365 days that could change the world. Well, perhaps...

There is no doubt that we will look back on 2010 as a deliciously special year. It will be special because it will be the year when we came to terms with a modern global recession. Our countries' fates are so closely interwoven and the network of local trade making the world seem so mightily small that we really are all in this together. We went in together and we will come out stronger together, making us all stakeholders in the future models of business. The only thing to decide is whether to participate or not. 

In previous recessions we were pretty passive right? We let our respective governments tackle the problems. All we had to do was sit still and hope. Some smarter ones set up companies that have become the blueprints for modern business in the noughties, many of them digital businesses. But now thanks to the internet and culture of blogging and sharing, we have millions of people contributing to the solution, every day. It's created a perfect storm where what would have been seen as idle pondering is becoming legitimate commentary and in turn is developing the foundations for modern principles and values of business and life. Is it co-incidental that as business blogging hit full tilt in the last couple of years, that a (generally unforeseen) recession hit hard? We had built, in the interim an infrastructure to develop the future with a million architects all working seamlessly to build upon each other's ideas. What better way to create visions and models for modern business than by all participating in the redesign. Exciting. 

Adding to (and capturing some of) this positive momentum, Len Kendall and Daniel Honigman created a project last year called ‘the3six5’ and invited me (and 364 others) to write on the3six5 blog for one day of the year.

The brief is simple: 365 words and one picture. A singular, inspiring thought, relevant to that day.

I'm scheduled to write my blog entry on 11th April this year. A day which is particularly remarkable only because nothing of any historical significant note seems to have ever happened on 11^th April. Ever.

I’m certainly amongst pretty illustrious company of authors (business pioneers, journalists, TED speakers, consultants, authors, digital gurus) and its been a fascinating 8 weeks so far, very diverse points of view and thoughts for the year, some personal, some broader, all fascinating. What we will end up with is a fascinating collection of seemingly unconnected thoughts in one place, but the red thread through all of them is a unique tone, something that any other year wouldn’t have existed. It is a mood of gentle optimisim, a mood of possibilities. 2010 is certainly a transition year where we see the potential in doing things the right way. It has become very clear (just from the 46 people who have written so far) that we are a collection of people who will be pushing the boundaries this year.

The project is important and this alone won't change the world of course but this many small gestures cannot be ignored. It is special because of its scale and because it will be a record of such an important year. Frankly, if it inspires just one person to make a positive change then it's been a success. 

If you are looking for inspiration this year because you need to make changes, because you too see the potential in things or because you just need a smile in the mornings. You’d do a lot worse than getting a daily dose of the3six5.

Looking forward to your comments. Please subscribe to the project here (use link on right column) or just keep updated with progress via Twitter here

Oh, one more thing…

What would be really valuable is to give this project a sense of permanence and Len and Dan are looking for funding to be able to create a print run turning the 365 posts analogue and into a book. The ambition is to create a modern history book which in years to come we might look back on and see some origins of new world values.

They are looking for $5,000 to start a print run. Any suggestion or offers of funding, get in touch with Len. They have also applied for Pepsi Refresh funding so please click and vote here.