It must be in the genes… Bertrand Piccard’s grandfather was the first human being in the stratosphere, his dad plunged down a whopping 14.000 meter into the Challenger Deep, and Betrand himself adventured around the world. Nonstop. In a balloon.
Not exactly the kind of guy you would expect on stage @LeWeb. Still, he was by far the most inspiring speaker. He just completed a nonstop flight around the world in a solar powered airplane. Piccard is here to talk about change.
“It would be childish to think humanity will compromise on comfort levels, mobility and way of living” he says: “we need innovation to adapt the technology to fit the people and the planet’s needs. Not the other way around. We need to dare to innovate, and invent sources of energy and commodities that will support human life as we know it”.
Entrepreneurial spirit is key to drive change. Piccard: “if you want to innovate and be a true pioneer, you need to burn your bridges. You only move forward when there is no safety net, no way back. Moreover, you need to be pleasantly ignorant to innovate and change. Only when you do not understand that something is not possible, you can succeed”.
Piccard hopes that the power of Social Media will drive young innovators quicker to doing great things. The boost of the crowds…
Piccard is a real hero. I like him ;-).
