This project focuses on a diverse collection of young people united by elevated emotional intelligence, resilience, purpose and demonstrated excellence. The aim is to provide them a platform to share their exceptional journeys and to showcase their immense, untapped potential to elevate others as well as themselves. Their stories are a celebration of the human spirit and a clarion call for business to widen its talent net to include many other promising individuals systemically deprived of pathways to showcase their potential. This is a loss to business and society. It is also an opportunity to alter an antiquated paradigm that filters talent by pedigree and degrees.
Curiosity and authenticity are the principal tools for extracting the unfiltered stories of these exceptional individuals. Their use has been honed since childhood and across my career as a “bet the company” civil trial lawyer, General Counsel, Receiver of an international business, entrepreneur, regular Forbes contributor, Economist events moderator, international keynote speaker, Distinguished Lecturer/Fellow at several prestigious universities around the world, and Executive Chairman, The Digital Legal Exchange.
One of the paradoxes of the digital age is that as technology’s impact becomes more pervasive in all facets of our lives, emotional intelligence (“people skills”) has become more, not less important. Countless studies evidence the correlation between empathetic, team-oriented, customer-centric companies and commercial success. Talent is now measured not only by hard skills and individual metrics but also on people skills that elevate collective performance. This shift narrows the digital skills gap, democratizes access to corporate opportunities, fosters holistically diverse workforces, elevates empathy, promotes team-orientation, and advances customer-centricity, as well as social responsibility and ethical conduct.
Leading such a transformative journey demands a curious mind, one that challenges how things are done and connects dots that enhance performance, Technological platforms, data agility, new business models, and process improvements enable digital transformation, but it is human adaptation– agility, curiosity, team orientation, imagination, and a learning-for-life mindset— that ultimately determines its outcome for individuals and enterprises. While most hard skills can be acquired by those with a modicum of aptitude and training, human resilience, moxie, and a purpose that transcends one’s self, cannot be taught.