YOU in a Changing World: Creativity and Personal Development in the age of AI

University of East Anglia
Norwich Business School
Management Skills
and Personal Development
NBS-7031X
Lectures 1-2
1 February, 2024
Dr. Fahri Karakas
F.Karakas@uea.ac.uk

4
 Introduction to module & module assessment
 Hackathon
 Learning Adventure: Meeting Each Other
 4 Tools
 Learning Adventure: Outstanding Careers & Imaginary
Lives

HERE IS A PUZZLE:
Recently, there has been a revolution in
digital art and NFTs. Whose NFT was sold
for 69 million dollars?
BEEPLE

7
◦ He promised himself to create digital art every day. He created a
futuristic image every day for 13.5 years.
◦ He created an image each day from May 1, 2007 through Jan. 7, 2021.
He never broke the chain.
◦ This meant he created 5,000 daily futuristic images over 5000 days.
◦ He then combined all of these images into a jpeg file.
◦ He called this file: “Everydays: The First 5000 Days”
◦ This digital collage was sold as an NFT (non-fungible token) in an online
auction at Christie’s.
◦ How much was this NFT sold for? $69 million!
◦ What is the name of this artist? Beeple - Mike Winkelmann

13
https://entrepreneurshandbook.co/two-reasons-why-these-7-lines-of-code-
turned-into-a-36-billion-empire-6d2b2d1a8da2

15
 CHINA: 143 Companies
 United States: 136
Companies
 China has surpassed the US in
2020, 2021, 2022 as well.

18
TECH RACE: CHINA AND THE US
 Beijing laid out plans to become the world leader in
artificial intelligence by 2030, with the aim of making the
industry worth 1 trillion yuan ($147.7 billion).
 China has the world’s most valuable unicorn — AI-
powered news and video app ByteDance at a $75 billion
valuation.
 China has the world’s largest internet and mobile
communication markets, the most supercomputers, the
highest number of STEM graduates, at 4.7 million, and
the most scientific academic papers. All of these factors
have led China’s ascent to second-place worldwide patent
filings, at 21% of the world total, right behind the U.S. at
22%.
 China’s tech titans, Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent, are
funding the next generation of start-ups.

25
https://medium.com/predict/faatman-
dominates-every-landscape-in-our-lives-
not-just-tech-
4201b572ffec?source=friends_link&sk=6c
1f678a93a93d5d4ecbfa8b584e3cf8

34
ALPHAZERO
GOOGLE - DEEPMIND

36
36
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS ALREADY
HERE
ALPHAGO Documentary Trailer (on
Netflix)

38
38
https://medium.com/predict/elon-musks-neuralink-
demo-today-is-yet-another-historical-event-
5f4a07bbb5bd?source=friends_link&sk=8b2b1a1bc
019a7e9d45484919f991edd

41
41
https://medium.com/predict/business-
landscape-is-changing-rapidly-so-should-
you-
cd9eceb7ad02?source=friends_link&sk=96a
753ce3323a8c8c7c1cffd78089c6a

42
5126 times.
5127 prototypes – 5127th
worked!

45
https://entrepreneurshandbook.co/googles-genius-49-mo-course-is-about-to-
replace-college-degrees-340f459aaa9b

47
 All traditional jobs are in decline
 Career ladder is broken
 There is too much uncertainty
 Everyone has to think like an
entrepreneur
 The industrial revolution is over
 The entrepreneur revolution is
starting
 You need 7-8 careers/side hustles
(YouTube, Medium, art, etc.)

51
 Think about the assets you want
to create for your future
 Do not think like a student. Do
not treat this as assignment.
 Do this for your own future.
 Do something real – create
something real and fresh.

HERE IS A PUZZLE:
What is the 8th wonder of the world,
according to Einstein?
Compound Interest
“Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the
world. He who understands it, earns it; he who
doesn't, pays it.”

