Do you approach the future of your industry with a smile?

A couple of days ago, I facilitated a workshop on the future of aviation for Aeromexico. Before my session, the client had invited a futurist, and during the break before the workshop, the participants got to play around with different VR tools - they even had “space-inspired” costumes, wigs, and glasses for people to dress up in.

I allowed myself to be drawn into the playfulness of the event and got dressed up as well.

Many industries are being disrupted right now, and I often hear people talk about the future as “disruptive”, “a threat”, “VUCA” (oh, how I hate that word), or “unknown”.

And while it is true that many of today’s companies will face difficulties when it comes to adapting to the demands of the future, I think the people and companies that will fare the best are the ones who look at the future with a smile, rather than a frown.

“Only the paranoid survive,” expressed Andy Grove many years ago.

But is that really true?

Perhaps it should be “Only the paranoid - and the positively, passionately curious - survive”?

How are you approaching your industry’s future?