Last month I was lucky enough to go to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. While I was over there I helped to run a CoderDojo session for the local school children in Davos and to speak about coding to some amazing people. CoderDojo is a global organization that helps to teach young people how to code (make websites, apps and games). I was delighted to be there and I learned so many amazing things, including:
It's Good To Fail Better - While I was helping out at the CoderDojo session in Davos, Will.I.Am came to have a look at what was going on! I got to talk to him about CoderDojo and the apps I have made. He told me that if you fail, get up try again and fail better. I think this is a really good way of looking at things and we all should try to fail better!
Switzerland Is Cool - Over in Switzerland, three things stood out to me - languages, scenery and public transport. A lot of the people I met from Switzerland knew how to speak German, French and English (possibly Italian as well). I found this fascinating, especially the fact that people could switch from one language to another without a bother! Davos was such a beautiful place, the sun was shining while the snow was still on the ground - it was very picturesque. The public transport in Switzerland was really well synchronized - if one train arrived a few minutes late, the connecting train would wait for it. This made it easier to travel.
You Should Stay Healthy While Running A Business - At the Salesforce lunch in Davos, there was a panel of amazing people - Ariana Huffington, Will.I.Am, Bono, Shahrzad Rafati and Brian Moynihan! One thing that stood out to me from what the panellists were saying was Ariana Huffington's tip - to stay healthy while running a company. Ariana told her story of once collapsing from sleep deprivation while starting her business. She explained the real importance of staying healthy and getting enough sleep while running a business, I found this really interesting!
Tech Is Growing - More technology is around us than there was ten years ago and this isn't going to stop, it's going to do the opposite! So we need to educate young people about tech so that "they use tech, tech doesn't use them," as Will.I.Am said. As tech gets smarter we don't want people to be left behind, so if we teach young people about tech, this is less likely to happen!
Passion Helps Your Business - If you aren't passionate about your business, then why do it? Everyone that I met in Davos was interested and excited about their business or the business they worked in. If you aren't passionate in your idea, what makes you think others will be interested in it?
Thanks to CoderDojo and Salesforce for giving me the opportunity to go to Davos and meet so many amazing people!