54
ABOUT THIS MODULE
This is an applied vision and skill development module; focusing on the
development of the new skill sets for professionals of the 21st century.
It is designed as a learning environment and a management trainee program
that focuses on the development of knowledge and skills for global leaders.
A core belief underlying our approach, demonstrated in interactive sessions,
stems from the Chinese proverb, “Tell me and I forget. Show me and I
remember. Involve me and I understand.”
We will have intensive brainstorming sessions, professional development
workshops and executive training programs to help you and your colleagues
to develop and apply professional skills for your career in the 21st century.
In today’s global, rapidly changing knowledge based economy, learning and
experimenting with management skills is one of the smartest investments
you can make for your future careers and employability.

55
1. Creativity:
 Develop creative and innovative thinking skills
 Learn design thinking tools to advance innovation
 Undertake collective creative and problem solving activities effectively
 Appreciate different thinking styles
2. Personal Development:
 Engage in self reflection
 Plan, monitor and review individual development
 Engage with psychometric testing for recruitment purposes, self-awareness, and team development
 Gain awareness of personal values, beliefs, including emotional intelligence and cultural intelligence
3. Communication:
 Understand the communication process and communicate in a variety of formats; both verbal &
non-verbal
 Design and deliver engaging presentations
 Practice writing clearly and creatively
 Present information about the self: Personal statement, CV
 Experiment with visual, creative, narrative, digital methods

56
4. Working with others:
 Engage in team work and collaboration
 Practice project management and design thinking
 Develop leadership skills and knowledge
 Develop cultural intelligence and managing diversity
 Understand and build empathy with different personalities at work
 Develop interpersonal effectiveness through emotional intelligence
5. Employability:
 Improve employability through global vision, continuous learning, personal branding, entrepreneurial thinking,
creativity, and adaptability
 Develop proficiency in navigating the job market and submitting a job application
 Synthesize information from a variety of sources to better assess the self, the job market, global trends,
organizations, and careers
 Engage in self directed learning, personal planning, and design thinking for career management
 Practice and demonstrate the use of relevant transferable skills and competencies in a simulated environment
6. Entrepreneurship:
 Improve employability through personal branding, entrepreneurial thinking, creativity, and adaptability
 Develop proficiency in developing business proposals/plans
 Synthesize information from a variety of sources to better assess the market, business trends, and consumer
needs and develop business ideas

57
 Karakas, F. (2019). Self-Making
Studio: An Inspirational Doodle Kit
for Self-Discovery and
Employability. DiPublica.
 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Self-
Making-Studio-Inspirational-Self-
Discovery-
Employability/dp/173077282X

58
 Bolles, R.N. (2021). What Color is Your
Parachute? A Practical Manual for Job
Hunters and Career Changers. Berkeley, CA:
Ten Speed Press.
 Cameron, J. (2016). The Artist’s Way: A
Course in Discovering and Recovering Your
Creative Self. London: Pan Macmillan.
 Burnett, B. and Evans, D. (2016). Designing
Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful
Life. Knopf Publishing.
 Harvard Business Review
 Fast Company
 Wired
 Forbes

59
 The module is based on self-directed learning; so independent studies and
exercises will be very critical.
Undertake min. 6 hours of self-directed learning for this module every week:
 Complete the module readings, review lecture and seminar materials, get
prepared for our sessions,
 Do the weekly creative challenge/imagination experiment,
 Do Internet search about business trends and companies that you are interested
in (Your goal: How can you best prepare yourself for your dream job? Think about
how you can develop relevant skills and knowledge.)
 Watch 2 TED Talks (that are interesting and relevant to you) and listen to 2
episodes of BBC Radio 4’s Dessert Island Discs programme (you can choose
among potential mentors or role models based on your passions)
 Document/gather evidence on your personal development, learning, and skill
development to form a portfolio that you can use in your summative assessment
and in your future job applications
 Prepare and build your portfolio quickly

Module assessment
Management Skills and Personal Development
Individual Portfolio (100%) – 27 August, 2024 (Thursday)
Designing and Creating Your Future

62
 This assignment gives you the opportunity to design and create your future
after your UEA MSc programme. You will also reflect on your learning on
the Management Skills and Personal Development module. You will have
the opportunity to draw upon your learning journey and your experience in
activities that you completed individually as well as in your group work.
 You will have a chance to prepare a top-notch portfolio that will help
advance your career after graduation. In doing this, you will have chance to
use and highlight all the skills, perspectives, and knowledge you have
developed in this module. Think of it as a real opportunity for your
learning and experience. Do this project for yourself and for your career
after graduation.

