Daily Inspiration: “It’s now a new era of volatility – and flexibility should be your focus!”

“It’s now a new era of volatility – and flexibility should be your focus!” – Futurist  Jim Carroll

18 months before the economic meltdown that really went full speed ahead in October 2008 with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, I began speaking on stage about the necessity to develop an innovation and future strategy for recessionary times.

Take for example, this post I wrote in March of 2008: “Leading in Turbulent Times: How to Innovate During the Recession.” I wrote that based on material I was using on stage from February of 2007.

Hey, guess what’s happening right now! If you think everything is rosy, well, I love your optimism. I’m paid to be an optimist always. My optimism is now focused on strategies to get me through the next recession I’m getting pretty good at it – I think this will be my 8th one!

Why so glum,chum? Because markets hate uncertainty, and there is way too much of it right now. Too many signals from too many directions – and the market psychology that everything will continue going up has been irreparably damaged has come to an end.

What’s next? We’ll have some type of trigger, and that uncertainty will bubble over with the froth that came together in October 2008.

And remember this fact as I say this – I am paid to be an optimist. Right now, I’m not.

So given that, I’ve already moved on and am digging out my materials from 2008 – strategic planning documents I wrote for clients, innovation insight for recessionary times, video clips. I’m ready to go – are you?

When volatility strikes, you need to have a lot of flexibility with your structure, plans, strategies, actions and core capabilities. Looking back, In can already spot how that flexibility worked for some of my clients from 2008-2009 as they rode out the wave of challenge.

And so in the weeks and months to come, I’ll have the flexibility to share with you the insight you will need to develop your own recession flexibility.

Maybe I won’t have to – but I doubt it!