Interesting Vancouver Presents: Where Are They Now? James Sherrett, IV 2008
In celebration of Interesting Vancouver’s 10th anniversary, we’ve been reconnecting with one speaker from each year to find out where they are now.
This week, we’re starting with James Sherrett, one of our inaugural Interesting Vancouver speakers from 2008.
In the last two decades, James has launched web and e-commerce properties with multi-millions in revenue growth, and is now a part of the core team at Slack (a collaborative platform which helps teams communicate more clearly and get things done).
Since his participation in Interesting Vancouver, James tells us he’s been through several life changes, such as: got married, had a child, experienced the death of a parent, moved to Dublin to open the European offices for Slack (after two years away, him and his family are headed back to Vancouver today) and seen parts of the world he didn’t even know existed—an incredible privilege for him
When he graced our stage in 2008, James believed it was easier to influence behaviours than beliefs. However, he’s now learned how to influence beliefs to drive certain behaviours, especially in conditions of high uncertainty and when people don’t know what to think.
“You can provide a perspective and, if it’s successful, it can be far stronger.”
There’s a saying James likes: “May you live in interesting times,” though he’s never considered the downside of what this could mean. With our current political climate, maybe that’s something worth thinking about and how our relationship to the word ‘interesting’ will change as time goes on.
James says that Interesting Vancouver made him feel more connected to Canada and our Vancouver community during those two years away. “I’m grateful that I have an annual ritual to come back to that is special and unique and valuable.”
For his full IV 2008 talk about foraging food where you live, check out the video below:
*Feature photo by Trevor Jansen
The 10th anniversary for Interesting Vancouver event is happening on November 10th. Right now, we’re looking for ideas from you and who you would like to see speak at this year’s event. Share your ideas with us here.