63
 Part 1: Job Application Portfolio (20%) (4-6 pages)
 Think of your “dream job” after graduation (your career objectives, your
ideal position, your ideal company).
◦ Suppose your instructor/grader is the HR director of your company. Prepare and submit a
job application package for this job. Differentiate yourself from hundreds of other job
applicants.
 Include the job advertisement and your updated CV, a cover letter, and
poster.
 I. You should find a real job advertisement and attach this job ad. This should be an entry-
level job for new graduates. The job advertisement should clearly specify expected knowledge,
skills, and experiences that are sought for. You will customise your job application (i.e. CV and
Cover Letter) for this job advertisement.
 II. CV: Your professional updated CV – there should be no errors – proofread.
 III. Covering letter: On the covering letter, reflect on why you want this job and why you are
best candidate for this position; along with how you have prepared for this position based on
your learning from this module.
 IV. Poster: On one A4 page, design a poster that will reflect your personal brand. This can
be your creative CV or a mood board (a collage of pictures that inspire you and define your
ideal lifestyle and/or career). You do not need to explain your poster; as it should be self-
explanatory.

64
 Part 2: Asset Creation Project (Seven I or Entrepreneurial Proposal)
(25%) (6-8 pages)
 At the heart of your asset creation project is independent thinking and
creativity. We want you to take ownership of your ideas and express them
passionately and eloquently. Structure is less important. How you visualize
and represent your ideas in an engaging and interesting way is more
important. Think of it as an exercise in imagination. We encourage you to
play, create stories, dream of possibilities, and incorporate your own
strengths and passions.
 There is not one best way to create your asset creation project. It is your
playground and you are encouraged to play/experiment with crazy, risky,
creative, imaginative ideas. You can also choose to experiment with your
hobbies that could become parallel careers for you in the future. You will
need to find your own voice and incorporate that voice into your project.
Please choose just one of the options (Seven I or Entrepreneurial Proposal).

65
Inspiration. Imagination. Insight. Integration. Inquiry. Innovation. Implementation
◦ This option is about creating creative assets for your future. What are you really curious and passionate about? Think of it as a
“Kickstarter” type of project. Try to demonstrate creativity, originality, reflection, and depth. Use your best creative skills and
talents.
◦ Some of the sample artwork or projects or alternative ideas from past students are below:
 Establish your own YouTube channel, Medium blog, Instagram brand, podcast, or TikTok
 Compose songs and create ideas for your first album
 Create your own fashion line, brand, and catalogue (with sample clothing designs)
 Create your own book proposal and write sample pages and introduction for your book
Your project should have the following sections (each of these should be very focused/brief):
1.Executive summary: Summarize your artwork as an elevator pitch. How does this work represent and document your
learning and skill development in this module?
2. The artwork: Make sure that you capture your artwork through photographs or Internet links; and clearly attach these to
your appendix. It should be very easy for the graders to access your work online – make their job easier, not harder.
3. Description and the process of creation: Why and how did you come up with this work? How did you design and build this
work? Why is this work original and unique? How does it connect to the learning objectives and skills of this module?
4. Explanation and evidence of learning and skill development: Make sure you describe your artwork clearly and make sure you
connect it rigorously with the learning outcomes and skills you have mastered in this module. Explain how this work
constitutes evidence of your learning and skill development.
5. Significance and utility of this work: Where is your contribution? How does this work connect to your personal branding?
How does it connect to your career goals and passions? How can you use this work for your future career?
6. Reaching your fans: Who could be your fans? How do you define your target group? How do you reach your “1000 true fans”?
How can you build your audience for the long term?

