Documentaries: The Future of Work & Rescue in Thailand!

I do love a good ol’ documentary and recently I discovered a website called documentarymania.com. This has all sorts on there so worth checking out!

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In the past week or so I’ve watched a few straight from that site and there were a couple that really stood out and may be of interest.

Future of Work

Super important for everyone and very topical. As the title suggests, this is all about how we go about making our living going forward. With AI, automation, robotics, outsourcing, viruses and wars, things are changing and at a rapid pace.

Remote work is nothing new and we’ve been heading in that direction for some time. I myself have done so for several years (and have written on the subject many times), and a lot of the technology being used now and recently become famous has been available for a while now. Zoom, Skype and other collaboration tools which don’t require you to be in the same location are not new, but they have come to the fore in the last couple of years for obvious reasons, and more are springing up.

Indeed, Covid has accelerated everything. This was going to happen anyway, but slowly over time. The coronavirus situation has forced people and companies to adapt in the short-term and much of that is going to continue (and increase). Add in all the advances in technology and a changing picture occurs.

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Though much of the technologies and capability existed, they weren’t embraced so much due to the stronger desire to maintain the status quo. We don’t tend to act or change until it’s imperative. And that time has come.

This is a 3 parter around 50 minutes each and worth a look I’d say. We do need to get prepared but I’d say many reading this are ahead of the game in one sense as they are involved with blockchain and crypto.

One part that struck me was the flattening of the middle income bracket. They call it the ‘barbell economy’ - both the lower and higher income brackets are expanding and the middle is hollowing out thus making the shape of a barbell.

In the last episode it’s discussed how so-called ‘digital nomads’ have been living this lifestyle for a decade or more and what the lifestyle can offer. Of course, that life is not for everyone but a flexibility to suit the individual, companies and associates is something that can be discussed and implemented.

Ultimately, we need to work with new technology and adapt as best we can. Expand our skills to what is required, embrace change and use AI, automation and the like to enhance what we do.

You can watch it here.

The Rescue

Last night I watched this amazing documentary which may well have been one of the best I’ve seen.

It’s all centred around the rescue of a boys football team trapped in a cave in northern Thailand in 2018. Interviews along with actual footage bring this story alive and produces a gripping account and runs about 1hr 45mins.

I won’t go into too much detail as it is worth a watch and you may or may not know the full story of what happened, but one thing I can say is that it is very interesting, emotional and inspiring.

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Something that I didn’t realise (I only really caught bits and pieces on the news and social media) was the scale of the operation; the number of people involved, as well as the intricacies and danger involved. Also, it was very much a collaborative effort with all kinds of people lending their expertise.

Whilst the Thai Navy SEALS did a lot of the work, they simply weren’t trained in the specifics of caving or have any experience there so they were limited in some aspects. The real driving force were a group of divers (mainly from the UK) who took the call to help. They weren’t professionals or military, but they had this strange hobby that many thought crazy (jumping into deep, wet, claustrophobic caves for fun!), but this was their time to shine.

Aside from the caves themselves, they had a monsoon to deal with as well as getting on the same page as the different authorities involved and acting in the right way at the right time… involving different languages and cultures.

A well told story that I’d recommend, and here's the link for that one.

So if you like your documentaries, then check out this site and have a browse through - there are 100s. I’m sure they’re available elsewhere but this is a good place to look through once in a while as you may have something take you by surprise.

And I would definitely say to make these 2 at the top of your list. One amazing story of human courage and achievement, another on the very fabric of how we make our money and conduct our lives going forward.

Enjoy!

~ Adam
@adambarratt
www.AdamBarratt.com