Thanks to Shawn Malaney for pointing out this provocative video about the dynamics we face in this rapidly changing world. How should we prepare our kids not only to cope, but to succeed in the face of such rapid change?

It reminded me of when, as a fledgling engineering student, I approached one of my professors and asked, “What should I concentrate on in the next four years to get the most out of college?”

He chuckled and replied, “Oh, just do the best you can. It will all change before you get out of here, anyway!”

Dr. Bearnson was prophetic, but maybe shortsighted. I doubt that he could have imagined the change I have experienced since he shared his sage advice. And the rate of change is increasing.

The authors of the “Did You Know” video operate a wiki site: ShiftHappens, to foster discussion around this topic. It is going to be interesting to forge a dialog with these folks. One of the best instigators of progress is asking the right questions. They are certainly doing that in spades. Finding the right answers will be the hard part.

We at Sun also try to be in the thick of progress in this new dynamic environment. For example, I learned today that some of my colleagues gave a tantalizing presentation at the recent Sun Customer Engineering Conference entitled “One Billion User Identity Stack.” Maybe that will take care of China. Then we can talk about the rest of the world.

Ironically, the theme for the CEC conference was: “Shift – Our Universe. Our World. Your Move.” How timely! Shift does happen. Now it is up to us.

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