66
◦ Think of this option as a Shark Tank type of project where you want to present a written entrepreneurial pitch. In this project,
you will imagine yourself as an entrepreneur establishing a business after graduation. You will prepare a focused and creative
entrepreneurial business proposal for your enterprise. Think of this option as an ‘elevator pitch’ where you present your
business idea to potential funders.
◦ As you come up with your business plan, try to identify real problems in society, create innovative
solutions and commercialise those solutions to a target market.
◦ You can create a café, a restaurant, a consulting/training company, a technology company, a social media company and what
not. The sky is the limit. Try to demonstrate creativity, insight, reflection, and depth. Innovation, integration, and synthesis
are critical. Use your best creative skills and talents. What are you really curious and passionate about?
◦ Your business proposal should have the following sections (each of these should be very focused/brief):
1. Executive summary: Summarize your business idea as an elevator pitch. Where is your unique value proposition?
2. Business description: What is your core or your "secret sauce" which is not easily duplicated? How do you define
your sustainable competitive advantage?
3. Your product /service: How do you design and build your product or service? How do you develop the idea, technology and
passion necessary to get started?
4. Market analysis: What about the competition in the market? How do you differentiate your business in this market?
5. Marketing plan: Who are your customers? (A profile of your targeted customer) How do your customers access/reach your
product or service? What is the process for acquiring a targeted customer?
6. Financial/operational plan: What metrics need to be put into place to determine if your product/service is successful (or
not) early in the process? How do you make money? How do you scale to widen and diversify the revenue stream?


67
PART 3) Imagination Experiments/Creative Challenges (10%) (3-4 pages):
◦ Read Section 12 of the Module Handbook and read the weekly challenges set up for you.
There is no one right answer – these challenges are mainly about play, creativity, risk-taking,
experimentation, personal voice, and reflection. Companies want to hire candidates who
demonstrate courage, passion, and creativity. These challenges will help you develop a
colourful, creative, and well-rounded profile. You will do these challenges every week. Then,
choose your top two favourite ones and attach them to your coursework.
PART 4) Learning Adventures (10%) (3-4 pages):
Please respond to the following two questions. Please write one short paragraph for each of the
top 10 things (your responses).
1. What are the top 10 things you learned from the lectures in this class?
These could be new insights, perspectives, or lessons. What inspired, excited, surprised, or helped you?
After each lecture, try to reflect on what you have learned from the lecture and write a paragraph. In
your paragraph, you might also briefly explain how you will apply your learning in your life. Please
choose 8 paragraphs and include in this section (Learning Adventures) in your portfolio.
2. What are the top 10 things you changed or improved in your life because of this module?
These could be new habits you adopted, or changes you have made in your life. You can also
talk about new books you have read, new films/videos you have watched, or new topics you
have learned. Keep diary and regularly capture your learning, development, and reflections.

68
PART 5) Seminar Appendix Tables:
Incorporation of Seminar Activities and
Relevant Module Skills and Learning
(35%) (10-13 pages)
In this section, please integrate and apply what you
have learned during the seminars in this module. We
want to see how you progressed in terms of skill
development, integration and application of
knowledge, demonstration of learning, and self-
reflection. Please attach 7 of these seminar activities.
 Top 10 Skills Evidence Table
 Evidence Table for Self-Directed Learning Activities
 Flower Exercise Result Sheet
 Choose your own option
 Design Thinking Application
 Creative Toolkit: Café Exercise
 Benchmarking Table
 Business Model Canvas or Personal Branding Canvas
 Six Hats Thinking Application
 Belbin Role Result and Analysis
 Personality Test Result and Analysis
 Your Birthday Challenges
 Time Management Grid
 Personal and Professional Development Plan

70
• The city you lived before coming to Norwich
• What is your career goal after graduation?
• Your work experience, if any
• Your top hobby/interest

