Insight 2020: Leadership Strategies for the Era of Acceleration #4 – Partner Up!

If you could do it alone, you would have already achieved what you needed to achieve! But in the era of acceleration, the world is far too complex to navigate on your own.

The only solution? Partner up! That’s leadership strategy #4 in my series of how to deal with the speed of change today!

Over a 25 year career advising some of the most complex organizations in the world about the future – including NASA, twice! – I’ve come to observe that the biggest issue they face has to do with getting the right skills, at the right time, for the right purpose.

The issue of skills complexity is massive – there is so much new knowledge coming about, at an absolutely staggering pace – that organizations can no longer do it on their own – they need new partnerships, and need them fast, to deal with the scope of the knowledge and complexity challenge that exists.

Hence, experts on penguins. Watch this keynote clip that features a variety of talks where I’m leading into the issue of skills complexity!

I obviously have a lot of fun with framing the skills issue on stage with the penguin story – but it is a very real issue. In fact, it was trend #7 on my 19 Trends for 2019, seen below.

I have a lot of fun with framing the skills issue on stage with the penguin story – but it is a very real issue. In fact, it was trend #7 on my 19 Trends for 2019, seen above!

Find your penguins!

In another post, I wrote:

What’s the essence of the trend? Simply put, you likely don’t have the skills that you need to get into our faster, more complicated future. You’ve got machine operators, but you need 3D printing experts; land surveyors when you require location intelligence professionals; or gas engine designers when you need experts in penguin behaviour.

The issue of having the right skills at the right time for the right purpose has long been one of my key mantras from the stage.

The impact? Find your penguins!

You never knew that you’d need to find the specialized skills who know the things that you never knew you needed to know!

Why penguins? Penguins hunt in groups & synchronize their dives to catch fish.

Studying how they do so could provide invaluable insight into the evolution of self-driving cars. Self-driving cars are connected by telemetry, LIDAR and other technologies, and will operate in a pack mentality to coordinate their efforts.

How to get ahead in the era of acceleration as we head towards a faster future? Find your penguins! Recognize that the skills challenges that you face are deep, profound, and complex.

You can’t do it alone.

You need to partner up!