Less Predictable, More Unpredictable – ElPropósito4 min de lectura

Where today’s uncertainty is taking us, and the strategy it calls for

Predicting the future has always been one of humanity’s hardest challenges, and one we pour enormous energy into. Every year, companies and individuals launch into strategic planning and, drawing on all kinds of sources, build plans that in theory will get us where we want to go. Today, though, uncertainty is the rule, and using our full potential has never mattered more. Here’s my take.

Predictability at work is vanishing at a dizzying pace. Rigorous plans with step-by-step paths from point A to point B are harder and harder to estimate. To cope, the repetitive parts of those plans may soon be handed to the many technologies already available or in development, so we can respond faster, more reliably and with more flexibility.

What this means for work, and the need for personal strategies to face it, is a real challenge. A plan isn’t enough. We need one or more strategies, for business and for ourselves, that let us make choices that may not be perfect but keep us protected, and that can adapt as events unfold, learn along the way and keep moving us toward peace of mind and wellbeing.

Our human capabilities are, and will stay, irreplaceable, creativity above all. Our innovations will remain the spearhead that keeps every new technology a tool in human hands. Standing out and bringing ideas that solve real problems for people and organizations will be a must.

Part of the answer to an unpredictable world lies in drawing on our many human intelligences. For teams, every member needs to be crystal clear on the challenges at hand and, even more, to share a Purpose (why the team exists) and Values (what makes it a better team when it makes decisions).

The same goes for individuals. Someone guided by their Life Purpose and their own Values is more likely to find the inspiration and creativity to meet their challenges. They’ll have the footing for a sturdier personal strategy that goes beyond a plan, which can feel reassuring yet lacks the essence of real strategy.

Picturing a desired state, setting goals, drawing up a plan and assigning resources isn’t enough anymore. That kind of predictability is on its way out. A real strategy for today’s uncertainty builds in the flexibility to respond to the many forces swirling around a person or an organization, forces with competing interests that draw on the same resources.

What’s your strategy for today’s challenges? How are you standing out? How predictable is what you do today?

Warm regards and all the best,

Rodrigo Baccaro

P.S. This week’s VELA:

• What I’ve been Viewing: What is Swarm AI. I’m fascinated by Artificial Intelligence, and I came across Swarm AI: how AI can learn from nature, which has its own decision-making models. The examples with bees are fascinating. Worth watching.
• What I’ve been Listening to: The Apology of Socrates. A book (an audiobook, really, free on YouTube) about the trial of Socrates, with the full dialogue of his defense and the charges against him. One of the most beautiful things I’ve found online.
• What I’ve been Reading: Forest of the Pygmies. My first Isabel Allende book. I loved it and devoured it in a day. It’s one more door I’ve opened, and I hope to read much more of her work. I’m about to start The Future Is Faster Than You Think (my copy hasn’t arrived yet). I’ve only read the first chapter on Kindle, but I ordered the hardcover. So far it’s fascinating: how cutting-edge technologies are converging to give us incredibly powerful tools. I think it’ll be the best book of 2020. We’ll see.
• What I’ve been Learning: Emotional Agility. Great research and a wonderful discovery about emotions. Emotional Intelligence and Emotional Agility are two different concepts, and together they make one of the strongest leadership tools there is. The four steps of Emotional Agility are in this video, and it’s worth watching.

Author: Rodrigo Baccaro

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