assumption, rage, death, find the truth out too late, regret …oops).
Fellow modern humans – we no longer have to wait for the footman/postman/chinese telephone to find out. Get on it (though as Mike pointed out IM may not be the perfect comms platform to sort out your arguments).
If, after enquiry, you find that your new opponent has mindfully stepped onto your hallowed ground with poo on their shoe – then you are indeed justified to employ whatever strategic means of warfare at your disposal.

But damn well -find out first- before unleashing your inner Dr Doom.

Stuff I learnt this week >>
Rules for passionate people to avoid a big bad hairy temperfest:

• Assume nothing
• Don’t take it personally
• Communicate until you have clarity.

[Reminder to self: read Thick Face, Black Heart again for the times when enquiry uncovers that they?re in fact a well-disguised Dr Evil]