In each case, the companies held on for too long to old ideas about customers’ preferences, the strength of the prevailing business model or the true nature of their competition. What might you need to unlearn today in order to succeed tomorrow?
Action:
Master Inactivity
Peter Drucker, the famous management guru once said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it yourself.” It is wonderful advice. Unfortunately, if that action is the wrong action or if it seeks to solve the wrong problem, even the best intentioned action is worthless. This is why we advocate that today’s leaders master inactivity first.
Specifically, give yourself permission to have “a closed door policy” and regularly devote time to the difficult task of thinking about future opportunities and threats. We go even further in suggesting that leaders regularly take a “think week”—an entire week to think and reflect on how the world is changing. Such an amount of time might seem an unaffordable luxury but here’s a different spin on it: If you can’t devote two percent of your time on an annual basis to thinking about the future, who in your business will?
Alas, thinking is hard work. This is one reason so few people do it. To help jumpstart your thinking, here is one powerful question to ponder: “What is the “tomorrow” problem you must begin solving today?”
We’re confident that if you broaden your awareness of the periphery, stay humble about the need to unlearn and master the inactivity of thinking, you will come to your own “AHA” moments and better position yourself and your organization for the future.
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Jack Uldrich a leading global futurist and best-selling author.
His new book, Win the Future: The Big AHA! will be published in 2016. His website is www.jackuldrich.com.
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