Mine is hunting genius. It’s a talent, a fairly peculiar talent to be sure, but has proven itself to be useful.

Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.

Genius I look for isn’t solely squeezed into human form, it’s in the forces of nature, technology, culture. Whatever is driving evolution – for good or bad – where there is an epiphany and a marked change in direction. [It happens more often than most of us suspect].

Research and reporting back forms part of my day job, but in the course of my explorations I come across extraordinary people doing crazycool things out where there is no precedent. These bits of reconnaissance aren’t that useful for business – which rarely thrives on investing in true innovation but is better suited to adaptive imitation.
But leaders and curious individuals benefit heartily from tales and tools from the edge; of brave inventions, explorers, creators and heroes that drive social contagion. It inspires courage and craziness needed to keep their own genius aglow (genius is fragile). These geniuses, their dazzling discoveries, astonishing creations and epic adventures are not the stuff of commercial transaction perhaps. But they are no less valuable to us as a species.

Sharing and debating the freshest phenomena from science, social psychology, behavioural economics, globalization, culture particularly through the digital filter isn’t part of the day job, but a delight of my secret life. And one that I can happily indulge in on the blog and realworld learning events.

Yes I do look for human genius too. And help get returns on their intellectual capital where appropriate. I am not a talent agent though. However I do have a trusted group of people who can help you get work that better rewards your brilliance or helps you realise ways to do solo work on your own terms as a specialist. Because interesting people tend to hang out with other interesting people (genius begets genius so the company we keep matters!), if you know someone whose work (day job or secret tinkering has the capacity to reshape the world or us as a species by way of applied genius) please let me know.

To quote Desmond Tutu, “A person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed.”

For one weekend, we will express what an Internet community that lives and works by the philosophy of ubuntu will look like.

These are the core themes:

1. How we’re stimulating innovation and entrepreneurship on the SA web and looking at opportunities for collaboration.

2. What kinds of principles are defining the way we do business and development on the SA web and where we should be moving (openness, transparency, diversity etc)

3. What kinds of collaborative, community-oriented projects are there out there that help to grow diversity, openness and transparency on the SA web and are there opportunities for more of these?

I set up a liveblog for the event to shareback, because there were some fascinating mind.snacks and brilliant brains to link into. Have a peek in >>