Building in a Headwind

It’s been a while since I’ve written. It didn’t seem the right thing, for me personally, to try to editorialise amid a global pandemic, though I respect the many people who have been helping to make sense of the situation.

But my main response has been to reflect, to help people where I can, and in particular to throw myself into building things - alone, or with other people.

And it’s going to be really important, in the coming weeks and months, that people continue to build things, with positivity and with determination. Things that have long-term benefits and consequences, not just responses to the context of the moment.

This is hard. The right now has never been all-consuming. Operational change, crisis response, rationalisation and security are the watchwords of the day. An entire day-to-day reality has been upended, and all the fixed points that underpin the day-to-day like budget, process, physical space are suddenly in motion rather than fixed.

Thinking beyond the next month can seem like a wild bet.

But the future hasn’t gone away. And it’s going to be different to what you expected – with different risks, changed needs, and new opportunities. Whatever plan you had, that’s gone on the backburner, is likely to have some significant flaws now, if it didn’t already.

And the only truly constructive response to such a turbulent context is to do more than to react – but to imagine, to conceive, to build, to create new growth.

This new building is going to be essential. The organisations we all depend on will need new life to prosper and grow. There will be huge numbers of people without work, or without meaningful work, and it’s a duty to help create that work if we can. And the ‘new normal’ – whatever it is – can’t be something that we fatalistically expect to happen to us, it has to be something we create, with imagination and positive intent.

This is pretty much as strong a headwind as any of us have experienced. And building in a headwind is different. It needs grit, determination and flexibility. It requires a deep understanding of your materials, of your resources, and of the networks and context around you. But building in a headwind is one of the most satisfying feelings there is.

As I write this I’m looking out of my window, into my garden, at what is grandly called a summer house but is really a sky blue shed. I’ll never forget the moment four years when I heard it shake and rattle in the middle of the night, during a particularly nasty storm. A couple of minutes later I was out in the garden, watching the roof threatening to take off and fly through town. Rescuing it felt far beyond my very limited handyman skills, but for half an hour I was out in the storm with a hammer and nails, smashing them in to try and keep the thing together. And it might not look pretty, but that shed is never coming down. And I love it.

So many great ideas and businesses have their origins in adversity. Some of the greatest innovations and brands in the world have come from these moments. Things much bigger and better than my garden shed, but that were also built by people operating in a fierce headwind, but determined to get it done.

And every day I see my clients pioneering new solutions and approaches, new products and services, new ways of collaborating – spurred by the short term, but designed for the long term. It’s an inspiring thing to be a part of.

So that’s what I’ve been doing. Helping people who have that spirit and desire to build things for the future. Building some things of my own. And the next few months is going to be about nurturing them, improving them, bringing them to their full potential. On which more another day.

But for the moment, it's back to building.