71
 Born and grew up in Turkey – BA Koc Uni and MBA
Bogazici in Istanbul
 PhD at McGill University, Montreal, Canada (2010)
 Research Fellow at the Open University (2010)
 Senior Lecturer in Business and Leadership at University
of East Anglia
 Visiting Lecturer at Mountbatten Institute, London
 Visiting Lecturer at University of Cambridge (Pembroke-
King’s Programme)
 Published 30+ articles in leading journals, author of Self
Making Studio
 After the PANDEMIC, went through a mid-life crisis:
◦ Started writing on Medium and wrote 1388 articles as of now
◦ Became a YouTuber and created 1300 Youtube videos
◦ Became a TikToker recently and created 150 TikTok videos

72
https://medium.com/predict/business-
landscape-is-changing-rapidly-so-should-
you-
cd9eceb7ad02?source=friends_link&sk=96a
753ce3323a8c8c7c1cffd78089c6a

73
• You need to develop your antifragility and preparedness for black swans.
• You need to learn to think differently by learning across disciplines,
applying mental models, and focusing on the long term.
• You need to develop new capabilities for dealing with FONKU — the fear
of not keeping up.
• You need to focus on using your own imagination every day.
• You need to take care of your brain and improve your learning habits.
• You need to forget the career ladder and start creating your own assets.
• You need to become a polymath (renaissance person) who learns and
innovates beyond borders.
• You need to make a commitment to create your own creative
assets and invest in your own creativity.
• You need to develop your inspirational capital by being curious and
passionate.
• You need to develop positive habits, systems, and assets to take control of
your own future.

74
Michelangelo finished painting Sistine
Chapel work in 4 years
What will you accomplish in 4 years?
 http://www.vatican.va/various/cap
pelle/sistina_vr/index.html
 http://www.vatican.va/various/cap
pelle/index_sistina_en.htm

75
 A Renaissance PERSON uses both left-brain and right-
brain type of thinking.
 1) curious
 2) risk-taker
 3) creative
 4) has perseverance and self-discipline
 5) has a thirst for knowledge and new experiences
 6) excellence in physical, intellectual, artistic and
social fields, which includes deep expertise in at least
one field and is exceptional in other fields
 7) and most importantly, is always learning

HERE IS A PUZZLE:
Which AI has beaten Stockfish (the
strongest traditional chess program) in
just 4 hours? Which company is this?
ALPHAZERO
GOOGLE - DEEPMIND

80
80
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS ALREADY HERE
ALPHAGO Documentary Trailer (on Netflix)

FAATMAN dominates
every landscape in our
lives — not just tech
https://medium.com/predict/faatman-dominates-
every-landscape-in-our-lives-not-just-tech-
4201b572ffec?source=friends_link&sk=6c1f678a93
a93d5d4ecbfa8b584e3cf8

HERE IS A PUZZLE:
In 2030, which countries will have the
most population? Count Top 3 in correct
order.
India, China, Nigeria

86
https://medium.com/predict/how-will-the-world-
look-like-in-2030-
cb4b3c2a40c8?source=friends_link&sk=5dd9fac4a1
a3347e7924a49065c27bf8

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/08/robot-wrote-this-article-gpt-3

https://medium.com/predict/what-you-need-
to-know-about-gpt-3-and-why-it-matters-
4878215b78e8?sk=a073e5560410a75009c80e
f15b2f4da5

HERE IS A PUZZLE:
How many days did it take for ChatGPT to
reach 1 million users?
5 days

https://medium.com/predict/i-asked-artificial-
intelligence-to-compare-2013-2023-and-
2033-read-on-to-get-a-sense-of-where-we-
7d11ceb34ac1?sk=2ae3388ebb183b947b2ed8
68d3d0b6db

https://medium.com/illumination/why-every-article-you-
write-is-a-valuable-investment-for-your-future-success-
e94b7267f920?sk=318db7bb1cf136a700c0e606ee004a6f

HERE IS A PUZZLE:
Which company developed Brain –
Machine Interfaces (BMIs) tested it on
monkeys and pigs (AND NOW THE FIRST
HUMAN)?
Neuralink

