If you still think some kind of higher spirit buried the bones of the dinosaurs in the Kenyan desert just to confuse the infidels, or that our planet in fact is flat, and that the sun is carried around this big blue ball we so tenderly call earth by six horses on a flaming cart… than Neil deGrasse Tyson will not be your friend.
An American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator, Neil deGrasse Tyson is currently the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space and a research associate in the department of astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History. He knows science, physics, nuclear and astronomy well. Hell: he does quantum mechanics, string theory, black holes and quarks for breakfast.
deGrasse Tyson’s clear view on life, the universe, -everything really- puts things in perspective, also for brands:
You cannot cherry-pick your science: It’s not about believes, it’s about questioning. Way too often, brands believe what they want to believe, and disregard numbers, data and strategies that defy the belief. Don’t believe. Question, set a goal. Make a plan. Measure. Science is what it is: use it, or not. Don’t wreck it to prove your way.
Do not get attached to numbers. They are not written in stone. Most of you are still on 9 planets. Get over it. Things change. Numbers change. Go with the flow, roll with the punch. Your last year’s figures are no more. Your forecast is of. Concentrate on what you need to do to get things the right way. Do not stare at old creepy figures on a dusty excel sheet: it will change nothing.
Carbon is the slut of the periodic table: it combines with almost everything. If you want to be as successful as life, learn from it. The cornerstone of life is carbon. Carbon is so successful, because it has a tendency to combine with almost every single element on earth: forwards, backwards and weird shades of sideways. It is the glue of life. As a business or brand, team up with different thinking, different perspective, different personalities. Life conquers all thanks to the diversity of the carbon bindings, so question that grey, uniform corporate culture.
Dinosaurs died because they did not have a space program. Dead simple, if you’re not preparing for the unforeseen thing that is coming around the corner, you will belong to a museum soonest. You need to spend time, resources, and energy to prepare for those tendencies that are now maybe only remote possibilities.
Space exploration and true innovation require a way of thinking and acting that defy quarterly numbers corporations adhere to. If your way of thinking, doing business and driving your teams is solely ruled by the end-of-month figures, margin and quarterly reports, you’re going nowhere… and that –as science is able to proof- means backwards.
What goes up, must come down… no. it doesn’t: you’re just not throwing it hard enough. Fatalistic thinking will get you nowhere. You can make anything happening if you give it enough attention, energy and velocity. If you try to explore, be serious: put the means into it. If you boost enough, you have lift-off. If you don’t, your rocket will fall back down. It’s science.
deGrasse Tyson has the brain power of Stephen Hawking on steroids, is fueled by a burning intensity powered by a nuclear power plant, a sense of humor, great corporate hair and a convincing simplicity. He does not think out of the box. There is no box. He got me at “hello”.
