5 Things the ESHIP Summit got Really Really Right: Changing Perceptions
The Kauffman Foundation’s recent “ESHIP Summit” was the world’s first attempt to gather entrepreneurial ecosystem developers together at scale in an environment purpose-built to explore this topic as a discipline or practice.
One of the first “FireStarter” speakers for the event was Buckminster Fuller Institute Co-Chair and Elumenati founder David McConville. McConville’s talk — and his excellent visuals — framed the whole discussion and event in an essentially different way.
By leading us through a visual history of perceptual frames and scientific paradigms (a great intro to Kuhn’s Structure of Scientific Revolutions), McConville did two things: first, he put this in the realm of scientific exploration (important for the beginnings of a new discipline), and second, he reminded us (“the makers, doers and dreamers” as Victor Hwang describes us) that how we choose to perceive the elements and structures we work with could shape how we and others work with them for decades to come. That was no small task and I’m not sure I recognized it at the time, but I feel the resonance from his talk as I continue to talk and think about the topic of “Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Development.”
I hope that I feel that for a long time to come.
On a personal note, way back when, before I’d embarked on anything like Ecosystem Development, I worked with a program at UNM that produced the first award show for early 360 degree immersive video, DomeFest. As part of that 2004 show, I had the privilege of watching McConville’s “Optical Nervous System” which went on to win that first best-of-show award.
Take a few minutes to watch it (even though you probably don’t have a dome of your own). Then as now, McConville has a gift for making us think about what we perceive and enabling us to change those perceptions.
Meanwhile, I’ll share the rest of my top 5 things soon!
