Hilary Goldsmith

Change Agent, Connector, Consultant, Idea generator

Shifting thinking - looking at things from new angles to create insight and choices. The raw material is ideas. The more diverse the better - theatre, modern art, science, life, you name it.

The opposite of good isn't bad. It's bland. Many of us live and work in bland environments and bland organisations. We can't think big and we can't do big if we live in bland. It saps our energy and kills our creativity. Distinctive organisations celebrate the individuality of all their people, and recognise that this is what makes them special, and makes them able to achieve so much more than just the day job. I am increasingly coming to believe that language is the root of a lot of organisational issues. The sense of the language we use, initially completely clear, becomes increasingly eroded through over-use and misuse until it is just bland. We need to re-learn how to use language so that it retains its edge.

Aspen was my first TED. It was a feast for all the senses, from chocolate with bacon to the gondola ride up the mountain in the dark, not forgetting all the mental and spiritual inspiration, and the most amazing bunch of people. The TED organisers arranged two days of snow before we arrived, making everything beautiful in the sunshine they laid on for our visit. Dan Gilbert's TED talk led me to TED in the first place. Having read and loved his book, I wanted to find out more about him, and stumbled across his TED talk. That led me to many of the other TED talks. After that, I just had to be there. And the reality is so much more than the sum of the parts. This will be my third TED, and each time to the annex - Aspen, then Palm Springs (plus TED Global by webcast). There's a special energy in being away from the formal, theatre style main event. Whenever Long Beach see us we're loud and excited. They miss all the debate (serious and wild) that goes on behind the scenes.

Caring for old buildings, waterways for the 21st century, giving pills to cats