Keynote: Crossing the River by Feeling the Stones

Deng Xiaoping once described managing the economy as crossing the river by feeling the stones in other words have a direction but be adaptive. But in a world of constant change, how do you determine …

Deng Xiaoping once described managing the economy as crossing the river by feeling the stones — in other words have a direction but be adaptive. But in a world of constant change, how do you determine the right thing to do? Which pebble to tread on? How do you understand where you’re going and where you need to go? How do you know if your strategy is right? Is there even such a thing? In this talk, we start by examining the issue of situational awareness and how it applies to technology. Using examples from government and the commercial world, we then explore how you can map your environment, identify opportunities to exploit and learn patterns of change.