I have just finished Hyper Island’s Master Class in NYC.   I invited Miguel Dvorak, our COO, for the three day intensive course on digital media.   As we are developing a very strong digital strategy at Cisneros I felt that I needed to find a place where I could learn about the bigger idea behind “Digital.”

We have a brilliant team spearheading this effort between our Miami and Caracas offices and after having attended this digital boot camp I feel better prepared to think about the digital trends on the horizon.    This three day course was not so much about learning, but about rewiring the way that we see the world.  As Miguel said at the end of day 3 – you leave with a different attitude. The question is not whether digital is relevant or not, but what our attitude towards the digital revolution is.  It’s not about the technology but how the technology affects us.

For me, the main takeaways from these three days are the following:

– You have to actively engage in social media to understand it.  You can’t just observe and monitor.  You have to be part of the conversation.

– We need to operate in a world of constant beta

– The digital world moves quickly and technology expires overnight.  Don’t over think ideas; it might be too late to launch them by then.

– Failing is important and a valuable process if you learn from it.  “We haven’t failed; we have successfully shown what does not work”

– It’s not about digital work; it’s about work for a digital world

-What we do + digital= survive. What we do + great digital = Thrive

In the end, digital just happens to be the current inflection point in our industry. In the next 5 years a new transformative revolution will happen and we will have to actively engage once again in understanding how it will change our lives.  This is why it’s so important to be humble and be aware of all that we do not know; to be active in wanting to learn about, and be exposed to new ways of thinking.