Digital superpowers & Human shaping

With a satisfied smile, I am leaving the Google offices. While crossing the street, I glance uphill at the
bordering park, where the Solvay library is watching with grace and magnificence over the people
enjoying the freshly mowed grass. The sun is shining generously. A gentle breeze is blowing through
the blossoming trees. Beautiful. It is definitely going to be a vitamin filled afternoon.
Starting my day at Google is not really part of my habits. Checking emails and social media is. Having
breakfast is. Mixing both can be too. But full loads are usually reserved for other moments. Except
today. My meeting on Experience Sharing & Best Practice Exploration happened to be at their office.
All ingredients of a successful menu were present. Enjoying quirky office layouts. An extended
breakfast. Exchanging on the out-of-the-world targets they set themselves, and on stimulating ideas
that could be explored together. Even my more skeptical colleagues started to open up during the
brainstorming sessions which was half a miracle on itself.
It was definitely an amazing morning. Even now, I still have the impression that I just left a movie
theater, but with the main difference that the movie atmosphere isnt wearing off as quickly as usual.
It feels like the world remains at my fingertips.
We will see how this cross-breed of Tony Stark brain teasers and Clark Kent superpowers will unfold
further. For the time being, I need to switch my mind to interviewing a potential new colleague.
As a true believer of Digital Transformation, I scheduled my next appointment within walking
distance. Why making transport complicated when you have nice Wi-Fi enabled locations nearby?
The place is close to everything that is: it is in the middle of a very mixed neighbourhood. While
students will walk through the park with their groceries, the surrounding blocks host a combination
of museums, international institutions, lobbying groups and a network of bars and restaurants where
grey zones turn into lively mixes during the after-office hours.
So far, no bar for me though. The two story high bay window of the healthy fast-casual restaurant on
the corner of the small piazza is my professional home of the afternoon.
I sit down. My interviewee should be there in 5 minutes. Thats perfect to let my hot Palais des Ths
inspiration infuse as indicated. In the meantime, I press slowly with the side of my spoon on the
piece of white chocolate covered lemon cake. The cracking sound reminds me of the intensity of the
Magnum commercials, while the taste just calls for more - a delight.
It looks like she just arrived. Hidden behind her professional look, she seems to combine dynamism
with a sharp mind. She already ordered a coffee upon her arrival, and is ready to start.
The advantage of meeting outside an office is that everyone tends to be more focused despite the
more casual setting, and that one can see how people react when unforeseen things happen - even if
I dont expect many kids asking for the bathroom in a real office.
While life goes on around us, she explains with conviction how she sees her future projects, and what
type of individuals she really (dis)likes to work with. For her, everything is about people, about
change and about shaping passion she clearly prepared our discussion well.

JRGEN JANSSENS | 2016

janssensjurgen@gmail.com

After more or less an hour, we are all set. She would definitely bring some additional stamina in the
group, and understands now whats potentially ahead. I let her give it a thought during a couple of
days. That should be just enough to balance fresh inspiration with rational ambition.
While she rushes back, I continue with my professional duties where I left them. Accustomed to my
temporary habitat, I finish a presentation and go through my agenda. There will be no flexdesk time
during the rest of the week, it seems. Working with real people in real offices will be nice too
Time flies by. I suddenly notice that I need to get myself ready for the evening, physically and
mentally. Tonight, I will be joining a friend at a talk on chasing shadows and stimulating energy. I
am still not sure if I need to expect a life coaching debate or a flower power gathering. But I promised
I would join, so I will. No matter what happens, I will at least learn something new.
Good evening, Sir. Make yourself comfortable. Here I am, in the attic of a random house, in a random
street. The large room benefits of generous light coming through the numerous roof windows. My
chair is comfortable. When seeing how someone goes for barefoot mode on the first row, I guess
that the front seats are even more relaxing. Slowly but surely, people get in. It turns out to be a quite
exotic blend. Some enthusiasts of alternative life styles are sitting next to elderly people, while the
most various in betweens are trying to fit in too. May the experience start.
The speaker happens to be a former soldier that switched careers, some years ago. Now, he his
sharing his vision on interacting with others, on making things happen and on balancing life. Along
the reflections, he combines life lessons with convictions and a healthy dose of common sense.
Towards the end, I still dont feel immensely overwhelmed by everything he said, but I need to admit
that he came up with a couple of good points. Moreover, the vivid enthusiasm of the audience during
the Q&A shows that he managed to gather quite some new followers good for him.
After three hours of listening, thinking and depicting questions, my friends and I leave satisfied. We
discovered a new place, we got mentally challenged and, above all, we will finally get the occasion to
complement our holistic experience with some good food.
We head to the nearby market square. Quickly, we notice that it is already late really late. Kitchens
will be closed, for sure. And I am not sure nibbling from some pretzel sticks will do the job. That
leaves us only with one option: having a bite at the local funfair stimulating energy at its best.
Our cone of fries and our croustillons are ready in no time. We eat with delectation, share some fun
thoughts and are satisfied about how good life feels at this very moment.
We enjoy the fresh evening air coming from the small ponds, while hearing festive sounds. In the
neighbouring bar with the warm wooden interior, vintage fans are blowing the tempting relaxation
vibes far beyond the still nicely filled terrace.
I guess thats what they meant this morning by digital divide, or this evening by chasing shadows. At
a certain moment of the day, you know that the social updates and interesting articles are in. But,
above all, you know that it is the different personal circles that really make the difference in the end.
I put the digital superpowers and layered reflections on snooze. They will have to wait a bit. Bright
moments with some radiating personalities are in the air now. Breath in, breath out. Enjoy.

JRGEN JANSSENS | 2016

janssensjurgen@gmail.com