Ideagen Intersection
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That's another important one, right, is knowing what you're good at and figuring out how you leverage that.
Rana:
If you're genuine in what you do, I think that that really do, I think that that really comes across. The second thing is, I learned what it means to be resourceful and I think that that's something that is underrated a lot of the time. I think back to when my relatives were trying to find a safe exit out of Syria and at every turn they hit a brick wall, and what do you do next? When you hear no, do you stop there or do you keep going? I would say the same is true in business or when we're trying to solve some of these problems that we're talking about.
Rana
It can be frustrating and you do, you do hit what feels like a dead end and there's something to be said for not stopping there and figuring out what your next move is and who you know that might know someone else and just being resourceful I think is so important. Then the third thing is, there was this point where I remember feeling like - and I mentioned this in the TED Talk - but I got to this point where I felt so strongly that there was nothing I could do. That I had just exhausted every avenue. I had been as resourceful as possible and still failed. I was just devastated.
Rana
Then there was a shift and I stopped thinking there was nothing I could do and then looked at it a little bit differently and thought about what resources I had access to. What could only I do? What was I in a unique position to accomplish from where I was at the time. When we're trying to fix big problems, it can feel really overwhelming, but if you can focus on the small things that you can do, or what only you can do, I think that that's really important. Just me being in my position. Having that experience and feeling so passionately about humanitarian policy and about a better supporting displaced populations and looking around at the technology that we were working on.
Rana
When you put all those things together, it's something unique and that's what I found, so be genuine, resourceful and figure out what you are uniquely positioned to accomplish. Those are my big three takeaways.
George
Incredible and inspiring. Be genuine. Be resourceful and figure out what you can do to change the world. Would you say that's right?
Rana
I would say that's right, yes.
George Sifakis
Which leads me to Rana, what is up next for you as you work to change the world?
Rana
Great, another good question. These are all good questions. Communication is something I'm so passionate about. I believe really strongly in the power of storytelling and so I don't know, I'm kind of curious to pull on that thread a little bit and see where that takes me. Maybe writing a book could be in the cards for me. We'll have to wait and see.
George
Well, I can assure you that Ideagen will tout that book when and if you do it. We hope you do it. We hope you do it. We hope today this moment, this time, this place is a catalyst for that systemic scale to bring about the power of storytelling which we also truly believe is incredibly powerful. Rana, how can our global audience find out more about your work at IBM and find your TED Talk.
Rana
A couple of different ways: the TED Talk is on YouTube and on the TED site. I have a link to the talk on my Twitter page, so if our audience wants to follow me on Twitter it's @rananovack, and I will post updates there often. Other than that, we've got some exciting things coming up, so just stay tuned.
George
Fantastic. Rana Novack, IBM, changing the world. Thank you for all you're doing and inspiring each and every one of us to continue this work. Important work as we convene
the world’s leading organizations across sectors to solve for X. Rana Novack from IBM, thank you so much.
Rana
Thank you and thanks to Ideagen. This has been great. Thanks everyone.
Kathryn
You're amazing. Have a great day.
Rana
Bye.