Daily Inspiration: “The easiest decision that you can make is to decide to do what you’ve always done before. Yet in your heart, you know it’s not the right decision!”

“The easiest decision that you can make is to decide to do what you’ve always done before. Yet in your heart, you know it’s not the right decision!” – Futurist Jim Carroll

The process by which people *don’t* book me is always an interesting one. It teaches me a lot about corporate groupthink & why some organizations have a built in culture that kills innovative thinking.

Here’s why: the most popular types of speakers are the generic motivational ones – they fire up a sales conference with enthusiasm, ignite a group with a story involving their personal triumph, or ignite a spark of passion. The problem is that this is a bit like Chinese food – the spark burns out quickly, the message is soon forgotten, & the status quo rules reality.

The second most popular type is the retired politician or global economic expert. They tell the audience where they are today – what’s going on, what it means, why it’s happening. While useful, the message is very much like what you might find on TV & is soon out of date.

And then, there’s the futurist. Me.

I’ll tell you where you are going to be tomorrow, with an outline of the opportunities & challenges that come with that emerging reality.

How do many inquiries in this odd business unfold?

I’m often approached by a member of a committee or a group who has managed to convince their peers that for they should strike out in a new direction for an upcoming event. Let’s not do what we’ve always done – let’s do something different! Let’s get a futurist!

Discussions begin, conference calls occur, e-mails fly. And then, the committee decides to go back to doing what they’ve always done. The lowest form of consensual groupthink rules.

That very organization is probably feeling the winds of disruption, waves of change and storms of uncertainty – and clinging to routine is the last thing that they should be doing.

To me, it shows that their inability to make a simple decision means that they are ill-equipped to make the really big ones. The ones that matter – that are related to their overall strategy, their plan for survival, and their path to tomorrow.

It’s a funny business, this!

#motivationalquotes #inspirationalquotes #speakerlife #disruption