Dublin Pendulum Summit, interesting mix of business and new age

By @SimonCocking

This was a business conference and yet also a slightly new age happening too. There were serious power networkers talking about how Dale Carnegie had it right all those years ago. At the same time there were massage plinths with people lying under olive covered blankets receiving in-conference massages.

There was still some great tech innovators there. John Mullins, @jpemul06 CEO of Amarenco Solar,  banged the drum for renewable energy, and the fact that an Irish company is in the mix. Keith ‘Don’t Eat Alone’ Ferrazzi @ferrazzi followed, pushing the audience to challenge themselves to get out of their comfort zone. To look at what made them uncomfortable, fearful, and go and engage with it. To do something scary everyday, and to set a fixed time everyday to break a habit.

There was a whole range of interesting speakers, Pat Falvey, @patfalvey Jack Black @jack_mindstore ,  Debra Searle @DebraSearle, Patrick Coveney, Willie Walsh @WillieWalshBA (get the balance between being cocky and confident), and many many more, before the final headline speaker Deepak Chopra @DeepakChopra.

It was an interesting question to consider how the numerous New Age aspects fitted in with this being a business conference. How would this play out in an Irish context rather than the more benign California, ‘everything goes’ mantra, where new age ideas are much more deeply fused into numerous tech startups, from Steve Jobs, through Larry Ellison, Bill Gates, to Marc Benioff and beyond.

Perhaps Ireland, and Irish businesses are being cross fertilised with the ideas of conscious, caring capitalism to create more socially conscious businesses. A positive improvement after the rampant cronyism of times gone by. Or maybe it is all just pragmatic corporate greenwashing to make us believe it is not just about profit and maintaining share dividends.

There was a lot of motivational speaking, clips, and they played the Killers ‘Human‘ at every break, hopefully it has some impact. This old classic (below) was also brought out too. Enjoyable to watch, perhaps unfathomable to know what impact it might have on it’s audience.

Many of the participants there felt the event came at a good time. Soon enough after New Year to challenge and motivate them to perhaps actually act on some of those good new year intentions. We’ll see how things come to pass as the year plays out, hopefully in a positive way. The economy is picking up, hopefully the good and the great of the Irish business world will embrace the new technology in front of them for the better good of us all. Vamos a ver (let’s see).