14: Technology and Culture with Jeff de Klein

Edgy Ideas

Jeff is a sinologist and has spent many years working and living in China. He works as a leader in the world of technology and has worked in global tech companies and now is CEO /owner of a mid size tech company. In 2018 Simon and Jeff presented together at a conference exploring how new technologies pull us in two competing directions, towards centralisation and to decentralisation. Techno utopians led us to believe that the internet and other technologies would lead to a greater democratization and egalitarian society, whilst techno-dystopians claim these new technologies increasingly centralise power and limit individual freedom. Jeff discusses these issues and shares insights on how Chinese culture adapts to these pulls and compares his experience of how western culture addresses these issues.
Bio
Prior to becoming Dilaco's CEO in August 2019, Jeff served as a Senior Director for HP in Asia-Pacific and Greater China, the company's fastest growing region and one of its largest country markets. Before joining HP in 2011, Jeff was country director Greater China for Canon and Oce. He cultivates leadership through benevolence, righteousness, propriety, learning, and trustworthiness throughout his work. Placing prime importance on inspiring and connecting people to take care of themselves and encouraging dynamic and positive collaboration within and across teams. Jeff is also very involved in growing the understanding between China and the West, comparing chinese and western societies from a historical perspective of human consciousness. Here he has a special focus on leadership, based on the belief that Chinese and Western principles and practice of leadership are largely complementary, and an understanding of both is required to be a complete leader.

Jeff is a trained Analytic-Network Coach and co-wrote a chapter on Chinese leadership in Global Leadership Perspectives: Insights and Analysis (Western and Garcia Sage 2018)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffdekleijn/