11 September 2007

Dr X apologizes he does not have a ppt

This was the subject line I put down a few minutes ago in an email to a conference organizer.

I LOVE it. That singular, lone protest against how we are beaten to death 10 times over by powerpoints.

Dr X is my ex-boss and we are inviting him to speak a conference. He is quirky, maverick, and a bit mafia-like. (To be this when you are in your 50s and in a place like Singapore is nothing short of a miracle.)

But he is also super-smart, very unassuming and is probably the most sincere person (not to mention boss) that I have met.

Often, I wonder how an idealist like him navigates a world like this every day. And sometimes, I even wonder if it will one day kill him.

It seems to me that idealists need someone to help them transcribe between the two worlds. If so, I should like to apply to a classified ad like this:

NAVIGATORS Required
Helping idealists find space for thinking while wading through the day-to-day
  • Believes in the merits of the Socratic method of inquiry
  • Able to straddle between the ideal and mundane
  • Can convert circuitous conversations into actionable points and powerpoint slides
  • Experience preferred but not required

1 comment:

  1. few of us try to help "beautify" his ppt with animation, format, re-format, re-alignment, give ideas, check spelling, check grammer, provide comments,...hmm...u mean he didn't use his ppt???!!! ;)

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