Agility In An Age Of Sedentary...

Sedentary what you ask?

Many people are doing this right now: Sitting. And waiting.

They are sitting and watching an endless list of experts telling them everything that seems to be the opposite of what last week's experts had to say. And they are waiting for something that points the way back to 'normalcy'.

Or they may be sitting in their day-old lounge wear because they are on a Zoom call (and no one can see below the neck anyway). Sitting because they are doing virtual learning. Some are just sitting waiting for the phone to ring with a call back from a pandemic-forced furlough or a layoff or termination. Finally, some are waiting for Customers to return to some former semblance of being present, engaged, and active buyers of products or services.

Lot's of virtual, mental and physical sedentary activity abounds whether it is intentional, unplanned, desired or none of the above.

Yet, as always happens in times of adversity, changes in the norm or a paradigm shift, there are people and organizations who are neither sitting or waiting. They in fact are exercising new muscles, using new mental tools, opening up new discussions and learning the newest and the most needed of skill sets. They are focused on becoming, in a word, AGILE.

Being 'agile' is often misunderstood as being fast. That is incorrect, Possessing agility also does not mean being strong or always in perfect balance.

What agility does mean is being able to move easily and, this is key, with as little wasted time, energy or effort as possible in all circumstances good or bad. It is a practiced-and-then-achieved natural order of being nimble.

People and organization's with this same cultural trait (which we'll discuss in a minute) possess a distinct ability to function in three critical ways: (1) They see clearly through the haze, the fog, the chatter and whatever misinformation, panic or prognostication that surrounds them. (2) They correctly assess situations, markets, needed resources and people and then, (3) They act decisively and boldly with an expectation of succeeding.

Nice story Mr. Consultant.

But what about all the more pedestrian (and immediate) needs and demands of our businesses that seek equal volumes of attention right now? The People, Products and Services that are the face of your Brand. The priorities of Merchandising, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Distribution and Operations.

Promotional demands that include an insatiable Social Media appetite to be both 'present' and 'relevant'. Competitors, perhaps government or regulatory oversights, maybe cash flow or funding considerations, the reallocation of assets; the list is endless and daunting. Oh, and by the way, the needs and demands of our CUSTOMERS. Still there, we hope, although they too may be somewhat sedentary as well right now.

Yes, every one of those realities exist right now. So, I'm declaring a new reality, a new Age of Agility, Version 20.20. and the tagline (because everything needs one, right?) is this: Be agile or get run over!

Researchers at Columbia University studied the subject of 'agility' and in doing so, they identified six characteristics of behaving in an agile manner: (1) Being unafraid to challenge the status quo, (2) Remaining calm in the face of difficulty, (3) Taking time to reflect on recent experiences, (4) Purposefully putting oneself in challenging situations, (5) Being open to learning and, (6) Resisting any temptation to become defensive (a victim) in the face of adversity.

Wow, where do we begin with all of that wonderful data given our Covid-induced stupor?

Well, for starters: The status quo has been blown to pieces in the first seven months of 2020 and we're not done yet. The need to remain calm has been advocated but rarely practiced of late; in fact 'panic' (or at least uncertainty) seems to be the new order of the day. Taking time to reflect is still a necessary endeavor as long as we do it in incredibly short time frames. Purposefully putting ourselves in challenging situations? Ha, there is nothing purposeful about a pandemic and NO ONE volunteered or voted for this 'thing' and all of its 'thing tentacles' Open to learning. Of course, would you like that served via 'virtual', 'remote' or 'self taught' or 'AI'? And of course, Saying no to victim hood. Plenty of victims to go around these days and interestingly, no one would likely blame us if we just threw in the towel and ask for a restart in 2021.

All of that leaves us, as it always does, with a choice: (remember, "...be 'agile' or get run over...").

The 'get run over' part takes on a new meaning when getting run over is likely to be dispensed by Customers who are running towards the exits looking for a unique provider of stability, strength, security and stamina. Or, by competitors who absolutely realize that the marketplace 'pie' may be getting smaller for a while and, that while someone is going to die, go bankrupt or close, that someone is not going to be them. And last but not least, 'run over' by an economic engine (investors, Wall Street, shareholders and the Fed) who all have clearly decided that they are not going down with this ship!

So here is the part when the magic bullet or sage wisdom is supposed to be dispensed by me, right? Since I do not want to join the ranks of "this week's expert", only to be proven wrong by "next week's expert", I will dial it back and just offer six quick things to think about:

1. While the 'status quo' is not automatically a bad thing, be careful of the bias in our opinions, actions and structures that silently stops us from not being willing to take a fresh look at our businesses, our service or product offerings and, maybe most importantly, how we go to market.
2. In a world of justified concern, unrest and upheaval, are we a notable force of reason, calm, steadiness and open listening? Do we add positive energy, specific actions and forward motion or just swim in the pool of more endless banter and chatter?
3. There is a war right now between much needed individual 'reflection' by Leaders and the demands for a 'reaction' to events that happened in the last 15 minutes. Our Team Members, Customers and Stakeholders deserve much more of the former and much less of the latter.
4. There are plenty of 'challenges' to say grace over right now. Pick your battles. And, while you may pick some wrong ones, running away from the reality that as Leaders and Managers, we are expected to 'do something' is both unwise and unrealistic. Truly, there is no such thing as standing still and there never was.
5. Most of us went to school for the first 21 or 23 years of our lives and then we 'graduated'. Do not let that fact make us incapable of continuous learning because we allow ourselves to become too smart, too old, too experienced, too "right" or too tired to have an active and healthy spirit.
6. There are a million reasons why things happen. In both good and in bad, there are acts of 'commission' and of 'omission'. Agile Leaders look inward before they look outward and they cross check themselves before they believe they are eligible to serve and advise others.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The New Age Of Agility is here to stay. The pace will only get faster. Our Team Member and Customers will most assuredly become more interested in opportunities to improve themselves and to live their lives in better ways. These 'Agility Traits' need to become ours to own; all six of them.

Or, we can become road kill...

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Allan DeNiro is an Author, Speaker and Facilitator for Organizations, their Teams or as a one-to-one Advisor. He would be proud to meet you for a discussion online. If you learned something today, please share this article widely across your networks.