Daily Inspiration: “It’s not about what comes next – it’s, what are you going to do about it?”

“It’s not about what comes next – it’s, what are you going to do about it?” – Futurist Jim Carroll

You gotta’ have a plan.

Why? Relentless volatility. Ongoing uncertainty. Information ambiguity. Unreliability. A lack of clarity. Ongoing vulnerability.

Welcome to your new future. My ongoing research, trends tracking and client discussions tell me that we are faced with a future in which you now need to move at lightning speed, without really knowing what might come next.

Decisions in the absence of insight clarity? That’s your new reality. I’m filming a trends piece later this morning, on 10 trends that I am watching, as a part of my “Ask a Futurist” series. One of them is the emergence of what we might call a ‘Chief Volatility Officer.’ It’s highly unlikely that anyone will actually be given this as a formal title, but it’s pretty obvious that every organization is putting someone in place with those responsibilities.

History has taught us that only 10% of organizations become breakthrough performers during a period of economic challenge. What will you do to be part of this elite group of aggressive survivors?

Part of this involves shifting everyone around you to a ‘what’s next?’ mindset. Everyone has been focused on triage, survival, getting by, but it’s pretty clear we are moving to a new phase.

And this now involves a culture that has everyone thinking about what can be done going forward rather than looking back. A solutions-oriented mindset in which people are thinking less about the problems that have occurred, and more about the innovative strategies that could be pursued.

A leadership style and mindset that takes on volatility as a form of innovation oxygen, complexity as a foundation for action, uncertainty as to the platform for disruption, and ambiguity as to the clarity for stifling aggressive indecision.

Here are a few SHORT videos to get you thinking!