To describe this as a presentation doesn’t do it justice. Tim Smit is talking – you may know the name from the Lost Gardens of Heligan, and the Eden Project.

This is going to be impossible to blog I think – you really need to be here. Tim speaks with real energy, pacing the floor as he talks. He has passion and conviction. This talk, combined with the one from Stephen Heppell, have inspired me, and made me want to achieve things – unspecified ‘things’ – but nevertheless – I want to go away and ‘do stuff’.

Perhaps the best thing I can do to get over some of the talk is mention Tim’s philosophies for life:
The Tinkerbell Theory – if you can get enough people to believe in something, it will come true.
Last Man Standing – if you have a certain amount of charm, and you won’t go away then people will give you money to do so.
Third Invitation – accept every 3rd invitation you get. This may seem an odd thing to do, but it means you don’t go to the things that will live down to your expectations.

And some management rules from the Eden Project:
You may not start work until you have said good morning to 20 people
You must make a speech about why you love working at the Eden project every year – or resign
You must read a book that is totally outside your interest every year
You must go to see a film, theatre, concert totally outside your interest every year
You must learn to play samba drums.

No doubt some of these rules seem pretty out there – but Tim speaks with such conviction and passion, I find myself understanding why he believes in these things, and agreeing with him.

Finally – and he stresses this as the thing we should all take away from today – eating, and working by candlelight with colleagues after ‘work hours’ is something you should do regularly. Stop being your work persona, and bring all your other experience, skills and ideas into play.