95
https://medium.com/predict/elon-musks-neuralink-
demo-today-is-yet-another-historical-event-
5f4a07bbb5bd?source=friends_link&sk=8b2b1a1bc
019a7e9d45484919f991edd

HERE IS A PUZZLE:
What is the name of the robot Elon Musk
announced?
TESLA BOT

HERE IS A PUZZLE:
Which organization has
these values?
Extinction
Rebellion

Greta alone in 2018.
2019: Look at the scale of
the movement she started

104
“Creativity is no longer a luxury. It is
a critical survival skill that we need to
adapt to rapid changes, solve complex
problems, imagine new possibilities,
and navigate uncharted waters ahead
of us.”
Dr. Fahri Karakas

HERE IS A PUZZLE:
What is the most valuable hospitality
company in the world?
AirBnB
not Hilton!

Spend time every day for your learning and
interests
Share what you learned with friends each
week
Go out of your comfort zone
Develop new skills – stretch yourself
Solve a challenging issue/problem
Take online courses (MOOCs)

20-30 minutes
Write non-stop about 3 pages
This will be your stream of consciousness
No censor – free writing
You delve into deeper and be more focused

2-3 Hours Every Week
It has to be alone: To be receptive
Be involved in creative activities or arts
Have fun, pursue an interest, get inspired
Record your thoughts, ideas, reflections

Keep a diary about your learning every day
Record and capture ideas as they emerge
Reflect on your learning and how you change
Create new ideas based on what you have read,
researched, and learned
Reflect and seek deeper meaning
Iterate ideas, projects, and solutions

114
YOU
as a
designer, entrepreneur &
innovator of your own
career, life and
world
11
4

116
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc

117
Essence of Design Thinking:

118
 Designers and entrepreneurs love rapid prototyping
 Don’t be afraid to show half-finished ideas
 Everyone is born creative – you need to reclaim your own
creativity.
11
8

119
It’s all about learning by:
creating,
doing,
experimenting,
making mistakes,
having fun and
stepping out of your comfort zone
rather than just focusing on theory…
11
9

120
So invest your creativity, time, energy, dedication, sense of
adventure and spirit, if you want this to be the start of an
exciting and potentially life-changing new path... 12
0

Outstanding Success Stories:
Learning from Inspirational Careers

 Please watch 2 TED Talks and listen to two BBC 4 Desert
Island Discs episodes every week.
 These are goldmines of wisdom on self-making and creativity.
 TED Talks www.ted.com
 BBC 4 Desert Island Discs
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/desert-island-discs/find-a-
castaway

125
Wonders of the Universe
BBC 2
The power of passion:
Professor Brian Cox

126
El Bulli: Cooking in Progress
Ferran Adria

127
Bloomberg Risk Takers
Elon Musk

128
The Artist is Present
Marina Abramovic

Having watched videos of
Ferran Adria, Brian Cox, Elon Musk, and Marina Abramovic,
Think of 4 imaginary lives that would
be fun and interesting to have:
1.
2.
3.
4.

132
13
2
 Write the title of the Movie:
 Your success story/impact/legacy (briefly)
 Who would play you?
 3 Skills your Cinema Self has (but you do not yet have):
 3 Places you need to travel as your cinema self
 YOU WILL DISCUSS IN CLUSTERS OF THREE
 TOTAL TIME: 5 MINUTES
 Feel free to offer ‘pop corn’

MUSICALS
Phantom of the Opera
BUSINESS IS EVERYWHERE
Selfridges and Story of Mr.
Selfridge

135
Sample pages from my diary – please see my sample
diary.

136
Sample pages from my
diary – please see my
sample diary.

141
Look at the
periodic table
and choose
which ones
are the most
critical
elements of
your success
in your current
situation.
Rank the top
10.
Also choose
the ten that
you seem to
have
neglected up
to now.
Exercise

YOU in a Changing World: Creativity and Personal Development in the age of AI

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