Albert Einstein once said.” The problems we face today cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.” Depending on how we look at the present economic and social challenges that we face today, it can cause great concern or a sense of excitement at the possibilities and opportunities that are being created. It all depends on your point of view, the mindset from which you are operating. History is full of men and women, who in times of challenge, thought beyond the prevailing mindset, refused to accept failure or lack and created a new reality.
Today is no different. In the extraordinary times we live in three things will determine your success.
1. Understanding that we are now living in the inspiration age rather than the information age. Today’s technology means that there is so much information on any given subject, it is almost impossible to have the time to know all the facts. There is a need to be able to “see” through all the information to the picture that is hidden underneath. It is not about discarding information, nor is about making decisions by gut feeling, it is about seeing something that is not easily accessible because it is hidden in the plethora of information available to everyone! “The future is going to be a contrast between the inspired and the uninspired, those offering inspiration and innovation, and those buying it” (Wolfgang Simpson).
2. Building on inspiration, the questions - who are you and who do you want to become, have to be understood. Because each organization is a reflection of all the individuals that make it up, and therefore has its own particular character, strengths, weaknesses, way of doing things, the opportunities that are discerned, have to be grasped in their own unique way. Organizations approach opportunities according to who they are, according to their own unique character, based on their own unique sets of skills, experience and resources. Thus, in order to strategically plan for the future one needs to understand where your starting point is, and understand how, who you are, will influence your approach to making the most of the opportunities identified. These questions can be answered through processes that participatively examine the current and future scenarios and seek to release the genius within all stakeholders involved.
3. For organizations to cope with change and to achieve more effective decision making, strategy, and the operational application of that strategy, must be dealt with through conversation. Language shapes new possibilities, it reframes old perspectives and excites new commitments. It is the way that individuals discover what they know, how they share it with their colleagues, and in the process create new knowledge for their organizations. “It is the core process in which we think and coordinate our actions together, of creating, or sustaining – or transforming – our realities”. (Juanita Brown and David Isaacs) The extraordinary times we live in demand new ways of approaching the future. No longer are organizations, and the people that lead them, able to follow a fixed central vision with the success that this has brought in the past. It is a time of rapid change and it is those with balanced sets of beliefs and the capability to adapt to change, and take advantage of the opportunities afforded by change, that will thrive in the future being created right now. So, are you inspired, or will you be purchasing your inspiration from others? Are you placed to create and make the most of the opportunities today and tomorrow? Is the brilliance within all stakeholders being released. Where do you stand?
