269: Discovering New Perspectives And Why Facilitation Is The Key To The Future with Douglas Ferguson

<p>Phil’s guest on today’s show is Douglas Ferguson, an entrepreneur and technologist with over 20 years of experience.  He is a master facilitator and the author of three innovation books: Beyond the Prototype, How to Remix Anything, and Start Within.</p> <p> </p> <p>He is also the founder and president of Voltage Control, a facilitation agency helping teams to work better together.</p> <p> </p> <p>Douglas discusses the importance of finding new perspectives by looking outside of our own industry, and how this can lead to innovative thinking. He also talks about the importance of facilitation, and how it will shape the future of an ever-more automated working landscape.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>KEY TAKEAWAYS:</strong></p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>TOP CAREER TIP</strong></p> <p>We must look outside of our own industries. By opening ourselves to new ways of working, of new experiences, we allow ourselves to find new perspectives and new ways of thinking.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>WORST CAREER MOMENT</strong></p> <p>Whenever emotions get the best of Douglas, it can get the better of him. Being dressed down in public can give rise to negative emotional impact. By tempering our response, we can turn these situations into empowering ones.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>CAREER HIGHLIGHT</strong></p> <p>Building a sophisticated metric system that had to scale rapidly to keep up with the growth of its client base. Douglas recognized the need to balance the technical concerns and the elegance of the system itself in order to accomplish something entirely new.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T</strong></p> <p>The effects of COVID-19 upon the world have caused the world itself to take far more notice of technological advancements, and how technology itself is a benefit to humanity. Innovations are coming swiftly every day, and are changing the landscape of how we interact.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>THE REVEAL</strong></p> <p><strong>What first attracted you to a career in I.T.?</strong> – Being brought up