The New Game Called Exponential Change
The business mindset has traditionally established timeframes to monitor progress, such as quarterly reports and stock prices. And yet, we are in a time where our understanding of the world is being disrupted by quantum exponential change daily, something our minds are still catching up to.
Perhaps we have the opportunity to create a new evolutionary advantage. Rather than projecting into a future what we think will happen based on past patterns or based on what we think we can ‘will’ into being, we can develop a new capacity to learn the language of life. “Reading life” is a process of being present to information that our awareness picks up and translates into meaning. Because life is not bound by our concepts of linear time the way our minds are, this information is asynchronous, meaning it may be relevant for the next week, the next month, or in three years. This way of reading life tells us what is emerging on the horizon before we need it.
As an example, as was shown in the film Air, Nike was struggling to enter the basketball category until they created a non-linear shift in their focus from being a shoe company to being an aspirational athlete brand. By changing their story and approach, they had a significant breakthrough as a company and changed the game in the athletic shoe industry. Making this shift meant stepping outside of known strategies and opening to something entirely new.
Though learning to read life may seem daunting at first, it makes life easier because we spot trends well before they show up on the horizons of the world around us, and we can act with a deeper sense of knowing and confidence.
If you’d like to know more about acting with confidence and a deeper sense of knowing, you may be interested in our offering, Creativity and Action Confidence.
Published WorkMore Relevant Reading
Why Whole-System Fluidity Is Outpacing Incremental Change
For decades, business leaders have approached transformation through targeted initiatives. Diversity and inclusion. Innovation. Leadership development. Each addresses a part of the system—and in many cases, delivers short-term gains. Yet in today’s climate of complexity, disruption, and accelerating change, part-by-part approaches are reaching their limit. What’s emerging instead is a different kind of organizational design—fluid, […]
Mission as Living Soil: Grounding Strategy in Why
In moments of crisis or when facing a complex decision, it is easy for organizations to leap straight into strategy. The question becomes, What should we do? How do we fix this? Yet, when strategy leads, it often narrows the field of vision to tactics and immediate outcomes. What happens when we begin somewhere deeper—by remembering why we exist? […]
From Tribes and Silos to Coherent Integration
Siloed functioning in an organization is nothing new, often expressed as competing tribes within departments, disjointed initiatives, and fragmented communication. Movement towards the mission can seem cumbersome, especially with increased complexity in the economic, social, and political environment. The modern business landscape reflects a fractal pattern—seemingly chaotic, yet deeply interconnected. Disruption has been celebrated in […]