Where they are

[Music]

[Applause]

this is the view

from the island where i grew up it’s

also the island where my

father grew up

i want to tell you just a little bit

about growing up with him

he was always very patient it’s

something i remember more and more as i

get older myself how he would never cut

me off i was a little boy

maybe five six years old and thinking

this guy is kind of special

he’s always patient i have a thousand

questions

and he’s never runs out of time

um as it turns out it wasn’t that i was

special

i wouldn’t think i was but to him but he

does this to

anyone anyone he meets doesn’t just turn

it off and on

i left my father and that island

i went into the world i had great

ambition

i aspire to become nothing less than a

superstar

specifically i wanted to be like this

guy philippe stark

a design superstar he’s a genuine

superstar but

each man and woman his or her journey to

me

that felt in the end

a bit superficial selfish

small-minded even because

i figured actually i

don’t think this is what’s what is the

right path for me because i like

to provide for others through listening

and in fact good design starts with good

listening

you have to cast yourself aside in order

to understand what other people need

from you as somebody who is

a creator or a maker or a technologist

i also just i’m not built like this to

be a superstar

clearly let me use an illustration

these guys are the downstairs people in

a very famous and very popular english

tv series called

downton abbey what makes them special

a good english servant if we can call it

a classic english servant

is someone who is very good at listening

through listening you can learn that

your master has certain eating

preferences

a certain schedule certain entertainment

preferences

you learn not to be rude and interrupt

you learn

not to jump to conclusions you learn to

be patient

so if i can ask you do you

have somebody like that do you have

someone like that in your life

you who may or may not have an english

servant at home

who in your life anticipates your needs

knows your entertainment preferences

your schedule

your travel preferences never rudely

interrupts

doesn’t jump to conclusions is always

patient

is not opinionated

always listens always learns about you

think about that for a couple of seconds

it’s google

technology platforms i’m not a google

basher

but this is what technology platforms do

to us

all

times have changed

when you look around you look at people

humans made a flesh and blood but you

also look at something else

you actually look at we as a group we

are all data

collectors or generators rather

we’re little dots

on a complicated map or a puzzle

that only very advanced algorithms can

actually understand

data driven means knowledge driven it

means

people are trying to find out about us

gain knowledge about our behavior about

you about me

about all of us we are those thoughts

so we’re not just people anymore

when i was a little boy i felt seen by

my father

to be seen by somebody i realized

that’s what that was boundless patience

and time just for me he

taught me something pretty important

this concept of being seen actually just

means that he

met me where i was this

is it’s actually kind of a superpower i

guess

but i think everyone has the latent

potential to become a very good listener

this is what it looks like when

technology looks at us

clearly this is what it looks like to be

to be seen by my father

sorry to cry like a baby but i kind of

miss baby so

this is him with my mother and they’re

very happy

and married still to this day

so back to google for a second they

google and technology platforms they’ve

they’ve done something

they’ve assumed the position of that

english servant that i talked about

earlier

think about that that’s listening as a

technological

competitive advantage nothing less than

that

so then if we think about that for a

second too

how can you and how can we not

and super like it’s the basic question

how well do you know your customer can

you

not wonder more than google

what your customer really needs from you

and then let me challenge you a little

bit further than

in this day and age where technology

companies

see us on such a personal level

what is the customer anyway we’re not

google we’re not going to build google

anytime soon perhaps one of you

will or some of you will but we’re

people we

do business we are surrounded by other

people

to me my spouse can be my customer

certainly my children my colleagues

your teacher this attitude of servitude

doesn’t just

you just can’t just switch it on and off

anymore

google doesn’t switch on and off think

about it that way

this is the the the the

way i’m talking about the the

theme of the year that’s the wind of

change

before we were just people now with data

so i am not someone

who thinks that good listening is

essentially just about talking about

feelings

in other words i’m not a psychologist

there’s a really good one here and

another one in the lobby

to me listening is about

the possibility to thrive and be

successful

more importantly because of this change

where we’re seen all the time

our listening to each other and to our

customers whomever they are and however

we define them

is a way to remain independent

just think about that

when people see that you see them

when they feel seen by you you have

successfully

you’ve met them where they are

in return they will give you something

invaluable

they’ll give you their loyalty thank you

you